Towing disaster!!! The un-thinkable happened to me today!

Fortunately, it has a happy ending... But just barely. Another 100 yards and it would have been a nightmare!

Had to go pick up an O/T car that was about to get towed. Belongs to a friend of mine. So I hook up the tow-dolly and head out to his place.

We load it up, and as I'm sinching down the straps, one of them snaps!!! We thought about the situation for a minute, and decided [stupidly] that one strap would be sufficent to tow the car the 2 miles to it's new resting place.

Headed out of the neighborhood [driving extra slow], and as I rounded the last turn headed for the busy street, the one strap holding the car sliped out of the ratchet!

My heart skipped a beat! That was one hell of a sight in my rear-view mirror!!!!!

I was only going about 10 mph, but believe me, that was enough!!!!

I slammed the brakes thinking it would be best if the loose car hit me instead of anything else, but it was too late. The wheels were slightly turned, and it brushed past me [by inches] and passed us up heading straight into opposing traffic!

Fortunately, the one car comming at us saw what was happening and darted into a driveway. And the loose car bounced off a curb and came to a stop about 100 feet later. Other than a little curb rash on the white-wall, no damage. [thank God!!!!]

Talk about feeling stupid! Had it not come off when it did, our next turn would have been onto a very busy street, and it's quite likely the results would have been disasterous!!!!!!

We decided our best bet was to spend the $35 for a tow truck untill I could get some new straps!

The strap that snaped in 1/2 had a little frey in it... NOT a big rip or anything, just a little section with some loose threads... But both of them were several years old.

I'd rather look like an idiot and share this story with you guys than keep my mouth shut and let someone else get hurt, so learn from my lesson...

Check your straps, and replace them if they need it!!!!!!

 

Man, you must be living right. Glad things were not as bad as they could have been.


Got a brew yet? 'Cause that sure as hell called for one.

 

good thing it all turned out ok- one of the many reasons Im not a fan of tow dolly

 

Holy Shit sounds like somebody up there likes you. Glad nothing bad happened

 

Thank you for the heads-up!

 

Safety chains. My tow dolly had safety chains on it, that you would wrap around something solid (an a-arm or whatever was handy) so that if the straps did let loose the car would not get away.

Yours should have the same. Sure, nice new straps would be a good insurance policy, but don't put all of your faith in them.

 

Wow, you got lucky.

Might be time to think about plan B. You know those smaller 1 inch ratcheting straps? they're usually blue....you probably have a handful of them for hauling in your pickup. I carry mine everywhere the car trailer goes. Once or twice I've had issues with my normal 3" car-size straps and used 2 or 3 of the blue ones as safeties. They're not the greatest solution, but cheap & at hand & probably would've prevented this. Better luck next time.

Oh yeah, always use a safety chain too. Blue straps are not a replacement for a safety chain. Only a little more margin before you need it!

 

Glad it wasnt worse. In So Cal, a 100 people would have been killed in the crowded traffic.

 

It was one of those "out of body, scared shitless" moments, and I'm sure the eppisode will re-play itself in my mind for several years to come!

 

Yeah, safety chains are very important on tow dollies. My straps have slipped on more than one car I have been towing, especially wide tires or on long trips with alot of tight turns. The saftey chains are there to save your butt.

 

I hate tow dollys..will never use one, Thank god i have a trailer, and thank god it ended up ok..time to play the lottery man..use the licence plate numbers of your vehicle and the one that got away..good luck

 

$35 for a tow. You have got to be kidding me. You can't get a tow around the block around here for less than $60. Man, yeah, at those rates, I wouldn't have even thought twice about calling a tow truck.

 

And don't tow with one tiedown again! Sometimes when Shiite goes wrong you gotta stop and regroup.

I'm glad not much got damaged and nobody got hurt. Most of us have done a not-so-bright thing or two.

 

every one I've used has chains as well...

 

Whoa! Crazy story!!!

 

Or 3 or 4 or 5......

I'm not one to skip a safety step... But I guess the thought of a 2 mile trip @ 35 mph lulled me into a false sense of security.

No safety chains on this one..... But that's gonna change real fast!

I used this dolly to tow my '57 chevy cross country last spring, and I used it to tow my Lincoln towncar behind my RV this past summer on a 5000 mile cross country adventure...... I dont even want to think what could have happened back then.

 

AAA . FREE towing.

 

the maintenence manager at work hates it when i check our straps. he thinks i'm being nit-picky but deep down he knows i'm right. a small fray can turn to a big fray when you least expect it.

glad no one was hurt

later jim

 

Next time he gives you any shit, have him call me!!!!!

 

Yeah, right, except in Dec. 2007, when my truck had some battery/charging problems and then tossed the timing gear, they told when I called for a third tow within a 12 month period, that they would do it, but it would be my last tow and my policy would be canceled. And actually the first 2 calls weren't even a tow, just needed a jump. Result, $75 independent tow for about 5 miles and still have AAA which my wife insists on. And fortunately or not, never had to used AAA since.

So, it is not as free as you would think, plus you still have to pay for the policy each year. AAA is best left to emergencies as it is intended, which is exactly how I was using it, but I guess 3 emergencies in a year and you are gone, which I found out is not as hard to accomplish as you would think.

 

Always, always, always have the front strapped this way, whether it be on a tow dolly OR a car hauler, because the trailer straps can break in exactly the same manner!

 

Dude !! >>>>.

 

WHEW!
Man.. we all need a lesson like that once in a while. A LONG while!

YEARS ago I was steering in a car being towed, pulled with a tow-rope. I had to swerve to avoid another driver that came into my lane which had the wonderful effect of having the rope wrap around a front wheel.
That was "interesting".
As one tough guy I know would say, "I never even checked.. I just changed my pants".

Also saw a trailer pass the car that was towing it. Don't think the guy quite had the safety chains hooked up right.

Glad it turned out as well as it did.

 

but I guess 3 emergencies in a year and you are gone, which I found out is not as hard to accomplish as you would think.
*****************************************************************
Yeah...my insurance man lives in Merced, 6 miles away. When my pal gave me his '50 F1 pickup, I fashioned a good towbar out of a Volkswagen bar. Cut the forks off the back, welded some flat plate (5/16") tabs on the rear, and bolted them to an angle-iron crossmember drilled to bolt under the front frame horns of the F1. Hooked it up behind my '55 F100, and they looked like elephants. Towed it home on the frontage road, past ol' bud Johnny Parreira's strawberry stand, where Johnny was entertaining a fat CHP officer...He yells, "Hey Mikey, where'd ya get the new truck?" The 'Chippie' was real interested, but didn't give chase. Both trucks in primer, looked pretty neat. No problems, did 'homework'.

 

I know that feeling.... you feel so helpless when that stuff happens. one time towing a 52 ford back to my house through AZ my hood flew off, it was dark about 10 at night and we pulled up to a gas station to find the hood was off, turned around to find it, only to find it had landed in the street and a car blasted it and blew their tires out, Feeling scared but seeing they were all right I kept going. (I know Im probably an asshole) also the hood was destroyed. that's one of my little stories.

 

Wow! That $35.00 worth of towtruck work sure beats a lifetime of bad memories. Glad things worked out safely for you.

 

Thanks for the heads up - I wasn't paying attention in science class when they did the popcorn experiment. Good towing info from everyone, too.

 

I had a similar expieriance with my old tow dolly. I picked up a parts car at the police auction and went to get it. All 4 tires looked good so I loaded it and off i went. About a quarter mile from my driveway I hear this gutt wrenching sound and feel the truck start to shake. Looked in the rear view and the car was still there but much lower now. Got out for a look and found both, (dry rotted) front tires had leaked enough air to let the straps slip off, both of em at the same time!?! Those little safty chains really saved my ass that day. Now when I tow an unknown like that I put what I know to be good tires on it and the dolly now has a nice, big new safty chain on it too.

 

well, since other people have given their experiences, i wont feel like a total ass telling mine. (maybe just a little ass, something like what i get from the ole lady, every now and then, but that's another story all together!)
anyway, when i was 17, i was building a '53 ford gasser. i had put a straight axel on it, i couldn't weld overhead or vertical very well, so it was just tacked on.
i figured i would tow it over to a friends house and he would weld it up.
this is where it gets exciting.
i had my brother pull me in his '57 chevy wagen with a tow chain.
we only had to go down two streets, but these are major streets.
as we are going down the road, the light turns yellow, my brother just slams on the brakes!
now i only have front brakes on the axle (ya i know, real smart, considering it was only tacked).
the whole front axle and springs just folds under the car and it falls on it's side and just slides right by on the left of his wagen and stops right next to him in the left turn lane.
when the cops came, he asked me if this was one of those fuuny cars he had been hearing about.
paid about 50 bucks and had it towed by a professional to the shop.
it got welded up good, i crapped my paints, my brother laughed his ass off at me, the cops had a chuckle too. fun was had by all!!

 

Did I miss that issue of Rod & Custom in your avatar?