Towing Help

[Cody Furlong]

How do you tow a car without it making a horrible grinding sound, and the car taking damage?

[SoanoS]

...Need more info.

Are you using the winch or the tow hook meant for towing?
Is the car you are towing "shiny side up" or down?
Have you raised the tow bar too high up so that the tail of the towed car is grinding on the ground?

[Cody Furlong]

yes I am using the hook on the back of the truck, no the car not upside down, and it didn't look like it was grinding on the ground.

[Bainen]

A few items come to mind - some cars it is virtually impossible not to drag into the ground, such as the lamborghini lookalike car, it just sits too low, and you'll scrape it loading it on the flatbed as well.

Second item, and I know you're being asked this a second time - winch hook or tow bar?
Without meaning to talk-down to you - I'll illustrate this way --

(let's ignore recoveries, the cars on their sides/upside down for this example)

when pulling up to a car on the side of the road, usually the winch (hook) isn't needed, the tow bar gets lowered (rotated down) into position somewhere near the bumper using the controls and you select 'hook' to connect the car (a yellow bracket appears under the car). the tow bar is then raised to get the front wheel (with some exceptions) of the car off the ground and you're on your way. This is where you can grind cars that don't have enough ground clearance.

Third item - and I've been guilty of this myself. Some people (ahem, myself, when I didn't know better) use the winch to raise the car, then put the tow bar under it, hook that, and then leave the winch hook connected, which as the car shifts about while being towed can damage it. I'm unsure if this makes a grinding noise - it might.

With recoveries, then the winch is needed to flip the car back onto its wheels using varying techniques, then that hook is removed and replaced by the tow bar to take the car away.

If this doesn't help, next time you encounter the issue, it might help us give you better advice if you're able to take and post a screenshot looking sideways with both the tow truck and car in frame.

[Cody Furlong]

I only have the Dory Wrecker I think it's called. Whatever the old style looking one is with the hook on the back. I didn't see any option for a tow bar or anything. The car I tied towing was the one that looks like the mini cooper. Backed up, used the hook to lift it up until I got the option to attach it to that other part that sticks out the back. Unless that was the tow bar? But I didn't see any kind of options for raising or lowering that nor anything like it.

[CHOCHA BANDITO]

the really low sports cars its almost impossible to not scrape em. its best to use the rollback tow truck for them

[Timicro]

Originally posted by Cody Furlong:

I only have the Dory Wrecker I think it's called. Whatever the old style looking one is with the hook on the back. I didn't see any option for a tow bar or anything. The car I tied towing was the one that looks like the mini cooper. Backed up, used the hook to lift it up until I got the option to attach it to that other part that sticks out the back. Unless that was the tow bar? But I didn't see any kind of options for raising or lowering that nor anything like it.

there is a control panel on the side of the truck. on the dory wrecker its 2 levers that stick up. you click that and then it gives you the option to lower the tow bar. lower it, back up to the car, hook, then raise if you can enough that the wheels are off the ground, then go. all the tow trucks have some kind of tow bar and control panel.

[s7v7n]

Some cars have blown tires (look at each tire and it will tell you if they are blown)... If it is blown, tow it from that side so you can lift the blown tire off the ground...

another possibility is you are lifting it to high in the air and the back end is dragging on road.. but I think its the first one.

[lotw_1]

Make sure the car is not at a too steep of an angle and not touching anything. For instance if your using the flatbed two dont push it all the way forwards where it can hit.

[Bubba Fett]

As an added bonus to what everyone else has said, the car's suspension is still active while you're towing it so even if everything is perfect when you start, if you hit a dip in the road the rear suspension will compress and you still might scrape the rear bumper. (or front if you're towing it from the rear)
I usually lift it just enough to let the front (lifted) tires barely clear the ground.
Hopefully at some point they'll add dollies to let you pick up the other end of the vehicle.