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  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech

Tow truck clearance?

  • Thread starter Thread starter 88GT17MA
  • Start date Start date Dec 15, 2004

88GT17MA

Member
Nov 1, 2004
289
0
16
Dec 15, 2004
#1
  • Dec 15, 2004
  • #1
Those of you who have upgraded suspension and have 1-2 inch drop on your car....have you ever had your car towed? How did it go? When I first bought my car it was in such rough shape that it didnt make it home. When the tow truck picked up the car the things that hook behind the rear tires (dont know what their called) were almost touching my rear bumber when he slid them under my car. Just wanted to see if any of you with the GT body effects have ever had problems with your lowered stangs and tow trucks....
 

1991vert

10 Year Member
Feb 27, 2004
1,103
7
69
Ludlow, MA
Dec 15, 2004
#2
  • Dec 15, 2004
  • #2
no but im definately scared to encounter a tow truck. with the stock suspension i had to get it towed to a ford dealership to replace the fuel pump (didn't know anything about the car and only had it for like 2 months). my dad had to lift up on the rear bumper to give it a little extra clearance while going on the to flatbed. i would rather push my car home rather then let a regular towtruck (not a flatbed) drag my car home.
 
I

iwashmycar

20+ Year Stangneter
Apr 7, 2004
1,236
1
39
Columbus, Ohio
Dec 15, 2004
#3
  • Dec 15, 2004
  • #3
Yea.....I would never want one of those "crane" tow-trucks to move it.....Bye Bye bumper.
 

tunedin302

I AM the law!!!
Jul 29, 2004
1,251
2
36
Pennsylvania
Dec 15, 2004
#4
  • Dec 15, 2004
  • #4
You should use a flat bed with a whale tail on it. The end of the bed that meets the ground is curved. This provides a more gradual incline and less chance of scraping.
 

OL' WHITEY

New Member
Jan 28, 2004
273
0
0
Weddington, NC
Dec 15, 2004
#5
  • Dec 15, 2004
  • #5
I have a '74 Triumph TR6 that has competition springs. It is LOW! I had to call in a rollback once and I told him up front that it would be close. He brought along some 2x8 boards. We drove the car as far as we could onto the bed before the back end started to scrub, then put boards between the bed and the back wheels. Hooked up the winch, and viola! No problem. If you need a tow and your 5.0 is low, you gotta' let somebody know...bro!
 
A

autoXr1

Founding Member
May 3, 2001
1,838
0
0
Michigan
Dec 15, 2004
#6
  • Dec 15, 2004
  • #6
Many vehicles need to be flatbedded these days. If the car is lowered, has an aftermarket "aerodynamic" body kit, or even anti-lock brakes, it should be flatbedded. As mentioned above, it is very important that you let the towing company dispatcher know when you make your call so that they know what type of rig to send out to you.
 
8

88stangnut

New Member
Dec 25, 2003
155
0
0
westfield ,mass
Dec 15, 2004
#7
  • Dec 15, 2004
  • #7
I had my 88 lx towed like 3 weeks ago. Let me tell yea It took like 3 boards and like 45 min of me going hey your scraping my car to get it on. Im only lowered a inch and he scraped the **** out of my lower front bumper. My notch was towed last week and its in stock 4cyl trim and it dident even touch.
 
8

87GT 306

New Member
Oct 11, 2004
260
0
0
Springfield MA
Dec 15, 2004
#8
  • Dec 15, 2004
  • #8
I have a lowered GT and it broke down in Holyoke prolly one of the top 3 $hittiest cities in MA. It has broken down a couple times around here but nobody should leave a car unattended in Holyoke. So I called a reputable company and told them to send a flatbed for a lowered mustang. The guy that had shown up knew what he was doing. There was NO way in hell that my car was just going to ride right up onto the bed w/o losing my rear bumper cover. But this guy new what he was doin and he worked the winch and the bed seperatley and it just made it up onto the bed. If you have a GT I'd make sure you let them know that when you call.
 
T

TheUser

Active Member
Jul 25, 2003
1,859
1
36
Springfield, MO
Dec 16, 2004
#9
  • Dec 16, 2004
  • #9
I've had my GT put on a flatbed and I've also had it towed behind a flatbed w/ the things that extend out and hook under the tires.

Ideally, I'd like to buy an older bread truck or something and throw a winch in it and some sort of folding out ramp and haul my car home myself lol. Might take some custom work to get it to work well, but it would definately be cool.
 

Michael Yount

Mustang Master
Apr 10, 2002
9,039
6
79
Charlotte, NC
Dec 16, 2004
#10
  • Dec 16, 2004
  • #10
I've had a lot of low cars over the years - not only tow trucks to worry about, but getting them on lifts for alignments, etc.

Most flat bed tow trucks will carry boards as mentioned above and place them just before the flat bed to raise the car up a bit before winching it on - that usually does the trick. But the best no-worry solution is to request what I call a 'cradle-******er' tow truck. This is the kind that has two parallel steel bars that they lay on the ground; one goes all the way across the car in front of the front tires, and one behind the front tires. The bars are then connected together so they form a 'cradle' that the front tires are sitting in; they stick out about 8-12" on either side of the car where they are connected to the truck's boom. The result is nothing touches the car except underneath the front tires. I've only had to use a tow truck a few times over the years; I just request a cradle ******er and have no problems with low air dams.

Unbelievable what the censor takes out. -- the deleted word is just like PATCH and except drop the P, and replace it with SN.
 
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