First off I admt that my son wasn't using his brain so now that that is out of the way here is my issue and question. My son was trying to climb a very steep hill with a friend in his F150 4X4 and didn't make it to the top. As he rolled backwards his trailer hitch stuck in the frozen ground and stopped the truck from rolling down the hill. (very steep hill) They called a tow truck and the driver used his boom to hook onto the frame through the wheel well so we could pick up the back of the truck and unstick the hitch. In doing so it warped the frame, busting the axel (by pulling it sideways over a hump), and collapsed the quarter panel. I would think that he could have put a cable under the truck between the bumper and rear wheel, brought it out the other side and hooked back to the cable. This would have caught the hitch as he pulled the cable in and probably unstuck the truck letting it roll back. Would you consider hooking to the frame and warping it this way a faulty practice and should the damage be paid for by the tow company? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
First let me say that lifting on a frame to 'unstick' a hitch just doesn't make sense to me. It's always better to lift on that part which is stuck when possible.
That said, I'm trying to imagine how hard you would have to pull to do damage to the ford's 36,000 Psi. frame. I can only imagine that the hitch buried in the ground must of caused great resistance, otherwise the manufacturer claims this kind of damage is not possible by pulling or lifting the weight of the truck alone.
At first, I saw a couple problems with your recovery solution since a cable cannot be hooked back onto itself without damaging the cable, but this could be accomplished with a loop of chain or a recovery strap. Would this method lift the hitch from the ground, or just dig it deeper? I guess I'd have to be there to say for sure.
I would not consider the method they used to be faulty. Indeed towing operators have long been trained to attach to the strongest part of the vehicle which is the frame. These methods were derived from the manufacturers recommendations and they are still an industry wide standard for most tow operators.
Is the tow operator responsible for the damage? Good question. I wish we could perform every recovery without damage but it's just not possible. Often times we are simply resigned to limiting what is sure to be some damage.
If you don't feel the company performed well given the circumstances perhaps you approach them about some sort of recompense, but proving they were negligent in their ability would be very difficult.
Hope I've helped.
Good Day Sorry to here of this situation. Here is my .02..
Since we are not present it is hard to say what really happened. I have some questions. But please do not get offended in my questions.
Was a Damage Release Signed?
Possible pblm while 4wheeling trucks frame was bent causing rearend to brake, allowing truck to roll backwards until becoming stuck. Did not tear apart until winching
As far as running cable through hitch etc would have to pull almost directly behind truck when came free might roll/slide into wrecker.
Hike up to the location of the scene get a feel of the area sons truck was stuck.
Address Your Concerns to the owner of the Towing Company. If truly at fault the Professional Towing Company will make amends best of luck.
this is what I'd tell you if I ws the operator that pulled the truck out
1. i wasn't the person doing what my vehicle wasn't intended to do.
2. you called me to recover the vehicle from a situation that was caused by "stupidity".
3. like Bill said, we try to recover a vehicle by doing as little damage as possible. damage is not always caused by negligence, it's sometimes caused by circumstance.
4. the possibillity of an F-150 frame being bent by pulling directly on it is slim to none. you can lift an F-150 straight up in the air by nothing but the frame. you need to investigate what your son was doing with the truck prior to you finding out that the frame is bent NOW.
it sounds like your son likes to 4X4, maybe the extended abuse on the truck could've caused the frame to get bent over time.
Thanks for the feedback. Not looking to make someone else pay for my son's stupidity just wondering if method used was a bad practice. The frame was good when the truck hooked to it so it was definately done by the towing. The real issue is that he was not where he should have been and will now drive a wrecked truck until he can afford a 4500.00 repair. Hopefully this is a lesson learned. What started this question of faulty practice was the first body shop that we took the truck to. Thanks again for the feedback.
holy crap,,, that must be a little more than just a warped frame. it's gotta be pretty bad to be 4500 worth. 