Wheel Lift Diesel Tow Trucks and Towing

I always wondered why AAA primarily uses flat bed tow trucks as opposed to wheel lift tow trucks and now I personally know why.

I had asked the drivers of tow trucks this question and they told me that wheel lift tow trucks are much more likely to damage the car being towed than a flat bed tow truck will damage the car.

<<< wheel lift tow truck

Just a couple days ago, my one vehicle needed to be towed.  My fuel pump died on me as I was waiting for a red light to turn green.  I was in the middle of the road, put my flashers on, called for AAA and simply had to wait till their tow truck came to rescue me.

To my amazement and for the first time ever since I was with AAA, they sent a wheel lift tow truck as opposed to flat bed.  Briefly, wheel lift is hydraulic metal frame work that remotely comes under your vehicle, under each of your front two tires and hydraulicly lifts your vehicle off the ground.  The tow truck driver then straps your two front tires to the metal arms that lifted your vehicle and drives you to where you need your vehicle dropped off.

<<< flatbed tow truck

If is a much faster, more efficient and easier manner to have your car towed like this as opposed to the more involved use of a flat bed tow truck.

There are two problems inherent in wheel lift towing of a car and I personally just experienced one of them.

When the tow truck driver lifted my front two tires and strapped them in, he tightened the straps sooo tight (so the vehicle won't fall off or jump off while being towed), that he did one of two things.  He either bent the rim or some how squeezed and damaged the tire.

<<< tires strapped in too tightly

Currently, my vehicle has been repaired, but as I drive the vehicle, air in the tire escapes every time the tire rolls to this damaged area of the tire or rim.  At this moment I have not brought the vehicle to the tire shop, so I do not yet know if it is the tire or the rim that is damaged, but it is one of them.

It is also NOT that the bead of the tire if off of the rim, cause at the mechanic shop we inflated the tire and it still has the air escaping problem as the tire rolls on the ground.

Now I know one of the bad things about wheel lift towing.

*****
The wheel lift tow truck that towed me has a diesel engine.  That in it self is nothing amazing.  What is amazing is that this engine was more quiet than a gas engine.

I kid you not, this diesel engine when running and towing my quite heavy vehicle, was as quite as a Lexus or any top end luxury car.  I asked the tow truck driver, you SURE this is a diesel engine?! :)  Not only is it very powerful, to tow my vehicle like it was an empty Clorox bottle floating on the ocean, but it did so with whisper quietness.

Usually diesel engines have a rat tat tat sound to them like a Harley Davidson motorcycle.  You know the sound of a typical diesel engine when you hear it.  Again, this diesel engine tow truck was sooo quiet it sounded like a Lexus, Cadillac or Jaguar.

This article explains why and how the diesel engine became more quiet. >>> http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090831/CARNEWS/908319997