GRUMPS The Towman

Excellent work. Well thought out and executed recovery.

Another AVOIDABLE tragic, loss of a brother Operator.. Rest easy Operator Zuniga... We will drag those chains from here..

I have been intrigued with this accident and I got Curious about the hitch failure. That Curt 5th wheel has a 25k towing capacity with a 6,200 lb ( and change ) vertical load limit.. So, Long story short it is more suited for RV trailers. That 4 Runner on the top/front along with the nose weight of the trailer alone swallowed up most of its vertical capacity. Not to mention the 9,000 lb. pickup.... Guy buys a $90,000 truck, $18,000 trailer then goes and holds them together with a cheapo $600 hitch...

Wow. Snapped the pivot ears right off the plate.. I have never seen that happen before. I just noticed that Dodge "cargo" truck was a 3/4 ton DIESEL !!!! There is no way I would have put that truck that far up on that trailer.. That thing belongs down bottom, Over the axles IF ( and it is a big if for me ) even on that trailer at all.. I totally get that those trailers are supposidly beefy with their dually tandems and all But they are still rickety and unbalanced. I have never liked them.

SEXY !!! I always loved the HPL/MPL's... Simple, Sleek and rugged as hell. That appears to be one bad a$$ truck you have there. I am jealous. lol

There is some really really good conversation here and I want to thank ESC for posting this situation. Now with what has been discussed so far, what would change if lets say, ESC was able to recover and tow the trailer with the vehicles still secured to the trailer? They would almost certainly be considered "cargo" at that point, Right? I see this the same as if a semi loaded with cartons of books for instance was laid on its side and the wagon had to be off loaded prior to the recovery. You would have time equipment and manpower that needs to be paid for. Cargo is cargo regardless of what it actually is.

First off, Nice work on the recovery. It looks Like it was very time consuming but went well. I would guess from looking at the 5th wheel, it was not rated for the load he was hauling and it collapsed. Maybe more of an rv style setup? The insurance company is more than likely going to treat the 2 trailer-loaded vehicles as "cargo" If I had to make an educated guess. So with that being said, It might all be in the wording of your invoice to get your recovery fees covered for each "cargo" vehicle. I would sit down and figure out the numbers for both treating them as individual recoveries and tows as well as treating them as handling, recovering and transporting "cargo" then feel out the insurance adjuster when he comes so you can be ready for whatever way they decide to go with it. Obviously your bottom dollar will be the same amount for either. It is just a matter of wording it the way they see it. If you could post how it turns out for you I would be interested to see how they play it with you Sir.

Spring sliders were my best friends on my old HPL Back in the day.. There wasnt much she couldnt handle while using them. Man, I miss that truck.. Good luck with yours

I like the soft roller sides for a hot shot type of logistics company. Doing that custom/critical type of transport, You can end up with all different kinds of freight. as far as those fwd pro master chassis, I just cant get on that bandwagon. Just not "trucky" enough for me..

Goner for sure.. Nice work on the recovery Sir. It always seems to be mustangs that get wrecked right off the lot. Maybe it is the price of them is too low and these young kids and moron drivers can afford them. Too much high performance car for the price type of deal maybe. At least it didnt plow through a crowd of people standing on the corner.. That was such an issue for a while with mustang guys trying to show off at car meets and swaps. They would run out of talent and plow through the crowd. A buddy of mine who happens to be a mustang affectionanado thought it would be cute to get a custom set of plates for his Shelby that read crwdcntrl ( crowd control )

That could be a part of the problem sure. maybe it is something that has always been an issue but back in the day it was easy enough to have a new key cut off the vin#. All the fancy electronics and gizmos of todays vehicles make that a non starter now... Oh here I go again showing my age... Mechanical Keys and vin #'s.... LMAO

I agree with everyones responses as well. The point and click access to other professional owners, operators and industry leaders is priceless. Sharing knowledge both good and bad is how this industry will evolve and this is the best platform for it. I will admit I was a bit skeptical when I first joined almost 2 years ago, i thought it might be just another site run by people who dont have a clue what the industry is really all about and had never laid a hand on a tow truck before. I am VERY glad I was wrong. LONG LIVE TOWFORCE !!!!

Nice work as always Sir. The bike is an ugly one. I thought it was just me but, You have had a few "lost key" rentals also? I have had 4 of them in the past 3 weeks.. Why are people losing their rental car keys all of a sudden??

This has got to be one of the most half assed, bits n pieces, unable to follow news "reporting" I personally have ever seen. It is difficult to follow, and impossible to even try to make an assesment on what has happened. There is no talent in media anywhere anymore..

I too sometimes feel like I get stuck with all the liability only or no insured turds.. It is just the way it rolls around sometimes. A lot of other companies show up on scene, cry, complain and turn them down. I dont see the point in pissing off the P.D. They need the road cleared regardless. I take them all with a smile on my face too. Some I get stuck with and some I get paid. Just the way of the worm. ESC, You towed a 1989 caravan??.. I havent seen one that old on the road in at least 10 years !! It was probably the last one left in existence... Lol.

Beautiful tribute to a fallen brother operator. Rest easy Operator Ramsey.

Well said Moose. To all our brother towers in the path, Batten down the hatches and stay safe. It looks to be one nasty ride coming your way.

I too would like to see how this unfolds. There is got to be way more to this story than just this. If the tower and the city in fact have a WRITTEN agreement as to what he can and cant charge for and he followed those guidelines to a T, then this should be an open and shut case. If his agreement was done on a hand shake, then I would guess he is in trouble. Documentation is EVERYTHING. I doubt he will see his $800,000 mainly because he will be left with the obligation to prove that is what he has lost from being removed from rotation. But he may get some form of compensation and his place back on the rotation.

In our county, we have one main freight line that runs around the perimeter of the lake and right down through the city. It leads up to the salt mines up north. Just to give you an idea of how tangled the railway is with the surface streets in the city, there are 13 lighted crossings in a 3 mile area. Thats not including the crossings on the outskirts of the city.The main stretch of highway through the city runs parallel with the tracks with nothing more than a granite curb and painted ground markings between them. And because of this we have quite a few incidents involving a crossing or the railway itself on a regular basis. We have a protocol set up with the county dispatch and the railway that when P.D or F.D. calls them to shut down the line for an auto accident or vehicle on the tracks, they ask what tow company will be responding. The railway dispatcher themselves then calls that tow company directly to verify that the line is clear. They also send out a supervisor to the scene ( they have a local office ) to ensure there is no damage to the rail system and to also verify when the scene is cleared out. Being a single rail line that is only used by one railroad company, this is rather easy to deal with. If there was multiple rail companies using the line I dont think it would work so well. But I can tell you, Getting a phone call directly from the rail line telling me it is safe to work on the tracks is way more comforting than just taking the word of an officer on scene who may be dealing with multiple people involved, witnesses and what not. Not to say that I feel they would lie to us persay, but there is a lot on his or her plate at an accident scene. Maybe he meant to call but got sidetracked.

As always, Quality work from Team Ed's... My area's Dui related accidents are up slightly but Dui or drunk stops are way up. and yes, most are drug related. I am just a little guy tower and I am still getting at least 1 call a week on rotation for a drunk stop impound. So I guess that shows that P.D. here is still catching most of them before they wreck. I did have one nasty one last week where the guy was doped up out of his skull, Ran down through a walk path at 70+ mph and pounded into a tree.He got a life flight out with at least 2 broken femurs as far as I know. P.D. found all sorts of dope in his car. Is it the boredom from the pandemic?? Why does this seem to be a more frequent problem all of a sudden?

I agree with Orcas, The slight loss in pulling power ( barely noticeable ) is worth the faster line speed and smoother operation.

Every region has different ways of recruiting drivers so It would be hard for me to pinpoint a direct way for you to get your foot in the door. Around here, I know for fact my good friend who owns the biggest towing operation in town ( Yes, contrary to popular belief, although we are technically competitors, We actually get along quite well and help each other out often ) would be very Interested in a guy such as you. You have some credentials like wreck master and best of all your "green". He prefers training his guys from newbies because he can train you his way, the right way off the bat, before you get any bad habits from running trucks for any bozo companies. Like starting out fresh in any Industry, you would obviously get the crummy shifts, and new guy pay, But you gotta start at the bottom to get your way to the top. You mentioned your currently working in the HVAC industry. Is it possible for you to get on with a company working part time a couple night shifts or weekends? I know moonlighting sucks but so does trying to live off low, new guy type of pay in this industry. Most AAA providers around here are contracted providers Meaning they are privately owned. My good friend I mentioned before is the main AAA provider in my region. I have heard that some of the actual AAA owned businesses are riddled with poorly trained, Ill equipped drivers. Their drivers are nothing more than warm bodies behind the wheel, although I cant say that for certain because I dont have any dealings or see them around my area. I would classify them as those "bozo" type of companies I warned you to avoid.

I have had a concealed carry permit for many years yet, I have NEVER carried while working. Lately, I have been considering looking into the legality of it and beginning to carry while working. It is getting just way too crazy out there. I feel like no one is safe. Especially in a democrat/communist run city like I work in. Just what our industry needed was ANOTHER reason to look over our shoulders...

That was an awesome story.. Maybe I shouldnt be so hard on my sons about always wanting to take pictures of everything.. lol

First and foremost, Thank you for your service to our great nation. I too served overseas ( I came home in December 2005 ) and I always make sure to thank a fellow serviceman for his or her sacrifice they have laid upon the altar of freedom. As far as how you should go about breaking into the industry I would say you are started on the right track. education is key and wreckmaster courses are the gold standard as far as I am concerned. What is your hands-on experience level? Have you worked in the industry yet, or are you geared towards doing it on your own right out of the gate? If that is your intention, I would urge extreme caution in doing so. I am not saying that jumping right in would be a disaster, but with limited or no hands on experience it is going to be a very expensive and tough hill to climb. I would highly recommend getting on with a reputable towing company and LEARN. There are many aspects to this industry that can be learned from working for another company for a few years before you pull the trigger so to speak and go out on your own. Also, working for someone else to start out gives you the chance to feel this out to see if it is something you really want to invest your whole life into. I know a good many people who talked for years saying this is what they wanted, only to finally do it for 6 months or a year and realize it is not the peaches and creme they thought it would be. This is a very expensive, dangerous, and thankless occupation that is not for everyone. It can be a hard occupation on your family and personal life as well. This is no 9-5 job. The long hours, The brutal weather (depending on where you live ) The nights, The weekends, The missed birthdays, The holidays, Being married to a cell phone .. The list is endless...There is many ways to make a decent living at this but I will tell you doing it the right and honest way is the hardest. Which is why so many go the route of shady, fly-by-night types of operations. Dont become one of those people. You also made a excellent choice by joining these forums. There is a ton of experienced owners and operators on this forum that can help answer many questions you will have along the way. There is also a handful of industry icons and leaders on here whos wisdom and experience is priceless. Dont be afraid to ask "stupid" questions on here. Here, there is no such thing. And be sure to go through all the older posts throughout the forums. there is mountains of excellent info within them. I wish you the very best of luck and welcome you. If I can be of any help, dont hesitate to message me.