GRUMPS The Towman

Being friends with a few ( not all ) of the other local companies owners around here, If i do see one of their guys doing something unsafe or just downright stupid, i do give my buddy a call and let him know he needs to "train" his operator on the issue. As some of you may know from reading my other posts, I am the little guy in town. A 2 man band. But the owner and his family of the biggest company in town is a very good friend of mine. We have cross-trained together, Helped each other out on big jobs, Loaned each other gear and equipment and I have even done some "unoffical" carrier recovery training for his new guys for him. So basically we do try to watch out for one another. As far as the guys out there that I dont know, they are on their own. I just do my best stay clear of the impending disaster

Me+3, You have my condolences on the tragic loss of your family member. I know no words of mine or anyone else's can relive the pain and anguish of losing a loved one. Please understand that we here on tow force and the professional towing / recovery industry are a brotherhood and we all feel the pain and loss of a fellow operator no matter if we knew the person or the situation. We here on this forum do not discuss the mistakes made by the operator, if any such as not wearing a seat belt to bash them or degrade the person involved or the tragic scenario they were placed in that caused their loss of life. We as professionals use these situations to bring to light for other operators, old and new the tragic outcomes that could come with these situations. Our aim is to reduce Operator fatalities as a whole throughout the industry. As you may or may not know, tow operator deaths in the U.S. alone are at staggering, jaw dropping levels. As painful as it is, we must learn from those mistakes others have made, Teach the "old dogs" like myself and smother new, up and coming operators with the necessary training and information to prevent these types of tragic outcomes from happening. Again, I send prayers to you and your family during these difficult times that lay ahead. Rest easy Operator, your shift is over..

I see a lot of towers around my neck of the woods that dont wear seat belts, There is this big myth around here that most guys believe we are exempt from the seat belt law. It is just that, A MYTH.. Sure all the local P.D. dont bother any of us about it but it is still LAW.

I have only had one go up on me. I managed to dump a wreck off my deck once that got going pretty good a lot faster from the time I noticed it than I expected. I had first tried to knock it down with my extinguisher But it started going like hell again real quick. I quickly angled my truck so I could dump it into the ditch on the side of the road and not have to worry about a flaming car rolling down the road. I tipped the deck just a bit, loosened and free wheeled my winch, then cut my front catch straps with my pocket knife and ran the deck down as it started to roll back off. Thank god my rear tie back chains just played out of the rear slots on my deck as it rolled back. The grass got going pretty good too after it dropped into the ditch which made me start to panic but luckily the F.D. was only a 1/2 mile down the road at the scene where I got the car from and a passerby told them about my plight up the road. After the F.D boys got it put out in short order, The Chief came to the conclusion that the battery was shorted from the wreck and started the fire. The whole ordeal cost me a couple cluster straps, a Fire extinguisher and a whole lot of cleanup. I usually never checked if the battery was cut or disconnected because the F.D was always on top of it. It was overlooked by them on this one. Guess who checks to see if the battery cables are cut or disconnected at every accident since then??... This guy... My bridle and rigging was still hooked to the melted blob so it was just a matter of backing up a few feet, re-engaging my winch and dragging the heap back on the deck and cleaning up all the debris.

This gentleman would be looking for new employment if he was working for me.

Your welcome. If your frames, hubs, bearings etc. are in good shape, You could get yourself a new pair of the Collins tubes or AXLES as most people call them with the + camber ends. I bought a pair last year to replace my old, whooped pair. Brought new life to my old set of dollies and was WAY WAY cheaper than a whole new set of dollies.

Being an older set, It is safe to surmise they have had been overloaded once or twice throughout their lives. They look "ok" to me for around town type deals. I would run them.. I have always had a personal limit of 8 -10 mile tows for dollies. If it is going any farther, then roll back or drive line removal it is.. I know there are some guys out there that tow forever on dollies.. Not saying in any way that my way or their way is wrong or right. Idk, just a personal preference for me.

That is true.. there is still a good amount of clean up that could be charged for. If Eds was there he would call in his asphalt paving crew and lot striping crew afterwards....😁 Just joking Ed. I do really admire that you have the equipment and abilities to perform all the extra scene work you and your crew perform.👍

These days i find myself looking at my scene the moment I pull up and Just by instinct I start planning my movements, Where I will stand, Where i will go Should the worst happen. In my 24 almost 25 Professional years ( God, I am getting OLD.. LOL ) In this Industry I have had more close calls than I would like to admit. I have had my truck struck twice, One was very serious and injured both me and a police officer on scene pretty good. And of course I have had the occasional but rare equipment failure, bad rig-up etc. But what I feel is different for me is I always take the time to look back at what happened, think it through and LEARNED FROM IT!!!! Whereas I see many other Operators be it on Youtube, in person or whatnot that will take a bad situation like that and basically laugh it off. Its almost like they think "well I didnt get hurt last time it happened so I am not worried about it". This whole "Not gonna happen to me" mentality MUST STOP. It is literally KILLING US... Even with all the best planning and forward thinking I do I was STILL Injured in that serious accident years back. But I know in my heart of hearts that my thoughts, actions and planning on that terrible day saved my life. My name would be on the wall of the fallen today if I would have just winged it and threw caution to the wind.

Certainly appears as though it started at the rear of the rig. Hung up brake or rear end issue maybe?? Dont see too many of those slide-in camper units around here anymore. I always thought they were cool. Glad to hear no one was hurt.

Oh, There it is.. Lol Just the angle of the first pic gave the illusion that the engine bay was totally empty... The "lucky" owners story seems a lil hinkey.. but hey, I suppose anything is possible

Very well written piece Sir. As we all know, There are numerous reasons that Operators are killed or maimed on the roadways. Can MOST of them be prevented with proper training AND SITUATIONAL AWARENESS? I really believe they can. SDMO Laws don't work. They are not the be-all end-all. Not for nothing, murder, burglary, domestic violence, drunk driving etc... are all against written law yet, they happen EVERYDAY. A big, big part of the problem in my opinion is operator complacency. And I don't mean just white line work per-say. It could be an operator who loads a vehicle on a roll back and doesn't bother to secure a catch strap or safety chain to the front of said vehicle prior to getting behind and under the rear of the vehicle to attach the tie backs. Sure, he has placed his life literally in front of that winch, the line and rigging forever without issue. Then there's that ONE time.... That one time the free spool was not completely engaged, that ONE time your rigging didn't hold, That ONE time the line broke... All it takes is that ONE TIME. Now, What I am about to say may not sit well with everyone out there but it needs to be said, Tow Operators MUST START to take responsibility for their own lives. In every aspect of the job. Your roadside movements and positioning are YOUR responsibility. You must think through your movements, know a way out of where you are should something go awry.. We cannot and should not have ever thought some written law or a bunch of flashing lights and reflective clothing is going to give us some sort of magical shield where we could just go about doing anything we wanted on the side of the road. PROTECT yourselves because no else will. So many of these horrible deaths could have been prevented if the operator, experienced or new would not allow complacency to play a role in the uncontrollable situation they may have been put in. You have NO control over the 17 year old texting-tweeting driver or the hammered drunk guy running down the shoulder right towards your scene, But if you are operating on the guardrail side of your truck, you have your head up and NEVER turn your back to traffic, you might just see whats coming and be able to get away via your already scoped out escape route from the imminent collision...Roadside operator deaths will always be a factor. But, i really feel if we all took more time to plan, train and prepare ourselves for the given situation we have to work in, We could drastically reduce the fatalities that plague our industry. Just my 2 cents.

You hit the nail square on the head Mr.Resch... Not ONE of those people on that podcast was able to give a definetive answer as to their operating costs... If you dont know your real operating costs and not some roundabout guesstimate then you have NO place at the table to be discussing rates.. I can tell you for fact that deciphering operating costs in O.T.R trucking as compared to our industry is completely different and way more complex for us giving the Broader spectrum of services we provide and situations we end up in. Been there, Done that.. It has been a while (about 3 months ) since I sat down and did the math but at one point I had it figured down to the mile what it cost me to run my truck down the road. Fuel, Insurance, Maintenance, My salary, Truck Payments ,Garage keepers, D.O.T., I.F.T.A, H.U.T., The whole works.. It came out to about $2.25 a mile. No matter if I am going for a slice of pizza or running a call.. High idle time came in about $ 3.45 pr hour. if memory serves right( wrecks, recoveries etc..) So how is it people can run around at $3.00 a loaded mile or $40 to perform winching for these auto clubs?? AND give them 5 or so free miles at times to boot?? ( Don't get me started on the whole "free" miles crap ) I have always said, if HALF of the bozo's out there actually knew their REAL operating costs, most of the motor clubs would cease to exist... Sadly, as long as there are guys out there that THINK they are lighting the world on fire running for these clubs at their slave labor rates, nothing will ever change with them.. They get blinded by the "Juicy" checks they get every month.. OK, lets see,..So you ran 65-70 calls all over gods green earth say, for arguments sake, Agero last month and you got a $4,000 - $5,000 check from them.. Sit down, do the math and break it ALL down... I guarantee you would be mortified at how little money you actually made per call, per mile or however you break it down.. Volume does NOT equal profit.. Phones ringing off the hook, Trucks are rolling everywhere.. Are you REALLY making money? or is it poorly thought out rates and auto club smoke and mirrors??

where did the drivetrain go?? it doesnt appear that anything is left in the engine bay anymore..Is it just me??? I know they melt down pretty good these days but theres usually something left.. A blob of aluminum and magnesium?

Rest easy Operator Martinez, We will drag those chains from here...😢

If it is in fact a repo situation, then I agree with how it was handled. I surmise the reason he pulled into the lot down the road a bit was to secure it, add tag lights etc... It is certainly a double edged sword and a good operator has to look at the big picture when preparing to grab one like that. I performed repos for a couple years waaaay back in the day and I always just wanted in and out. I never wanted confrontation of any sort. Now are written laws broken while this repo was performed? yes. The road was clear of traffic, the operator was able to get ahold of it and get out of the lane of traffic before cars came through. I just feel there has to be a high level of common sense used in these situations. I will be the first to admit that there are occasions where I have pulled a car up on my deck in gore points of highways for instance, set the brake and put it in park and got my A$$ out of there in a new york minute off the exit to secure the car. Is it Illegal?? Of course, Is it dangerous?? Sure is.. But these days being out of that truck in the middle of the highway is much more dangerous as far as I am concerned. I will take my chances using gravity to hold the car down for 500-1000' to get myself out of harms way.... Write the ticket... I will be alive to answer it..

Doing a "dry" startup business is defenitly going to be a tough battle. That is one bridge I didnt have to cross as we bought an longtime existing business. It was run into the ground for sure when we took over but it was there and people knew the name. ( We kept the name and colors mainly because it is the oldest towing business in the county ) But maybe that is something you can use to your advantage where you are. If all the local companies around you are run poorly and have bad reputations then being a new guy on the block might work in your favor. Get out there to the repair and body shops and talk with them about doing account work for them. ( obviously, the shops that dont do their own towing ) That is the bread and butter of my business here. I work with approximatley 60% of the repair and body shops local to me regularly with at least 35% of them using me exclusivley for all their towing needs. One shop I work with did a promotion last year offering his customers free towing within 10 miles of their shop as long as they performed the repairs needed. I gave the shop a 15% discount on all his local tows. I am sure he absorbed the costs of towing into his customers final bills. but long story short, we both made out very well. The best part is I ended up with a couple of those die hard customers I mentioned in my earlier post just from that promotion. These are Just some Ideas for you to think through. I dont know your demographics so maybe these ideas arent even a possibility for you

It sounds like you already have a good professional outlook and that is key in my opinion. It is funny how a good ol' butt chewing can stick in your head sometimes. LoL. You seem to be one who looks around at whats going on around you and using what you see to improve your methods and ways. That is another key strategy for a "one man band". One of my biggest motto's is I would rather leave my truck parked in the driveway and wash it then chase calls all through town for $40. I leave that work for the clowns who want to think they are making money just because their truck is rolling. and this town has its fair share of them. The numbers have to be right. A guy can go send out one of his inexperienced drivers and do 5-6 calls running all over at $40 each, beat 175-200 miles onto his rig and cook up a tank of fuel, pay his driver for the day plus whatever else got tore up through the course of his day While I will go out 2 or 3 times for $75 each, put 50-75 on my rig and use 1/2 tank of fuel and still be home for dinner with the family. Who made out better? Too many people get into this business thinking they will get rich quick only to realize that you actually have to work and do it right. Many many people start with the best intentions only to find they cant make enough money to cover all their expenses doing things right at the rates they charge so corners start to get cut, trucks get abused and grossly overloaded because they take on any and all work offered, service declines and things go from bad to worse. Next thing they know, their equipment is junk, truck payments are overdue, their employees are gone, the bank account is empty and they cant figure out why. What I am getting at is when you get started, sit down and figure out what your expenses are and always plan high. Come up with a good rate scale that will pay the bills AND put a few $$ in your pocket. Remember, you are a FOR PROFIT business. the whole point is to make yourself some money. And most of all STICK TO YOUR GUNS on your quotes. You will get those people who say "well Cletus's towing said he can do it for $$". Explain to your potential customer while you cant do the job at Cletus's rate, you can provide professional service with modern, clean updated equipment. Speak professionally to them. Yes Sir, No Sir etc... believe me, it goes a loooong way. Most times, you will get a call back from them wanting the service. Keep in mind, The general public views us towers as greasy, Knuckle-dragging Idiots mostly. That stigma that is upheld by unprofessional fly-by-night towers with crappy rigs and gear and a crappy adittude to go with it. I pride myself on being on the opposite side of that stigma. In my opinion, being able to talk to people in a professional matter is a big thing. At least it works for me. I also know I am not going to become a millionaire doing this. I make a decent living and thats good enough by me. As far as the Ram's I am very happy with them both. My 17 5500 just broke 96,000 miles yesterday and it had 230 miles on it when I first put it into service. I have had 3 mechanical failures with it although none of them have left me stranded. she always was able to limp home. 2 of those failures were "self inflicted". One was a trans cooler line that was improperly installed by the upfitter who installed the tow unit and it rubbed on the front driveshaft. The 2nd was a screw was accidentlly put through the wiring harness in the drivers front wheel well when my partner installed a set of oversized mud flaps for me. And the 3rd was a blown out exhaust manifold gasket at the head causing a massive whistling sound when the exhaust brake was used. My partners 12 3500 we bought new as a cab/chassis and I installed the chevron unit that we had from an older chevy we got when we bought the business from our former boss. That truck just surpassed 220,000 miles. Although my partner does perform some maintenance on his truck, since it has been paid off, he certainly doesnt do it to the level that I do and is more of a "wait till it breaks" kinda guy. He runs the truck hard and uses it for everything including helping around his fathers farm moving this n that, loading things etc.. She has held up real good to his abuse.

That was the way things were back in the day. A lot of units were overbuilt on chassis that they werent meant for really. It wasnt till the 5500/550 chassis came about that they were more equally matched.

If I may put my 2 cents in.. lol. First off welcome to the forums. Both Ed and Mr. Resch bring up many good points. Both are smart and experienced men in this industry and I personnally consider them both true leaders in the trade. I run a what I like to call a 1-1/2 man show with my partner with me being the primary mover and shaker. I run a 17 Ram 5500 4x4 with a jerr dan deck and my partner has a 12 ram 3500 4x4 with a chevron self loader. For obvious reasons we are limited to light duty towing as of now and thats fine by me. My 5500 fully equipped with me in it weighs in at 13,400. And when i say fully equipped I mean I use my roll back for ppi, rollovers, recoveries, rigging, roadside service you name it. I have had 3/4 ton trucks on my truck and depending on the type it puts me just at 19,500 or just over a bit 21,000. I am one of those guys that if my truck goes down, then im out of business till its fixed. Knowing this I have a rigourous maintenance routine and keep all my gear in top condition. I may have been lucky I suppose but i would like to think that because of that and the fact that I dont chase low paying work all over the world or put my gear in perilous predicaments that in the 3+ years I have been running my truck, It has been out of service for no more than 2 days and that was for waiting on a gasket from Cummins. So, what I am getting at is you can run a profitable business with one or 2 small trucks. You just have to be smart about it. know your rigs limitations, Know when to say NO, Take good care of your gear, Do things right and treat your customers well and they wont mind waiting for you if your honest with them and tell them your tied up elsewhere at the given moment. I have my fair share of die hard customers who refuse to use anyone else but me just because of how I treat them and their vehicles. And I know for fact I am not the cheapest around. I am actually one of the more pricey competitors in town. Good luck to you Sir And please keep us informed on your journey of getting started.

I Get what your saying Mr. Stewart. I run a 2 man show with my business partner with 2 trucks. Just him and myself. We have no other employees. He has his 1 ton self loader and I have my 5500 roll back. I too hate how these clubs call with that automated thingy and basically demand an answer in seconds regarding the call. Sometimes It takes me a few minutes to look up where the call is and where it is going to see if it will fit into what I have going on at that given moment and whatnot. Or I am dead asleep and all of a sudden I have to quickly digest what that thing is saying. At least if it is a human calling I can ask them to hold for a second so I can collect myself. I do feel there is more "mom and pop" tow companies like myself at least around here than there are big 3 shift companies. And my region is a good mixed bag of moderate sized cities, villages and rural middle of no-where areas. So I would have to agree with your guess on the percentages

For some reason, the picture did not come up when I first read the article and wrote my post. Now that I see the picture.... WTF was he doing out there??... From what I can see it appears he was replacing the left front steer tire so I can understand why he wouldnt be able to limp off the highway if that is in fact the case. But Why on gods green earth would you need your service truck along side the rig?? IN A LIVE LANE !!???!!! Did he feel no one would see his warning lights if he put his truck in front of the semi?? I have done left side steer tires on trucks before on the side of the road and I would park my truck 5 or 6 car lengths ahead of the semi and have the driver cut the nose over hard a bit to the right to give me a lil breathing room. It also helps to get the warning lights on your service rig a little better display room. Of course cones, triangles and flares were added behind the rig also. I can understand his air line not reaching the front If he was to stage at the rear of the semi because mine didnt reach either. That is why I would set up the way I just mentioned. Seems as though he rolled the dice staging his truck there feeling it would provide him some protection. Certainly a very bad decision. My thoughts are with the tech for a fast recovery. I would love to hear the techs reasoning behind this choice after he recovers.

So was the boulder heavy enough for medium duty tow rates?? Lol Nice work. It is always a good day when you can get the whole job and get paid for it start to finish like that.

Those SDMO laws are hard at work I see.. Hoping for a full recovery for our brother operator / roadside tech. Prayers are with you.

i did the exact same thing. pulled it all apart, drilled and installed grease fittings in the collars. It certainly isnt the be all fix all but it does prolong them from siezing up when the truck sits a bit. The aluminum handles sadly never last. I broke them all eventually on my old jerr dan hpl and replaced them with the stainless ones. Certainly not a cheap upgrade by any means.