If you park your truck with the wheels turned all the way one way will it be
harfer to tow off.
Yes, it does make it harder to tow but not impossible. That wouldn't deter a
wrecker driver with experience.
What if it is a 4x4 and u park it in 4wd low. Does that make
it harder to grab and run?
First off, most people don't normally drive in 4L, they drive in 2H. When a
Dakota is in 2H, it is a rear wheel drive vehicle and the front end turns
freely. You could tow it across country and not hurt anything. I have never
encountered a truck left in 4L while parked, however if I did, I could dolly
it and charge the owner an extra $40 for the labor of setting up the dolly. Or
I could drop the drive shaft, remember there are only four bolts holding the
u-joint to the pinion, and charge the owner $40 for labor. Then there is
always the option of dragging it up onto a flatbed. Hell, I even hooked a
limousine once with two trucks, one on each end and with my truck in neutral,
had the other driver slowly pull me backwards the 3 blocks to the shop. That
was a trophy run.
On trucks with manual hubs, just unlocking the hubs is enough. Some trucks
with auto hubs like GM's and Fords, simply putting the transfer case into 2H
and hooking the vehicle from the rear is enough. The auto hubs will unlock
themselves while rolling backwards. I remember I had a problem with the
vacuum actuator in the front end of my Dakota and it wouldn't release, when
putting the truck back into 2H after using 4wd. Putting the truck in reverse
and backing up ten feet would always pop it loose.
First, I would hook the vehicle and lift it up. Here in Connecticut, the way
the law is written, once I have the vehicle hooked to the truck, I have a
mechanic's lien on the vehicle. That way, if the car owner comes out at this
point, I can legally charge them the $50 hook up fee to release the vehicle
without having towed it. Even in the event that the person is able to get a
police officer there, I having been authorized by the property owner to remove
the vehicle, can refuse to release the vehicle without payment because it's a
civil matter on private property. A police officer can not order me to
release the vehicle without payment. If the person doesn't come out, it takes
less than 5 minutes to set up the dolly or drop the drive shaft.
Walter_Felix@MSN.COM
88' Dodge Dakota Sport 4x4.
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/9219
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dakota-truck@buffnet4.buffnet.net On Behalf Of jim miller
Sent: Sunday, May 03, 1998 9:51 PM
To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
Subject: Re: DML: Alarms
If you park your truck with the wheels turned all the way one way will it be
harfer to tow off. What if it is a 4x4 and u park it in 4wd low. Does that
make
it harder to grab and run?
> From: Walter Felix <Walter_Felix@classic.msn.com>
> Subject: DML: RE: Alarms, Tow trucks and The Club
>
> I agree with "If someone really wants it .... all they need is a tow truck."
> <snip>
> As far as alarms go, if you were nearby, by the time you realized it was
your
> alarm, it was too late.
> <snip>
>
> ---> if the alarm is armed --- truck won't start.
>
> <snip>
> As a wrecker driver, I liked the club, it held
> the front wheels steady while I towed it from the rear.
>
> --> isn't that a bit tricky if the wheels are turned?
>
> The smart thing to do is use a couple of theft deterrent devices in
> conjunction with one another. Like an alarm and a club together, as well as
> some common sense as to where you park in public places and what you leave
> visible inside the vehicle.
>
> ---> Exactly. In Victoria, 80 - 90% of thefts are kids joyriding. The idea
> is to make is so difficult that they move onto the next car. As for
> professional crooks ... back to my comment about tow trucks.
>
> Walter_Felix@MSN.COM
> 88' Dodge Dakota Sport 4x4.
> http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/9219
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
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