someotherplace

It's great to see operators that care about loading a bike without damaging it. I have this opinion to offer though: please reconsider strapping over the seat. Some seats, especially custom Harley seats, can cost a small fortune. You'd be better off with a strap to each rear peg mount or similar sturdy point near the rear of the frame. I always load them with every attempt made to avoid any paint, plexi, or leather. Richard

I don't know how you could tell this guy apart from the hundreds of "not for hire" "we buy junk cars" guys and the completely unmarked trucks loading them up down at the auction. Texas is full of unlicensed tow trucks and TDLR does nothing about it; they don't even bother pretending that they care. An important takeaway from this story is something that shouldn't be news to anyone; if you sell a vehicle with your company name/logo, YOU remove it completely before the vehicle leaves your possession. Going online immediately with Texas DMV and filing a "vehicle transfer" notification with all of the buyer's identifying information is imperative as well - not just for possible criminal liability, but also civil liability and toll road bills. This can protect you in many ways in the event the buyer does not transfer the title. https://webdealer.txdmv.gov/title/publicVehicleTransfer.do Richard

Sorting through all the different switches they have would be a pain, I think. I'd just call them. From reading your other post though I would be more willing to bet the problem is a wire that is broken internally. So many times I've seen people replace a switch and it wasn't the switch. it's sure easier to replace a switch though than trying to track down a hidden wire break! Richard

Any wrecker parts supplier should be able to get you the correct switch. Depending on which controls you have for the Vulcan, it's just the regular switch used in a million different in-cab controls... or there are a few years with the black control handle that has a circuit board inside, I think those are a solder-in style switch? Richard

Pretty easy to believe! Just grab and go...don't mind that tug as you feel the transfer case kicking in. I realize a good number of modern AWD vehicles that are also available in FWD, they are biased towards the front wheels. They will often roll easily when loaded from the front. I've taken advantage of this to get them out of a tight spot in order to set dollies. Very short distance, very low speed. Literally feet or yards, maximum. Then they get the dollies! Richard

Looks like minor damage to me, I'd have showed up with a wheel lift, picked it up from the back, strapped and lit it and been gone in less than 3 minutes tops. Some people make easy jobs hard. Richard

Ed, great advice and constructive criticism always welcome! I think that's what we're all here for, to share and learn. The only catch with it is we don't have a shop. We're strictly PPI which explains the limited tools on the truck for dealing with jobs like this. We're not even remotely hooked up with any body shops as our exposure to crashes are usually limited to hauling worthless abandoned cars off properties where the management is sick of looking at them. So, in this case where the owner wants it dropped at their home (daddy's home actually!) because he has hookups in the business, then that's where I drop it...for better or worse. Honestly at the end of a very long weekend shift I was happy to be rid of it! Richard

This ol' girl I'm in right now is creeping up on 350K miles so there's a few scratches already. Still, I was careful getting the wheel up there and then back down. Didn't want to put it in the trunk as the caliper hose could still leak brake fluid and damage the trunk lining and contents. Plus, a Challenger's trunk opening isn't very deep and that thing was too heavy to attempt to maneuver it in there. Getting the lug wrench out and separating them would have saved my back some aching, in hindsight... Richard

Thanks fellas. Tire/wheel was placed on top of truck's deck which was more work than just about any of the rest of this call! Easy to forget how much they weigh when rotor, caliper, and spindle are attached. Suspension didn't need any attention as strut still attached at top, it just poked down too low to dolly the car from the front - strut would have dragged the ground. The curb in the foreground is what they hit, by the way. As you can see many others have hit it, too. The round chrome piece sitting on the island is the cladding from their chrome-clad wheel. Richard

Don't load too many willing customers, but every now and then the call comes in. Customer says, "the tire is off the car" - I figure from the area they're in (lots of construction) they flattened a tire and peeled it off the wheel. Wrong. At least they went and picked up their spare parts... I was already prepared for a dolly job knowing I was going after a RWD car, auto trans, with a bad front tire. The reality of it changed things quite a bit, as the dollies weren't going to cut it on the front. Strut was at full drop since bottom of it was loose, and rear dolly bar would have contacted the catalytic converter, so that was a no-go. Front bumper already damaged so I wasn't too worried about lifting against it a little bit. Lifted from rear, used my trailer attachment and some 2x4 scraps under the "rail" that is just inside the rocker panel towards the front. That let me get the front end high enough to get under it. Strap looks loose around the strut but that's just the tied-up excess. Dollies for the rear, not going to do a 20 mile trip with an auto trans in neutral, even though we *could* have left the car running, I chose not to go that way. As you can see the rear wheel took a hit too although the tire was still holding, didn't want to risk it. Dropped at their residence per request, to be picked up later by whatever shop they choose to repair it. I propped it up on the destroyed wheel/tire so the next guy doesn't have to work so hard to get under it. I know some of you might want to second-guess how this or that was done, but I made the best of the situation at hand and the tools available to me at the time, and got a couple of young people out of a rough area and their car dropped off with no secondary damage, so I'm good with it. :) Richard

Bound to be some growing pains as they combine resources. I've also done a little business with Zip's in the past and been satisfied with their service. Richard

A great example of why here in TX you can't breach the peace while repossessing a vehicle. The police here would have made the driver release the vehicle and leave the scene. Hey; I don't wanna get bit, either! Richard

Doesn't sound too complicated...dude fights with his girlfriend and tells her to leave. Her ride happened to be a guy in a tow truck. Dude not content that his girlfriend is leaving (did he expect her to go on foot?) stomps up to the tow truck which can be viewed as a challenge considering the circumstances. Results predictable; he should count himself lucky he stood down. Richard

I'm glad you got to tow that thing before it got away from them. What a bunch of idiots. I impounded a truck a while back that had a 1" receiver insert mounted in a 2" receiver hitch. No trailer on it, but I shudder to think what they may have attempted to tow like that. Richard

I've hauled more than a few after they've been warning stickered. Sometimes people leave them sitting for days and days like that, sometimes even weeks. Sucks when they're the victim of a crime but you also can't leave your vehicle sitting on private property teetering on a couple of blocks and also making the place look crime-ridden (the truth hurts.) I once loaded a Dodge Ram that was tripod balanced on broken pieces of curb; one under each control arm and one under the differential. Was not fun getting under it as it seemed like a gentle breeze could have knocked it over. Richard