GRUMPS The Towman

For that distance of a tow, I personally would pull the shaft and grab her from the front If the knuckle of the bucket arm isnt going to cause any clearance issues with your boom. Thats a long haul. Just my opinion of course, but Dad always used to say, "nothing was built or designed to go 65+ mph down the highway backwards" If you do choose to go backwards with her, being a short wheel base with a center-mass structure on it is a plus for you. I dont think you would have any issue.

Nice grab Sir. That parking garage appears to be nice and roomy. I wish the ones around here were like that. They are tight and narrow with weird, off camber chutes and ramps. Makes for interesting p.i.a tows.

And a rag top to boot...Beautiful.

This bozo with the camera is simply looking to pick a fight with anyone he can get a rise out of. Why are you even there?? He appears to be one of those "I am holier than thou" asshats. From the moment he interacted with the first officer I knew this guy was an a$$hole. Probably still lives in mommys basement and plays dungeons and dragons in his tighty whiteys while eating fluff right out of the container..

I would love to know what upfitter put that turd together. I would also like to know who at this particular tow company was in charge of inspecting this truck when it was delivered from the dealer. Not for nothing, when I picked up my new truck in 2017, I probably spent 2 hours going over and through EVERYTHING on it with my sales rep. I just spent almost $100,000 on a rig, then your damn sure that truck is going to be absolutley PERFECT. That is downright dangerous and dispicable. Someone, if not, MULTIPLE people need to lose their jobs over this one.

It is The operators responsibility to ensure ALL provided equipment is in good working order on the apparatus at the start of every shift. I understand not all operators have mechanical aptitude, but as far as inspecting a dolly it isnt rocket science. As a driver, your required to inspect way more complex items on the rig then a dolly hub. A quick wiggle of the wheel while holding the swing arm and a spin of the wheel will tell you right away if something needs a good looking at. Someotherplace's Mention of feeling the hubs after use is another great way that someone who wants to play the "I am not a mechanic" thing can do as well. Not for nothing a responsible operator who actually takes pride in his or her job would ASK someone how to properly inspect a dolly hub if for whatever reason they are unable to figure it out on their own.

You beat me to it Tow Zone. My regular carry piece is a Glock 19. In a proper holster of course. My wife actually went back to a Taurus from a Glock 23 because she prefers an actual safety on her weapon.

He pounded that tree.. He is very lucky to be alive. I hope the operator makes a full and speedy recovery. I am gonna make a guess and say he either suffered a medical event prior to the wreck or was possibly distracted??

I know ALL to well how that goes. I have found that taking the time to give those yoke bolts a real good cleaning with some brake cleaner and a wire brush helps. Getting all the crud off the bolt heads and using a good quality tight fitting socket makes a world of difference.

Both of my l/d trucks have hard hats in them and I have made it a habit to wear mine whenever I have more than 20' of line stretched off my truck or there is any sort of falling debris chance around my work area. Sure I have been laughed at by some other towers at scenes but I am not in this industry to be the cool guy. I am here to do the job right and safe. Theres way too many tough guys in this industry already. i dont need to be one too. Imagine what a winch hook will do to someones head should the rigging let go...

Chaining/strapping her down onto the spring hangers is a MUST. Same as any frame or axle fork. I cant see how anybody would want just those flimsy pins holding down all that weight from bouncing around. Yes, gravity does most of the work but one good pot hole or off camber entrance and away she goes.Those pins will keep the hangers on the spring for sure, As they pull out of the crossbar they will hang from the leaf springs and the casualty free wheels away.

Agreed. Sadly, the story will probably get twisted around as to make it the officers fault she shot herself somehow. Maybe things are different in Indiana, but why was she handling a weapon that belonged to someone else in the car? As far as I am aware, I cant simply hand off my side arm to another person unless that person is another ccw registered person. Your weapon, Your responsibility. The only other person that has ever handled my sidearm is my wife who has a ccw as well.

I mean no offense, but It does seem a bit excessive to go through all of that for that minor ordeal. On the other hand, I suppose if you have the equipment and can justify charging for its use, then so be it. From observing the pics I dont see any fluids on the ground, so I would assume the vehicle may have still ran and moved on its own power possibly? Did you "tow" it all the way down to the street with the Fork lift? Obviously I dont know all the details so it is difficult for me to determine how or if there was another way to handle it. I also noticed you transported the Lull ( thats what we call those types of fork lifts / machines here ) to the scene on a 5500 Ram roll back. I was just curious what the machine weighs? Is it safe to assume you had to dispatch a second roll back to tow the casualty once it was at ground level? Again, I dont mean to be offensive or critical in any way. Like Mr. Resch, I am curious how billing for all that gear and man power is gonna work out for you.

Being a pretty tight knit towing community here, I dont really know if I would tow a competitors truck for p.d.. It just seems to be a conflict of interest type of deal to me. Thankfully, P.D. around here are pretty easy on all of us for the most part. I recall an issue where another company in town had a driver who was stopped for a dragging safety chain and it turned out the drivers license was suspended for a child support issue. The driver didnt know his license had been suspended. The officer let the driver call his tow company and had them send another driver to pick up the rig and the driver. The driver straightened out his issue and was back to work in 2 days. The issue was kept real discreet and I only learned of it from the driver himself. In NY, they will suspend your license for pretty much anything and everything without a moments notice. About 2 years ago, I had found that my license had been suspended for an unpaid parking ticket that my wife had gotten in our vehicle that was solely registered to me a year before. I never got a single notification about it and only found out when I went to dmv to register another vehicle. I paid the ticket and the b.s. dmv surcharge which was more than the ticket itself and they re-instated my license. We also ended up putting the personal vehicles in my wifes name so if that sort of mistake is made again It wont jam up my license. It is just a money making scheme for the state. Its one thing if your suspended for some major violation or crime of sorts, But this state takes it way over the edge in my opinion.

Those lo-loaders are the cats meow for those jobs. I really like the engineering and technology built into them. I am really getting into what Detroit wrecker has going on. Seems like they are putting out some solid gear. When the time comes to start shopping they are my short list to contact.

LOL. Careful Mr. Resch... There could be some socialists lurking around...

Theres a tow truck in my neighborhood too... It sits in my driveway.....

UNBELIEVABLE.

And for that reason, My weapon stays home when I am in the truck. Those responsibilites are amplified and compounded by the fact that you are in the course of working for profit If I was to use my weapon while on duty. It is a totally different ball game if i am just out and about in my personal vehicle. The laws here are extremley complicated and easilly turned against the firearms owner.

Situations like what happened in pitt are caused by un-regulated, predatory towing. It can be the wild west in areas with no rotations, rules or regulations. Companies will listen in on the police band and the instant there is word of a wreck, the chase is on. the first truck to the scene gets the work. Imagine 5 or 6 different companies racing through the city to get to an accident scene. Dont get me wrong, I am not a fan of the government telling me what I can and cant charge but I also dont want to have to fight like a ragged dog for work.

Bottom line is if you are not trained in scuba then STAY OUT OF THE WATER. Just because you were quite the swimmer back at grandmas pool as a kid does not make you qualified to go swimming after a vehicle in any type of water. Sure, most divers have no clue how to rig a vehicle for recovery but, It is easier to explain how to rig a vehicle to a trained and equipped diver then it is to explain to a tow operator how to dive and work under water.

I have had a carry permit since I left the military in 2005. I have NEVER carried while I am working. Even back when I was doing a lot of repos and such. I will admit, with all that is going on in our world lately, I have been considering it.

Glad to hear all went well for you someotherplace. Talking on here with you over the years, You seem to be a switched on, common sense kinda guy so I figured you wouldnt end up with any real issue working in that stuff. I am sure a good many of your competitors are gonna end up with some tore up, water logged rigs. Too many guys have that "not mine" mentality when driving company owned rigs. I couldnt agree more with you Mr. Resch. There needs to be a "Stupidity fee" for some of the idiots out there. Sadly though the irony here is they are stupid enough to drive around a baracade or into deep water but, when you go and make them walk themselves out of it and they fall into a manhole or something, all of a sudden they are smart enough to sue the bejesus out of all involved.

Yup. Looks good. Like the other guys stated, get your chain laid up and get your cross-pin as close as possible to reduce the slack and slop. Nice work.

Where to start?? Lol. I can feel his pain because we have a TON of steep, hilly intersections just like that. I would surmise that like here, there are alternate routes he could have taken to avoid such an intersection. Now onto all the problems I see. I cant tell for certain, but there appears to be no tag lights on the towed car. When he ran into his issue and had to stop in traffic, the First thing he should have done was activate his warning lights and or 4-ways. He then jumps out of his truck in what looks like a fine work uniform ( insert sarcasm here ), No reflective vest or safety gear of any sort. He had all sorts of vehicles whipping by him on BOTH sides as he struggled to get the rig out of the dip. He is lucky he didnt get run over. Maybe it is just me because I deal with them all the time, But come on, He couldnt see that incline when He stopped at the sign?? This guy shoulda known he was not going to make that. Another case of poor training maybe?? Part of driving these trucks is a GOOD understanding how and what reactions you get from different yaws, pitches and angles. Is int it? Or is it just me that thinks of that crap all the time?