Ever had your Gen V towed

[BLUVENM]

Hi All,
On Friday night my wife and I were out on a cruise and I happened to pick up a large bolt in my passenger rear tire. I attempted to get home (very slow) but the bolt popped out and the tire pressure went down to 0. I tried the stupid compressor/slime but that was a total bust.
I called for a tow and no one in the Albany NY area would even touch it. I made it clear to the insurance rep that this is a VIPER and it could only be taken by a flatbed and not a tow truck. After 2.5 hours on the phone with the insurance rep and my wife calling local towing companies, I ended up driving a block away to leave my car overnight in the parking lot of a tire place. I spoke to one of the tow truck operators that my wife spoke to and he was clear that he was not going to take on the liability because he didn't think he could tow the viper without damaging the front splitter.
I returned the following morning with a host of tools and a plug kit and was able to plug the hole and get her home safely.
After returning home, I posted this on Facebook and a buddy told me that he has spare fronts and rears that I could have borrowed to get home.
So, is this going to be the norm?

[bluesrt]

i guess where you live its the norm,lol

[Arizona Vipers]

I get mine towed to and from the shop all the time, any flat bed can do it, they just need a lot of 2X4's etc. And my car is LOW and has a much bigger splitter than yours

[Steve-Indy]

No, I have not had our 14 GTS on a flatbed...yet.

Fortunately, there is a recovery service about a mile or so who have always been responsive, helpful, careful, and patient with Vipers during the loading and unloading process. I did load a 2016 ACR E in to one of the roll-backs AFTER I removed the strakes. Then, with careful loading, the process went well without removing the spoiler...that did not have the extension in place. Extra boards, extra sets of eyes, and padding for the cable all help to avoid damage. Minimizing the angle of approach helps a lot on any Viper.

[swexlin]

First year I had it, I got a nail. Called AAA for the flatbed, told about it being a Viper, etc. Guy came in about an hour, and I drove it gingerly up the ramp. I am in suburban Philadephia. But honestly, it is an issue, and one reason I really won't drive this car too far from civilization. If you break down in bum-f*%$, you're hosed.

As I recall, there getting it OFF the flatbed was worse than driving it up. Now you got me thinking, to get a couple 2x4s to put in the trunk.

[BSLSK]

Don't know but thanks for the heads up. I am putting a plug kit in my trunk tonight.

[swexlin]

Don't know but thanks for the heads up. I am putting a plug kit in my trunk tonight.

I carry one, along with a compressor, but depending on location of nail, etc, sometimes not pluggable.

[Hamrhead]

Sort of off topic, sorry, but,

I have an Ipsco Tow Hook on the front.

Is it strong enough to be used to winch the car up onto a flatbed? I know it won't prevent front end damage otherwise.

[RT SERPENT]

I just installed the Ipsco hooks in the front and rear. They are extremely well made and
can be used for towing, yanking you out of the kitty litter, or loading the car into/onto a trailer with a winch.

Clearance issues are always there. But with lots of creative ramp construction with extra wood, race ramps, etc, it's do-able.
(and that's with a full aero installed ACR-E as well.)

[SilveRT8]

Got mine towed once on a flatbed. Ipsco front hook did the job, along with some 2x4''
In the rear I have another Ipsco tow hook and 2 tie down hooks underneath the car.

[Fatboy 18]

You need one of these bad boys.

[ViperJon]

I had an Ipsco tow hook sitting here ready to go before I even had the car. It’s a must unless you want some dude throwing a hook on your front suspension.

[RT SERPENT]

You need one of these bad boys.

That is quite the rig!

[Old School]

In addition to a compressor, plug kit, Ipsco front tow hook and 2x4's, I have 4 t-hooks for tie down:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-T-Hooks-5...UAAOSwDEBcL8X0

[Martin]

I had an Ipsco tow hook sitting here ready to go before I even had the car. It’s a must unless you want some dude throwing a hook on your front suspension.

If someone doesn't have the tow hook, where's the safest place to attach the hook? When I'm underneath the car, I don't see anywhere that I'd feel comfortable attaching to.

[ForTehNguyen]

very adviseable to add tow hooks to the car, or the tow truck is going to tear it up trying to pull it on a bed

[Old School]

This ^^^^ your front bumper/splitter won't survive

[RT SERPENT]

Without the tow hook, there is no good place to attach it.

[Bryan Savage]

The front tow hook is meant only to pull the car. It's not meant to tie down with. It will rotate around the bar it's clamped to and crush your fascia. Do not use it as a tie-down.

Most towing (and dyno) places love to wrap straps through your wheels, so enjoy the wear marks. They also love to wrap straps around any suspension pieces they can find and pull TIGHT, so prepare yourself for bent pieces.

Maybe TKO needs to make some kind of loops that thread vertically into someplace in the frame, that you can thread in prior to being loaded onto something.

Your best bet is that if the car car drive, see if it can be driven onto the trailer vs. being yanked on. Could save you a pile of trouble.

[blingnoring]

I tried the stupid compressor/slime but that was a total bust.

someone correct me if i'm wrong, but I heard that 'slime' stuff is the worst thing you can put in your car tire. From what I understand it gets all over the inside of your rims unevenly and will throw off the balance.

[Fatboy 18]

someone correct me if i'm wrong, but I heard that 'slime' stuff is the worst thing you can put in your car tire. From what I understand it gets all over the inside of your rims unevenly and will throw off the balance.

You have to remember what it is meant for, If you can get it into the tire and it seals then it has done its job. Its designed for an emergency get you to a garage. It is not meant for you to drive at speed for a few days !

[Old School]

Without the tow hook, there is no good place to attach it.

Maybe TKO needs to make some kind of loops that thread vertically into someplace in the frame, that you can thread in prior to being loaded onto something.

That's what these t-hooks are for, they go into the factory provided tie-down slots in the frame:

...I have 4 t-hooks for tie down:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-T-Hooks-5...UAAOSwDEBcL8X0

They can be used on a dyno also.

[Fatboy 18]

The front tow hook is meant only to pull the car. It's not meant to tie down with. It will rotate around the bar it's clamped to and crush your fascia. Do not use it as a tie-down.

Most towing (and dyno) places love to wrap straps through your wheels, so enjoy the wear marks. They also love to wrap straps around any suspension pieces they can find and pull TIGHT, so prepare yourself for bent pieces.

Maybe TKO needs to make some kind of loops that thread vertically into someplace in the frame, that you can thread in prior to being loaded onto something.

Your best bet is that if the car car drive, see if it can be driven onto the trailer vs. being yanked on. Could save you a pile of trouble.

When my gen 2 burst the top radiator hose and I was on the side of the freeway, when the Police turned up they were really pleased I had a front tow hook fitted, they immediately put a line on my car and towed me to a safe service area, they said it was one of the easiest jobs they had done.

[blingnoring]

You have to remember what it is meant for, If you can get it into the tire and it seals then it has done its job. Its designed for an emergency get you to a garage. It is not meant for you to drive at speed for a few days !

i'm with you and I agree 100%, if that was my only option I would absolutely do the same. What I was trying to say is, If true, I would recommend to the OP, wherever he goes to get his tire replaced, to let the shop know to remove all the slime.

[ViperNC]

So I've never had to get either Viper towed, but I did break a carbon fiber driveshaft coming out of turn 14 at Carolina Motorsports Park in my old GT500 a few years ago and had to be towed. That car was just as low to the ground as my '16 Viper and I asked for a flat bed truck, but when the tow truck arrived it was hook and chain setup. I had waited over an hour for my rescue at the track to get the car home 45 miles away and thought, "Ugh... this is not going to work". And then the driver got out and removed the dollies off the side of his truck and showed me his set up for lowered cars. He locked in a bar in front and in the rear of the front tires to the dollies on driver and passenger side and then had a jacking mechanism which lifted the front end of the car 6 inches off the ground supported by the dollies. Then he added a couple of connector bars that came out under the nose of the car with pads to protect the front bumper cover. This hooked up to a low trailer hitch ball on the back of the tow truck and then we were off to my home. He said he has seen many cars damaged trying to get on and off flat bed tow trucks over the years and never even a scratch with his setup. Pretty slick and proved my skeptical and uneducated towing knowledge that my concerns were unfounded.