Unless you live overseas, most car manufacturers today equip their cars with an automatic transmission because of its many perks. However, if your auto-transmission vehicle stalls and you can’t drive it anymore, you’d still have to call for roadside assistance and towing service to get it to the shop.
There are many people who suggest insisting on a flatbed. But do you really need a flatbed for your auto-transmission vehicle or could your car survive being towed with some of its wheels touching the ground? Let us help you figure it out.
Best Way To Tow A Car With Auto Transmission
When having your car towed, you’d want to make sure that you don’t damage it further. To make sure about towing instructions, the best thing to do is to read your car’s manual. There, they would discuss how to go about towing your vehicle.
The best way to have your car with auto transmission towed is by using a flatbed tow truck. With this, you don’t risk damaging the transmission because all wheels are lifted off the ground. However, at times when there is no flatbed available and they could only send you the other tow truck with a dolly. So do you just find another company that has a flatbed?
Although the flatbed tow truck is the best way to tow an auto transmission vehicle, towing it with a tow truck equipped with a dolly is still possible. In fact, some car manufacturers won’t really require you to get a flatbed tow truck to have your car towed. The only consideration here is to have the car towed with the non-driving wheels so you don’t damage the automatic transmission.
The car manual should be read if you are unsure about towing your car. This is because there are certain vehicles with an auto transmission that could also get damaged when towed with the other two wheels on the ground. The good thing here is that tow truck drivers know about this and would ask you a few questions about your car. However, if you can’t tell between your drive shaft and the camshaft, it’s best to consult the manual about towing. Check whether your car is really safe to tow on two wheels.
Other Factors To Consider When Having Your Car Towed
Apart from having either a manual or auto-transmission, there are some scenarios when it would be best to have the car towed by a flatbed tow truck. Such factors include the following.
Ground Clearance
Whether your car is manual or automatic, ground clearance is an important factor to consider when having it towed. Cars with low profile or low clearance are best towed by flatbed tow trucks. It can be difficult to put low-profile cars in a tilted deck or on dollies as it could have damages to the suspension and car body.
Vehicle Weight
Another important factor to consider is the car’s weight. Tow trucks with dollies are still capable of towing cars but using them for heavier vehicles isn’t advisable. Flatbeds are ideal because they are better at handling heavyweights. If the tow trucks with dollies are pushed to tow very heavy vehicles, the tow dollies could get damaged, and the car that it is towing as well.
4-Wheel Drives
As we’ve mentioned, towing cars is safe if the non-driving wheels are towed. With 4-wheel drives, there are no non-driving wheels. Whether you select the front wheels or rear wheels to drag the vehicle, you’d be severely damaging the transmission. There are ways to go around this, but that is a complicated process that would take time to do.
A Collectible Vehicle
If the car you need to tow is a vintage, classic, or luxury car that’s part of your collection, you wouldn’t want to risk damaging it. You should really find or wait for an available flatbed tow truck for them.
When you call a towing service company to transport your car or truck, you assume they are going to complete the job safely, and without any damage. One of the best ways to ensure a hassle free tow is by employing a flat bed towing truck to do the job…
