Impossible to recover a car?

[very_452001]

Maybe a daft beginner question however if a car has no tow hooks on it and there's no car keys to it then is it impossible to tow the car or winch it on a recovery truck or use a trailer for the car or whatever automotive recovery method available out there without causing any body/glass damage to the car?

With the car handbrake obviously still on will it cause damage to the car while it's being moved on its wheels, that's if it isn't impossible from above?

Finally is there anything on the market or security device that blocks/disables the tow hooks on a typical modern car?

[egor110]

You can get those sliding platforms that go under the wheels then you can move the car .

[AlasdairMc]

Jack it then put it on four wheeled positioning dollies would solve that problem surely?

[ging84]

how do you think they tow away illegally parked cars?
4 wheel lift on a flatbed truck

[Pica-Pica]

ging84 said:

how do you think they tow away illegally parked cars?
4 wheel lift on a flatbed truck

I think some people who detest ‘parking charge invoices’, would prefer to go back to clamping or this.

[Glasgowrob]

easily enough, either onto skates and haul it onto a wagon or somethign with restricted access they will get the equivilant of a large remote controlled car under it and lift with a footprint either similar or smaller to most cars, great thing to see in use in multistory carparks etc

[South tdf]

Been there, done that.

Aventador (4wd) stuck in gear, called the AA who sent someone to gently lift each corner, put each wheels on skids and towed onto the recovery truck without a towing eye too!

[red_slr]

ging84 said:

how do you think they tow away illegally parked cars?
4 wheel lift on a flatbed truck

I know lets operate a HIAB directly under power lines.... WTF..

[Chris32345]

red_slr said:

I know lets operate a HIAB directly under power lines.... WTF..

Power lines look to be in the background for a team/train line rather on the road

[Pica-Pica]

Chris32345 said:

red_slr said:

I know lets operate a HIAB directly under power lines.... WTF..

Power lines look to be in the background for a team/train line rather on the road

Yup. They are support lines, not power lines.

[egor110]

What's most interesting about the thread is why he wants to know if there's anything you can buy to block the towing hook access points.

Almost as if he doesn't want a car removed .

[Phunk]

Not sure if they still have it, but a local firm has one of these side loading recovery trucks: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seifracing/460437840...

[Rozzers]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&amp...

Seen this used in car parks.

[lukeharding]

worst comes to worst they'll put some slippery jims under the tyres and drag it on with a set of brothers from underneath. There is always a way to recover a car, and recovery men are a resourceful lot who don't like to be beaten (unless they work for the big clubs )

[Second Best]

Couple of friends of mine, for a laugh, shifted another buddy's car by bumping it onto McDonalds trays (like you'd use if you were trying to drift your Saxo in the early 2000s, except they trayed all four wheels) and then sticking a rope around the front wheels and sliding it on the trays.

No damage done at all, the car was a scrapper anyway and the joke was just to move it further away from where we were staying so he'd have a longer walk when hungover to go and retrieve the stuff out of the car before it was picked up by the scrap company.

[red_slr]

Chris32345 said:

red_slr said:

I know lets operate a HIAB directly under power lines.... WTF..

Power lines look to be in the background for a team/train line rather on the road

Oh yeah good point.

[irocfan]

Pica-Pica said:

Chris32345 said:

red_slr said:

I know lets operate a HIAB directly under power lines.... WTF..

Power lines look to be in the background for a team/train line rather on the road

Yup. They are support lines, not power lines.

they're trolley-bus lines - I think I'm right in saying that this pic is from Russia

[G600]

I've seen a tow company repeatedly remove cars by hooking onto anything they could find underneath and dragging them onto a flatbed, handbrake and in gear or not. So I don't think covering the towing eye will stop anything.

[bimsb6]

egor110 said:

What's most interesting about the thread is why he wants to know if there's anything you can buy to block the towing hook access points.

Almost as if he doesn't want a car removed .

School project ?

[DickyC]

G600 said:

I've seen a tow company repeatedly remove cars by hooking onto anything they could find underneath and dragging them onto a flatbed, handbrake and in gear or not. So I don't think covering the towing eye will stop anything.

As above. The last couple of years before my retirement I spent moving and recovering cars. As a recovery driver you do not win prizes from customers by saying the job is too difficult. Unless there are strict instructions to abandon the job if it is likely to cause damage, you are sent to retrieve a car, you get it in the truck and take it to where it has to go. Only twice did I have to winch a car on board with its wheels locked - both automatics stuck in Drive with no trip. Having said that, the car moves a lot more easily than you might think. All done with 12 volts.