Waiting on the road for a tow truck is never fun, in particular if you need to be at other places. This means you might not be able to always be present when the tow truck comes to move your vehicle.
But, if you’ve called a tow truck and the car is unattended, how will the driver load the car on our truck?
It’s an issue we face regularly here at King’s – customers need their cars moved, but they don’t want to leave vehicles open. Maybe they’re unwilling to give the towing service the keys. It’s something that makes our job more difficult, however not impossible.
So, how do tow trucking services unlock cars? In this blog, we’ll see whether a tow truck driver needs the keys to move the car, and what you can do if you are not comfortable with giving the keys.
Do Tow Trucks Need Your Keys?
The short answer is affirmative – tow truck drivers mostly need your keys when moving a vehicle.
In order to properly load, tow and unload the vehicle, the driver needs to be able to put the car in neutral gear and hit the handbrake. If you do not give us keys, we won’t be able to reach the controls. This is something that makes our job a bit tougher.
It’s not impossible to tow a vehicle if we do not have the keys. However, towing without keys raises the risk of accidental damage.
The challenge is that the majority of drivers park their vehicles, hit the handbrake and shift the transmission into Park (also into 1st gear for manual cars). The trouble here is the transmission.
When you shift an automatic vehicle into parking mode, the transmission is locked by a tooth that stops your gearbox from turning. So, if a tow driver tries to do it with a winch to pull your vehicle on top of the flatbed truck, your transmission might be damaged in the process.
We can get around this problem by using little rolling platforms named dollies. A dolly is somewhat like a roller skate for the car. Your driver places a dolly beneath the driven wheels of the vehicle, allowing them to safely winch the vehicle onboard the truck. The dollies are also used when the vehicle is offloaded.
This creates extra work for your driver. If any customer is unwilling or unable to give us the keys to the vehicle, we ask that they let us know in advance so we can make sure our driver has the correct equipment for the job.
How Do Tow Trucks Unlock Cars?
Tow truck drivers mostly have the keys to the vehicles we are towing. If the customer is not willing provide the keys (or if we don’t have keys, for instance when moving a vehicle that is abandoned), we can make do without.
We usually pick up the keys to your vehicnle in one of the following ways:
- You wait with the car and give the keys once the tow truck has reached
- You get on with your day, and then come back to the vehicle with the keys at a pre decided time
- We arrange with you to drop off the keys at one of our facilities before we send a tow truck to bring back your vehicle
- You lock up the vehicle and put away the keys in a secure place that we’ll be able to find once we have reached
It’s usually that simple. Let us know if you do not have the keys, or if you’re genuinely uneasy about leaving keys with the tow truck driver, and we’ll come up alternative arrangements.
There’s no need to worry about leaving your car’s keys with a tow truck driver. We’ll take ti straight to your residence, mechanic or an insurance assessment centre. We will not make any other stops, and your vehicle will be perfectly safe in our care.
If you’re worried, then make sure you do some research into the towing company you’re working with. Look up their online reviews and ask the driver for their tow truck licence to make sure that they’re trustworthy.
Need to Tow a Vehicle Without any Keys? Speak to the King’s Towing Team!
Breaking down on the side of the road is not fun. Also, we understand if you’re feeling unsure about giving your car keys to a stranger. But there’s nothing to worry about when you work with King’s Towing!
The team at King’s Towing are licensed, trusted and reliable. If you need to move a car, motorbike, truck or any other kind of vehicle, we can make sure it gets where you need it to go.
We’ll work with you to figure out an arrangement that suits your requirements. You can wait with your vehicle, drop the keys off at your closest depot, or have a chat with us if you’d rather not leave your car keys with our team. Your comfort is our priority, so are able to come up with a solution that works for everybody.
Get in touch today if you need breakdown or accident towing in Perth, or give us a call if you require our 24/7 emergency towing service!
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