auto rescue

Regardless of how it happened he can not be replaced, my Condolences to his family.

My Condolences to his family.

I’d like to wish the operator the best of outcomes with this situation.

My Condolences to his family...

I have to sympathize with him BTDT 

My Condolences to his family.

My Condolences to his family.

My Condolences to the family.

My Condolences to his family.

My Condolences to his family. 

Topic Originally Created on Tow411 in July of 2005:

But the worse part is this is their replacement coach for a "Lemon" coach that spent more time in the shop than they owned it (kind of hard to do).John R.
AKA
Formula One Towing
Marquette, Michigan

In Memory of DNDTOWINGCOM who said:

Ouch! That's when ya think to yerself,"It must suck to be you!"~Dann

towmanjc said:

Gota love those RV`s!!! John the truck is coming along!!

timjohn said:

How heavy are those RV's? I always wondered if they were heavier than they looked.
Have fun and be safe
Tim

408Stroker said:

Well, depending on the length of that particular unit(which could be '33 - '38) the GVWR is either 22,000 or 24,000. Of course that's the gross rating and not curb weight. So would the curb weight be around 20k? The GVWR of the front axle is 7500, 8500, or 9000.

Timco said:

If I spent that much money for a MH, & it conked out that soon....I wouldn`t be a happy camper!

Gerry Sienk said:

had a few, being delivered to dealer from manufacturer not make it, and need towing. I couldn't tell, is that a pusher or front gas? Had a 3 axle pusher scale at 42,000. He was 15,000 on the front with a 7ft. set back axle. Towed him 125 miles over two mountains to Phoenix. Darn hard to stop, so I am going to rig up a brake set up like they use on the piggy-back transport of new trucks.

Auto Rescue said:

This lumux is a gas (454? up front I did not look at it close only from underneath) with four huge slide outs, two each side like you see on the left.

I stopped by the nexy day and it's rather huge inside they thought they were waiting for a fuel pump, they were still there today.John R.

Mr Waialae Chevron said:

To heck with that motorhome.....

I like that multi-colored Peterbilt that's towing that hunk-of-junk.
Good to see that rig in action!

Auto Rescue said:

Thank you both Joe & Barney it feels better with a little income instead of all outgo.John R.

It made a Nice Forum Banner back then:

Great to see this reposted, it was well worth the reread.

RVs and Tow trucks can equal big bucks when they get together, I really miss the Tow trucks and the RV is leaving next.

Thank you for the photos.

That’s what keeps food on the table.

I can just feel the truck by looking at it

I bought it from Randy Whitmore in Waukegan IL, I don’t remember if his brother had the other one or not but they did work hand in hand a lot or so I was  told. It still had the Illinois wrecker license plate #3 on it.

Randy had bought a new Holmes hydraulic of some kind.

I copied that picture from the book Old School Wreckers

The trailer was full (right at the 80K GVW) and no one available to unload for a day or two even then they were only looking to get about 40% of the oil off loaded, the passenger side outter skin was severely damaged when it fell in the snow.

With the help of another company and some more damage to the trailer skin it was uprighted full and towed to the shop.

Ed Barker said:

Good job John,nice to see you working with the other fellers,we do that here with a couple of companies ,but only a couple of them ,around here there is just a lot of mistrust ,we give them one shot and if it bites us ,we don't play that game with them again,,,,,,,anyhow glad to see it is working for you that's the way it should be. Anxious to see when you get some paint on that truck,that will be a very nice unit.Stay safe out there.

Auto Rescue said:

I went out about 9PM last night and did a quick survey and tried a pull with both my pete's then left it for day light so the underbelly did get some fresh snowfall on it.

The initial plan was a company was coming out about 9ish or so in the morning to do some unloading but they never showed up in the mean time the county road commission came by with a road grader with a V plow on it and cleared it out as you see in the photo.John R.

Da Wash Boss said:

it looks cold!!!!!!!!!!! what a great job i dont miss them days and nights i like being able to be selective. If i feel like going out we go if not we dont go but i do pass the call on to another towing company who likes the business. Customer service will always be provided by us here.

great job out there and nice pics.
Danny Cassello, East Hartford, CT

Westlake Towing said:

Brrrrrrrrr. Boy does it look cold, though one time during the summer we had a fuel truck on its side and the scene looked simular, fire dept covered the area with foam. Now I remember why I moved to Virginia from South Dakota, looks like a job well done.

michael212 said:

Brrrrrr...... is right! Nice teamwork John!

Thanks for sharing.

Auto Rescue said:

Have you ever heard "I swerved to miss a deer", well in this case even if there were no snow and it went onto the sandy edge of the road the result would have been the same, this puppy wanted to lay back over even after it was uprighted once the tension on the straps were released, the tail end strap mantained tension until the tractor drive tires were up on the road.John R.

drewmel said:

Yes the "I swerved to avoid a deer" Heard that one about a year and a half ago. Fully loaded tanker 9,000 gallons of gasoline, yeah it was not pretty. Foam all over made for interesting working conditions. Good job, looks a lil cold, but still were able to do a professional jon, Well Done!
-Andy

CASPER1 said:

Nice job and pics.Jimmy R. Collins Jr.
Casper's Body Shop & Wrecker Service LLC

Mr Waialae Chevron said:

Hit the deer! And have a little venison afterwards, instead of an overturned truck.

Plus it adds credibility to the claim.

Here's to mud in your eye.
Barney

Auto Rescue said:

State of Michigan you swerve to avoid hitting a deer and have a wreck you pay your deductable, if you have proof of the deer like deer hair embedded in the car you do not pay the deductable, go figure

Since they were some distance from me I left my little pete back in town to cover what I needed to do in town and called for the assistance with this, as I said they the oil company were supposed to have a truck to unload about 1/2 the oil then said they could not get one. They showed up this morning to with a tanker to unload for an "hour" at 9:15, they got off 3000 gallons and left at 2:45, and they'll be back in the morning for the rest. The bottom picture shows my driveway with the truck being unloaded

The truck was going to a local mine where they had taken all the regular oil out the day before and were bringing in synthetic oil to replace it with so the mine was out of oil and $83000.00 worth of oil was in this tanker.

The insurance adjuster drove up from down state for first thing this morning also, he said the Mi. dept of Natural Resources has contacted them already about the incident, but no spill means no problem but the DNR is still going to dig up the area in question, I wonder what the bill would be for that?

itowu06 said:

Ray, Abilene,Texas

 

danielswt said:

around here there is alot of hot oil transported without placard's. idont remember exactly what the reason was but they didnt need them.

 

Auto Rescue said:

Synthetic gear lube, the article in the newspaper said it was not a hazadous item, MDOT was on scene in the morning and had no problem with it and in response to my question about them doing a DOT inspection on it "it was not involved in anything so no" which in all honesty I felt was a good call.

 

Heavytowman12 said:

John nice recovery. I know what that Atlas can do . That rig did many recoveries when it was a TED'S unit. Looking at the conditions does make me a little ill though. That white stuff does that to me for some reason. Keep up the good work!

 

pttowguy said:

Great job & pics John! Those tankers all seem to have the need to shed their skin after being rolled over...lol.

 

 

 

It’s still in use here in Marquette. The new owner has bought and sold several different units but this one just keeps plugging along.

I had been known to tow a few loads with it.

80K

But your not a speed demon when you do it!

1981 GMC 

454 CID motor 4X4

Holmes 440 with wheel lift

while it was my only non Ford small unit it really out did itself in the performance department, this was stuck on the rocks completely under water.

This was the donor vehicle for the cab and front end.

It was kind of a shame to tear it apart but the Holmes 750 went to a good home.

Details as Listed when SOLD in 2014:

Equipped and ready to go larger 7.8 diesel engine
Twin disc clutch
5 speed Clark transmission
Air operated PTO
Air over hydraulic brakes
26001 GVW
190K miles
New front Firestone tires (22.5)
Air operated park brakes
2 speed rear axle (disconnected since larger motor installed as it's not needed)
Black vinyl custom sat covers (1 crack on drivers seat)
Original 6.6 liter engine (pallet mounted)
Parked inside when not in use
Roof mounted air horns
Factory sun roof, open able four ways
Factory wheel lug wrench
Factory front bumper pull pin
Front Aluminum Wheels
Stainless steel rear wheel cover (Real Wheels)
All tires balanced with DynaBeads
Spare steer tire (no wheel)

Last 2 trips down state a few months ago 800 miles plus each trip averaged right at 10 MPG highway, this is NOT the everyday mileage usage, it will be lower in day to day operation because of idling and in town driving

Custom 1/4" plate push bumper with built in Perlux fog lights

Kilar 22'X102" steel  bed
Wheel lift with L arms
8" spaced cross members
Marine grade aluminum under mounted tool boxes
1 piece of diamond plate floor with no ripples
Multiple chain tie downs front, side, & rear of bed
4" cargo tie down straps with never used ratchets
Under bed factory install rub rails

TowMate wireless tow/drag lights
Lodar wireless winch control
Condor motorcycle dolly with straps
2 Go Jacks
Plug in Associated jump cables
Long chain bridle
Short chain bridle
Fabric chain bridle
Snatch blocks
Snatch block with factory attached chain

5 speed Clark
2 speed rear axle which is disconnected because it is absolutely not needed with the larger engine
Kilar bed
Kilar wheel lift
Lodar wireless remote for winch
Marine grade aluminum tool boxes
180 total fuel capacity Louisville Ford aluminum fuel tanks with shut off valve between tanks
Plug in Associated jump system in left front corner
No AC because it takes up a lot of floor space
Twin disc clutch
Spare original 6.6 engine
Spare 7.8 engine (with hole in block) for upper end parts
2 Go Jacks
190970 miles but still being used occasionally (no yellow pages or other advertising in the last 4 years)
2 or 4 unused cargo ratchets with straps for under bed rub rails
LED lights in rear 4 S/T/T and 4 yellow turn 4 way flashers

Custom trailer hitch

1981 F350 SRW 4X4

Holmes single winch boom

Bed made and install in house

Aluminum Flat Bed with Tow Bar

Ford Explorer Sports 4X4s

Marched leather interiors

used for Just employees run about, jumps, flat tires, and unlocks