24 replies to this topic

[pvstoy]

Been using Costco in carson city for years for tire service for two different trucks with fwc on them with no issues. Carson dodge for a series of service without mentioning anything.

[Loren]

On a similar vain I was in Northern California on the weekend and the transmission line blew. Called AAA tow truck and waited 4 hours. The truck broke down on a round a bout and it was raining. Needed to be towed 3 blocks to motel room. Driver said normally they wont tow a truck with camper but when I told him just needed to go to the motel he relented and towed to the motel for a quick job.

[Outnabout]

My local shop puts my truck with Grandby up on 4 floor jacks and I’m out in 15-20 minutes.

[michelle_east_county]

' had a lift capacity issue at one shop we regularly use that could not handle a '97 Roadtrek 170, 6800 lb GVWR, until they got a bigger lift. Another shop had to use a floor jack. And, a Dodge and Ram dealer was in a former Audi dealership, lacked overhead clearance and could barely handle their trucks sold. One selling feature on Fords is that many dealers can handle the numerous trucks fitted with commercial equipment so can handle campers and motorhomes. When we bought our F350 before ordering a Hallmark camper, I confirmed with service writers what they could handle.

[Machinebuilder]

I've read this thread and another recent thread on almost the same topic.

 

I think several people on both threads have hit on a good point, some lifts are not made to lift trucks.

 

I have a friend with a 2 post lift and we could not use it on my F150, the length of the truck was too much for the lift.

 

If these shops don't have floor jacks and jack stands, I could see why they are not equipped to work on bigger heavier vehicles.

 

I seldom take my stuff to a shop, I work on a gravel driveway and most of the time with appropriate tools I don't have a problem working safely.

 

All this sounds like a reason for the shop to refuse to do work that they don't want to do.

[buckland]

Not to be morbid but a guy in our town died a couple days ago. Was under the truck when the stand let go. 30 years old. I’m not a belt and suspenders guy but when it comes to stuff that can crush me I take the double rule every time if I have the truck on my 3 ton jack ( yea I am a bit over that) I put in jack stands and for good measure an oak stump.

[teledork]

On a similar vain I was in Northern California on the weekend and the transmission line blew. Called AAA tow truck and waited 4 hours. The truck broke down on a round a bout and it was raining. Needed to be towed 3 blocks to motel room. Driver said normally they wont tow a truck with camper but when I told him just needed to go to the motel he relented and towed to the motel for a quick job.

This is the kind of thing that worries me. Was it a sling tow or a flatbed? I had my old rig w/camper on a flatbed more than once but that was several years ago. I mean - what are we supposed to do? Pull the camper off  and leave it on the side of the road? And exactly how does one do that if the vehicle is not running? 

[teledork]

 

I think several people on both threads have hit on a good point, some lifts are not made to lift trucks.

 

Yeah, but they used to put my larger truck and camper on a lift that they will not put the smaller and lighter rig on now. Or in the case of Tires Plus they put my Taco and camper on one of those lifts and rotated the tires and now they won't. 

[michelle_east_county]

This is the kind of thing that worries me. Was it a sling tow or a flatbed? I had my old rig w/camper on a flatbed more than once but that was several years ago. I mean - what are we supposed to do? Pull the camper off and leave it on the side of the road? And exactly how does one do that if the vehicle is not running?

Our experience has been that we always had to state to dispatcher what needed towing but that still meant one company sent out the young rookie with an old 3/4 or 1-ton truck with a sling for a 2-mile tow when we had a ‘72 Buick Electra towing a 22’ trailer. A sling on a too-light truck isn’t the right equipment with a car towing anything, especially with an equalizer hitch, which we did reduce tension on but still couldn’t raise front too much. Luckily, I stayed in car as it partially dropped off sling on freeway so I kept steering wheel oriented correctly until he pulled over and reset. So, nothing new on right vs wrong equipment issues.

Edited by michelle_east_county, 27 July 2022 - 06:32 PM.

[teledork]

I use America's Tire and they only use the lifts for cars. Anything else gets floor jacks.   They've never even mentioned the camper.

 

S&H 4WD asked how much my rig weighed. Apparently they have a 10k limit on their lift. The other shops I've used, I'm not sure if they even use a lift. 

I used them - well, it is called Discount Tire over here. I would order tires and be given a price for installation etc and it always cost more than I was quoted.  Big O tires was interesting too - you'd get a different price depending on which salesperson you were dealing with.  I started going to Tires Plus because I would order tires from Tire Rack, get a quote for installation etc and everything matched up.