Tow a car with the wheel lift - How I double with a flatbed tow truck

In this video I fulfil a request and make a video about how I run doubles with my flat bed tow truck.
#towtruck #towing #wrecker

[@phillewis3921]

Good video. My truck is different from yours. I have spoons instead of bars. The only think I had problem getting used to is backing up the truck to meet the vehicle. I was always to far one way or another since you can't see the wheel lift or the vehicle when your in the truck. I do accidents on the highway alot so there's not alot of time to adjust the vehicle. I use my safety chains sometimes to pull the vehicle straight. Because you usually only have a little space to do it. The only thing I would add to your video is that some vehicles can't go on the wheel lift. BMWs, Mercedes Benz, Audi. Volkswagen you have to be careful for the point of the wheel lift and their oil pans. Obviously these days you have to be careful of electric vehicles and all wheel drive vehicles. Some vehicles won't let you take the electric parking brake off. So they have to go on the plate. Stay safe.

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

Those are good points to make about the low pans and such. Thanks for adding that. What I would suggest as far as meeting the car without having to adjust is consider that your boom sits center. I usually pop each slider arm out to the first notch because it fits the wheel base on most sedans… After that, if you look back using the center anchor port of your bed (where you would put chains or snatch block, whatever) and line that with the center of the hood when backing up, you should usually hit it dead to nuts. After that you should only have to make a small adjustment to the sliders.

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

Someone requested that I make a video about how I run two cars at the same time with my wheel lift. So here goes. Thanks for watching.

[@crazyredneck2183]

Big pink tow truck, just stumbled across your videos and awesome job at explaining everything don’t find many that does it. I’m just starting out and always looking to learn more. Question how do you strap your car to the bed 4 point is what I was told . And also how do you load a lower car upon the bed? Again thank you for the great videos keep up good work

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

@@crazyredneck2183 4/8 point tie down is a standard and the law. You can do it in a variety of ways and I display it in a variety of ways in my other videos. So be sure to check them out. As far as the second part of your question I’m not sure I understand.

[@juanchovaladez4588]

I'm new to Towing, really appreciate this video

[@DavidRivera-in5fn]

Uññññdl$

[@connoisseuroftigolbitts]

Thank you Tow brother Edit: some companies just don’t care if you’re trained or not 🤷‍♂️

[@tfmobilewash840]

Best video so far thanks. About to start my training tomorrow and this video gave me a lot to star up.

[@luxurycaddy8861]

awesome videos for beginners love the video content keep it up man !

[@MrRobertMMeyers]

Thank you so much, I was shower once and just watched…. So I didn’t learn crap.. thank you so much for walking me through it.

[@jonahkasiborski1472]

Respect trucks for the hard work they do!

[@viperscratchoffs]

Good stuff 👍👍 looking forward to the next one have a great night 🙋👻

[@timothymachira750]

Thank you so much-needed tutorial sir. God bless you.

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

go forward in great success, my friend.

[@FishingPerro916]

Thank you for this video, you know how to explain things very thoroughly

[@rdstobbart]

Nice clean job 👌

[@redman740]

Great job.

[@haiderk3246]

Good job 👍👍

[@basimabumallouh8653]

You are great bro

[@jayr0cc7]

Great video 🙏🏼

[@jackielee5815]

This very interested about man show every thing about flatbed tow and car too.that is good to learn.

[@FATIMAMOHDLAWAL]

My favorite chanel !)

[@SonyPSP1001]

Nice work

[@jacksami777]

Thank you so much for the training video Sir! Any help in how to find costumers please, I’m new to this and living in San Diego area

[@user-zt1eh5jt2s]

Nice job. Thank you ….

[@maherrashid7992]

Thx for the info

[@quadricweddington2869]

Thanks much appreciated

[@realnewstv206]

Good job.

[@arsalanmasoumi1661]

Good job bro

[@johnmoore342]

Also… I use a bungee cord on safety chains draped over the stinger to each other , ..but I also tow in California and the chain can’t even touch the ground on turns (damn wildfires) . +side more slack sharper turns

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

Yeah I know lots of guys like to use the bungee everywhere, I was never shown that so it’s not something I do. Not wrong, just not how I was shown.

[@derick_401]

Good job my only observation is that you need to replace those wheel straps once they fray past the black line they need to be replaced and it could cause you an issue if you get inspected at least in my state DOT will get you for it.

[@mikeasahi3960]

Thank you❤

[@carles243]

Thank you sr

[@gideonrubina5188]

Thank you

[@sialex4207]

Great how to video, but I didn’t hear anything about the distance between vehicle and bed. But everything else I heard is super helpful to me.

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

I think in the video I said how I extend the stinger all the way out and then bring it in about a foot. That’s my usual distance.

[@robertpurcell7862]

I find if I can walk through between car and tray with arm's down at side about 1 n half ft is plenty of room just don't jack knife reversing give it a go it will even ride better

[@Papi3182]

Thanks

[@markstowingroadsideservice]

Nice job. Never seen anyone use wheel lift straps like that. Works for you, great. I like the V method. Just looks like uneven pressure on the tire. Oregon does not require lights while loaded. You get laughed at here. If you are a hazard going down the road you can. Unless it's a heavy sometimes.

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

Yeah that’s the way I was trained with the straps and it’s always worked so I stuck with it. A majority of the guys I know use the V method though. Nothing wrong with it as long as it safe. That’s what I always say.

[@andrewmalvar4616]

Hi can you make a video of how to hook up a car and a truck on the bed and is there a school that I can learn how to tow

[@allyally8386]

Yes

[@TheMr.George]

The guy that trained me put the L arms on in the air and extend out his arms for width then lower the boom and drive over them and turn the wheel to the left and right. Lift the car, strap down the wheels and then lower to hood level.

[@highball7347]

Why isn’t it like the repo lifts? Seems like grabbing it and automatically scooping the front wheels would be faster and better that all that manual adjustment.

[@6.5L-tow-truck]

When you have two heavier vehicles hooked up does the front end get light on those trucks

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

There’s the possibility of some sway, so it’s important to have proper weight distribution. The top vehicle should have the engine near the cab and the position so that it’s more over the axle and then it is on the tail. The vehicle in tow acts like a trailer so the heavier it is the more sway the trailer will have .

[@briansullivan.1341]

what kind of bed is on your truck?

[@kenny4952]

My l arm have has riggeds all through totally different than what I’m use to I never seen a video with the different l arms

[@albertofabian4563]

God bless

[@2way]

can u make video on ball joint broken nd do with wheel lift bcoz i broke the oil pan of crysler car

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

heres a video where the broken ball joint concept applies: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpuwapuZnphrnsk

[@richie8043]

Hey brother just to let you that the front wheel can be damaging your strap the rim can slice right through the strap. Be safe. tow4life

[@DTL-GilbertVillarreal]

What's the right distance between the towed vehicle and bed of the truck?

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

like in the video i usually try to come back in about a foot or so with the wheel lift arm. as long as you dont go past 90 degrees on a turn, you should be fine. just make sure to check your heights when you are about to roll out.

[@YouKnowKetchup]

Can you also just ur the back car in neutral

[@nicknight9846]

Do you use tow/haul mode when running 2 cars ?

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

The rule we always went by was to use it on city streets at speeds under 35-40 miles per hour.

[@twobrotherstowingllc3448]

I would of tied the steering wheel if with seat belt besides that everything was 👍 good video

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

Not really necessary since you put it in park, take the key out and lock the wheel. And the stinger swivels on an axis so the fronts would never turn anyways, but it it works for you then cool.

[@azahelresendiz]

Everything looks great, the only thing I don’t agree driving down the road with emergency lights, in my opinion those lights only true because I should be juice or when you’re loading and unloading

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

Like I said in the video, in a lot of places it’s the law when you’re towing on the wheel lift, even with a traditional non flat bed wrecker. Check with your states DOT laws to see if it’s the case where you live and operate.

[@deereman2607]

@@Bigpinktowtruck what state are you in? In Illinois, they will ticket you for driving with your ligthbar/strobes on. Guys still do it but either haven't been messed with or don't care. Guys will drive with them on unloaded all day by me. Im in Indiana right at the state line. Indiana doesn't require it. Some guys use them, some don't. In my opinion, unless your state requires it, or you have like a wreck hanging off the truck, the lights should be off because people behind rollbacks are not able to see the lights, so you're not warning them, you're warning people driving at you about nothing. And then when you are on the side of the road or at an accident, people disregard the amber lights because they are over used. If you use tag lights, its no different than having a trailer behind a vehicle with lights on it.

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

@@deereman2607 Ohio. And I agree, the guys who run their lights when it’s not needed are aggravating. I only do it with doubles, which I’ve been told is standard DOT law in Ohio when operating a wheel lift. Lights and tow mate or attached signal lights. There are actually studies that show people are attracted to the amber lights and will sometimes become hypnosis to them making them drive towards them. It’s a real double edged sword.

[@deereman2607]

@@Bigpinktowtruck it is dumb that there's not a federal law for lighting standards and it is up to each state. I know it is illegal in Michigan even with doubles because one of our drivers got stopped for running with them on and he had doubles. One state only allows amber, some allow amber and blue, some allow red and blue. there should be a federal standard. Same with every other emergency vehicle. Their lights should be a federal standard. In the state of Indiana, red is only legal to the rear, but many guys are starting to put them on the whole truck including us for use on accidents/winchouts/etc because people pay more attention to the red than the amber.

[@bobcat1]

I stopped running my lights after a elderly lady slammed on brakes in front of me because she panic thinking it was a emergency vehicle.

[@darrenmorrison-up6uf]

I’ve never run straps through rims ever they mark so easy

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

With these more expensive straps that are a polyester/nylon blend they are really soft and forgiving. I wouldn’t use them on brand new Porsche rims or anything, that’s why I keep pool noodles on the truck, but unless your straps are made of diamonds or sandpaper they aren’t going to damage anything

[@juanchovaladez4588]

What's the longest distance you would tow with the wheel lift?

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

As Long as you like. Towing a car on the wheel lift is no different than the car driving itself as far as the rear wheels are concerned. They would be flowing freely if driving the same way as they are being pulled by the wheel lift. Not a bad idea to stop every once in a while if going a major distance, just to make sure you don’t catch a flat or something.

[@sharlene6539]

I’ve been towing for 8 years- never used the wheel lift. So- I notice you didn’t put the car in neutral. Is that optional when you’re towing a vehicle that runs? Thanks

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

You would never run a car in neutral on the wheel lift. You’ll burn out the trans. The car I had on there was front whee drive. I would never put it into neutral because that would make the front wheels in free roll and you want them locked in the carriage. If it were a rear wheel drive, you’d have to tow it backwards and lock the steering wheel in place. (The front wheels would be in free roll, not neutral) There’s a variety of ways to do that. Heavy trucks you can tow from the front after dropping the drive draft. And you see that sometimes. I’m talking like uhaul size and what not. All wheel drive cars can not be towed on the wheel lift. (You’ll see them being flat towed behind an RV, but that requires going through the manufacturers procedures and it’s usually too much for regular towing to a repair shop.)

[@sharlene6539]

@@Bigpinktowtruck Thanks for your response. Awesome! I’m glad I looked at your video. I have a rollback truck, but I have never pulled 2 cars. Now that I have a new truck, I want to know the proper way to hook a 2nd vehicle. Also- what do I look for to determine front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, and all wheel drive ( can only be loaded on flatbed)?

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

@@sharlene6539 If you are ever unsure just look underneath for the transmission placement. Most trucks and SUV's will either be rear or all wheel drive. They will also have the AWD badge on the back end. Most cheaper sedans are front wheel drive these days. teslas can never ever ever be wheel lifted and must be flat bedded. a quick search for "is the 2020 nissan rogue front wheel drive" on google says: All models come with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) regardless of trim; front-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is optional So if unsure what model you have, just look to see if the transmission is place in front or back. Typically if you look at the back end suspension and only see a bar or control arms or whatever and no big silver box, its front wheel drive

[@griffinridgeway4751]

Do you have to have a cdl to have a car on the bed and on the lift?

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

no you do not. the gross vehilce weight on the bed is considered seperate from what you are towing on the tail. the truck and car combo cant exceed 20k lbs. the car on the back would be treated as a trailer or something else being hauled in tandem.

[@robertpurcell7862]

If you have problems pulling in your wheelift just put the tyres lightly and pull into the truck not to close takes weight of the stinger out so far give it a go

[@robertpurcell7862]

Lightly on ground I ment to say

[@marcuswhite1403]

How would you hook up to tow an awd vehicle on the wheel lift?

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

That’s some thing that you should never ever ever ever do. And no manufacturer is going to recommend that you do that. The only real way that you can do it is by using dollies on the rear, and that is for in town tows only as most dollies are not made to go over a certain speed for long or be used on the highway for more than a few miles at a lower speed

[@VitoVeccia]

​@@BigpinktowtruckI hate to be "that guy" but.....the old subaru's had a FWD fuse. You installed the fuse, a light came on the dash, and you could tow the car. With the fuse installed, it disabled the AWD, making it FWD for towing purposes. Pretty neat if you ask me. And you could drive it that way too.

[@teamwork84]

Hey I have a question. Will dealership or car lots let you transport cars on the wheel lift

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

I do for certain dealerships. They usually don’t have a problem as long as you don’t damage them. Plenty of companies where lift things in that break down, and I do a lot of transfers where I run doubles as well.

[@teamwork84]

@@Bigpinktowtruck thanku you so much!!!! I'm in the process of getting a rollback. I do hotshot. I have a dually with a two car trailer. I figured I can make more money with a rollback because I can tow also.

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

@@teamwork84 yeah thats a toss up. when buying your rollback consider the costs of insurance, maintenance, equipment etc... a common light duty rollback thats fully outfitted can cost an upwards of 200k when its all said and done. Depending on the payouts for hotshot stuff and the distances you gotta go, it may be more profitable than trying to tow on the side. I know some guys who do it and love it, and others are struggling.

[@teamwork84]

@@Bigpinktowtruck so from your experience I should stick to my two car trailer

[@bobcat1]

@@teamwork84 Yes stick with a trailer. You could even get a power tilt trailer. I had 3 rollbacks and now have trailers. Way more cheaper to operate.

[@freddiecauseyii9419]

I am curious did you buy your rollback use or new?

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

The way i understand it: The boss buys one new truck every year just about and phases out the oldest one. Sometimes he’s been known to get used if the deal is right.

[@freddiecauseyii9419]

@@Bigpinktowtruck O okay. Does what you carrying on top of the flatbed affect the weight you can put on the wheel lift?

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

@@freddiecauseyii9419 no not as far as i know. the vehicle that is secured to the bed becomes part of the trucks weight and the wheel lift runs independent of that. Just make sure you never exceed the weight limits for either one. If I remember correctly, according to the DOT: For the rollback/flat bed you never want to exceed 11 thousand pounds. I think (not certain) that the wheel lift has a max of 3500 pounds. Someone else might be willing to chime in on that.

[@freddiecauseyii9419]

@@Bigpinktowtruck O ok. Thanks for the information.

[@towtruckaj]

@@Bigpinktowtruck It depends on the truck weight and rating, my truck will be rated for more than yours but will also be a lot heavier so I can tow different amounts. The wheel lift and bed are both attached to the same subframe so physically if you way overload either or to the point of failure that failure may or may not affect the other components depending on where the failure was. Aside from that your bed and wheel lift both have individual ratings that run separately from your legal weight rating. Legally I can haul somewhere around 7k but the bed is rated for 12k, wheel lift is rated for I believe 4k extended, But if I maxed both out I'd be at 16k which is way over my legal weight limit, But you could have my same bed and wheel lift setup on a 33k truck instead of a 26k truck and I'd be good for 14k which gets me a lot closer to both limits together. So it really just depends on what your truck is rated for, what it weighs, etc.

[@jvera828]

So what happens if you have to tow someone and the parking brakes are on and you can't get in the car? Couldn't find anything on the interweb.

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

Depends on the vehicle, but with the tools I have, I can get inside of about 95% of cars. As far as the parking brake goes if it’s electronic and you cannot get power to the car, then you are going to have to use dollies if you’re pulling it from behind

[@jvera828]

@@Bigpinktowtruck Sorry, I was referring to towing illegally parked cars.

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

@@jvera828 even when we do private property in pounds and such, we are allowed to get into the vehicle if necessary. Every operator should have a good lockout kit. If you are doing illegally parked cars and it’s a tow-away zone issue then you would want to use skates and a flatbed and not do doubles because towing doubles takes way too long for that kind of thing. Plus a lot of cars. These days are all wheel drive and it’s just a whole heck of a lot easier to use a flatbed for that because you can’t flat tow an all wheel drive anyway without causing damage If you were in a regular wrecker and trying to tow a car whose parking brake was on and you had no power, you would still need to use dollies so you would want some kind of quick dolly system to be able to get out of there, also applicable to an all wheel drive or rear wheel drive vehicle

[@kdmehar9711]

How can I come to your country? I am already doing this business in Saudi Arabia.

[@gmikehill15]

Hello! Does the car have to be in neutral? Or is it fine being turned off while transporting it?

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

Never ever ever transport a rear wheel drive car on the stinger unless it’s on dollies. Transporting in neutral will catch the transmission on fire.

[@gmikehill15]

@@Bigpinktowtruck Understood. What if you do not have dollies?

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

@@gmikehill15 thats why the tow truck gods created flatbeds my friend. ;)

[@gmikehill15]

@@Bigpinktowtruck I know lol but you can double tow with a flat bed & wheel lift

[@Bigpinktowtruck]

@@gmikehill15 if you don’t have dollies, you can tow a rear wheel drive car backwards. You just need to make sure that you have the steering wheel locked straight in place. Somehow a lot of drivers will use the seatbelt some use the club lol yes those still exist. But with the front wheels, not having a driveshaft or transmission, you can tow the vehicle backwards. You would mainly see this with a pick up truck not really recommended for sedans.

[@poostang712]

good video for the beginner. but like I always say you're only as smart as your teacher, who should have told you to take your dirty work gloves off before you get into the customers vehicle.

[@johnmoore342]

Bro grease your wheel lift…may be just the color, but looks rusted

[@dipsetn]

always remove dirty gloves when entering someone's car

[@svtzeater]

Or touching it.

[@deereman2607]

disagree with that statement. Some cars are filthy, or you dont know what the person who's car you are towing touched.

[@slowmotion7147]

F550 with a 19,500 lbs gvwr with two cars? I guarantee your overweight

[@pri0r_t0_a_weekago...fukwi48]

I guarantee he is not…. Open your eyes next time on the freeway YOULL SEE IT ALL DAY LONG

[@petervigil7886]

Not in Colorado