Towing Issues: towing damage, manual transmissions, tow trucks

Question
I have a 72 F250 that is leaking transmission fluid from the front tranny seal. The towing company said that it would cost more for it because they had to take out the drive line to pull it (it has a camper on it too, so they say it can't go on  flatbed). I had my truck towed a while back (but only drive one short trip since then) and now it is leaking pretty bad when I start it. I don't know if the last tow guy took out the drive line. It was towed from the front. If he did not take it out, then what damage should I have noticed? It wasn't towed very far, so I am wondering it that could be causing the leak, and maybe a now bad transmission. What do you think? Thanks!

Answer
Ok, a few questions and issues here should be addressed.

Yes any vehicle with a camper on it usually has to be towed from the front due to weight of vehicle and its stability.  Flatbed tow trucks, while most people think they can tow anything have problems with vehicles that are tall or have excessive rear weight (campers fit both of them)

Ok back to the tows you mentioned... The FIRST TOW, what was the reason for it being towed??
That is a question which needs to be looked at..

That year of Ford, if it had an automatic transmission had like a 30 mile tow distance at 35 mph if I remember correctly ( does not want to really dig out the books tonight that are covering that era) Manual transmissions usually had no limits.
 But you can check out

www.towspec.com

There you can find out the towing specs for your vehicle.


Ok, one issue I want to touch on also, is the age of the vehicle does also indicate that the possibility of the seals going bad... Yes they can even go bad if its not driven. Time does wear at them and as such they do fail...

Ok the second tow, what was the reason for it?  
The driver on this call might of been better trained on his job, but they might of had a bigger difference in tow distances...  You try to compare 2 miles to 200 miles of towing and the differences are like you trying to breath water on Mars..

As to the question of is anyone at fault, that is one that I could not answer as it would take a lot more information to determine the answer...

Age of vehicle, how its maintained, towing the first time-how far,  towing the second time( remember they said it needed the driveline out) so I hope they did that.  All of those matter.  

Hope this helps, I know its not the best answer, but its one where you realistically have to look at everything