Automatic tow bar - GIF

[Jon]

Automatic tow bar, for lack of a better term. What do we have here?




Previously:

Trailer towing swerve recovery - GIF
Motorcycle for towing cars - GIF
Cement mixer bouncing while being towed on highway - GIF
Towing weight distribution display
Truck-mounted crane for towing cars - GIF
Truck towing truck towing truck - photo
Towing a truck off its rear axle - GIF
Towing a parallel-parked car - GIF

[Unkle Fuzzy]

That looks to me like a brand new oil pan and AC compressor on my VW.

I'm pretty sure that thing would have bashed both with the clearance required.

[JoeVanGeaux]

Cool technique! But my wife has a Subaru Outback AWD and we were told, emphatically, that it cannot be towed without some special precautions... otherwise, the drive train could be damaged.

[nova_robotics]

That looks to me like a brand new oil pan and AC compressor on my VW.

I'm pretty sure that thing would have bashed both with the clearance required.

It also looks like a new centre diff if they decide to drag that any further (which I think is actually inside the transmission case on those things, so extra fun).

[jdurand]

I wonder if the care is out of gear...crunch, pop. Nope, guess it wasn't.

[KustomsbyKent]

It looks like the repo wheel lifts that are mounted to 1 ton dually trucks for going out and re-possessing cars of people that haven't paid their payments.

In this case, it almost looks like it has been mounted to the front/side of a piece of equipment?

I would agree, it does look like it can cause some damage, particularly if the parking brake is set, or if it's an all wheel drive vehicle.

However, those repo wheel lifts are quite low profile, and made to grab cars quickly so the repo driver doesn't get caught by the car "owner".

Here's a link to one of the folks that makes these repo wheel lifts:
https://www.detroitwrecker.com/produ...o-wheel-lifts/

If the vehicle is front wheel drive, and the parking brake isn't set, and the driver does it properly, there shouldn't be damage to the car...

That being said, glad it's not my car being towed like that!

[Frank S]

The one I built for a guy in St Louis about 25 years ago was only 3" in height when flat on the ground I made it to slip over the forks of his forklift to move cars around in his garage
Yhose tow rigs have been around for a long time. Both the ones like in the vid and the ones that swing lock arms from the outside that way it doesn't go under the engine at all
I didn't make mine full automatic and you could either use it from between the wheels or from the outside
here are some jpegs of the drawings

[clavius]

The ones I have seen around here are called "Scorpion" tow trucks. Lots of towing companies around here use them. Of course you still have to prepare the vehicle properly, have it out of gear, tow from the proper end, etc, just like with any towing device. Typically once the wheels are lifted, there are ratchet strap type things that are used to secure the wheels to the tow bars so they cannot bounce out.

Had a guy pick up my truck with one of these, he said the drivers particularly love them in the winter, as these do not require you to crawl around on the ground or under the vehicle to pick up and secure for towing. He said they were really great for grabbing cars that had stalled out from dumb people trying to drive through unreasonably deep flooded streets.

One companies version is here:

https://www.aatac.com/scorpion.html

[Nick79]

REPO much? Fast stealthy reclaim process that can destroy a transmission of emergency brake system.

[Frank S]

REPO much? Fast stealthy reclaim process that can destroy a transmission of emergency brake system.

If a repo man can get it moved from your drive into the street then he can pretty much do what he wants right in front of you while you rant rave and threaten.
But most will try to get a few blocks away before securing the vehicle properly to avoid possible powder driven projectiles being tossed at them from long tubes