GRUMPS The Towman

Me too !!! I always take the tough ones when I can. We here regularly will get called by P.D. for multiple vehicles parked illegally in areas such as near the gorges where the college kids go swimming and such. Of course all the rotation towers are called and the officer on scene will divvy up the tows as the trucks roll in. All the other companies go after the quick, easy ones and then I come along and will pick the tougher ones. Guys will trip over each other to get the Camry's, Civics and such, I will attack the Land Rovers up on the sidewalk or the low slung Mercedes blocking someones driveway. Those are the ones I want. The ones that are trying to say F@#k you I'll park where I want. Well I enjoy saying F@#k you right back, your ride is now mine.... Better call daddy for impound $$..

Nice work. With the right gear like you used, these are easy money jobs. Those composite sided units like the Wabash dura-plate trailers make these sorts of jobs a lot easier. You dont have to monkey around too much looking for or making a solid place to push from.

I have always felt It is critical that Operators Look at the whole picture when arriving on any scene. People are sneaky and will do and say whatever to hide what they are doing. Of course the bottom line of what we do is to make money and because of that many turn a blind eye to anything that doesnt pertain to making that dollar. Especially commission-paid guys. I come across people all the time that try to lie about what or why they ended up in the ditch or smashed through someones mailbox. Like most any other circumstance in this industry, a high level of common sense and alertness to the entire picture before you is required. I am really hoping that this particular operator was "duped" by this evil woman and was not privy to the cover up. Our industry has enough bad publicity and we certainly don't need this type of cover up added as fuel on the proverbial fire. I will share a rather embarrassing story of a situation that happened to me last winter where my fatigue, complacency for a regular customer and in-attention to the situation almost turned into a big issue for me. I got a call one very early morning from a regular customer who stated he broke a ball joint on his Honda Pilot and needed it towed to a local repair shop. He was not with the vehicle but the keys were in it and it was just off the corner of a particular road and off to the side so it was not in any live lanes. The road was a mild residential area so at this time of the morning no one would really be on it anyway. I pulled up to the front of the truck and at a quick glance, I could see that the right front wheel was distended. I proceeded to hook the vehicle up, skate the right front wheel up and on the deck, Strapped it down and hauled it down to the repair shop. Keep in mind, It was dark ( about 2am if I remember right ) Very cold And I had jumped out of bed after working 14 hours the day earlier to do this tow so I really wasn't on top of my game so to speak. Truth be told, I was half asleep. I off loaded the truck, dropped the keys in the after hours box and headed home. About 7 am I received a call from the local police department asking me if I had towed a "black truck" last night from a particular street with body damage. Again, I was tired and thrown off when he said "black truck" and didn't put 2 and 2 together because the vehicle I towed was a grey SUV and I didn't see any obvious body damage on it when i towed it either. It was nearby that neighborhood but not on the particular street they had mentioned so I said no I did not. A few hours later, P.D. called me for a rotation tow from the street they had asked me about earlier. I went over there and saw there were 5 cars that were parked on the side of the road that had been sideswiped. This was about a half mile down the road and around the corner from where I had picked up the Pilot at 2am. Then it hit me like a brick to the face... He had slammed into these cars, managed to make it up the road and around the corner before the SUV quit moving. I Instantly told the officer on scene that I think the SUV I towed last night was the vehicle that caused this. I brought them over to the repair shop I towed it to and behold there was damage along the running board, door and of course the wheel that I simply didn't notice that morning. Turns out the guy was drunk as a skunk, hit all those cars on his way home from the bar, got it around the corner and even pulled off the side molding that was hanging on the right side off I assume so that I wouldn't notice the damage. His fancy dash cam with audio had all the evidence including him getting in the car and telling someone he was "hammered" before leaving the bar. It also had footage of me loading and off loading the vehicle as well as audio of me grumbling to myself that I should have left the damn thing there till the morning instead of coming out at that hour to tow it. The dash cam powered up when I turned the key on to put it in neutral. I felt like a complete moron. Luckily for me, the video of me meandering around and taking my time while loading gave the detective working the case the impression that I was completely unaware of any wrong doing on the drivers part and thankfully I only got looked at like an Idiot for a few weeks by all the P.D. guys instead of getting in any sort of trouble. So, My point is you gotta pay attention to the whole situation ALL the time. even if it is a job for a regular customer. They will Lie just like any other person would to cover their own a$$. If I had noticed the damage on the SUV, I would have most certainly called the police.

There is a gentleman in Missouri by the name of Ron Pratt ( Midwest Truck ) that added arrow boards to some of his roll backs a while back. I am sure you have heard of him or may even know him. He has a very popular YouTube channel showcasing a lot of his work and equipment. I personally have been considering adding a slim, directional arrow stick to the head ache rack of my flat bed. Problem is of course, Once a vehicle is loaded on the deck the effectiveness of such a signal is defeated. I have also considered installing a split style or 2 piece arrow stick on each side under the deck on top of the tail light boxes But I dont want them to be confused with a turn signal indicator. Maybe a combination of both top and bottom are in order.. Now to scare up the money for a good quality setup...

As do I... lol Had One Idiot who thought it would be a good idea to chain his car to the fire hydrant he was blocking.... I simply lifted the chain over the damn thing ( He left way too much slack in it ) and away we went... What was really comical is the officer chose to write another citation for damaging city property.. He chipped and scratched the paint on the hydrant while wrapping the chain around it.. Lmao.

A few years back, a local college news paper reporter wrote an article for all the college dummies about "tricks" the can do with their vehicles to keep them from getting towed. Like turning their wheels hard into the curb, setting the parking brake and even chaining two of their wheels together to keep them from rolling. It was comical. Especially when they were STILL getting towed because they would blaitiantly park where they werent supposed to because they actually believed that crap and get charged more for the extra work or dollies etc... When they would ask me how I was able to tow their car, I would just tell them "dont believe everything you read in the papers".... They are some of the smartest dumb people I have ever met.

Rest easy Operator, We will drag those chains from here.. Now I ask, How did the semi driver attempt to get away?? The truck is there in the median. Did He run on foot?? People PLEASE !!!! This is gotten WAY out of hand....Pay attention while driving...Move Over.... Stop killing us..

He is lucky he didnt get beat to death, stabbed or shot by the two of them... CALL THE COPS......

I am very saddened to hear that this family lost a little one to someones negligence. I cant imagine what they are going through As well as the anguish the operator must be feeling now knowing a child died from this.. Without knowing what the operator came across or knew at the time of the tow I dont want to pass judgement just yet. It does sound as though this accident was serious enough to justify a police presence at the scene. It could be possible that she had someone pick up the children prior to the tow trucks arrival and without seeing any car seats inside he may have been unaware that there was children involved. I am always very leery of people calling to have their vehicle towed from an accident scene directly to their homes and always use caution to examine the circumstances before commiting to do so. If I have the slightest inkling a person is trying to hide something, is impaired or there is any type of property damage, even if someones grass got tore up, the police are called immeadiatly. I dont care how much they are willing to pay. I hope for the operators sake, this woman was very good at hiding what happened to the operator and he can prove he knew nothing of the childs injuries, Let alone that any children were involved. Like TowZone said, Lawyer up and Lawyer up good my friend... It is gonna be a rough ride..

Oh man... All these years I have been towing front wheel drive cars from the front and NOT putting it in neutral.... I have Ruined SO many transmissions.....

I certainly wouldnt want anyones help during a ppi for sure. Just them trying to "help" push a vehicle out in the wrong place and the next thing you know there is a dent or a "stretch" as my body man son calls it in the panel where they were pushing. I too would be a bit snippy In that type of situation. Forget the fact that the guy slips and falls or wrenches his back... Too many variables that we as the operator are responsible for.. Thanks but, Keep your hands to yourself.

I was just talking with a friend the other day who is a big exotics fan and he was telling me the new Lambo's are having all sorts of electrical issues. Particularly with the transmissions and electric braking systems. It would appear his story holds water.

A real tricky one for sure. I know there's plenty of people out there who will say flat bed only but, It can be done, Carefully of course. Nice work as always Sir. I hope it was a short trip for you.

A terrible tragedy. I send thoughts and prayers to all involved... This brings up a Good point about allowing customers and/or by-standers to "help out" while Operators perform their duties. It is NOT a good idea.. I like most others get asked all the time " Do you want me to steer it or put it in neutral?" My response is always "No thank you" and I always try to add a little joke or quip like "Lets let the truck do all the work" or "Please just sit back and enjoy the show". Sure there are times where a bit of help would speed things up or save me a trip back and forth to the controls, But I need the exercise anyway. I have always felt that laziness and complacency is the #1 killer of skilled and trained tow operators. Keep in mind, ( at least around here) Once the Operator is cleared by P.D. to begin working the scene, It is now YOUR scene and YOUR responsibility. It is Imperative that operators keep all persons out of the work zone. God forbid something was to go wrong, Who do you think will get handed a suppeona first?

Beautiful truck. I would love to see it restored. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for vintage international trucks. Simple, Rugged and Reliable.

I was thinking the same thing. They didnt tell the whole story and usually never do. Did they have to cut down the tree? Clean up debris? Possibly had to make quick repairs to air lines or whatnot for towing? Tow both the tractor and trailer? Split the units which would require another truck to haul the wagon?Did they have to deliver his load? Have they been babysitting it for 2 months? Now of course It could be a case of overcharging, But without all the facts, Who are we to judge, Right??

Oh man,.. What a mess. I sometimes wonder how some of these otr drivers got their licenses in the first place. Mr. Resch is right. That recovery is going to take A LOT of planning and preparation by a really skilled recovery team. My first concern would be that man made abutment and its overall integrity now that the bridge it was meant to hold up is now gone. The lateral support the bridge provided is no longer there.

All the regional managers around here didnt care which way we towed them as long as it got to their repair shop in one piece.They even preferred them coming in backwards because they didnt get charged a driveline fee, thus costing their store less money. Although I would assume that some corporate big wig At UHaul would take issue with it if something was to go arwy... Thankfully I never had any issues.

For about 5 months now, there is a shots fired call about twice a week downtown here in the same 8-10 block radius. Cops show up, usually find a few casings in the street and thats about the extent of it. Every now and again, a parked car gets hit and one instance a house was hit. Luckily no one has been shot as of yet. but for some reason, the P.D. cant seem to find these people. Its almost like clock work how frequent it occurs.

Always liked towing for U-Haul back in my medium/heavy days. The beefiness of the rear frames and bumpers made for easy picks. Even the smaller 19' cube vans are rugged in the back. They payed well and right away too. Always easy money.

Being a fabricator myself, I love seeing other people build their own rigs and equipment. Looking real good so far. Please keep posting update pics. I would enjoy following your build.

Sure. Why not? I do it when needed. It is the same wheel lift as found on wreckers.

Celebrities are simply entertainers and need to understand they are basically useless for anything else.. Not for nothing, your entire job entails pretending to be other people and /or made up characters.. Your b.s.rhetoric is nothing more than bad acting. The saddest part of this is the fact that there are mindless, knuckle dragging people out there who actually believe this kind of crap... People like that mental case A.O.C.

That is a whole lotta A$$ sticking out back there... Weight wise, It might be ok. I cant tell what the truck/body combo is but a 550 with a 10 ton should be sufficent for that. If it is was possible, I would have went backwards but I know those older winnies really had no structure or strength in the rear to speak of.

I set mine up to use heavy spec drop pins similar to what you would see on a 3 point hitch of a tractor. The main pin on the wheel lift extension is 3/4"diameter and the side braces I used 1/2" diameter pins. I added grab hooks to mine after I used it a few times so I could use my safety chains and extend my wheel lift out if needed. Originally, I had designed it to be used only when the wheel lift was pulled in but ran into an issue once where I didnt have enough clearance on the intergrated boom with one particular trailer. the safety chains and grab hooks solved that problem. Now, I cant speak for the mass produced ones, but mine is a bit heavy and is certainly a 2 man job to install it or you use the boom and winch to lift it up and on. The mass produced ones I would assume to be considerably lighter and more than likely disassemble pretty easily for transport and storage. Mine hangs out at the shop untill needed.