Having a 3500 towed
05-15-2009, 02:41 AM
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Having a 3500 towed
I had the misfortune of having my 05 Ram 3500 CC Dually 4x4 Auto towed from in front of my house to the impound yard (I live in a EDIT up community with a homeowners association that doesnt allow overnight parking on the street -even in front of your own house!) I forgot to move it one night.... Anyways -
My neigbor witnessed them tow it for about 1500 feet - he said it took them 90 minutes to go that far... The tow truck was towing from the front since apparently he couldnt tow from the rear due to the dual rear wheels. He didnt use a dolly for the rear tires, instead drug the truck down to the end of the street (1500 feet) where he met up with another wrecker, at that point they placed the rear wheels on a dolly.
My question is: Is it possible that they damaged my transmission or rear differntial in doing this? The truck seems fine when I drive it, but that cant be good on the drive train. How can I verify or check for damage???
Thanks for listening to my vent - trust me I am ******. I am going to consult my attorney on this.
My neigbor witnessed them tow it for about 1500 feet - he said it took them 90 minutes to go that far... The tow truck was towing from the front since apparently he couldnt tow from the rear due to the dual rear wheels. He didnt use a dolly for the rear tires, instead drug the truck down to the end of the street (1500 feet) where he met up with another wrecker, at that point they placed the rear wheels on a dolly.
My question is: Is it possible that they damaged my transmission or rear differntial in doing this? The truck seems fine when I drive it, but that cant be good on the drive train. How can I verify or check for damage???
Thanks for listening to my vent - trust me I am ******. I am going to consult my attorney on this.
Last edited by madhat; 05-15-2009 at 03:14 AM. Reason: S/L
05-15-2009, 02:59 AM
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Well normally when towing on the fly, you sneak up on your prey, duck under the truck, disconect the shift linkage and slip it into neutral from under the truck.
Then you hook your tow truck up, tow it to a safe spot where no one is going to hassle you, then hook up your dollies, put on your tow lights, and head for the yard to drop it, and go get another one.
As long as he did it right, should be no damage.
Then you hook your tow truck up, tow it to a safe spot where no one is going to hassle you, then hook up your dollies, put on your tow lights, and head for the yard to drop it, and go get another one.
As long as he did it right, should be no damage.
05-15-2009, 03:31 AM
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According to my neighbor who witnessed it (it was 2:00am and my alarm was going off) - He said that my truck was being towed from the front and there were no dollies for the rear and that he was going like 1 mph, so I'm not sure what the problem was....
Is there anyway to verify he disconnected the linkage?
Is there anyway to verify he disconnected the linkage?
05-15-2009, 03:47 AM
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Did your neighbor witness the wheels turning or did the TT drag it down the street with the wheels locked? I would guess that there would be four skid marks leading down the street if he hadn't disconnected something....
05-15-2009, 03:53 AM
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It only takes 10 seconds tops to pull the linkage loose and slip the selector shaft into neutral.
There would be serious flat spots on your tires, and some black skid marks if he didn't.
There would be serious flat spots on your tires, and some black skid marks if he didn't.
05-15-2009, 04:03 AM
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One other thing, when I picked up the truck and I questioned the charge, the dispatcher said they had a hard time towing my truck since it was so heavy.
He said that when the first tow truck tried to move it, it was raising the front end off the ground of the tow truck, so they had to send another truck... Is that even possible? My truck weighs 8300lbs -
I'm thinking there is no way that they moved it while in gear, something would have broke....
Wish I would have caught them in the act, on second thought maybe not.......
He said that when the first tow truck tried to move it, it was raising the front end off the ground of the tow truck, so they had to send another truck... Is that even possible? My truck weighs 8300lbs -
I'm thinking there is no way that they moved it while in gear, something would have broke....
Wish I would have caught them in the act, on second thought maybe not.......
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05-15-2009, 04:27 AM
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One other thing, when I picked up the truck and I questioned the charge, the dispatcher said they had a hard time towing my truck since it was so heavy.
He said that when the first tow truck tried to move it, it was raising the front end off the ground of the tow truck, so they had to send another truck... Is that even possible? My truck weighs 8300lbs -
I'm thinking there is no way that they moved it while in gear, something would have broke....
Wish I would have caught them in the act, on second thought maybe not.......
He said that when the first tow truck tried to move it, it was raising the front end off the ground of the tow truck, so they had to send another truck... Is that even possible? My truck weighs 8300lbs -
I'm thinking there is no way that they moved it while in gear, something would have broke....
Wish I would have caught them in the act, on second thought maybe not.......
You have to remember, most of the weight of your truck is hanging over the front axle.
I'm sure they didn't harm your truck, they are required to carry a bond and damage insurance, and if someone files a damage claim, their rates go way up. Look under your truck today and I bet you see a shiny spot on the E-clip that holds your linkage in. And if they were in a big hurry, there will be a new E-clip on there, LOL
05-15-2009, 07:30 AM
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If the truck doesn't move when in park, it's probably OK.
I hope to never live in a place with a home owner's association. Rules are rules, but geez, it sounds like it would have been just as easy to knock on your door to remind you to park in the driveway than to call a wrecker...
I hope to never live in a place with a home owner's association. Rules are rules, but geez, it sounds like it would have been just as easy to knock on your door to remind you to park in the driveway than to call a wrecker...
05-15-2009, 08:37 AM
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I lived in a development where they had contract tow company for parking in the street and they paid these drivers double normal if they picked up a vehicle so there were very very agressive... They even towed a 69 Corvette because even though he was in his driveway the nose of his car was extending past the street side of the concrete gutter. The good news was he did not tow the corvette too far because he could not figure out how to drive over my superduty that was blocking him. I got in touch with the owner of the vette and he came out of his house and discussed the value of life with the driver (mostly his). The vette was placed back in the driveway and the tow driver went on to better (easier) pickings. I know the driver was doing his job but the "double rate" is good extra money and then stupidity creeps in and clouds the better judgement.
The vette was at the end of a street where no traffic passed. Not a safety issue at all.
The vette was at the end of a street where no traffic passed. Not a safety issue at all.
05-15-2009, 12:10 PM
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I have had my dually drug down my driveway by gravity when I didn't chock it right and was unloading a skid loader....the rear tires didn't leave very noticable marks for the 150 or so feet it skidded...and what little indication they did leave was gone in a matter of hours so on a busy road I would not expect to see a lot of drag indication. But that's just my opinion.
05-15-2009, 12:20 PM
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it just put alot of pressure on your park pawl, if park still works than it will be fine. You might want to check with local law enforcement about the bill, somewhere there is a governing body that controls rates and prices for impounds and maybe they can point you in the right direction.
05-22-2009, 11:50 PM
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First of all, did you receive what under the laws of California is called "Effective Notice". That is, were you handed a written notice to remove the vehicle from the street by a time certain or it would be subject to removal at your expense. If so, you were an idiot for not moving it. If not, the HOA is in violation of state law which requires such prior notification and, without doubt the HOA is in violation of its own CC&Rs. I would take them to small claims to get the tow and impound charges back at the very least.
An auto is not supposed to be towed with the drive wheels on the ground, even in neutral. I assume you routinely place it in Park when parked. These trucks don't weigh enough to lift the front of even a standard 1 ton tow truck off the ground. If I were you I would be operating off the assumption they dragged the truck either in park or while in-gear the 1st 1500 ft, or 1/4 mile+. That would account for the difficulty they had towing the truck the 1500 ft, as described by witnesses.
I would go see the company and without tipping my hand I would ask them what they did to tow it - why did their tow truck's front end go up in the air - then, "I have witnesses that say you never got into or under the truck, so how the hell did you get it out of PARK?? I would have someone's ***** over this.
How is the trans running?
An auto is not supposed to be towed with the drive wheels on the ground, even in neutral. I assume you routinely place it in Park when parked. These trucks don't weigh enough to lift the front of even a standard 1 ton tow truck off the ground. If I were you I would be operating off the assumption they dragged the truck either in park or while in-gear the 1st 1500 ft, or 1/4 mile+. That would account for the difficulty they had towing the truck the 1500 ft, as described by witnesses.
I would go see the company and without tipping my hand I would ask them what they did to tow it - why did their tow truck's front end go up in the air - then, "I have witnesses that say you never got into or under the truck, so how the hell did you get it out of PARK?? I would have someone's ***** over this.
How is the trans running?
05-23-2009, 01:52 AM
#14
First of all, did you receive what under the laws of California is called "Effective Notice". That is, were you handed a written notice to remove the vehicle from the street by a time certain or it would be subject to removal at your expense. If so, you were an idiot for not moving it. If not, the HOA is in violation of state law which requires such prior notification and, without doubt the HOA is in violation of its own CC&Rs. I would take them to small claims to get the tow and impound charges back at the very least.
An auto is not supposed to be towed with the drive wheels on the ground, even in neutral. I assume you routinely place it in Park when parked. These trucks don't weigh enough to lift the front of even a standard 1 ton tow truck off the ground. If I were you I would be operating off the assumption they dragged the truck either in park or while in-gear the 1st 1500 ft, or 1/4 mile+. That would account for the difficulty they had towing the truck the 1500 ft, as described by witnesses.
I would go see the company and without tipping my hand I would ask them what they did to tow it - why did their tow truck's front end go up in the air - then, "I have witnesses that say you never got into or under the truck, so how the hell did you get it out of PARK?? I would have someone's ***** over this.
How is the trans running?
An auto is not supposed to be towed with the drive wheels on the ground, even in neutral. I assume you routinely place it in Park when parked. These trucks don't weigh enough to lift the front of even a standard 1 ton tow truck off the ground. If I were you I would be operating off the assumption they dragged the truck either in park or while in-gear the 1st 1500 ft, or 1/4 mile+. That would account for the difficulty they had towing the truck the 1500 ft, as described by witnesses.
I would go see the company and without tipping my hand I would ask them what they did to tow it - why did their tow truck's front end go up in the air - then, "I have witnesses that say you never got into or under the truck, so how the hell did you get it out of PARK?? I would have someone's ***** over this.
How is the trans running?
