the last two days have been nothing but work. Just finished end of year inventory and dealing with auditors. worked about 13 hrs yesterday and 11 today. after work i come home and try to relax; however get a call from the wife saying her 97 dodge caravan wouldnt start. ( its about 15 to 20 degrees in ct today). so i go to pick her up and try to start her car. on the way to her i was doing about 70mph on I-84, there was a DOT truck on the shoulder of the high way with his lights flashing. i went to move over a lane to the left (i was in the right lane) however there was no room. so i stayed were i was and slowed down to about 60. in front of that DOT truck there was a tow truck pulling off the shoulder and merging into traffic on the highway. so i hit my brakes and BANG!!! got slammed into by the ******* fallowing too close. i recently took my bumper off due to rust so there was no damage to my bumper. i cracked my driver side tail lights and the bed/fender got bent. my truck had really no damage (i hope theres nothing that willl show up down the road) however his car was ****ED up! his passenger side light was missing his hood was bent in half his radiator was in two pcs the radiator supports were tore off his front bumper was dragging and his wheel well was rubbing against his tire. after standing around in the freezing cold for a half hr state trooper shows up. blah blah blah and im on my way. here is a picture of my rear end (took it after the accident dont have one of his car because my cell phone was
dead)
another view
so i get to my wifes van and she had killed the battery trying to start her car. she called road side assistance after hearing about my accident. so they come out and charge her battery the van still wont start. by this time im thinking fuel pump. so as she try to start it i get down and start hitting the gas tank and it starts!. so we drive away. now on the high way to get home i see her pull over into the slow lane, than off the road; her van had stalled. and the battery is dead again. so i put my truck behind her her van on the highway and push her all the way on the the grass next to the highway Route 691. then her and our two kids climb in the truck and get out of the freezing cold.
I dont have money for a tow truck to get her van home to take a look at it; however i have a ram so i figured id take a tow chain put it around my tow hitch and somewhere to her car and pull her off the next exit and back roads home. besides telling you guys off my ****ty day and the *** wipe who rear ended me id like your opinion on me and my ram pulling her home. her is a picture of my tow hitch (it was taken a couple days ago so u cant see the rear end damage

my plan is to take the tow chain wrap it around my tow hitch bar and around like her axle or something and lock it with a pad lock so the chain cant fall off. have her put her car in neutral and steer as i pull her home.... any thoughts or advice on this???

 

I would never tow anyone that does not have experience being towed - the reason, a mistake would jack up the front of her caravan......

Can you rent a tow dolly at U Haul?

 

If you trust her and can find a good tow point on the van go for it.....have her drive your truck and tell her nice and slow, you drive the van the brakes are gonna be nice and hard you do most of the braking keeps the chain tight and doesn't allow the hard yanks that f>ck **** up.

Your hitch is plenty strong don't even worry about that

 

A weld on panel will fix that rear corner. About $50 from c2c fabrication.

 

Walkie talkies or cell phones will come in handy for the tow. I got my mom to bring me my truck one time when my camaro broke down and she had never towed a vehicle before, that was fun.
I worked the car because of the tight brakes and I didn't want her to eat up my hitch if she had trouble. I wanted to make sure she didn't have the brake on in the truck after we got rolling (I always set it and she doesn't) but the horn doesn't work on the car so I called her cell phone and she wouldn't pick up the phone when I called due to bad cell reception. I flashed the lights and got no response. I hit the brakes and got no response aside from hearing the pipes on the truck sound off a little. I swerved from the edge of the road to the other lane and back a couple times while flashing the lights and stomping on the brakes (just about stopped the truck with the camaro) before I finally got her attention . Moral of the story: have a way to communicate when being towed by a woman.

I just used bungie cords to keep the chain from popping out of the hole it was hooked into.
Tell her to let you stop both vehicles with the van to maintain tension on the chain while also avoiding getting an close up of the tailgate on the truck. When you're almost stopped tell her to ease onto the brakes since they're going to work a lot better than the vans.

 

Don't USE A Chain for TOWING!!

If you really can't get a uhaul or something similar and really exhaust all options to tow, then please please get a strap.



I concur with redheadhunter about how to do the towing.


Really sorry about your week and the situation. All the more to be as safe as possible. If I was in your state, I'd use my AAA and take care of it for you. :/

 

What's wrong with using a chain when you're doing 15-20 mph? When a strap hits asphalt a couple times it shreds it. When you use that strap to ****** something later on then there will be a good chance that it'll break.
Besides, he has a chain and straps cost money. Sometimes you have to work with what you already have.

 

Chains are for holding, not loading. The condition of each link is not the same. A simple overload (even progressive), opens up that "wink" link. In addition, the store energy and when they let go, catastrophically I might add...the are killing machines. Can you avoid this? Yes, by wrapping it with say carpet or rope around it to deaden it.

It's just never a good idea, including the use of metal hooks. Straps are reliable and on a short jaunt like this, the chafing is negligible. When a strap breaks it just falls away and is of no danger.

 

Sorry, this is bull****. He doesn't HAVE to obtain this vehicle in this manner. ****, I'll buy him one, send the money to avert potential bodily harm. ESPECIALLY worse in the colder temperatures.

 

A tow dolly is $45 for the day at U-Haul. A mortal wound from a busted chain is a tad more expensive. Do the math.