[RedBarchetta]

Been flatbed towed home twice in ~6 years. One was a simple electrical short on my MSD box and the other was a failed fuel pump eccentric. And luck would have it both within 5-6 miles from home. Never fun but I've learned a few things:

1. AAA has 100 mile radius tow coverage for a fraction of the cost of the general membership. Worth every dime.

2. Unless the tow operator has a "split bed" rig (designed for really low cars like Lambos, etc), it's a PITA to get a Cobra up the incline without worrying about the tow jockey cracking fiberglass, etc. I have found the best way to flatbed tow is to grab my car from the REAR and pull it up that way (using 4x4s and other pieces of wood to ease the transition).

3. Even though the tow jockeys are paid on the # of grabs they get in a day, don't let these guys rush the job. The last fool nearly dented my gas tank because he was trying to "grab and go" using his chains and he didn't have a tow strap with him (see #4 below). Once I got into his face a little he backed down and took his time and did it right (we used towels around the chain and changed the angles to make it work better). I would have tipped him but he bit**** about it the whole way back to my place. So don't forget to tip the good guys (the first one got $40 - I was so happy to get the car back home unscathed).

4. I keep about 20lbs in tools and spare do-dads in a bag in my trunk. Fuses, extra spark plug and wire, Fix-A-Flat can, tow strap, tapes and enough wrenches to pretty much fix a bad water pump or alternator. Also mechanics gloves for working on a hot motor. And a couple of take down (flat) billet jack stands with a small bottle jack. Be prepared for the "easy" stuff.

-Dean