Ed Allegretti

Need some help. I got called out in my rollback to winch out a car that went into a ditch and it was a freshly cut high volume trench style ditch. Think 3' deep with vertical cut walls. I couldn't get the car to come out without causing damage. As soon as 1 tire would come up the whole weight of the undercarriage is on the lip of the ditch. It's like the car is behind a guardrail. I gave up and had the people call a wrecker to lift it. Is there a way to use a rollback to recover these accidents while minimizing damage? 

I know the damage isn't assessed until the car is out of the ditch but in this case the car seemed fine with minor damage sitting down in the hole. 

If I can't fit my size 15 steel toe under the front bumper I don't load it with the customer watching. End of story. Every parking lot curb in the last decade is about to become my fault? Negative. 

Hi this is Ed I'm the owner of Alfred Auto in western NY couldn't seem to log on with my old account email changed so hi again . 

We've always gotten paid ok the issue is when they try to dispatch us out of the area like way out. We can't make money on a 5 mile tow if we have to drive 2 hours to get there. 

Hard to believe Honk is on the list. They simply don't listen or pay attention to anything. Rates? What's that. Service area? Not important. Diesel $5.50/gal not their concern. 50 miles as the crow flies to the Carvana car that needs to go in a big rush another 50 miles to the inner city and must be there in 30 minutes in a winter storm?  Sorry no drivers available. Wait are you sure? This job pays $119! Yea I'm sure. 

So it looks like I scribbled on my finger with a black magic marker but everything works ok. What had happened is the driveshaft rusted into 2 pieces must have happened when I was winching it on. That's why it wasn't in park anymore when I tilted the deck. The stupid thing is I know better than to get under or in front of a car that's not strapped in case it slides off but I didn't access the whole situation properly to think and understand that the wheels were pointing towards me at the controls.  I really was only thinking that it was going to be a b&tch to get off the deck and why did I even take the job due to the muddy mess that it was. 

lol on my phone it looked like a normal load but I viewed this on my computer screen and I'm embarrassed to have said it looks ok. It's not. 

6 lug wheels on the pickup so under 7k lbs for sure I would have turned it around but who knows if its a v6 I don't see any issues the way it sits.  These old rollbacks with 16" wheels and 19' beds were overloaded empty but somehow managed to haul the mail for decades. 

I dodged a bullet today when a car I was unloading ran over my fingers. I literally thought I had amputated my fingers. Appears no major damage, I probably won't be a guitar hero but all the digits are still on. Here's what happened: the car was a junk had a broken rear axle and locked up front brakes. I dragged it on the deck. All 4 wheels locked up but it was raining today so no dollies or skates. Front wheels turned all the way due to accident damage.. When unloading I unhooked the winch 1st because I reattached it with a snatch block to winch it off the deck. As soon as I tilted the deck the car rolled off the side/end and fast running over my hand that was resting on the rail. The ride must have loosened up the wheels. So lesson learned [1] don't camp out the free hand on the deck [2] don't assume the car is jammed up [3] remember when the winch is slack and [4] the safety mindset doesn't stop once your off the highway. I was afraid to remove my glove while I was in shock and couldn't feel any of my fingers. 

This one 

I need some quick advice. My wheel lift pivot pin has a large lock nut on the top side. There's a grease fitting in the center. There's some slop in that joint. There's only about 100 hours on the wheel lift so I don't think it's worn-out. I have greased it religiously since new but never touched the nut.  I need to know how tight to torque it. I can call Kilar but I need to adjust this before using it in the morning. Thanks. 

They use some magic mapping software too. The actual road miles are twice what they think. If I figure in labor costs, wear and tear, truck payment, insurance and registration costs, I'm left with it costing me $2/mile to respond to these calls. I might better just do charity work and get the tax write off.  No thanks But, it's not all bad. Sometimes they pay me $90 to move a vehicle 5 minutes away. 

I've been getting automated calls from honk. Here's a typical call. 3pm go 2 hours away to a vehicle load it up, carry the customer and the vehicle another 2 hours further needs to be there by 5pm.  My math says i can't drive 4 hours in 2 hours. Loading and uploading is instant. Time travel is the answer. Declined the $240. This job takes me or a paid driver 8 hours on the road for $240. $200 goes for fuel. $40 for lunch and dinner. Zero left. Punt. 

How do the thieves get the jack out after removing the wheels? I mean the car is literally sitting on the ground. 

Looking to add another truck to the fleet and I'm welcoming opinions on mpg. My hino 195 2 car rollback averages 10.3mpg over the last 10,000 miles. Not bad in my book considering I don't drive for economy. I have gotten over 13 with it by limiting the speed to under 55 and shutting it off when parking but 55 gets old fast. That is the average of loaded, unloaded and idling yea when it's 2 degrees I let it idle and I go 70 on the interstate. The truck is underpowered for the hills around here. I'm looking at 4x4 f600 or chevy/international 6500 4x4 diesel. I've heard stories about 14+ mpg with the 6.7 powerstroke but I'd like some real world numbers from owners who actually hand calculate. The four wheel drive would really add productivity because I tend to decline jobs when i have trouble getting out of my driveway. That little hino is light empty. 

Thats awesome it came out nice. 

Maybe I'm weird but I have absolutely zero interest in hauling someone's exotic or race car. I don't work on them at my shop either. The owners care a whole lot about their prized possession and I'm the monster that puts a hook on their baby. And invariably the owners are Hawkeyeing the whole time. One scrape and they are hopping around "relax bro have a cognac". 

I observed another company and a couple cops tending to a vehicle that slid off the interstate the other morning in a rural area and it left me wondering. The vehicle flew about 400' off the road and landed on its roof. It was approximately 10' below grade, not quite in a ravine but far enough down where a skid steer couldn't get out if you could even get it in. My question is how do you go about winching a casualty that far from the road? Do the heavy wreckers carry 1000' of wire rope? 

Hello I'm here XXL

No sir. I got stuck in a snow squall Saturday night over near Kane, PA I had almost forgotten what 10mph feels like.  I love the snow when it comes to snowmobiling, making snow angels, sipping hot cocoa you name it but I hate it when I'm trying to get somewhere. 

I hauled 2 back from West Virginia last week I noticed every wrecker and rollback with one on the stinger had the amber emergency lights flashing. That was in WV.  In Ohio and Pennsylvania about half had them on. In NY we are told less is better and to keep the flashing lights off unless actively loading a vehicle. I left mine on up to the NY line people think 70mph speed limit means 100 down there. Not sure whats right. 

Hi my name is Ed I own and operate the Alfred Auto Center in western NY state.

I opened the shop in 2010 and I have a good reputation in my area. Mostly we do general repairs and sell quite a few cars as well. I started fixing cars in the back yard in the 80's, now I still lay on my back out in the road so you see some things never change.

I started out towing with a Holmes 440 sling on a Ford that was overloaded empty then graduated old school 454 chevy and a 17' bed, also over gvwr empty. A couple years on state police rotation before I moved to NY, got away from towing and focused on the shop side of things.

I got back into it this year mainly out of necessity. The auctions stopped hauling cars reasonable and it started to get very difficult to find haulers I could trust to shuttle vehicles from the auctions. So, I got myself a truck and figured I might as well put it to use for more than hauling my used cars to help it pay for itself.

Mostly, I'm doing calls from my customers because I haven't established myself with any motor clubs and I'm not entirely sure I have the time to work for them anyway. I'm learning a lot on this forum, there's a ton of knowledge on here. So, that's me be safe and careful. 

I wouldn't go any shorter than a 21' bed. A crew cab long bed with a grill guard wont fit on a 19' bed unless you're comfortable with the back tires on the edge. 

My hino 195 has a 4cyl diesel its good on fuel and hauls 2 cars. 21' aluminum bed. Factory option derated to 17,900 gvwr so its under the weight limit which greatly reduces paperwork. No regrets so far. The truck will haul any normal vehicle. I was thinking about getting a 7 3 gasser but there's a couple sitting at the local dealer waiting on unavailable parts and I got scared. 

A good customer of ours called said she went off the road near her cabin. Appears the lower ball joint broke and took the fender with it. This is over 1 mile off the pavement. Tried getting to it the other day but it was so muddy we took a pause. Today I took my f150 up the trail because the ground was frozen and gingerly slid her down to the hard packed road in 4 low. Came back with the flatbed to finish the job.  A couple skates and she slid right on. I jacked it up, removed the wheel, and put a block under the control arm to slide it off. There was no real way to jack it up on the soft ground to load it. Overall it went smoothly even though the wheels were cranked towards the ditch. Hooking a chain and dragging 5000' down a mountain path isn't my idea of professionalism but there's no way a wrecker was going up that path.