GRUMPS The Towman

I built my own about 10-11 years ago using a Reese 5th wheel and I also made an adapter for goose necks.and I still use it to this day. ( Well, my partner uses it more nowadays..) Looks very similar to the Collins one. As far as vertical lift, I dont Know if I understand what you mean. If your referring to tongue weight, The rule of thumb is generally between 15% and 30% of total trailer weight. That style design is more than ample for those weights at 12,000 + lbs. So for arguments sake, A 12,000lb. trailer with a 20% pin weight ( about average ) would be around 4,500 lbs or so..

That Durango looks identical to my wife's.... Minus the bullet holes of course.. Good sized holes.. .45 cal. I am guessing.. Things seem to be pretty crazy in your neck of the woods NJSSS... Stay safe out there.

My rule of thumb has always been If I can safely and fully get my rig inside the white line ( left or right side ) and my casualty vehicle is not in a live lane in any way, Then I will quick load, get off the highway and not request any P.D. assistance. There have been times in the past where I have tried calling for assistance only to be told it would be an hour plus before they could supply a unit. One time they flat out have told me they have no units available to "babysit" me. My response was " Oh, But You will have plenty of units available to "babysit" the wreck when I get slammed into and killed by a semi.". That went over like a fart in church with the P.D. dispatch supervisor..

I did a lot of work on those types of military trucks way back in the day. Every component on them is massive, overbuilt and heavy. Even the tail light guards were made out of 3/4" steel round stock and plate. I would guess there is minimal damage to that beast. They are built to survive explosions. That little Isuzu didnt stand a chance. I was going to comment on how it looks like the loaded vehicle remained secured, but after a closer look, there is moderate damage to the nose of it. It appears that they may have moved the vehicle back to extricate the victim. It is certainly a tragic event.

That is a horrific image. My thoughts are with the transport operators family. I wonder if maybe he suffered a medical event of some sort prior to the collision.

Rest in peace Mr. Rusiniank. Although I never met him personally, I knew well of his business over in Buffalo and spoke with his son, Bernard Jr. several times throughout the years in regards to vehicles I had to pick up from there and vice versa. A top notch business man and tow operator who built a fantastic business that will stand the test of time with the next generation of his family leading the way. Our industry lost one of the best with his passing.

That was one Vicious collision. I am praying for a speedy recovery for both drivers.

Same here. The recovery, load and cleanup would be billed hourly. If a second truck is needed for assistance, then That piece of equipment ( if actually used for the recovery )and manpower is added as well. Around here, there were guys who would have 3 trucks show up at a scene, and although they would only maybe use the manpower from those additional trucks, they would charge for their use. Some were charging as much as $450 per truck on scene plus labor rates even though the truck just sat there with its lights on. Naturally, vehicle owners and insurance companies threw a fit when they caught on and Now, The laws in our contract with the county changed to where we can charge a response fee ( basically a show-up fee ) for the additional truck if it is not used in the recovery or tow and charge hourly for the manpower/labor.

If I was assigned the Gmc, I would back up to the front, as tight and angled to the Durango as I can and using cribbing and blocks on the end of my deck, Lift it off of the Durango so the other operator could remove the Durango then set it down, slide it away from the pole a bit and perform a traditional load using skates and boards for the damaged rear wheel. Option 2 would be Blocks, cribbing and Bottle jacks to support the Gmc while the Durango is removed.( Yes, I carry enough gear on my truck to do it ) I Know most companies, at least around here would just pull the Durango out from under the Gmc and let it smash down then still charge some ridiculous recovery rate because they can. Sorry, I am not that guy. I earn my living. Both vehicles took nasty hits, I hope everyone was ok.

Dont get me wrong, A murder conviction is good, It shows that you can get charged and found guilty of it in this type of situation But, I still think she got off easy.. Not for nothing she is a double murderer, A child abuser, a drug and alcohol abuser And obviously has ZERO regard for any type of vehicle and traffic laws.. Should have gotten the Death penalty....

Completely destroyed his car....... But he beat that tow bill !!!!!! Thats a WIN in his book. lol

I suppose it could be possible if your area got hit with the heavy rains from what was left of that storm. Looks like it was a fun job. It usually takes a good grunt to break that initial suction and get things moving. I hope all went good and you got paid well for your efforts.

There is no need to let it get to that point. It could be a number of issues that plague this particular driver. A few I can think of.. 1- He's trying to get every penny he can and will do what ever to get it 2- He has a tough guy complex and confronting PPI customers is his way of showing how big and bad he is. 3- He doesnt know the laws that bind his areas of duty 4- He DOES know the laws that bind his areas of duty and any loopholes that may be in them. 5- ALL OF THE ABOVE Now, i do SOME PPI work, It is not my bread and butter and truth be told, I dont like doing it But there is good money in it. I follow the letter of the law to a T. Even though I feel some of it is unfair to the towers, It is the law. I do admire guys like Richard who do this type of work professionally, with dignity and skill. It is a trade that is not for everyone. It requires the right mindset and a calm demeanor. It is not an occupation for wanna-be tough guys.

That whole recovery ( starting around 4:30 ) Was a complete joke. It was like watching a bunch of monkeys f#@k a football... And yet we all wonder why we are treated like Idiots in our industry. This is why.. Because THIS is what the public sees....

I am very sorry to hear you have lost your families vacation home. You made no mention of anyone getting hurt or worse so that is the best case scenario. The home can be replaced, A life cant. I pray that the fires near your home can be contained soon. I know you guys over there deal with this pretty regularly it seems lately. It doesnt make it any easier. As far as an evacuation plan, I wouldnt go as far to say that I am a "prepper' but I feel my family and I are as prepared as we can be. We keep the small camper trailer packed with supplies and non-perishables so if it came to it we could just snap into it with any one of our vehicles and be off. We keep a fair amount of cash at the ready as well as 2 credit cards we only keep for emergency use only. All important documents are in a fire resistant safe that can be grabbed out of the big safe and taken with us. Each family member including our dog has a "bug out" bag at the ready as well. As far as protection, Both my wife and I have concealed carry permits, ( No, I do not carry while working. Never have ) and both our boys are fire arms trained and we all shoot regularly. Being former military And growing up in a military family, it just got ingrained in me to always be ready for anything. Although I love my home, My business etc. If it came down to it I would dump it all in a heartbeat to protect my family from some form of natural disaster that we wouldnt be able to defend our home against. Now, on the other hand, Rioters, looters, or what have you, better be prepared for one HELL of a fight if they want my home or property. thats a different story..

Good Point Mr. Resch. On second look I noticed it IS NOT a AAA truck. I thought it was AAA when I first watched it. I didnt notice the B.S. " not for hire " crap on there.

No securements AND ITS RAINING on top of it!!!!! WTF !!!!!!!

Top Quality service as always from Ed and his crew. It is amazing how much of a mess those newer trucks make if they get punched in the nose just right. They dont make them like they used to..

I figured I would share a bit of my families pass-time with the other race fans on Tow Force. this is my oldest son and my 4 cyl super stock dirt race car. I was an avid, ..Ok,... Obsessed racer, car/race engine builder and fabricator for many years on both asphalt and dirt but retired from the sport 11 years ago when my wife and i got married, and I had just bought into the towing business I was working for at the time and now own. Needless to say, all the racing gear was sold. Car, trailer, truck, tools/parts. The whole lot. My oldest son ( step-son legally ) had been talking for years about trying his hand at racing and I always told him if by age 16, if he was passing all his classes with at least a B- and has stayed out of trouble that we would start building another car. He kept his end of the bargain and this is his first full season running the car we built together. Our car started life as a 97 Civic hatchback and was built into a race car from the ground up in our home shop. He has done really well and is learning very quickly as a driver, mechanic and welder/fabricator. He averages a top 5 finish every race and has 3 heat wins and 2 feature wins under his belt so far this season between two different race tracks. Together, We even built our trailer/hauler out of an old 16' truck body and the remnants of an old horse trailer. Our race teams motto is "Built, Not Bought". I hope you enjoy the pics.

My god... What a horrible wreck... My thoughts are with the families of the men who were MURDERED. Aside from some freak mechanical failure that may have caused this, I Pray that AGGRESSIVE charges are brought against this man If is determined his inattentiveness of some form caused this. An example must be made of this man. This MUST END.

I do agree with you on many points of your statement NJSS, Parking pawls are one of the strongest part of a drive line system and rarely fail. But worn linkage and cables connecting them to the selector do wear and fail regularly. That is where my concern is as far as on-vehicle failure. And as far as i know there is no literature printed by any manufactures that state vehicles must be winched on or off. But there are many factors that need to be weighed to decide if a vehicle can or should be driven on/off. Sadly, this industry does not have enough "experienced or skilled operators" in it to make that decision in my opinion. Winches fail, hydraulics fail, there is always a "what if" factor involved in what we do. I still feel it is best to use all your available equipment to perform your duties. So, I still stand by my statement. To me, It is just unprofessional looking to drive on/off. Not to knock anyone who does. It is your gear, its your choice. I will continue to winch and so will anyone who ever works for me.

Like Dperone, My region is a rust riddled area. Although, I have done the ratchet strap trick in the past, as well as the chain through the wheels trick. If I had to put a percentage on the actually functioning Park brakes around here I would have to say 35-40 % of them actually work. I have always found that funny considering it is VERY hilly here, and there is a ton of on-street parking in the city that has very steep grades. We have a few streets here that I would best compare to some you would find in San Francisco. The difference between the steep ones here and S.F. is the Snow and Ice of winter.. Always makes for some exciting work. LOL

I forgot to mention NRC.. I Love them too. Overbuilt, rugged MONSTERS !!!

Wow..... Did he get hit by it??? Or somehow hurt himself trying to stop it? At first I thought he was holding his head like " I am a F#%king idiot" but later it looks like he lays down or collapses.

I personally am a Jerr-Dan, Century, Chevron kinda guy. There is a couple of guys around here that have Kilar rigged trucks and in my opinion they just seem cheaply built. One thing that stood out for me was the tilt piston mounts on the frame. My Jerr-Dan has boxed-in and gusseted L shaped mounts whereas the Kilar is just flat plates with the pivot pin run through it. The Kilar headache racks look flimsy and dont scream out quality to me at all as well. Again, this is Just my opinion. I dont mean to insult anyone out there who reads this and has Kilar gear. I will stick with my Name brand gear though..