Home/Use Cases
Who Uses ItBuilt for the Lots That Move Cars All Day
Impound lots, storage lots, and tow yards all run into the same problem: a vehicle that has to move, and no safe way to move it. Here’s how the Autowlift handles each one.
Impound Lots
Moving non-running and damaged vehicles safely — without starting the engine.
Impounded vehicles arrive in whatever condition they were seized in. Flat tires, dead batteries, collision damage, no keys, sometimes an active fluid leak. Driving them is a liability, and dragging them with chains turns a storage problem into a damage claim. Because the Autowlift lifts from under the tires, the condition of the drivetrain simply stops mattering — a vehicle that can’t roll under its own power still moves like any other.
A real scenario
A wrecked sedan comes off the towing truck at 4:00 with a folded front end and no keys. It has to clear the intake bay before the next arrival. Instead of finding a second driver, hunting for a dolly set, or dragging it across the yard, one operator slides the Autowlift under the front wheels, lifts, straps, and parks it in row 12 — before the next truck backs in.
- No ignition, no keys, no jump packs
- Nothing touches the bumper, frame, or oil pan
- Flat or locked tires are no obstacle — the claws hook the tire, not the rim
Storage Lots
Reorganizing vehicles without keys, owners, or a second set of hands.
Storage lots fill up in the order cars arrive, not in the order they leave. Long-term units end up blocking the aisle, batteries go flat after a few months parked, and the keys are wherever the owner left them. The Autowlift lets you tighten rows, pull one car out of the middle of a block, or shuffle a whole aisle without tracking down a single key — including classics and project cars you would never want driven.
A real scenario
A collector’s car has been stored for eight months and needs to come out for transport on Friday. The battery is long dead and it’s boxed in three rows deep by vehicles that also don’t start. One operator repositions each one with the forklift, clears a path, and lifts the collector car out — no jump starts, no drivetrain wear, no risk of a low bumper catching on the way past.
- Compress rows and recover square footage you’re already paying for
- Move stored, classic, and project vehicles with zero contact damage
- One operator handles what used to take two people and a set of dollies
Tow Yards
Daily vehicle repositioning — faster than any manual method.
In an active tow yard the same car may get moved three or four times before it’s released: off the intake pad, into the holding row, out for an inspection, back again. Every one of those moves done by hand costs labor and creates another chance to scrape a bumper. With the Autowlift on the forklift you already run, a repositioning move takes under a minute and one person, and your towing trucks stay out on calls instead of shuttling cars around the yard.
A real scenario
An adjuster is coming at 9:00 to inspect four vehicles parked in four different rows. Rather than pushing them by hand or tying up a towing truck for the morning, one operator lifts each car with the forklift and lines all four up by the office in about ten minutes — then puts them back the same way once the inspection is done.
- Keep towing trucks on revenue calls instead of yard shuffling
- Fewer damage claims from pushing, dragging, or jump-starting
- Ball hitch included — move trailers and boats with the same attachment
Anywhere a Vehicle Has to Move Without Being Driven
Repossession Yards
Vehicles arrive without keys by definition. Move them on intake and again on release without ever needing one.
Body & Collision Shops
Shuffle cars between bays and the back lot when the drivetrain is apart or the front end is stripped.
Dealer & Auction Lots
Stage inventory tightly and pull specific units for photos or sale day without adding miles or engine hours.
Trailers & Boats
The included drop-in ball hitch turns the same attachment into a yard mover for anything on a coupler.
Tell Us How Your Lot Runs
Send over how many vehicles you move in a week and what forklift you’re running, and we’ll tell you exactly how the Autowlift fits — and what it costs.
Autowlift — Towing Accessory Supplier, Hawthorne, CA · (424) 505-3333 · tech@autowlift.com