Flatbed Towing

What happens when the truck arrives

The driver parks in line with your car, tilts the deck down until its back edge touches the pavement, and attaches the winch cable to a frame point or recovery hook. The winch draws the car up the deck slowly, while the driver watches the clearance under the front lip and the sides. Once the car is on, the deck levels out and the car is strapped at four points, usually over the tires with wheel straps, or at the frame when the wheels can't take a strap.

Then the driver walks around once more, checks every strap, and you're on your way. At the other end the same thing happens in reverse.

Who needs a flatbed

All-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. Most Subarus, Audis with quattro, many BMWs and Mercedes, most Jeeps and pickups with 4WD engaged, and a long list of crossovers. If the owner's manual says the car should not be towed with any wheels on the ground, a flatbed is the answer.

Electric vehicles and hybrids. Teslas, Mustang Mach-Es, Bolts, Ioniqs, and plug-in hybrids. Turning the wheels on many of these turns the motor, which can generate current with the car off. EV makers tell owners to transport them with every wheel off the ground.

Low and lowered cars. Sports cars, cars on coilovers or air suspension, and anything with a front splitter. The deck's low angle lets the car go on without the front end catching.

Damaged vehicles. After a crash, a car may have a wheel folded under, a bent tie rod, or a bumper hanging off. A flatbed carries all of it without the damaged parts dragging, and the car arrives at the body shop the way it left the scene.

Cars you care about. Classics, collector cars, and anything you'd rather not have pulled down a highway on two wheels. See classic and luxury car towing for how those are handled.

Flatbed for short trips and long ones

A flatbed tow across Ypsilanti and a flatbed tow to a dealer in Lansing load the same way. The difference is distance, and distance is priced by the loaded mile. For anything leaving the county, see long-distance towing.

Motorcycles ride on the deck too, standing upright and chocked at the front wheel. That setup has its own page.

How flatbed towing is priced

Flatbed towing is priced like the rest of our towing: a hook-up fee to load the vehicle, plus loaded miles from pickup to drop-off. Winching a vehicle that won't roll is included for the first 15 minutes, and anything beyond that is an add-on dispatch names before the truck is sent. Call 734-985-0010 with the vehicle, where it is, and where it's going, and you'll have the full price before you say yes.

We don't bill insurance directly. You pay us and submit the itemized receipt to your insurer or roadside plan.

Before the truck gets there

Clear a path. A flatbed needs room to line up behind the car, so if the car is nose-in to a garage or tight against another vehicle, tell dispatch. In a parking structure, give the posted clearance at the entrance. If the car is in a driveway, move anything parked behind it if you can. Have the key ready, take out what you'll need, and send a dropped pin if the address is hard to find.