Stuart Wagner

I have a side puller on my rollback. Was it expensive? Yes it was, but the police would request a wrecker for a crash at night and you would run out with one and find out you need a rollback. They would call for a rollback and you would get there and the car was down an embankment and 100' out in a field and now you need a wrecker. You can do 90% of the recoveries with a sidepuller and a rollback, yes sometimes you need a hydraulic boom with dual winches but not very often. Saves me from sending 2 men and 2 trucks and I now can do it with one truck and one man. Of course I charge extra when using the sidepuller. Does it pay for itself and make you money? Maybe, maybe not, but it sure is convenient.

Those paper rolls suck. Had a couple of those jobs. Some blew out the roof. I was told they generally reject any damage because of being out of balance on their machinery.

How do you guys strap fairings towing a tractor backwards? Do you use 4 C clamps and strap in an X fashion or do you go side to side and if so, how many straps?

What I don't like is the automated message does not allow you to put them on hold and see if you have a man available and where they are to accept or reject the tow

Hey Ed, I tow a fair bit of Uhauls and the last year they started asking prices for winchouts for the customer to pay us directly. Do you bill Uhaul or get the customer to pay you? I hate getting in the middle and these people that rent these trucks think you are nuts when you give them a mininum winch fee and hear them cry. Then you know it probably ain't simple the way these morons drive behind houses etc. How do you handle them? Or Billy Bob with a 4x4 gets them out till you get there, does Uhaul pay you?

Been towing heavy trucks for 23 years and i was towing a newer Peterbilt day cab with a roof fairing air foil backwards for 5 miles at 35 mph and woosh, it flew off and landed in the road in a million pieces. I didn't look at it close prior to towing, but after the fact there are 2 long strut bars from the top of the fairing to above the rear window that are mounted with a 7/16 bolt in the back of the cab in a threaded insert. Well that bolt had been previously sheared off and someone tried drilling it out crooked and gave up and drilled (2) 1/8" holes in the tin to mount that strut bar, needless to say those 2 small screws couldn't hold on. Any of you guys lose a fairing towing backwards? Doing tractor swaps I always try to tow them backwards.

putting a 7035 on that?

I replaced at least 24 frames in pickups the last couple years and i could always beat flat rate. Keep suspension and other pieces in as large of sections as possible. Separate as little as possible. Never had one come back with a squeek or a rattle either. Looks like you did a good job Ed. Some insurance companies really drag out paying supplements. If it is a company you don't work with regularly, insist they overnight a check for the supplement before you release the vehicle. More and more body shops are doing this, sometimes we spend way too much time getting supplement payments and they drag on for months. Sometimes the insurance sends the supplement check to the customer and they think it is Christmas and they spend it instead of paying us. Good luck in your body shop venture, it is challenging at times.

yup

Looks real nice Ed. A local shop has one of those as a service van for doing road work and trans went out. Large Ford dealer had it a month so far, trans is on backorder. Did you look under it? You need to drop the engine and trans and subframe out the bottom as a unit. Can't just remove the trans. Hopefully you have better luck!!

I called Pennsylvania State Police numerous times to assist me on the interstate hooking up a tractor trailer on the white line and they never once showed up to help.

no, I have a 99 pete day cab tractor with a smaller engine and an aluminum frame and it weighs 14,300

$175,000