What's the best way to pull a car off of a concrete median?

SeismicWhales

SeismicWhales

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Salt Lake City, Utah.
I came across a car stuck on the median unable to move because the wheels were off the ground. I offered to pull them off with my winch or tow strap but was unable to find a spot to attach because they had no tow hitch and the rest of the car was resting on the median.

The police officer called a tow truck because they called one like 45 minutes earlier and it never showed up.

The only thing I could think of is using a high lift to jack the front up and putting a cinderblock under the front tire and rear tire on one side so they could drive forward at an angle to get off the median. I, unfortunately, didn't have any cinderblocks and because I'm still recovering from an ACL injury I wouldn't be able to lift them.


Heres the picture of the median they were stuck on, the blue circle is about where the car was:
stuck.PNG
stuck.PNG


(Thanks to whoever moved this to Off-Topic, I was unsure of where this was supposed to go.)
 
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SeismicWhales said:
Yeah, that's probably true. I just really like helping people, even if they'res downsides for me.
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Well since I have a floor jack in my Jeep I’d probably jack up a corner and try to push the car over to get traction. Hard to do if you are recovering though.

could always wrap through a wheel if possible and winch but that can be risky.
 
Apparition said:
Well since I have a floor jack in my Jeep I’d probably jack up a corner and try to push the car over to get traction. Hard to do if you are recovering though.

could always wrap through a wheel if possible and winch but that can be risky.
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I thought about that but the only jack I had on me was a bottle jack that wouldn't fit under the car. I didn't think about wrapping the wheel, I don't know how to do that though, so that's probably a good thing lol.
 
On a modern plastic clad car, it is likely more trouble then it's worth if no one is in immediate danger and a simple push won't do the job. It's a shame, really.
 
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Im guessing you didnt look underneath it. Cars have tow hooks under there. There is usually at least one on the front and one on the rear. Sometimes the winch hooks are too big to use, as the holes are small on most cars.

FC397D88-FA7A-41BF-8E2C-BF7D5614E7DE.jpeg


If you didnt see one of these, there are usually panels on the front fascia that pop out and a hook screws into the frame and can be used as a recovery point.
 
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SeismicWhales said:
I thought about that but the only jack I had on me was a bottle jack that wouldn't fit under the car. I didn't think about wrapping the wheel, I don't know how to do that though, so that's probably a good thing lol.
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Here’s what I meant, like this but just to get it off the median. Since no available tow point.

atiedown5.jpg
 
I've done semi risky things to help people in the past. The older they are the more likely I will do it again.

I wouldn't do anything with a high lift jack on anyone's car. Mainly because I don't think there's anyplace strong enough under either bumper to lift the car and most jack points are near the tires which is way too close to the fenders. Others will mention other reasons for avoiding the high lift jack.

Many cars today have a little plastic cap on the bumper to cover the mounting hole for the tow hook in the trunk near the spare tire.

3-3-16trivia.jpg


img55637396.jpg


FWIW, the one in the trunk actually looks like this:

bfotVn4HAyJ7cPe_FRhKPiTNZFxLTXQ3C4mNIus7jIM.jpg
 
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5 people could lift a little car like that off the median.
 
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Fouledplugs said:
Im guessing you didnt look underneath it. Cars have tow hooks under there. There is usually at least one on the front and one on the rear. Sometimes the winch hooks are too big to use, as the holes are small on most cars.

View attachment 139093
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I believe these are tie down points for transport. While they may be strong enough for a pull, your strap or rope could still damage the plastic bumper/ fascia/ spoiler.
 
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Those are not 'tow hooks'. They are lashing points to hold the vehicle in place for global shipping. They are not strong enough to be pulled by. Just enough to hold them from rolling off the ship when lashed front and back. Snatching off a tire will be a sure way to have a tricycle when you are done.
In this litigious world we live in the smart thing is offer to call someone for the car owner, but do not touch ANYTHING. The insurance company will claim damage occurred when you moved the vehicle, not from impacting the median. So then the owner will be forced to sue you to replace it. And you would also be disturbing the scene of a crime. Unfortunately this is the way it is. If you offer any medical help that is not to preserve life (some tylenol) you can be held accountable for that too. Be very careful about helping people nowadays. You used to get a thank you, now you get sued for every penny you have.
And yes, I know that nor everybody is like that, but can you tell them apart in that moment? When some scab lawyer says they can get an easy couple hundred thousand dollars off of you later that day? Play it safe. Don't watch someone burn to death, but short of that be very wary and have all interactions filmed with them giving you full amnesty for each and every thing you do. Even then it could bite you in the a$$.
 
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Fouledplugs said:
Im guessing you didnt look underneath it. Cars have tow hooks under there. There is usually at least one on the front and one on the rear. Sometimes the winch hooks are too big to use, as the holes are small on most cars.

View attachment 139093

If you didnt see one of these, there are usually panels on the front fascia that pop out and a hook screws into the frame and can be used as a recovery point.
Click to expand...

I looked under the front and back bumper but I didn't see or feel anything like this. I wasn't able to lie down and get my head under because there wasn't enough room. I didn't see any of the panels that can pop off.
 
JEEPCJTJ said:
I've done semi risky things to help people in the past. The older they are the more likely I will do it again.

I wouldn't do anything with a high lift jack on anyone's car. Mainly because I don't think there's anyplace strong enough under either bumper to lift the car and most jack points are near the tires which is way too close to the fenders. Others will mention other reasons for avoiding the high lift jack.

Many cars today have a little plastic cap on the bumper to cover the mounting hole for the tow hook in the trunk near the spare tire.

View attachment 139100

View attachment 139101

FWIW, the one in the trunk actually looks like this:

View attachment 139102
Click to expand...

There wasn't any place under the back or front bumper I could put my Hi-Lift, it had like a foot of plastic before there was any metal. I didn't see any panels that could pop out, but I didn't check everywhere. I actually didn't know that some cars have those, so I'm glad I do now.
 
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