sweetk30

the specific use of this truck and being auto 4x4 and the winch for the 440 needing full reman job i went 220 conversion . plus the price for the pto to fit a np205 t-case was 2x the price of the correct ramsey winch i found used .

does anyone know why the badge would be brass and not aluminum like all the others i have seen over the years ?

doing a conversion on a holmes 440 unit to a 220 unit and found a badge to put up on the tower and this showed up in the mail .

the 440 winch was there but needs a bit of love and will be rebuilt later . but for now i scored a period correct ramsey 8k winch for it and made the mount plates like others i have seen in the few pics i have seen of factory 220 units .

way to much weight note how far up the front end is on that truck .

i bet the height of the boom top is super close or over 13ft 6" . i know my old c5500 with a 21ft deck was around 3ft 9" off the ground no load . and my light bar was 2-3" under 8ft . i knew my heights and had a tape measure with me even to be 100% sure .

So . . . Sent email back in few hr's max of this with my list of items .   .  .  . Still ZERO reply back .

I sent a screen shot of the exact items and quanity today and still no reply . 

Guess these people dont want my money . . . 

Yes i am bitching up a storm . . . But also showing the truth of a member here and in the towing world . 

so here is a copy of the email i got back from NOT wes but a family memeber . . . to me its a excuse and even tho they say its not the reason sucks since its been over a solid month since this all started .

read it and make your own choice . . . and the free ship is kind of a joke since half of this was to ask for combined ship and 1 item was free ship to begin with and there ebay store wouldnt let you ask for a total updated since there buy it now listings and there void of the ask for updated total request button so thats why i tried again a week and a half ago and still got no reply .

email copy and paste minus my name at the top .

I got a B/S reply . I will copy & paste in the am . On my phone now and ready for bed . . 

thats it . i have had it with them. i fired off a email tonight and will see what happens .

i called them out on the un answered phone calls let to a human / un answered emails online for there sale page .

i told them i wish to have prof of there donations of sale items to the towing museum in TN off each item old as i dont trust them to be doing so . 

last i told them if they want my money answer the phone message / email and give prof . . . if not then he better hide in the small world of the internet we all live in these days . . .

and just to stir the pot more here it is fellow tow operators ............ @Wes Wilburn for The American Towing & Recovery Institute

i am done messing around for there games and dodging calls or emails . if you have a real excuse then fine prove it otherwise your no good to me or us as a whole with this kind of crap service .

going to call 1 last time Friday and see what happens . . . if no change then i am FULL ON BLAST HIS A$$  and show what i pile of crap he is and to let people know to avoid him at all costs .

trust me i will keep you up to date on details . . .. ..

A huge problem in my area is they call cops / fire / ems and .......................... ......................................................... then the tow truck of who is next on list and expect they to be there in 30 seconds.  . 

If thay would call and let us stage a few blocks away it would help 10 fold in speed and clean up and not make tow drivers drive so crazy to a cop call . 

lucky your HD dealer lets you tow in that way . the one dealer near me are A$$HOLES and require all bikes towed in to be in a enclosed trailer so people dont see them showing up .

there such a-holes they have refused tows for this fact .

yep karma can bite you some times . but glad you got a saving grace tow close .

so its been 1 SOLID month now and still no word back . i even sent a email to there sale page people are buying from and still show sales and nothing .

there the ONLY game i have found for the product and i guess i have to deal with them 1 way or the other if i want this stuff .

so my question is do i start a sh!t storm here by calling them out for all to know there crap service ? ........ or just let it go ?

Great job on recovery / billing . 

What makes my blood boil is insurance paid for a STUPID driver being someplace they should NOT have been in the first place . Its crap like this that makes our rates keep going up and up . 

Again good job . Thinking it over . Getting it done .

I know of a guy who did this . . . And went under a bridge and skimmed open the box roof . . 3k later the box was fixed . 

Only time i did this was multi vehicle crash on interstate at night and raining . Cops breathing down our necks . Boss/ owner was 2nd tow to me and said load and go ! ...... we were 1 mile from shop and 3/4 mile from exit . 

Otherwise just take the time to load correctly ! . Most of the time my OCD made me try to be centered on the bed . 

if you have a engine hoist or friend that does give them the old self lock swivel hook off the cable . i swapped both mine to the B/A full clamp swivel hook a few years ago and LOVE it . so much better lifting and moving things on a full 360* spin over them stupid hooks and 3-4 links of chain .

so i am still waiting on the phone call or private message or post in the correct thread . . . . its been almost 2 weeks since i started this info hunt via phone call a few times first . then some internet searches as i waited . and then even a bump to there screen name and still NOTHING .

i just dont get how a company can ignore someone for a simple questions . then not know it could turn in to thousands of dollars more later . ? ? ?

i would love to go some other place / or buy the stuff from someone else / or even just view what i need but this old school stuff is hard to find on the internet these days .

and to make it even worse they clam they donate some money off each sale to the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame & Museum in Chattanooga , TN . if there so willing to donate then why not try and talk to me and sell product . and now i am to the point of if i buy from them how do i know they WILL DONATE to them ? ? ? were is the prof . ?

sorry for being such a little b!tch for this tiny problem . . . but maybe i am uncovering a GIANT FRAUD and scammer who knows . . .

i have always told people if i KNOW i will tell you . if i do NOT know i will tell you . then if i can i will direct you to someone who can . but just leaving people high and dry with nothing is NOT good practice for a good company model . 

in my area the last few years it dont matter who you are . . . there messing with ALL tow trucks for even stupid stuff .

but i can see why . in the many years as a mechanic and then tow guy i saw a LOT of scary stuff and didnt like it .

one thing to remember if at all possible ........... NEVER GO IN A ACTIVE DOT CHECK FOR A TOW  .......... you might be the next victim .

i have towed a lot of trailers . always made sure i had all 3 ball sizes . saved a lot of people extra b/s when tow rig was dead . i would roll up load it on the bed and hook the trailer and away i went .

i just dont get WHY tow trucks dont get 7pin round plugs when they know were going to tow a trailer now and then . these 1950's round 4 pin are so out dated .

i had run 50ft and 75ft on 21' rollbacks and found 50 was great for city stuff or just transport . but if doing some light recovery the extra 25ft was nice .

i also found the flat plate with compression springs worked better for me to keep the cable the best possible on the drum . but every time i did a long pull i still had to re-spool just to keep it safe and clean .

So i talked with a few older tow truck operators and service parts guys in the last few days . 

Found out the 480 split boom holmes uses 3/8" x 100ft of line on each winch . 

Now to find more info to complete my project . 

Best thing i was told if you cant get it easy with no damage extra just pull the wheel first . Then set on a plank or 4x4 as a ski . 

i was talking with a retired member here a few days ago . he said they coiled in inside a old car tire .

In new york there is tow truck endorsement on your license.  . . . But its so old school of a PAPER test its not funny . 

And yes way to many ZERO experience drivers just thrown in a truck . 

and also there was no need to back up . now he has no wiggle room back there . kick the bed out the 2-3 ft he backed up and suck the bed in as you control the decent off the upper tire before the BIG uncontrolled flop happens .

and now i watched it on the shop computer screen the wheel lift was getting beat the hell up also .