Towing Question

[jasontiff]

I'm debating on whether or not to get tow hooks. Not because I go to the track regularly and find myself out in the sand/mud/grass (though it's happened) but because my car sits so low I don't think I could get on a flatbed without ripping off my fascia.

Can anyone tell me if my assumption is right or wrong? I'm dropped 1.5" over stock. Is it still possible to get my ass up on a tow truck if I have to?

Additionally, if you have hooks can you post a pic and say where you got them? I like the ones Jon B has but I can't tell how far they protrude. Thanks, guys!

 

[plumcrazy]

im 1" lowered and unfortunately my car has been on a flat bed...lol

 

[jasontiff]

im 1" lowered and unfortunately my car has been on a flat bed...lol

If you ain't breakin' it you ain't drivin' it hard enough...or that's what I tell myself while my car sits waiting for parts cuz I'm an idiot

 

[ViperGeorge]

You still need to have the flatbed driver put boards in front of the front tires, the longer the better. Otherwise the angle is too steep even for a stock sitting Viper. Tow hooks would make a little easier for the tow truck driver to winch the car up though.

 

[plumcrazy]

true, you really do need a good guy doing it. they need plenty of dunnage/blocking/anhor points etc to do it without hurting it but that goes for stock height as well. and i was towed at that height too....

last time it broke, i sent 2 tow truck drivers away cause they didn't have nearly enough stuff to get it on the truck without busting it up. i'll sit on the side of a road any day to wait...not my problem

 

[Leslie]

I just had to be towed out of the grass on a roadcourse the other weekend, the tow hook was nice because he just pulled me along.

Getting on to my friend's trailer we did have to use some 2 by 4's, tow hook wasn't needed for that.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I got them from member Jerry Dobson whose VCA chapter sells them. Excellent quality, very inexpensive. The front hook uses holes already there; the rear hook needs holes drilled. I did it because as a low-lowered daily driver I want to be able to get the car moved ASAP if needed. I recently had an axle stub shaft break and was unable to even limp anywhere. (Limpless?) At least with tow hooks it gives me some more options.

 

[plumcrazy]

im assuming the hooks are great for pulling straight but not so for getting it up on a flat bed.

anyone else try it with a tow hook ?

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I dunno. I think straight and "uphill" are good. I would worry more about "left" and "right."

 

[SquadX]

im assuming the hooks are great for pulling straight but not so for getting it up on a flat bed.

anyone else try it with a tow hook ?

I have tow hooks and yes, as Plum stated, they are good for straight pulls but not for uphill/towing (I know by experience and the tow hook wont hold).

Just keep some two pieces of 2x4 in the trunk.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I have tow hooks and yes, as Plum stated, they are good for straight pulls but not for uphill/towing (I know by experience and the tow hook wont hold).

Just keep some two pieces of 2x4 in the trunk.

So a "tow" hook isn't good for a "tow"? Details, please.

 

[DrumrBoy]

In my experience the tow hook will allow the car to be winched up into a trailer (mine is far less steep than the angle on a flatbed....mine is lowered about an inch). I haven't had to try the flatbed with the tow hook, but I would bet it'd work.

On the track a tow hook is handy if you want to be pulled from the sand or wet grass if you can't get out yourself. The wrecker only puts you onboard if your inoperable.

Whether or not your lowered car suffers from its ride onto the wrecker is mostly a function of the wrecker driver. Most are not terribly interested in messing around with lots of boards - they're there to get you out of the way....so if you break completely and need to get a ride on the flatbed, it may hurt.

I have seen some folks bring the right length 2x10 boards and tip the wrecker driver to put 'em on the wrecker before the event starts....just in case. They recllaim the boards at the end of the session.

 

[Leslie]

So a "tow" hook isn't good for a "tow"? Details, please.

I have only seen tow hooks used on 'track' cars for when you go off the track.

As somebody mentioned above, there's already a place to put a tow hook on the front of a Gen II, but it's off to the side, not directly IN THE MIDDLE of the front of the Viper. My hook in the back is off to the side too.

Sooo if you went off in a ditch somewhere on the highway it would be good to have....or if you go off the track.

 

[SFViper]

I'm debating on whether or not to get tow hooks. Not because I go to the track regularly and find myself out in the sand/mud/grass (though it's happened) but because my car sits so low I don't think I could get on a flatbed without ripping off my fascia.

Can anyone tell me if my assumption is right or wrong? I'm dropped 1.5" over stock. Is it still possible to get my ass up on a tow truck if I have to?

Additionally, if you have hooks can you post a pic and say where you got them? I like the ones Jon B has but I can't tell how far they protrude. Thanks, guys!

Here's the newest tow hook design for the Viper Gen 2, 3 & 4, can be installed or removed in seconds!

Install 2 (one on each side) and you'll be able to tow the Viper straight up a ramp and onto a flatbed trailer.

Viper GEN 2 3 SRT-10 ACR Racing Tow Hook License Plate :eBay Motors (item 330375624885 end time Dec-08-09 20:04:35 PST)

[media]http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu139/robertkwong/GenII.jpg[/media]

[media]http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu139/robertkwong/TowHookGen2a.jpg[/media]

[media]http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu139/robertkwong/TowHookGen2b.jpg[/media]

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Here is a link to the Kansas City VCA Region tow hooks.
$35+$9 shipping for VCA members.
[email protected]

http://forums.viperclub.org/2750658-post23.html

 

[SoCal Rebell]

im 1" lowered and unfortunately my car has been on a flat bed...lol

Was that when the NJ Troopers impounded it for 145 in a 65?

.

 

[DoDriven]

Tow hooks are a must have for a lowered car. They work great along with a set of 2x4's for getting up onto a flat bed.

Here is a link to the Kansas City VCA Region tow hooks.
$35+$9 shipping for VCA members.
[email protected]

http://forums.viperclub.org/2750658-post23.html

Those look well made, but it looks like the front mounts too far inward to be useful. It doesn't look like you would be able to clip on without the cable hook coming into contact with the bumper. It may just be the picture.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

I think it's the red loop on a red car. Same piece is on my car; see pic above.

 

[SquadX]

So a "tow" hook isn't good for a "tow"? Details, please.

Hey Tom,
When my car required a tow, the tow driver first tried to hook the cable hook to the tow hook on th front of my car and for the first couple feet it was fine because it was flat then as it angled up the tow hook started to shift some and the car looked very unstable (little hard to example).
We drove the car onto two pieces of 2x4 and the tow backed the flat bed under the front end of the car (front of car is on 2x4 at this point) and he hooks the cable to the frame and pulls it right on up. Took maybe 5 mins as oppose to another tow who claimed to have tow lambs, porsche, etc and it took him over an hour (wheel dolly was used).
After Viper got to shop, my tech exampled that the tow hooks should not be used to pull a 3500lb car up such a steep angle because its attached to the frame in a location where the frame it not the strongest. Now the rear tow hook (which I have) i mounted to the lower frame and can be used for such a tow but the the front would scrap badly. I am lowered also, about an inch or so.

 

[plumcrazy]

Was that when the NJ Troopers impounded it for 145 in a 65?

.

it was a 55mph zone silly...

 

[jasontiff]

it was a 55mph zone silly...

New vanity plates:

IMPOUND

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Hey Tom,
When my car required a tow, the tow driver first tried to hook the cable hook to the tow hook on th front of my car and for the first couple feet it was fine because it was flat then as it angled up the tow hook started to shift some and the car looked very unstable (little hard to example).
We drove the car onto two pieces of 2x4 and the tow backed the flat bed under the front end of the car (front of car is on 2x4 at this point) and he hooks the cable to the frame and pulls it right on up. Took maybe 5 mins as oppose to another tow who claimed to have tow lambs, porsche, etc and it took him over an hour (wheel dolly was used).
After Viper got to shop, my tech exampled that the tow hooks should not be used to pull a 3500lb car up such a steep angle because its attached to the frame in a location where the frame it not the strongest. Now the rear tow hook (which I have) i mounted to the lower frame and can be used for such a tow but the the front would scrap badly. I am lowered also, about an inch or so.

Thanks for that info. I'm comfortable with the front loop because it does extend beyond the front fascia enough to accept a hook or cable without risking the bodywork, it seems sturdy enough to tolerate being pulled left or right a little, and is mounted on the same point as the OEM "bumper."

To be honest, after almost 100K miles, whatever happens from a "tow" or being pulled up a flatbed is not going to make much difference, either. You guys with shiny cars that need a tow must have other issues...

 

[-FROG-]

I have also been considering a hook for some time now. I'm always worried about needing to be towed out of some dirt or something... I have a guy I call when I break down on the street, but if I ever end up on the side of the road in the dirt, I can only assume a tow hook would be the logical approach. However bending the frame does concern me a bit...

Still may be worth it to get out a ditch.


hmmm...

 

[SlayTay]

I have a front tow hook installed on my 1" lowered genII and once had it pulled up onto a flatbed.
The hook is bolted to the fiberglass front cross member with existing bolts.
I don't think that I will have it pulled up the steep grade again, it made a disturbing creaking noise and all I could imagine was the hook ripping off the frame under the extreme tension and taking the head off the tow truck driver who was looking down the ramp of the truck at the front of the viper coming up the ramp.
It did survive the steep climb but would have done a lot of front end damage if it had ripped out the front.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

The front hook is bolted on in front of the fiberglass bumper and through to the frame itself. It's a sandwich of hook-fiberglass-frame. It may make creaky noises if the fiberglass is being tweaked but it's not coming off.

 

[1TONY1]

it was 175mph silly...

Fixed it !!!

 

[Jack B]

I have the archer tow hook and routinely winch the car on to the trailer. The hook mounts on the end of the left frame rail.