Flatbed or tow? How your vehicle should be recovered

There are two main ways to move a vehicle that can’t drive itself: carry it on a flatbed truck, or lift one end and tow it on its other two wheels. Towing is quick to hook up, but for many modern vehicles it’s the wrong choice, and it can cause expensive damage.

The two methods

• Flatbed (or slide bed): the truck’s bed tilts or slides down, the vehicle is winched or driven on, and it travels with all four wheels off the road, strapped down at each wheel.
• Suspended tow: a lifting frame raises one end of the vehicle, usually the front, and the other two wheels roll along the road behind the truck.

Automatic gearboxes

Many automatic gearboxes are lubricated by a pump driven by the engine. When the engine is off but the driven wheels are turning, parts of the gearbox spin without proper lubrication. A short, slow tow might be allowed by the handbook, but anything more risks damaging the gearbox. On a flatbed, the problem never arises.

Four-wheel and all-wheel drive

On a four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle, every wheel is connected to the drivetrain. Lift one end and tow it, and the wheels still on the road turn parts of the transmission that expect the others to be turning too. Most manufacturers say these vehicles should only be moved with all four wheels off the ground.

Electric and hybrid vehicles

Electric motors work in reverse as generators: turn the wheels and they produce electricity. Towing an electric or hybrid vehicle with its driven wheels on the road can damage the motor, the inverter or the battery system. Almost every manufacturer specifies a flatbed.

Damaged vehicles

After an accident, steering, suspension, brakes or wheels may not be safe to roll on. Locked or damaged wheels can’t be towed at all. We put skates under them, winch the vehicle onto the bed and strap it down.

Low, classic and prestige cars

Lowered and sports cars can catch their splitters, sills and exhausts when one end is lifted. Classic cars may have fragile suspension or brakes that drag. A flatbed with low-angle loading and soft wheel straps protects them.

So is towing ever all right?

For a short distance, a front-wheel-drive car with a manual gearbox can be towed safely with its front wheels lifted. The handbook will tell you whether your vehicle can be towed, how far and how fast. If in doubt, ask for a flatbed. That’s why we carry every car and van we recover, rather than towing them.