Calling a tow truck for your camper van? Read these 5 tips first

The generator mounted below our van made getting Camper Van Beethoven on the tow truck a bit tricky. Be sure to let your tow truck driver know of anything mounted under yours.

We hoped it would never happen. The bang and then the thud-thud-thud of a blown tire on the freeway.

But, there we were, 1 hour into our trip to Indiana Dunes State Park.

Bummer, right?

Even more of a bummer: We didn’t have a spare tire, which meant we’d need a tow.

No spare? I know. I know.

Thing is, our camper van didn’t come with a spare tire. Thor used the space under the van where a spare tire usually goes on a Ram Promaster to mount the generator.

We thought we’d be ok with roadside assistance and an air compressor instead. Thing is, you can’t air up a shredded tire. And, roadside service doesn’t include bringing you a new tire. Only changing a tire.

Oops.

5 tips for getting your camper van towed

Now that we’ve gotten our camper van towed and lived to tell the tale, we naturally have some tips to share. Tips that we hope make getting your van towed, if it ever comes to that, as smooth as it can be.

1 Know your van’s measurements

Camper Van Beethoven is 9,350 pounds of fun. Make sure you know how much your camper van weighs in case you need to get it towed.

Not every tow truck can accommodate a camper van, especially a big one like ours. So, be sure you know the height, length, width, weight and wheelbase of your van.

Jot them down and keep them somewhere you can easily access. Maybe a note on your phone or a piece of paper in your glovebox, along with your insurance and registration documents.

After all, you might be too frazzled or not have a strong enough phone signal to look up all this information in the heat of an emergency.

When you request roadside assistance or talk to a towing service, be sure to give them all these details — even if they don’t ask.

Waiting for a tow truck sucks. Having the wrong tow truck arrive after all that waiting would suck even more.

2 Remember what’s under your van

There was a moment when Camper Van Beethoven was first being loaded on the flatbed tow truck when the generator started to drag. Full-on panic.

We waved our arms and shouted at the tow truck driver, who ended up needing to decrease the angle of the bed. He even placed some boards down to give her a little lift when taking the van off the truck.

We realized we should’ve told him about the generator when he first arrived on the scene.

So, learn from our mistake and tell your tow truck driver about anything mounted underneath your camper van.

3 Call before selecting a repair shop as your towing destination

Just like not every tow truck can handle a camper van, not every repair shop can, either. The bays of their garage might be too small.

So, call around before connecting with your roadside or towing service. Because part of lining up a tow is knowing where you want to be dropped off at.

A towing company can probably recommend a local shop that can accommodate you. But, I wouldn’t rely on your roadside assistance to know much about the local area.

4 Don’t put too much faith in roadside assistance

Tires typically last at least 40,000 miles, so long as you take good care of them. Ours didn’t even last 35,000, despite us getting them rotated regularly and keeping them property inflated.

This is another mistake we made, thinking our roadside assistance through Progressive would take care of everything for us.

Nope.

I called Progressive right away, once we were safely on the side of the road. They texted me a link to submit a roadside assistance request.

I got a call shortly after to talk about where we were and the size of the van. They told me finding a tow truck could take anywhere between 30 minutes and 1.5 hours.

At the 2-hour mark, I got another call. That’s when they told me no trucks were available.

They suggested we call companies ourselves to line up a towing service. We’d need to pay for it, then submit the receipt to Progressive to get paid back.

Except, they lied. The third towing company we called was available. Progressive had even talked to them — twice. They just wouldn’t agree to the company’s rate of $185. They only wanted to pay $100.

So, Progressive, left us on the side of the freeway over $85.

Knowing that now, I’d go straight to arranging a tow ourselves, if I had to do it over. It’d certainly be faster. And, communicating with the towing company directly is the best way to ensure they understand your van’s needs.

5 Just breathe — it’s going to be ok

I’m not sure which was worse. Being stuck on the side of the road not knowing when help would arrive. Or, watching Camper Van Beethoven go up on a tow truck for the very first time. I just wanted her to be ok. She’s like a family member at this point.

And, she was ok. Everything was ok.

So, remember to breathe through the whole ordeal. If you get the right tow truck to come out, and you give your driver all the necessary information, things should be just fine.

Tiresome and expensive, maybe. But, in the end, fine.

I certainly didn’t love the whole blown-tire, need-a-tow experience. But, really, there’s no better vehicle to be stuck on the side of the road in than a camper van.

After our initial panic subsided, we turned on the generator to run the ac. We were comfortable, and we even had a bathroom and cold drinks from the fridge.

Not that I’d want to do it all again. We’re good for now, thanks.

And, thank you to Kelly’s Auto Repair & Towing in Vandalia, Illinois, for taking such good care of us. Faith in humanity restored.

Faith in roadside service, not so much. I’m putting you on blast, Progressive.