Need towing suggestions ASAP

Southtwnr

Southtwnr

New member
Hello all,
Long story short my son's 99 4runner suffered a suspension breakage last night. Thank God nobody was hurt but the entire passenger side suspension between the control arms broke off the truck.

He is 400 miles away and the truck is at a dealership where they have provided an estimate of $3k to fix.

I would like to get it home to fix myself via Uhaul tow dolly or car transport but I dont know how to get the car onto the tow device.

would something like this work? I figured if i laid the lower control arm on the "car mover" i could ease it up on the dolly and strap it down. What do you you all think?

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...ved=0ahUKEwjtgPqU2s3WAhVIPCYKHc2lDfoQ8wIILTAA
 
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Sorry I can't answer your original question, hopefully someone else understands better. But I will give you this advice after my towing experience. BTW what kind of suspension break? I wonder if it was an LBJ or upper arm spindle. Most other breaks are drivable.

You can safely tow using a two wheel Uhaul lift, with rear two wheels on the ground ONLY if you disconnect, cut off, or properly remove the driveshaft. The manual and all sage advice says do not tow with the rear wheels spinning because when the driveshaft spins it will spin part of the transmission and might cause damage.

I think I lucked out because I have no noticeable damage from doing it the wrong way but if I get caught in that situation again .... a driveshaft is a lot cheaper to replace than a transmission.

When I did it many years ago we used the cheap Uhaul dolly, truck in N, transfer case in N. Towed about 300 miles. Uhaul wouldn't let a Tacoma tow a 4Runner so my buddy registered he was going to tow a Corolla and the website worked.
 
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Im not sure what broke first. I suspect LBJ but will probably never know. My son had to "go look" for the tire and the knuckle is still attached to the tire but the tire and knuckle were totally riped off the car.

I wasnt even thinking about the driveshaft!! UGH. I was more concerned with the safety of towing with those car mover things instead of a wheel.

ANYBODY WANNA BUY A 4RUNNER IN NORTH FLORIDA!!??
 
I was more concerned with the safety of towing with those car mover things instead of a wheel.
Click to expand...

You cannot drive down the streets / highway with those "car mover things" (as you describe and linked) touching the pavement . Unsafe and illegal on the road. I think they are only for moving a vehicle around a parking lot. You could use them to help get the truck on a lift, maybe. Pics would help us a lot here.

BTW, did it break on a US roadway? Not off-road. If so then your full coverage insurance should cover everything.

PIIIIIICCCCCCCCSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS please!

:bat:
 

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Southtwnr said:
Hello all,
Long story short my son's 99 4runner suffered a suspension breakage last night. Thank God nobody was hurt but the entire passenger side suspension between the control arms broke off the truck.

He is 400 miles away and the truck is at a dealership where they have provided an estimate of $3k to fix.

I would like to get it home to fix myself via Uhaul tow dolly or car transport but I dont know how to get the car onto the tow device.

would something like this work? I figured if i laid the lower control arm on the "car mover" i could ease it up on the dolly and strap it down. What do you you all think?

https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...ved=0ahUKEwjtgPqU2s3WAhVIPCYKHc2lDfoQ8wIILTAA
Click to expand...


I hate to say it but your going to need a flat bed wrecker or a steel bed car trailer with a winch. Even with those "car mover things", without the steering knuckle and a Wheel the front end is going to sit on the ground. And you will still have/want to drop the drive shaft.
 
I think the OP meant he was going to put that under the passenger front then use that to load it onto the dolly. Can you post a picture? If the lower control arm is still attached you can load it on the dolly, strap to the frame, and pull the drive shaft


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dozerfrelich said:
I think the OP meant he was going to put that under the passenger front then use that to load it onto the dolly. Can you post a picture? If the lower control arm is still attached you can load it on the dolly, strap to the frame, and pull the drive shaft


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Click to expand...

^^This will be a tough chore. You are going to have a Hell of a time getting those little dolly wheels up the ramps of any kind of tow dolly or car hauler. The insurance idea is great most polices have towing.
 
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Soneill said:
^^This will be a tough chore. You are going to have a Hell of a time getting those little dolly wheels up the ramps of any kind of tow dolly or car hauler. The insurance idea is great most polices have towing.
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insurance paid to have it towed to the dealership but i am 400 miles away. they wont cover that far.
 
It won't be fun but in a pinch it would work. Or jack up back on the frame leave it in park then back the dolly under it. Its not ideal but I have done it in the past because I don't have the roadside assistance


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It cost me around $325 to get mine towed home around 90 miles. 400 miles will be expensive & so will be getting it fixed by the dealer. Get it towed to a good local shop. I would look on Yelp & Google reviews for a highly rated shop near by.
 
Block the rear wheels, place a jack on both sides of the frame about a foot back of the wheel then back the dolly under it. Or call a tow truck to see if they can load the back half of the truck on a flat bed just shy of the front wheels, lift it off the ground by the frame and place the front on the dolly.


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Here it is after I got it loaded up and before I strapped it in....Wasnt easy but so little is

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holy Mother this terrifies me now! Mine is a 99 that I know has original LBJ and CVs and both are leaking and ugly.
Yep, back to my other thread - who wants to help a girl out and change these puppies before this happens??
BTW - I'm glad your son is ok and the truck didn't flip. I'll be damned it Toyota doesn't need to put the recall on these 99s also.
 
Soneill said:
Did you drive it up?
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I did. Once we jacked it up and placed the dolly under the LCA I was able to back up and get aligned then drive to the start of the ramp. Then we jacked it up again and put the forward wheels of the dolly on the ramp and lowered the car again. I was able to drive up to where the ramp meets the trailer and we basically did the same thing. Then once more once toward the front of the trailer as there was a "bar" that the tire had to get over. Sounds easy but it took 1.5-2 hours to do lol. And of course it was pouring down rain!

I want to say the service manager at the dealership went WAAAY above and beyond helping us out!!! I only asked for a jack and he was out there the whole time crawling around getting soaked. I am going to write a letter to the boss for sure and give this kid some props!!
 
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