On the Far South Side many dead cars aren’t at the curb. They’re in a detached garage off the alley, on a concrete pad behind a two-flat, or in a side drive between houses. People assume a tow truck can’t reach them and leave the car there for years.
Most of the time it can. Here’s how it works.
How the car gets from the garage to the truck
A flatbed backs up as close as it can get, usually in the alley or at the end of the drive. The bed tilts down to the ground. The driver runs the winch cable to the car, hooks it to a solid point on the frame or a tow eye, and pulls the car onto the bed slowly. The car doesn’t need to start or steer.
When the car can’t roll freely, there are two tricks:
- Wheel dollies go under the front or rear wheels when the steering is locked, a tire is flat or a brake is seized. The car rolls on the dollies instead.
- Skates are smaller flat rollers for tight spots where full dollies won’t fit.
If the car sits at an angle to the door, the driver can pull it out a few feet, reset, and pull again from a different angle.
What you can do before the truck comes
- Clear the path. Bikes, bins, lawn equipment and boxes in the garage or on the pad.
- Open everything. The garage door, the yard gate and the alley gate if there is one. If the garage door opener is dead, unlock the manual release.
- Move the other cars. A truck backing into an alley needs the stretch behind your garage free.
- Check the alley. Low branches, overhead wires and a garbage cart can all block a flatbed. Let us know if your alley is unusually narrow.
- Tell us how it sits. Nose-in or nose-out, which wheels turn, whether the parking brake is on, flat tires.
Our pickup checklist covers the paperwork and personal items.
What helps on the call
Photos are the best description. One of the car from the door, one of the alley or drive from where the truck will park. If you can’t send photos, describe the distance from the garage to the alley and anything tight along the way.
When the truck can’t reach the car
It happens, rarely: a backyard with no gate wide enough, a car boxed in by a later addition to the house. If that’s your situation, we’ll tell you on the call rather than send a truck that can’t do the job.
Alley cars and city rules
A car parked in the alley itself, rather than on your private pad, is on the public way. If it can’t be driven, it can be classified as abandoned. See our guide to a car abandoned on your block.
The tow is free, wherever the car sits. Read more about our free removal or get an offer.