Not every tow truck should touch your car the same way. Call (408) 763-3633 and tell dispatch what you're driving. All-wheel drive, lowered suspension, an electric motor instead of a gas engine: any of those usually means a flatbed, not a hook and chain dragging your drive wheels down 101.
A flatbed tow truck carries your entire vehicle on a flat trailer bed, all four wheels off the ground, either winched up a ramp or tilted into place hydraulically. Nothing about your car touches the road during transport. Compare that to a wheel-lift tow, which lifts one axle with a hydraulic cradle while the other set of wheels rolls along the pavement behind it. Wheel-lift is faster and usually cheaper. Flatbed is slower to load but avoids any wear, or risk, to a vehicle's own wheels and drivetrain during the tow, since nothing is rolling or spinning the entire way.
Some vehicles can go on a wheel-lift without issue. Others genuinely shouldn't, and towing them the wrong way risks real damage that costs more to fix than the tow itself.
Most AWD and 4WD manufacturers specify flatbed transport, and for good reason. Wheel-lift towing spins the axle that's still on the ground, and on a vehicle where all four wheels connect through a shared drivetrain, that rotation can force components that were never designed to turn without the engine running, the transmission and transfer case especially. Spin them long enough at highway speed and you're looking at drivetrain damage that shows up as a repair bill, sometimes a serious one, well after the tow truck is gone. When in doubt, check your owner's manual under "towing" before assuming wheel-lift is fine.
Sports cars, lowered trucks, and anything else riding closer to the pavement than a standard sedan risk scraping the front bumper or undercarriage during a wheel-lift hookup, where the front, or rear, of the car gets tilted up as the cradle lifts. A flatbed avoids the geometry problem entirely, since the car rolls straight up a ramp instead of getting angled.
Most EV manufacturers, including Tesla, specify flatbed-only towing and explicitly warn against towing with any wheels on the ground. The reasons vary by manufacturer, but generally involve the electric motors themselves: on many EVs, the wheels stay mechanically connected to the drive motor even when the car is off, and spinning that motor without the vehicle powered up and managing it can cause damage that a traditional combustion engine's drivetrain wouldn't suffer the same way. If you drive an EV, mention the make and model when you call, and check your owner's manual for the manufacturer's specific towing guidance if you're not sure.
Motorcycles almost always go on a flatbed, secured upright with straps, since there's no safe way to wheel-lift a two-wheeled vehicle. The same goes for cars that won't roll at all: a seized wheel, a locked-up transmission, or a vehicle that's been in a serious collision often needs to be winched onto a flatbed rather than pulled on its own wheels.
The truck backs up close, tilts or lowers the bed to meet the ground, and either winches the vehicle up under its own dead weight or, if the car can be put in neutral and rolled, guides it up under light power. Once it's on the bed, the operator straps down each wheel individually, not just the bumper or frame, so the car can't shift during transport. The bed levels back out, and the vehicle rides the rest of the way exactly as it sat in the driveway, just a few feet off the ground.
Wheel-lift makes sense for a standard front-wheel or rear-wheel-drive car, in one piece, with wheels that turn freely. It's quicker to hook up and typically costs less. Flatbed makes sense for AWD and 4WD vehicles, EVs, low-clearance cars, motorcycles, and anything that isn't rolling freely on its own four wheels. If you're not sure which category your car falls into, tell dispatch the year, make, and model, and they'll know, or the operator will make the call once they see it in person.
A flatbed truck can reach anywhere in the coverage area: Morgan Hill, Gilroy, San Martin, Coyote, South San Jose, and the 101 and Monterey Road stretch running through all of them. Rural driveways and gravel roads are fine too; just mention the surface when you call so the operator brings enough ramp and cable to work with.
Flatbed tows generally cost more than a wheel-lift tow of the same distance, since the equipment is more specialized and loading takes longer. Beyond that baseline, the same factors apply as any other tow: distance, vehicle weight, and time of day. See the towing cost guide for the full breakdown. Call (408) 763-3633 for a real quote based on your specific vehicle.
Driving an AWD, a lowered car, or an EV? Call (408) 763-3633 and ask for flatbed towing. Get it on the truck the right way the first time.
Check your owner's manual under the towing section, since manufacturers spell this out directly for AWD, 4WD, and electric models. If you can't find it or aren't sure, tell dispatch the year, make, and model when you call, and they can tell you, or the operator will make the right call once they see the car.
Usually the safest option, in fact. A flatbed doesn't require the car to roll at all, which matters if a wheel, axle, or steering component was damaged in the collision. See the accident recovery page for more on what happens after a crash.
Yes, within the truck's weight rating. Flatbed trucks come in different capacities, and dispatch matches the right size truck to your vehicle when you call, so mention if you're driving something larger than a standard car or crossover.
It can, depending on the drivetrain design and how far it gets towed that way. Some AWD systems disconnect cleanly and tolerate it fine; others don't, and there's no way to tell just by looking at the car from the outside. That's exactly why checking the owner's manual, or just asking for a flatbed up front, is the safer bet.
The loading process takes a few extra minutes, since the operator has to winch or drive the vehicle up and strap down each wheel individually. Once it's loaded, the drive itself takes the same time as any other tow covering the same distance, so the real difference between the two methods shows up at the start of the call, not at the end of it.
Call (408) 763-3633 now. Tell dispatch what you're driving, and they'll send the right truck the first time.