...how the hell do you handle roadside assistance as in towing or anything like that when your car is broke down? I used to have a dodge avenger lowered 2" w/o a body kit. I would have to take the front bumper off to have it put on a flat bed. I once had a flat tire on it and couldnt even get a jack anywhere under the car.

I now have an eclipse that is stock bodied with a 97-99 front bumper with a 1" drop and had it towed recently and had a hell of a time with that. i hate watching a vehicle get pulled onto a flatbed as the bumper scrapes! I actually pulled out my video camera and recorded the whole thing in case something got wrecked by them...

So if im having such a hard time with my stock bodied cars, im just curious what it is all you people with body kits do when something happens alongside the road...

Originally posted by Babbz413
...how the hell do you handle roadside assistance as in towing or anything like that when your car is broke down? I used to have a dodge avenger lowered 2" w/o a body kit. I would have to take the front bumper off to have it put on a flat bed. I once had a flat tire on it and couldnt even get a jack anywhere under the car. I now have an eclipse that is stock bodied with a 97-99 front bumper with a 1" drop and had it towed recently and had a hell of a time with that. i hate watching a vehicle get pulled onto a flatbed as the bumper scrapes! I actually pulled out my video camera and recorded the whole thing in case something got wrecked by them... So if im having such a hard time with my stock bodied cars, im just curious what it is all you people with body kits do when something happens alongside the road...

Flat bed trucks should always have 4x2 wood planks to use to extend the ramp onto the bed to prevent from scraping.

You should make a claim against the trucking company if they scratched up your shit, they are supposed to have this stuff to prevent it...I have done this numberous times where towing companies have cracked/chipped my fiberglass front bumper, and every time, I get some money from them :)

Ive always been lucky and been able to limp my car home or fix it myself without the help of towing...

I dont do body kits cause i like the stock 97-99 body to much to touch it.. so i just drop it and go, which the stock bumpers can take alot before cracking.. i know this.. lol

Originally posted by misfitz
Ive always been lucky and been able to limp my car home or fix it myself without the help of towing... I dont do body kits cause i like the stock 97-99 body to much to touch it.. so i just drop it and go, which the stock bumpers can take alot before cracking.. i know this.. lol

Why did you bother with a reply if you cant help answer his question?

You have no experience with a tow, but im sure he will appreciate the info on how much abuse the OE bumper can take :thumbsdown

I had to have my 1g towed home once, It was lowered about 2". I had to manually lift the front bumper and I/C to keep them from scraping the flatbed on the way up. The best thing I can tell you is to gently lift the urethane, if possible, when loading.

EVERY time I had to tow my car, I had to remove the front bumper. Even than, the lower "north/south" bar would hang up on the flat bed. Also, just like Mike mentioned, every time I had it towed, the driver had wood planks to lessen the slope angle.

To make it easier for me to remove the front bumper, I removed the bolts that anchor it to the fender and used zip-ties. So I could cut them when I needed to take the bumper off and kept a pack in the trunk.

Originally posted by PsychO
To make it easier for me to remove the front bumper, I removed the bolts that anchor it to the fender and used zip-ties. So I could cut them when I needed to take the bumper off and kept a pack in the trunk.

I'm actually going to put Dzus fasteners in that spot to make for quick removal when I get mine put back together.

I have yet to get my car on a trailer without damaging the bumper (usually my fault)

Originally posted by Babbz413
...how the hell do you handle roadside assistance as in towing or anything like that when your car is broke down? I used to have a dodge avenger lowered 2" w/o a body kit. I would have to take the front bumper off to have it put on a flat bed. I once had a flat tire on it and couldnt even get a jack anywhere under the car. I now have an eclipse that is stock bodied with a 97-99 front bumper with a 1" drop and had it towed recently and had a hell of a time with that. i hate watching a vehicle get pulled onto a flatbed as the bumper scrapes! I actually pulled out my video camera and recorded the whole thing in case something got wrecked by them... So if im having such a hard time with my stock bodied cars, im just curious what it is all you people with body kits do when something happens alongside the road...

Never been towed on a flat bed but mine was towed by a dolly. This is what the local shop used, plus the 4x2 board Mike mentioned.

As for the Jack thing, buy a Low profile 2 ton jack from Summitracing. Its pricey but it worth 180, or Walmart also has a 2 1/2 ton GM performance Low profile w/ led light, 3 types of sized sockets, comes with molded case all for 50 bucks.

These are good for raising the sides, the reg. 2ton non low profile jacks are useless.

I bought the one from Walmart to save me a few bills but I would rather own the Summit jack.

here's their web link

www.summitracing.com

When i have to do something to my car i have to lift it myself and try to kick the jack under it. the only place a jack will fit is in front on the front brace, forget the sides my fist wont even fit. the key is to drive around speed bumps, i always scrap.

whenever i had a problem which called for a tow. i would remove my front bumper as my car is lowered and kitted. a big reason for me wanting to return my car back to stock. not having to worry about scraping going over or up something.

there is a hole in my front bumper big enough for me to put my fist in!

gah, idk how many times my car has been towed. All kinds of weather, all kindas of places, with all kindas of tow trucks and handlers. Never had a problem though. They usually always have the flat bed with some boards. and i always supervise the loading. My front ends about 3-4 inches off the ground. Never had it scrape or break, but then again its not pretty to begin with. Big thing i do is just let the guy know it doesn't matter too much. Just do your job and if it looks like there might be a problem i'll let you know and we work it out. I do have to worry about them tearing the fron bumper off because they have to anchor the tow cable sooooo far back on the front suspension works to pull it up on the flat bed.

+1 on how much the OE bumpers can take. Even with mine cranked from the previous owner it hasn't given me any grief when loading the car up.

+1 on the tow dolly. You can rent them ay u-haul cheap.

Tow truck drivers should know how to handle towing sports cars. But as a backup plan I carry the tools to take my front bumper off if needed. Now the jack thing I have a skinny jack, just a cheap walmart jack really and I just turn my wheels and get it under something sturdy and then throw a jack stand under it. My front bumper and side skirts sit 4 1/2 inches off the ground.

I remember my alternator cable literally snapped off the alternator and was stuck in a empty parking lot at 1 a.m. Had to go through three tow trucks until they finally got a flat bed who would take me and a friend home. Scraped the crap out of my front bumper when putting it on the tow truck but it was in shitty condition anyway (95 stock bumper). So after he heard the scrape and looked at me like "oh shit my bad" i just gave him the okay since it was 3 a.m. and I just wanted to sleep.

I can't comment on the original question since I've never had that issue (stock 4x4 status here), but I DO have experience with jacking up VERY low cars. Just a tidbit for you since someone else mentioned it; I find it easiest to back the car onto ramps then use a regular jack to get the front up since the ramps increase the clearance up front. Of course, if you're extremely low, you have to do this on a sloped driveway and back UP the driveway so you don't scrape the bumper.

when i tow dolly my car from road island i had to jack the car up then back the dolly under it. when i rolled it off the bumper ripped off. it was a bitch the whole time. the one time that i had a flat bed come pick it up the scratched the shit out of my front end but my main concern was what they attached the chain to.

Also, you should find a low profile jack (preferably light weight too) to replace the stocker. I once had a flat when I had sportlines and the OEM 14s. This resulted in about 3 inches of clearance between the ground and the frame. So I drove up on to one of my textbooks and put the jack in the wheel well area.

Originally posted by ez
So I drove up on to one of my textbooks and put the jack in the wheel well area.

Awesome! I used a stack of MCIs one time to get enough room to get a jack under my RS :p

guess i'm glad the girl never broke down on me after the deer incident years ago :)



later

Nice looking ride. That thing is slammed dude!

18's with sportline suspension...kitted with rmdsm front lip...it was pretty :)

later

Originally posted by CODE4

Originally posted by ez So I drove up on to one of my textbooks and put the jack in the wheel well area.

Awesome! I used a stack of MCIs one time to get enough room to get a jack under my RS :p

LOL I once owned a 240sx that sat a little higher than my 2g and I had to have a little help once the intercooler piping came off the intercooler..(Shitty coupler and clamp) Anyway we backed over a 2x4 then 2 of my text books to put it back on...Great days. I swear it was like :wallbash

You should try a low rise jack, a racing jack its lower than a regular jack. My cars lowered and thats what i use works perfect. As far as the towing i tell them to send me a flat bed and bring boards. You break it u buy it lol

I had to get my car towed once and it was not an easy task. My driver's side control arm locking nut broke off causing my left axle to snap. The front left fender was touching the tire. To make matters worse I had a front body kit. It took two tow attempts to get it towed. I had to remove my front bumper in 25 degree weather, jacked it from the side with a normal hydraulic jack so the tow company could get their jack under the front and load it on a flat bed. It was a pain, but I would definitely recommend a low profile jack.