flat bed tow truck and low ride height

[wareaglescott]

As I am close to embarking on actual driving of my Cobra I was thinking about something. I imagine at some point I may find myself on the side of the road in need of a tow. I know with the low ride height it is close on clearance getting onto my 4 post lift ramps and also getting into a trailer can be close.

If you break down and need a flat bed to pick you up is there an issue being able to get the Cobra on it without doing any body damage or scraping anything on the undercarriage?

[John4337]

Mine had to be towed recently, no problem. I told AAA that I needed a flat bed for a low sports car, and the driver had some ramps.

John

[JIMOCO]

20150721_082551.jpg

There is no problem with a roll back. Here is mine on the way to inspection. Frame is 4.5" from the ground. The guy lowered the bed onto a couple of 2x8's. I did not have a clearance problem with the body either scraping the hooks or scraping the bed. I did this twice with no issues.

[CDXXVII]

I was wondering the same thing with towing. Flat bed for certain but the other question I have is where do they hook up to pull the roadster onto the flat bed?
Seems like the hooks in front of the roadster 4" frame does not clear the front of the body in a straight line and the quick jacks do not seem to be a good placed to attach.

Mine had to be towed recently, no problem. I told AAA that I needed a flat bed for a low sports car, and the driver had some ramps.

John

[Topfuelhydro]

Unfortunately just had to experience this. Standard rollback worked fine. Just couldn't use cable to pull up onto ramp with tow hooks because cable rubbed on bottom of fiberglass under oil cooler. We pushed it on the bed until the front tires were about 5' up and the tow hooks and cable fit fine.

[rich grsc]

I'm glad I don't have such a lack of faith in my building ability.

[JBurer]

I've had my lowered cars scrape in the past, particularly with inexperienced drivers and conventional flat beds. If you can use a hill, loading the car up an incline, that helps.

Not all flatbeds are created equal... the rollback variety discussed here are a must. It was the difference between a battered front lip and scraped oil pan and an incident-free experience.

[wareaglescott]

I'm glad I don't have such a lack of faith in my building ability.

Uh oh now you have tempted fate....expect a breakdown in the next month! Haha

[KDubU]

Had mine on a flatbed this weekend due to a clutch issue. The lady driver knew exactly what to do and I had stopped on a partial downward slope so that helped. As noted, watch out for the chains as they can rub under the oil cooler opening. We wrapped the chains in cloth first and no marks. Watch to make sure your pipes don't touch but they shouldn't. The rear jacks were my problem as I have the ********** ones which are larger. To avoid those scrapping, the driver had a couple blocks of wood made like ramps that she placed under the rear tires to get the backend up another 3-4" and it worked fine. Take it slow.

[wareaglescott]

Had mine on a flatbed this weekend due to a clutch issue. The lady driver knew exactly what to do and I had stopped on a partial downward slope so that helped. As noted, watch out for the chains as they can rub under the oil cooler opening. We wrapped the chains in cloth first and no marks. Watch to make sure your pipes don't touch but they shouldn't. The rear jacks were my problem as I have the ********** ones which are larger. To avoid those scrapping, the driver had a couple blocks of wood made like ramps that she placed under the rear tires to get the backend up another 3-4" and it worked fine. Take it slow.

Thanks for the advice. Your post about your clutch on the other forum was what prompted me to post this. Hope you get that worked out quickly. I will be following that thread as well.
Hopefully I won't ever need it but I always like to be prepared and know what to expect.

[johnnybgoode]

I keep a 3" 12' tow strap in my trunk for this purpose. Loop the strap around the front 4" cross member and then have the flatbed driver attach his hook to the two ends of the strap (strap has loops on both ends). As the car comes up the ramp keep your foot on the straps to keep them off the body under the oil cooler. The soft strap won't damage either your frame or body. If you want some extra insurance, you can also wrap a towel around around it. Scott

[AC Bill]

You really should warn the tow company about the low clearance issue, when you call them. Most experienced drivers will know what extras they may need to bring, IE planks, ramps. etc., (if they don't already have something on board). If you don't, they may arrive unprepared, and have to drive back to the yard to get what they need, while you sit and twiddle your thumbs.