Tip #40: Check your garage and driveway before the tow truck delivers
If the car is coming home, look at where it will be dropped before the truck arrives. A flatbed needs width, length and overhead room to tilt its deck, and a low garage door or a tree branch can decide where the car can go.
Tip #40 in one line
If the car is coming home, look at where it will be dropped before the truck arrives. A flatbed needs width, length and overhead room to tilt its deck, and a low garage door or a tree branch can decide where the car can go.
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Call nowWhat a flatbed needs
A flatbed is a large truck. To unload, it backs up to the drop point, tilts the deck and slides it back until the end touches the ground, then lets the car roll or winches it off. That takes straight-line room behind the truck, enough width to open the doors, and clearance above the tilted deck. Overhead power lines, low tree limbs, a carport roof or a basketball hoop can all be in the way.
A garage is a separate question. The truck itself will not go inside a home garage. The car comes off the deck in the driveway or at the curb, and then it is pushed, rolled or driven in. A car that does not run, does not roll, or is low enough to scrape on the garage threshold may have to stay outside.
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Call nowCheck these before you call
Look at the driveway: is it long enough, and is the slope steep at the street? Look up: wires, branches, gutters. Look at the garage: is it cleared out, and is the door opening tall enough for the car? Think about the street: if the driveway does not work, is there a legal place on the street where the car can sit, and does your town allow overnight parking there?
Tell the dispatcher what you find. With that information the driver arrives knowing the plan and does not have to improvise in the dark.
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Call nowGarages that are not at home
The same applies to a parking garage at a condo or office. Most parking decks are too low for a flatbed to enter, so the car comes out to street level first. Tell the dispatcher the garage, the level and the clearance. Our flatbed towing and local towing pages explain the equipment and pricing.
Plan for timing as well. A late-night delivery to a quiet street is easier if you are there to meet the truck, open the garage and move the cars already in the driveway. If you cannot be there, tell the dispatcher exactly where the car should go and where to leave the key. Clear the way of bins, bikes and anything else in the driveway before the truck arrives, so the driver can back straight in without a wasted pass.
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Call nowMore on towing rules & pricing
Keep reading, or go back to every post on the blog.
- Flatbed vs wheel-lift towing: which does your car need?
- What happens to your car after a police-ordered tow in New Jersey
- Towed from private property in New Jersey: your rights
- Towing pricing red flags in New Jersey
- Local tow company vs national roadside network: who actually shows up?
- Moving a car long distance from New Jersey: towing vs car carrier
- Tip #34: Choose the destination before the truck arrives: home, shop or dealer
- Tip #35: Ask the destination about storage charges before you pick it
- All posts
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