Professional wheel-lift towing from All City Towing Service, available 24/7.
Call (858) 365-5350Wheel-lift towing uses a hydraulic lifting system that slides under your vehicle and lifts either the front or rear wheels off the ground while the other set remains in contact with the road. This method is faster to set up than flatbed loading and works well for most standard passenger vehicles, light trucks, and SUVs that don't have ground clearance issues.
The wheel-lift mechanism consists of a heavy-duty steel yoke that extends from the back of our tow truck. We position this yoke under your vehicle's tires, then hydraulic cylinders lift that end of your car approximately 2-3 feet off the ground. For front-wheel-drive vehicles, we typically lift the front wheels since the drive wheels need to be off the pavement. Rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles require different approaches depending on the specific drivetrain configuration.
Our operators inspect each vehicle before hooking up to determine the safest lift points and check for any modifications that might affect the towing process. We use protective padding on contact points and ensure proper weight distribution before transport. The entire hookup process typically takes 5-7 minutes once we're positioned.
Wheel-lift towing is ideal for roadside breakdowns, accident recovery, and repossessions where speed matters. However, it's not suitable for vehicles with severe front-end damage, extremely low ground clearance, or all-wheel-drive systems that can't have wheels dragging. In those cases, we'll recommend flatbed service instead to prevent drivetrain damage.
Quick wheel-lift pickup gets your non-starting vehicle to the shop without the setup time of flatbed loading.
When your car is driveable but unsafe, wheel-lift removes you from traffic lanes faster than any other method.
Front-wheel lift prevents further damage to failed transmissions by keeping drive wheels off the pavement.
Property managers rely on wheel-lift speed for efficient removal of illegally parked vehicles.
Overheated or mechanically failed vehicles with standard clearance move quickly via wheel-lift transport.