The Most Embarrassing Reasons You Needed A Tow

Here are the stories about times you were almost too embarrassed to call for help.

We've all made mistakes in the past that we aren't proud of. And sometimes, when that happens you're left with no choice but to call in the recovery squad.

So this morning, we asked for some of your embarrassing stories about times you needed a tow. Here are some of the best responses we had.

A Friend In Need

"A long time friend decided that we were heading out to the various locales in his '85 F150. Much to my surprise, when he arrived at my door he had girl with him whom we had both gone to high school with.

"Friend had been taking a liking to the young lass, and despite his best efforts fate wasn't on his side that night as the young woman took a shining to my much more eclectic personality (and killer hair).

"Needless to say, the trip home was further awkward as the seating arrangement had switched to the lass sitting on the passenger side, and myself awkwardly trying to avoid injury from a hastily thrown shifter in the center of the bench.... My friend was clearly not happy with me.

"At the night's conclusion to drop off the lass at home, I was instructed out of the truck and to walk home.

"As I strolled home, both smug and confused; my cell phone rang a few minutes later. It was my friend who had just abandoned me in anger. Not to apologize. But to ask for help. He had made it about two blocks and the engine quit on the truck – a product of age and anger that the plastic timing gears on his 300 inline-6 had failed in glorious fashion.

"His rage had turned to utter meekness and downright embarrassment as I had to flat tow his truck."

Suggested by: Scott Pro (Facebook)

I Hope The Recovery Driver Doesn’t Recognize Me

"Most embarrassing reason for a tow AND most embarrassing tow, all in one! At 17, a friend of mine got a Jeep XJ.

"Teenage brain: 'Hell yeah, a Jeep! Let's go off road! There's an empty field with snow in it! Let's do it!'

"But because we were dumbasses, we immediately high centered it on a snowbank somehow and managed to get surprisingly stuck. So we needed a tow. We flagged down the first vehicle we saw and... it was my dad's cousin. Who at least helped us. And promised not to tell my dad. But it would have been way better if it was someone we didn't actually know."

Suggested by: citricola

You’ve Got A Screw Loose

"I worked at a dealer and stayed after work to put a transmission in my 01 Grand Prix GTP. Got it installed, made it halfway home and lost drive. Looked in the rear view and saw a trail of transmission fluid as far as the eye could see.

"Poked my head under the car and realized I hadn't fully seated the driver's axle. Everyone at the shop had a good laugh when 15 minutes after I'd driven away I got towed back."

Suggested by: John Noberini (Facebook)

Frozen To the Spot

"We had been hit with a massive ice storm two days before the end of the semester. My car was in some distant parking lot, and so I didn't think about it too much, thinking that since the roads had been cleared, my car was surely just fine. Well, cue me, carrying my suitcase all the way out there to leave for a month, only to find that the ice had melted off of the top of the car, refreezing my tires to the pavement.

"I had passed some college bros rocking their cars out of the parking spots on my way out, but my lot was mostly empty and deserted. After some experimental hacking with a tire iron and even some treks back to the empty campus for hot water, I was forced to call a tow, who showed up relatively quickly, but charged me $200 to pull my car 10 feet."

Suggested by: OracleAnne

Cars Don’t Float

"My friend and I tried to Cannonball Run car skip his '96 Concorde across what we thought was some shallow water in a flooded alleyway. Turned out to be much deeper than we thought, so the engine went kablam. The wrecker could not help from laughing his ass off at us."

Suggested by: @TheSnadd (Twitter)

Please Don’t Pimp My Ride

"Got my wife on Pimp my Ride with her 1973 VW Thing. They upgraded her 1600 dual port to a 1917cc dual carbureted turbo-charged engine and we've thought it reliable enough to take to shows from San Diego to LA area. 😆 🤣 😂 Broke down and towed home multiple times. Power from an old VW means sacrificing reliability."

Suggested by: Kersten Falk (Facebook)

The Best Boat Is Always Your Buddy’s Boat

"Someone bought my boat but did not have a tow vehicle but lived on a lake. I offered to tow it to them. In my neighborhood the wheel bearing let loose and the wheel fell off the trailer. I jumped out of my Jeep and caught it before it rolled too far.

"So, here I am with one end of the axle ground into the asphalt three blocks from home, I called a tow truck. They put a slider under that bad end of the trailer (with the boat on it) and pulled it onto the flatbed. It was going on crooked so we tied a tow strap to the trainer and I pulled it sideways with my Jeep front bumper tow points until it was strait on the flatbed.

"They towed it away to the boat mechanic that refused to fix it because they did not work on trailers. The new owner fixed it in that parking lot and I gave him some money back for the trouble. Fitting end to the years I hated that boat."

Suggested by: 4jimstock

Controlling Your Car With Your Phone

"Had my Hummer towed for $200. I thought the front brakes had seized, the truck couldn't move when I turned the wheel in. Made it home on the tow truck, that's when I realized the holster for my phone had push the 4wd button. I wanted to disappear from this earth."

Suggested by: Cesar A. Olivera Latorre (Facebook)

DIY Gone Awry

"I was changing the transmission fluid on my old Explorer. I replaced the pan gasket (or so I thought) and refilled with fluid...the ensuing puddle in the garage required a tow to the shop. Somehow I tore the gasket before I even installed it."

Suggested by: @yepronsaidit (Twitter)

Don’t Ever Hit Family

"I had the pleasure of having my parents and brother attend my college graduation. They were also there to assist in my move back home, which was scheduled for the day after graduation.

"By about noon, the vehicles were packed up. My dad had filled his 98 F250 and I, my 97 Integra. My brother and I elected to ride together, and my parents in my Dad's truck. As we creeped along the narrow stretch just north of Salinas on 101, my brother and I got to talking. We were engaged in our conversation which promptly led to me smacking my car into the back of my dad's truck.

"My dad had a powered lift gate on his truck, no bumper. So, when I made contact, I went under the truck. I was only going about 20-25mph, but the lack of bumper actually prevented the impact from setting off the airbags.

"I pulled over to the side in time to catch the flames in my dad's eyes as he stepped out of his truck, covered in Dr Pepper.

"A few passersby offered assistance and one even said that he saw the whole thing, to which my dad replied: 'Don't worry, he's my son.'

"The look of discomfort on the good samaritan's face is seared into my memory. A similar conversation happened shortly after when the tow truck driver arrived to take the car up the road to an impound lot that was closed."

Suggested by: dabeej707

Your Car Is Not A Snowmobile

"I was working the Sno*Drift rally in 2016. I was driving a Focus ST with winter tires and skid plates.

"I'm following my GPS. I get directed to make a turn onto a snow-covered road. I pause for a moment before committing, and determine that it looks passable. I did notice some 'funny' looking tracks in the snow.

"I get to a clearing in the trees and my car suddenly comes to a dead stop AND it sinks. I can't get out because I have snow up to my door handles. I brought a snow shovel along, so I crawl out the window, get the shovel and get to work. After a few minutes, I begin to realize what happened.

"I had been driving on top of approximately 3' of snow that was cold enough to support the weight of the car. When I hit the clearing, the snow had warmed/softened enough that I sank. I get on my radio to let the Rally America folks know that I'm stuck and where I am.

"First truck arrives. He made it about a third of the way there, and gets stuck. A second truck arrives. We get the first truck recovered, and then we try to get to my car. He gets stuck about half way.

"Next, a F-150 Raptor arrives. At this point we're all standing out near the road I had turned from. He stops and says to me: 'You fool. What are you doing on a snowmobile route.'

"The Raptor tries, unsuccessfully to get to me. He got stuck about two thirds of the way in. I ended up hiring a tow truck"

Suggested by: Michael Miller (Facebook)

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