Recovery Truck loading and Breakdown Cover.

[prm]

Maybe I shouldn’t broach this subject, …………....I can now feel the stones passing my ears!!!!!

Continuing on from…….. carrying emergency BX spares.

Only ever had one roadside hydraulic suspension failure, front to rear pipe. Managed to get the car home, a short 3-4 mile trip, with the aid of about 20 litres of HLP oil. leaving a nearside snail trail behind. Consequently, a wrecked centre and rear exhaust boxes.
It was like driving a giant go cart.

Several of the short wheel base recovery trucks I’ve seen have a very steep loading angle on the platform and would no doubt damage the rear end of a BX, with no suspension, while loading.

Any members had experience with recovery trucks and the ideal way to load/winch?

I’ve never had Breakdown Cover. Been lucky so far.
Any recommendations with companies. Also prices?

Regards

[scarecrow]

The recovery truck would need a second set of ramps laid part-way up the first set to reduce the angle; or it's a hiab lift jobby - and if you state that is what would be needed they may be able to offer that option. Be prepared for a looooonnnnggg delay if that's the case.

When my first bx had to be recovered with no suspension at all it scraped quite a bit of the underside but I scrapped the car after so I never really found out what damage was actually done.

[Gibbo2286]

Old fashioned Harvey Frost crane and a couple of good chains does the job fine, as I found out when two pipes across the front cross member on my CX rubbed holes into each other. Gibbo.

[Vanny]

I have two notes on my file on the breakdown peoples computer system.

The first says 'Driver is a mechanic and can diagnose the fault correctly'
The second one says 'Only send a flat bed for the BX'

And this serves me well. I have never been on a spec lift, or beaver tail with the BX if the engine was running at there wasn't a hydraulic failure. Very understanding people!

Though the day i asked them to send a jump pack and they sent an 11tonne recovery wagon with no jump leads, i was less than ammused. 150miles, never over 60mph, is SLOW when you have a perfectly working car behind you thats a little bit hungry!

[Linegeist]

I have two notes on my file on the breakdown peoples computer system.

The first says 'Driver is a mechanic and can diagnose the fault correctly'
The second one says 'Only send a flat bed for the BX'

And this serves me well. I have never been on a spec lift, or beaver tail with the BX if the engine was running at there wasn't a hydraulic failure. Very understanding people!

Sounds good .... who are you with Vanny?

I get fed up with the RAC who, regardless of the fault, send out a patrol to check it out. So, when I reported a total hydraulic failure due to the octopus disintegrating, and requested recovery to the Cit dealer for a replacement (I was too busy to do it myself), I waited 2 hours before the bloke turned up in a Transit to 'get me going'.

He blanched when he saw the problem, radioed in asking for recovery and left to wait another hour.........

Prats! They know I'm a techie too - I used to work for them!

[JayW]

I used to have RAC cover, had it for years and never had the use for it until my 8v GTi blew it's head gasket...

I calls them up, says my cars blown the headgasket and i needed recovery. Then they started to ask me loads of stupid questions... Does it start, is there water in it, can i see steam ... At which point i got all arsey, said i was a mechanic and just to come recover me so i can get my money's worth for some of the years of premiums i'd paid...

At that point I made it VERY clear it was a BX and I would need a flat bed as it couldn't be towed on a pole without the engine running, to which they replied "Why is that"? (I also told them a SpecLift would fuck the rear arms up)...

Alas, 90 minutes later they arrived (i'd made the assumption that the long wait was for the truck), A van. Just a standard RAC van. The bloke pulls up and says (and i quote) "not gonna be able to tow that am I"? No shit Sherlock...

After correctly diagnosing the headgasket he calls for the truck and gets told it's a 2-3 hour wait, I spits me dummy out and drove the car the ten miles home wrecking the engine and promptly made a formal complaint.

After 3 months complaining I got 2 years free renewals and a cheque for £250 and a written apology. I also received a similar note to Vanny on my account.

Next time i needed the RAC was about 4 years later, and they screwed that up too in a cataclismic fashion (another story)... alas, complain etc....

[Vanny]

I use Boncaster Ltd with a preferential rate through another 'group'. I have no idea if Boncaster actually do domestic recovery to the general public. Either way i wouldn't trade them for the world. 12 years with them, probably 20+ recoverys and not a single problem. And usually they get the flatbed to me within 30 minutes and for the life of me i don't know how!

[electrokid]

When the main HP pipe failed at Langstone Bridge a few weeks ago the only problem was the frustration with the AA phone system - didn't get through the first time - when I did get through it was the usual 'press 1 if you want fries with it' etc.

When I did get through to a human being we got to talking about the problem so I told them there was no possibility of a roadside fix and it would definitely need to be carried home. Being a BX they obviously took me seriously and sent a flatbed.

If either of us had thought about it for a second or two the driver would have put wood blocks under the back end to stop it graunching as I drove it onto the flatbed. Neither of us did so it graunched - the damage being shared between the towbar second socket and the tarmac - no probs.

The guy noticed the trail of LHM and commented on it so he was probably required to make sure the car actually needed the truck. It was about an hour and a half wait - but then it's a longer wait for a truck than a patrol van.

All in all it was as good as a breakdown can be - and I got to Hayling Island last weekend.

[JayW]

and I got to Hayling Island last weekend.

Oh, i'd be very upset with that. Where were you trying to go?

[electrokid]

Oh, i'd be very upset with that. Where were you trying to go?

Funnily enough I had to go to Basingstoke to pick up an eBay purchase - that was upsetting of course Then I decided to make a day of it and drove on to my place of birth - Poole, then on to Bournemouth to renew memories etc - actually drove down the hill where, in the 1950s, dad's Rover 12 caught fire. Then I drove along the coastal roads eastwards - I like the south coast