AAA to get my progect 100+ miles!?

[rikubot]

I've got to get my car to a shop I'm Littleton, CO and I don't have a truck or a trailer. I was advised by the owner of the shop to get a premium membership to AAA and have them haul it up there. I've used them once and was pleased with my service, but we went 8 miles and it was my daily driver that was hauled. The shop is Joyride Restorations. Anyone have any feedback from that shop? Thanks I'm advamce.
-Mike

[Derwud]

You have to wait a week after getting it and then you will need to request a flatbed...

[stripedelete]

Plates need to be current.

[rikubot]

Thank you guys. I think this should work then. I've got collectors plates that are good for 5 years so I should be okay there. I'll get AAA on the phone tonight and get that membership upgraded ASAP.

[John_Kunkel]

Be sure to tell them your plan, that you want it moved from your house to your "shop of choice".

I've always understood a tow of 100 miles to your chosen shop was for roadside breakdowns. 

[rikubot]

Will do.

Same here. I almost feel kind of shady for trying to use them this way and wonder if the driver would see what's up and call it phoney. But shoot, I've been with them for years and used only one tow for 8 miles, so that's how I justify it in my head. I do have a fair amount of skepticism as to whether or not it will work out.

[440]

I don't think most drivers care. They get paid regardless so it's just another job to them.

[rikubot]

That's what I'm hoping for. I also have to get a roof skin up there separately so I'm gonna follow him up there in a truck. Thanks for all the advice. You've all been very helpful! Can you think of any other bases I need to cover?

[440]

I don't think many tow operators tie down from the frame anymore but it's worth confirming that they tie down using tire straps front and back.

I always cringe when I see a car being towed on a truck or trailer that is tied down from the frame.

[John_Kunkel]

Transporters that brought new cars to the dealer used frame tiedowns, some cars had dedicated frame brackets solely for that purpose.

Nowadays wheel tiedowns seem to be in vogue for short hauls.

[rikubot]

I'll make sure they don't tie it down by the frame if that's who I go with. I was talkin to a buddy today and he was thinking I should just trailer it up there with a U-Haul trailer. I have an AMD roof skin I have to get up with the car and I can't think of any safe way to transport it without just putting it in a truck bed. I've got a friend with a new ram that might let me use it, so that might be the better option. I'll have to talk to him to see if he'd be willing to help me out. I'd much rather go that route. It doesn't have a drive train in it now so all I have is the e-brake. Any special precautions I should take tying her down?

[XH29N0G]

Sorry for being late to this thread.  If it bothers you, call them and talk about it as suggested.  I had a much shorter tow from my house to a shop and I was concerned and called them.  The person on the phone said this was fine, so I did it. 

[rikubot]

No worries XH, any input is greatly appreciated. My appointment isn't until July 30th, so I've got some time to come up with a game plan. Very helpful advice 

[68CoronetRT]

The 100 mile tow takes a month to go through. I tried to get my car towed 75 miles when it broke down and said I'd sign up right now and they said it takes a month to process.

And I believe you have to be a member for a year before your eligible.

Worth a phone call.

Edit: The 100 mile membership addition takes a month, not the tow itself... haha

[68CoronetRT]

Also, you can use anyone's AAA membership if your in a pinch. I've done it many times. You just have to have the card holder there when they pick it up and deliver.

[dual fours]

Also, you can use anyone's AAA membership if your in a pinch. I've done it many times. You just have to have the card holder there when they pick it up and deliver.

In a pinch this will work but all depends what options that card holder member has, if no 100 mile option on their card then you don't get 100 mile tow.

[RallyeMike]

AAA is pretty cool in my experience. Call them and be straight forward. I think they will help you out with the best option.

When my motorcle lost its charging system I called them only to realize that I had to have the premium policy to cover the bike. They upgraded me over the phone and a truck was there 15 minutes later  

Good move on their part. I will stay a premium member.

AAA = 5 stars.

[rikubot]

I'll upgrade my membership to the Premier package tomorrow. I've got an appointment on the 30th to drop the car off at the body shop on the 30th.

I'm thinkin I'll give the AAA people a call around 8 in the morning. I'm going to have to follow them up there with the roof skin. You guys have any more tips or advice?

[rikubot]

I was cruising around town yesterday in my buddies old D100 and we ran out of gas. I reluctantly called AAA because we had no other option. I talked to the driver that brought us gas about my plan and he said what you guys said, that it was up to the driver. He told me that his company was the only tow business In town that AAA used and to call his number before I call AAA. He also said it was a good idea to give a $50 tip to the driver when we got to the destination.

I figure I'll give him a call at 8 am on the day and get the ball rolling. He did mention that I should make it look like it has a motor in it. It will have a hood and fenders, but no front grille. I was thinking about either reinstalling he grill or building some crude structure to block the view of the bay and taking off a bunch of the tension on the torsion bars. He didn't make it sound like a really big deal, but I'd like to do the best I can to make it work.

[70 sublime]

Is the car going to drive home from the shop or are you going to have it towed back in the same way ?

[rikubot]

I had planned to have it towed back as the drivetrain and everything else is here in Pueblo. He's supposed to just be doing the metalwork on the rear end of the car.

[Troy]

It's "emergency roadside assistance" and not "haul your junk around assistance". However, I have had cars "moved" by AAA on more than 1 occasion. It's kind of funny when the tow truck shows up at your house for a break down OR when the broken down vehicle is missing it's engine. However, the drivers get paid either way and usually don't report back to AAA the details of the trip.

But recently I have found that renting a pickup and car hauler from U-Haul is relatively cheap and can be done on a whim. Having any sort of schedule is useless when dealing with AAA.

Troy

[rikubot]

Yeah I deserved what I got for trying to do it that way. The guy flakes out when I called him so I ended up renting a trailer from u-haul for $73. I have a friend that was kind enough to let me take his ram 1500 up there and everything went as smooth as possible. I'll surely do that to get her back home and might even trade my SRT for his truck. I was very impressed with it and it did really well on gas.

[Troy]

I can't tell if your car has an engine (looks like it might) but, if so, that's a lot of weight at the back for that trailer. You don't really have any room to adjust on a U-Haul and they like weight on the tongue. I had one of my big block cars backwards and it was really squirrely and I had to reload it about 30 miles into the trip. The next one didn't have an engine and it actually felt better backwards. Now that I have a real trailer I can just move the car forward or back to adjust the balance.

Any way, glad you got it moved. I hope all goes well at the shop.

Troy

[rikubot]

Thanks for the advice Troy. That's something I didn't consider. I have little experience with hauling cars so I depended on a friend's knowledge and experience which I know is not always the best. It actually doesn't have a drive train in it right now. It is almost entirely stripped to the body panels. Just has suspension and a couple little things still attached. I got an update from the body man on the 30th and the media blasting he had done showed some really poor repairs and shed a little light on her history. I'll have to resize and post some pictures.