GRUMPS The Towman

Excellent work !!! the way you handled this job is in essence what i was trying to convey in my original post. I always enjoy hearing of successful carrier recoveries being a carrier kinda guy myself😁

The first responder designation would I assume be a title only held by towing companies affiliated with law enforcement. i see no reason for the local repair shop who just has a wrecker to run around grabbing their customers vehicles to be labeled as such. There are some states that already have first responder towing services I believe. Missouri is one that does. I dont know what the requirements are that they have to meet for that designation, but i assume there is an incredible amount of training, insurance requirements, t.i.m.s. training and so on for those guys to go code 3. Obviously there are areas in this nation where that type of response is warranted. I can say with certainty that my region is not one of them. In my opinion it would cause way more harm than good. I do feel that a more uniform and standardized training program could be implemented such as a college course . It would take the work of many dedicated professionals and of course some sort of legislation by the government that would take beyond years. Maybe, Just maybe I will still be alive to see the day.

WOW that was way too close for comfort... Glad everyone was ok

I like that idea. I would add some sort of geometry and engineering to the curriculum as well

I received a call through county dispatch for our local state trooper barracks just at the start of this winter season one night for a vehicle off the roadway, on its side in a farm field. I was told the usual very little from the dispatcher when I accepted the call and headed out. when I arrived on scene with my roll back the trooper came out of his cruiser and began berating me about showing up on "His road " and "His wreck" with a flatbed. ( He requested a wrecker but the dispatcher never relayed that to me, they also never mentioned I would be the second attempt at this )He continues to tell me that another company had been there for 40 minutes before me with a flatbed and all they had accomplished was getting the vehicle stuck worse than it was. I found out later the "other company" was a local competitor of mine who just recently went into business. Said company has been nothing but trouble for all of us ( towers and police alike ) this past year. I explained to the officer that I would be able to recover the vehicle without much hassle with what i have on scene. I could understand his frustration, he had been standing in the freezing cold and blowing snow while this "other company" screwed around and failed, ultimately telling the officer that this job could not be performed with a flatbed and required a wrecker. after discussing what I planned to do, and showing him my equipment he relented and i performed the recovery in short order. afterwards the officer apologized to me and even offered to buy coffee when we got back to town. We got coffee and got a chance to talk a bit. We had a great discussion and the one question I had for him that he had a hard time answering was " If you came to the conclusion that the " other company " was inept and not up to snuff as he put it then why when they stated that a wrecker was required you took that as gospel?" His response was he doesnt know anything about this type of work and just went with what he was being told. I later found out that the "other company " blocked up the road then proceeded to pull out all his line then promptly pulled the line off the drum. after trying in vain to get the line back on the drum, He then tied the line to tow hook on the front of his truck and attempted to pull the car, on its side mind you and the car continued to dig in to the slushy mud mixture until he dragged it too close to a wire fence. At that point he packed up his tore up gear and told the officer it needed a wrecker because all roll backs dont have enough wire rope on them to reach the casualty. Long story short, I was able to not only calm down a irritated officer, I was able to educate him a bit about our industry as well. And not only did I get the recovery and tow, I got a free cup of coffee and a new friend as well.

LMAO!!! I love clowns, Just not in our line of work...lol

Soiunds like that was a horrible scene...I am so ready for this year to end. Although not much if anything will change at least the count of Operators killed and injured will start over and we wont have to look at the horrific numbers of this past year. Wishful thinking I suppose.

My God.. Of all the ways we could meet our end... RIP Operator Kammerer

We are Praying for the Operator and hoping for a speedy recovery

Agreed. I love this industry and always will. It has been good to me and supported me and my family well, but there is always that stark reminder of whats going on out there. Best way I can see to put it is , Nobody goes out and buys a fire truck and turn out gear and calls themselves firefighters yet anyone can go out buy a tow truck and a cheap reflective vest and call themselves a tow operator.

Forget your parking brake did you?? Or on the other hand it looks like a ford so it probably doesnt work anyway. ( just kidding ford guys ) Glad no one was hurt.

The Industry as a whole unfortunately, is not ready for that designation. There has been many occasions where recovery operators are needed to secure a wreck for victim extraction, At this juncture it still needs to be on a case by case basis. The standards of training are evolving and will continue to do so ( i hope ) and there will come a day where towing and recovery can be designated as first responders.

Of course every situation is different. Given the basis of what Mr. Resch described as the scenario Is how i would have handled it. Everyone has a different prospective as to how a situation should be handled and of course different ideas of how to carry them out. Although I dont always agree with the ways another Operator would perform a particular recovery doesnt make it wrong. My opinion is just that. My Opinion. That is the beauty of our industry is that there is no text book. Our minds are the greatest tools we can bring to a recovery scene. there are a million ways to reach the same outcome. I agree 100% with tow zone that too many Operators get caught up in the moment, pull up and start flinging chains and winch lines before they even glance at the situation. I was guilty of this in my younger days and my partner to this day is that way. Drives me nuts. In my region we dont have what you guys on the west coast and major metro areas call quick clear requirements. Yes of course Pd wants the roads/highways cleared as fast as possible but I see on the west coast there is actually stipulations for it. Ive seen videos of California highway patrol cars pushing rolled over vehicles off the roadways with the bull bars on their cruisers. Even down in NYC they have Wreckers called "tunnel rats" with massive push bumpers on them to just shove wrecks out of the tunnels and off the bridges. When an Operator replies to a scenario posted on here they will obviously picture in their minds doing the recovery scenario in their region. I feel that Mr. Resch is looking for all types of responses and ideas to his scenario for his research.

WOW......To each his own I suppose.... I can tell you that I would NEVER load a vehicle on its roof for ANY reason what so ever. I dont care who or what ANYONE says. The Chief of police could be there asking and it would not matter to me. Ultimately I am responsible for that casualty vehicle and ANY further damage incurred. I am the RECOVERY professional on scene, So i will dictate how it will be performed. I dont tell the police or fire how to do their job so I will be damned if they are gonna tell me how to do mine. I will work in the situation and parameters that I am given with no complaints but I dont need any advice from the officer. If it comes to the Officer being on a " power trip " as it was stated then I would leave the scene and drive right to the police dept. to file a formal complaint against said officer. Unfortunately, I feel like this is getting off topic here.

How do you put them on? They look real strong which i like but what kind of pain in the a$$ are they to load or store??

Like ESC said, It all depends on your town / countys laws regarding commercial vehicles. If your operator lives in a private or gated community then their rules apply as well. I dont have issues with the town I live in but i do have one neighbor in particular that has been outspoken about my truck coming and going at all hours of the night. Luckily, from a legal stand point there isnt much Mr. Neighbor can do about it. Maybe there is a nearby parking lot where you could talk with the owner about renting a space on his overnights? If your operator is in a decent area maybe that is an option for you. In all the cases i have heard of where commercial vehicles are not allowed to be stored on residential property, it is usually a case of the law is the law and your S.O.L.

I went through a issue a couple years back with the local pd here when I purchased my roll back and began showing up at all sorts of recoveries with it. I would get the "what are you gonna do with that" all the time. after a few jobs, I no longer get questioned about what I rolled up with. Now keep in mind when I outfitted my truck i outfitted it with all types of recovery equipment including 100' of 5,300lb. winch line, ( the original, 40' line was removed and stored the instant the truck showed up from the dealer)100' of synthetic winch line extension, 5 assorted snatch blocks, cribbing and blocks up the whazoo, straps, roundslings etc..(I could go through and make a list of my equipment, some say I carry too much gear ) Not only have I been formally trained I also would and still do spend time at the yard with some scrappers just trying all sorts of different rigging and senarios to "self teach" myself things. My roll back is the only truck I use. My partner runs our wrecker so its basically a matter of doing what I can with what I run. I am a firm believer that with the right gear and training there is not much I cant do with my roll back that can be done with a wrecker. some situations would go much faster and smoother with a wrecker but if the situation dictates it will get done with my roll back.

If the circumstance is on its lid and in line with the lane, Then it may be necessary to swivel the casualty vehicle perpendicular to your truck, use a roll over stick and upright it then winch the casualty back parallel with your truck for loading. If you have a shoulder to work with, It may be possible to work it off the corner of your deck but your rigging has to be just right to get the weight and the pull where you need it and you may need to use rubber wheel chocks or some other means of keeping the casualty from sliding towards you. A snatch block off the tail of your deck is a must as well. It will provide the downward pressure on the roll over stick needed to get the casualty rolling over as opposed to just sliding towards you. The picture I have posted in my post titled Quick roll over is a similar situation but I had 1-1/2 lanes to work with. Doing it in this manner I suggest getting the casualty on its side and stopping to take a look to make sure it will not hit your deck when it comes down. you do have to be pretty close to the casualty to perform this.

I myself have gone both ways as far as cones and or flares. depending on the situation depends on what gets put out, If any. A quick load and go on a busy roadway usually gets a quick cone thrown out about 20'-30' behind the casualty. and yes there have been a couple occasions where I have forgotten it back there. If it is more of a recovery or a difficult load where I will be on scene more than say 10 minutes then more traffic devices are deployed. I have been known to put out a couple flares on rolling bends in the roadway during snowstorm work when applicable as well. Some occasions I will also put my tow light on the back of the vehicle I am loading just for that extra warning even though the casualty is going up on the deck. Once it becomes a routine for you you tend to not forget it on there. I also have a little card I made that i keep on my tow light with a hair band I stole from my wife that when I deploy my tow light I take the card off and slip it into my steering wheel cover so It is staring me in the face. That way when I get to where Im going I know to grab my light first. My partner wrote a note on his rear view mirror to try and remember his, but the problem with that is it is always there so he got used to it. Forgets his light all the time. With my way it is something that is out of place normally so it grabs my attention.

Agreed. I dont use them at all in traffic because they just drown out the ambers. added a lower set of work lights by the winch to flood down the deck.

Thank god The Operator got all the way in the vehicle. I normally dont if I can avoid it.I dont want to dirty up my customers vehicles. If I can reach in and put the vehicle in neutral with my hands I do. The way I do it I would have been killed.

Wow. that rig is tore up pretty good. I hope the driver is Ok

Sounds like your on your way.. Remember.. NEGOTIATE and make sure you have your numbers right so you make $$. and always remember that these clubs will tell you whatever you want to hear to get you on board. How they will feed you more work than you can handle etc...etc... All the work in the world is useless if your not making enough to pay the bills and put a little bread in your pocket. QUANITY doesnt always add up to QUALITY. Good luck to you and Happy Holidays.

I love this forum !!! I wish I would have joined years ago but ive never really been computer savvy. ( incase you couldnt tell from my lack of punctuation and such lol ). There is MOUNTAINS of good information and good people with great wisdom and opinions. I certainly want to contribute more as far as Pics and stories in the towing and recovery sections and I am working on getting set up to take more pictures and such during work. GREAT JOB to all involved with running this forum and keep up the good work !!!

CLOWNS !!!!!!!!! Probably some fly by night douche with no insurance.... from the pep in their step it would seem they are trying to beat feet before P.D. shows up..