What do you do when your stranded on the side of the road? Many of us take the proactive route and carry AAA cards. For some you have towing through the manufacturer or your car insurance company. Even credit cards offer roadside service programs these days! So, is there a right and wrong way to tow?

This topic comes from a friend whom is a BMW owner and like most, thinks a flatbed is the only way to go for a safe tow. This is a common mis-belief and to the nay sayers I will explain. Before going "toe to toe" on the best way to transport, we need to look at the tools of the industry first.

Tow instructions as shown in BMW manuals

In the old days some will remember the sling truck, (aka hook & chain or belt lift truck). These trucks utilized rubber similar to tires to create a sling that with chains and wood pieces was used to lift the car and tow it via the bumper. Believe it or not even I was trained on this system even though it has not been utilized in mainstream towing for a few decades.

Next is the wheel-lift truck (aka stinger or claw lift truck). These are next generation to the sling trucks and were a much smarter design. The idea was to lift the vehicle by the tires instead of unstable bumpers or bodies. I can tell you from experience that this design cut down on hook time by at least 80%.

The last of popular trucks is the flatbed (aka rollback or slide truck). These are excellent for accident calls or vehicle with damaged and/or non-existent suspension or wheels. This also made for easy transport of project cars and vehicle unfit to be "drug".

What's the best truck for your ride? Let's stop and look a little closer at that manual shall we? Like a few other manufacturers, BMW puts a little picture of what the "okay" way is to tow your car. If you look closely, both the flatbed and the wheel lift truck are suitable. They have a picture of the old sling truck and that would be a no go.

Believe it or not a wheel lift is the tow of choice.

Out of the three trucks described, the wheel lift truck always lifts by the wheels thus allowing the car to still absorb the bumps and blows of the road via its own suspension. Most flatbeds, just like car carrier's, compress the suspension by attaching chains to the frame to secure it down. This compresses the suspension (sometimes too much) and can potentially bend or break suspension components.

Now if you still insist on requesting a flatbed, ask that they use baskets or wheel straps (aka Porsche straps). This will insure that the vehicle is secured without binding the suspension and saving from any unnecessary wear and tear on your suspension parts. If a flatbed is unavailable you can always ask that they use dollies with the wheel lift truck. This is when small wheels are placed under the drug tires thus bringing the entire car off the ground.

Be Safe,

Lance