One tow truck driver is mocking the “secret” ways drivers can stop their vehicles from being carted away. The driver, who posts under the Tow Truck Wags Facebook account, highlighted footage from other social media users sharing their hacks in a widely viewed post with hundreds of comments and thousands of likes. A text overlay that’s displayed from the beginning of the video reads: “Clever teens destroy the towing industry so they can park wherever they want.” From then on, the video presents a smash cut of different folks talking about different methods people utilize in order to ensure their vehicles can’t be towed. The first method displayed in the video is a simple hack: drivers are urged to rotate their car’s tires at an angle when they park. Following this, the post transitions to another clip of a manual car owner urging folks who drive stick to park their car while it’s in gear. An on-screen caption explains why this method may thwart tow truck drivers from driving away with your vehicle. “In the United States less than 2% of cars are manual, tow truck drivers just simply don’t want to deal with a car left in gear,” the text on the video reads. Furthermore, the person in the clip advocating for this tow-deterrent methodology explains that most towing companies aren’t going to “go through the trouble of opening up your window to put your car into neutral.” How Effective Are These Anti-Towing Methods? Judging by the sarcastic response uploaded by Tow Truck Wags, it doesn’t seem like these hacks are very useful at all. First, he records himself jokingly peering into the window of a parked vehicle before his heart sinks. “We can’t get this one,” he says to someone off-camera. “He left it in gear.” Afterward, he points to a parked SUV in a lot with its tires pointed to the left. “We can’t get this one either. They twisted the tires,” he quips. Next, he points to another vehicle that he says is not only in gear but also has its tires “twisted.” He looks at another sedan and remarks that it cannot be towed because the driver happened to place it in gear as well. Toward the end of his video, he records himself keying off his tow truck and stating despondently, “It’s over.” He then films himself crying into the camera, lamenting, “The internet … told our secrets.” Then, his video quickly cuts to him crying in front of a “Sorry, we’re closed” sign before he superimposes himself in front of an image of folks standing in line outside of what appears to be a food bank. “How about saving some beans for the rest of us, Dolores?” he wails, rubbing his belly. The final image of the video shows him squatting down in front of another green screen image of a tent set up beneath an overpass. “Hope you’re happy” is emblazoned on the video, which is a tongue-in-cheek intimation that he is now homeless because these anti-towing protocols were disseminated online. Anti-Towing Myths: The Wheel Turning Method Plenty of folks have hopped online to dispel these aforementioned so-called tow prevention practices. YouTube user @Towtruck_Dustin published a video demonstrating how the wheel-turning method is ultimately ineffective. In the clip, he records himself approaching a white sedan he says was “left … unattended, no keys, with the wheels turned.” According to the tower, this “only make[s] it slightly harder to load [the car] up.” And he films himself easily readying the car to be placed on the bed of his flatbed tow truck. Folks in this Quora post also advised against relying on this method to stop tow truck drivers from making away with your ride. One person in the forum who says they were a “former tow truck operator” bluntly replied to the Quora query: “Nope … transmission in park? Parking brake on? Wheels turned? No problem! Towed all of these separately and all in same vehicle.” The same commenter also stated that tow truck drivers usually “carry lockout tools.” Moreover, the driver stated that releasing parking brakes and unlocking cars is easy and that they were personally trained by police officers on how to do just that. Additionally, they commented that tow trucks “have a very strong winch [which is] capable of pulling your car with all its wheels locked up or sideways.” At the end of their post, they stated that flatbed trucks typically make towing vehicles easier, but that conventional tow trucks can still get the job done “either way.” Putting Manual Cars In Gear To Prevent Towing There are plenty of different ways to tow a car, like utilizing a tow dolly. By attaching a dolly to a vehicle, tow drivers can effectively lift its locked wheels off the ground. So, if the vehicle is a front-wheel drive model, then the nose of the car is lifted on the dolly, leaving its back wheels free to move without hindrance. The reverse is true for rear-wheel-drive cars: towing companies will lift the back of the car up onto the dolly, and the vehicle will be towed with its front wheels rotating on pavement. However, utilizing dollies can be tricky when it comes to all-wheel drive vehicles, as they will all be locked. There are manufacturers that make specialized dollies for AWD systems that lift all of a car’s tires off the ground. Consequently, this allows tow truck drivers to lift the entirety of the car up onto the dolly so its locked wheels never touch the ground. Also, flatbed tow trucks can typically get most vehicles loaded onto their back end. So, even if a manual car is set in gear, there are plenty of different ways for it to be towed. How To Prevent Your Car From Being Towed If you’re worried about tow thieves or companies riding off with your whip, there are some modifications you can put on your car to make this process more difficult. Proven Industries compiled a list of towing hindrances here. This includes installing wheel locks, boots, and clamps that prevent your tires from rolling. Folks can make towing endeavors more frustrating by installing rear wheel lockers and engaging a parking brake to force tow drivers to take more time to remove your vehicle. Additionally, lowering the stance of one’s ride or installing a lowering suspension kit can make it more difficult for companies to get beneath it. It also increases the probability of your car being damaged in a tow, which could result in the towing company being liable for any harm done to your vehicle. Drivers can also install skid plates underneath their car, which can make finding a winch attachment point a nightmare for towing businesses. Similarly, drivers can remove their tow hooks or covers on their cars altogether or modify them so they can’t be attached. Motor1 has reached out to Tow Truck Wags via Facebook direct message for further comment. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team