I'm pushin her home from now on...rain or shine.

[DjEep]

So i was driving home today when the clutch cable in my 69 bay broke. No huge deal but it was pouring rain and i had no replacement on me. I called AAA to get a lift home 4 me and the bus so i could take care of it later when i wouldn't get drenched. I had rolled the bus to the side of the road in neutral and parked it. It was still in neutral. Tow guy hooks up, grabs the shifter and gives it a wiggle. Then we get in the truck and drive home.

I get a bad feeling when the truck feels like it's struggling on the hills a little but the trip is short and soon we're at my house. Tow guy unhooks and i hop in to roll it to the curb. I smell gas. Then i notice that the bus is in SECOND GEAR!

I find a nice, pretty rainbow trail up the street and under my bus. I open the hatch to find the fuel line blasted off at the carb, soaking the engine, the fan belt is now inside out. God knows what's going on inside the engine and trans. Tow guy says "you said it was in neutral" and tries to get in his truck and go.

He had just put my bus in 2nd and towed it at 50 mph. He destroyed my bus and was about to just leave.

I stop him and ask for the number where i could reach his supervisor. He says "it's on the truck." Well the number on the truck was disconnected so he gets the number out of his cell and takes off as i call his boss. The guy i reach says he doesn't understand how the trans being in gear and the blasted fuel line could be related. ??? He says he'll call back and hangs up. I call AAA and after some haggling they say they'll have it checked out in a few days...yay...I better get this paid for.

From now on if i break down in the rain i'm just gonna fold out the bed and take a nap til the rain stops.

PS Bill Wren's towing sucks

[matthijs melchiors]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Hope the damage is not all to serious.
I know about these tow services. they are sometimes not the best. As a longtime AAA member however my guess is that AAA will take your claim seriously. Don't give up and keep us posted as to what the outcome is

Good luck with your repairs
_________________
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58 rag top beetle
61 convertible beetle
71 autostick beetle

[vdubdan]

Well AAA is an insurance company, now lets see how well they back themselves up. Good luck.

Dan

[TeamSpatula]

I always ask for a rollback for reasons like that...
sorry to hear it, but good luck dealing with the company...
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I NEED A CAMPER!!!! (1971 is ideal but will consider other years)
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[Mark Evans]

I drove for AAA years ago. You need to go directly to the regional manager/supervisor to file a complaint. Don't expect it to go very far by complaining to the towing company.

[fifty-five]

You can still drive with a broken clutch cable. It just takes a little more finesse. When you come up to a stop put the bus in neutral and when you stop put it in first when it's go time hit the starter and when the bus fires let off the starter and off you go. When it comes time to change gears pull it back in neutral and then slowly pull it in gear and pat the gas and it should fall into gear if the revs are matched up good. I've driven home at least 10 miles this way stop lights and all. I hope all goes well with AAA.

[TimGud]

Odds are you will need to sue the company in small claims court. One thing to keep in mind is judges tend to give judgements to the private citizen and not to towinc companies,but you need to keep a level head and have a few facts and a good reputable witness (mechanic) to state what towing it in drive would do to the bus. Repair reciepts are also very helpful. It will cost you alittle time and alittle money but the odds are in your favor of winning in court.

[Gary]

[notchback]

[Gary]

[fifty-five]

[notchback]

[DjEep]

It's hard to drive with no clutch when you live in SF. There are too many hills, lights, signs, signs on top of hills, lights on top of signs, and lots of really stupid drivers. My cable snapped at a green light and nobody seemed to understand what emergency flashers were for. People were flying around both sides of me or sitting right on my tail, lurching and laying on the horn. I had to wait for some guys who looked like they played for Raiders to block traffic and help me roll her off the road.

[4x4EATR]

You'd be amazed at how many people don't even know how to drive a stick, let alone without a clutch. Roll starting? They're clueless. Then of course, there's people like me, who have yet to own an auto.

[ubercrap]

[maetl]

That's incredibly depressing...

Both the bus story, and the fact that people don't know that manual tranny's exist...

[Gary]

[Syberia]

A couple years ago when my mom was shopping for a new car, she settled on a Camry and when she went to the dealer to buy one and requested a manual transmission, the salesman's response was "we don't make those anymore." That being the case, I'm actually not surprised that younger people have never seen one.

[turboblue]

[90volts]

or why our CDs were so big! (LPs)