EdsTowing

We typically do Uhaul work on a daily basis... Curious if anyone was having problems with their new Breakdown Dispatch system?

The driver dropped off a handicap customer at their residence and apparently didn't look when he went to back down the steep driveway... Pics just don't do the driveway justice...Brand new van was sitting on the fuel tank and the left side step brackets. I didn't want to just pull it off in either direction in fear of doing damage to the under side... It was only a mile from the shop so I had Rob come over with his rollback to lift the drive tires up some. Then I winched it to me at the top of the drive. Once out, we backed it down to the street and checked it over. Fortunately there was no damage.

Had this one the other night @ midnight...figured it must of been one of those self driving cars since the operator wasn't in there when the cops got there...LoL Failed to negotiate the turn...tried to make a "T" intersection in to a "Q" or a "J" maybe... LoL Drug the ass out to the road and then swung the front over... Looked in and the shifter was in neutral...thought "Awesome"...until I grabbed the front and it wouldn't role... Time to throw some dollies.... Still no confirmation on insurance coverage...figures...always on the ones you work the hardest on.

Jeeze seeing all of these wrecks posted reminded me that I haven't posted anything in a while...Here are a few over the last couple weeks that I was involved in... Middle aged Lady "Day Drinking" and crashed her car in to a guardrail...with her young son in the car with her... Pulled the post out of the ground so I didn't get caught on it coming out... A couple of 2 car crashes... This one was a "lobster" so I took it off the dollies with the skidsteer to get it in the garage... One of those #1 ran in to the back of #2...which was making a left turn so it pushed it in front of #3... 2 Car in the rain... A 2 car head on in a 25 mph zone... It's been pretty busy with wrecks...

Man you're getting some pretty vicious wrecks...

Yep it's stuck...I would assume a little scratched as well...

Talk about a guy trying to "minimize" the severity of a job...I think that classifies as a little bit more then a "winch out"....

Yea that was pretty close...LoL I good breeze may have made that a much nicer job!

I saw this posted on line earlier...

So I spoke with Eddie about this and we did receive the letter from the state. He already filled out the "re-justification" form and submitted it a couple weeks ago. It states they will be sending us replacement plates and have to return our current ones...I guess unless they deny our application? I can't help but think this is a step in removing the MV Business portion of the Dealer Registration department? The state obviously looses a substantial amount of funding due to the program. And I believe there are a lot of people that abuse the system. I also think it makes it difficult for the state to track sales tax paid on vehicles if they aren't "properly" registered. I'll keep everyone informed on what transpires.

We renewed our plates in August without any complications. Eddie usually goes right to Harrisburg and does it there.

I think both new trucks are wireless remotes...

Thanks for the clarification Brian. I'm curious if they will give me a problem with my temp permit for the state? It still doesn't have a weight class on it...but it shows I have paid funds to their state to be there.

Cool! That's a good lookin ride.

I believe it's getting a NRC 40TB carrier on the back...

This was a small job I did a couple weeks ago for a good customer. One of his operators was working a small excavator in the woods behind a house when he got a little too "ramy" with it and rolled over. Fortunately no one was hurt... I couldn't get close to it so I ran a line from their driveway, through the trees and snatch blocked back to the machine to stand it up... Had to have him watch it as I worked the wrecker since I couldn't see the machine from my vantage point... Once stood up, we inspected the machine. I could see it was running when it was on it's side and had oil coming out the exhaust so I didn't want to start it. It's a little machine but still costs like $30,000.... So I moved my block to a telephone pole and winched it the 40' or so to a clearing where I could access it. Once it was close, I rigged the machine to lift it over some boulders and haul it down the driveway Once out in the street, we loaded it on a trailer to take to our shop for evaluation & repairs... Unloaded it at the shop and got it cleaned up. Pulled the glow plugs to empty the cylinders of oil. It started right up and everything checked out ok. Smoked for an hour or so but that was to be expected. Just something a little bit different to break up the day...

Randall I agree...and it's a very similar topic I was talking about in another thread. That safety concern has to start with our own actions, procedures & knowledge. Don't wait for our government or anyone else to make the difference. As you stated, if it's too dangerous to do your 4 point tie down...then hook & book. Now I'm not saying I recommend being reckless...you have to have some common sense here. Coming back from the scene with a car hanging off the side of a rollback is not a sensible or accepted procedure. That's where the training comes in I guess. In my own situation, all our wreckers are self loaders. We get on scene at an accident site and the first thing we do is grab the cars & drag them on to the shoulder or a lot...somewhere where everyone involved can be a little safer. Then do your clean up & securement. I have a new carrier being built right now that we are going to be adding every practical safety measure we can to it including a self loading wheel lift. We seldom tow 2 vehicles but want that quick clearance ability. Yea I know...most manufactures don't recommend a car on the wheel lift without 1 loaded on the bed...so I'll take my chances. Bottom line is if he get out of dangers way immediately and then do the "right job", we have a better chance to come home. The common denominator in all these incidents is "Exposure to Danger"...limit that and you will limit your chance of getting hit. Thanks, and sorry for getting off on a rant...

So I have some different thoughts about the "Move Over" laws in this country.... The risks are real... The dangers are real... The statistics are real... The mind set that your government is going to "Fix" these problems is not... We as an industry have to solve this problem or at least tackle it within our own companies. Waiting for government agencies to make stiffer fines to people not obeying the law is a monetary gain for them but I believe a minimal effect on our true problem. Face it, most of the incidents where an operator gets hit involve other extenuating factors where the vehicle operator is already breaking the law. DUI's, cell phones and other circumstances that create distracted driving habits are already against the law. Who benefits when you or your operator gets hit on the highway and the police give them a bigger fine for the MOL? No the key is to prevent the incident from happening all together which we all know isn't possible but that's the goal we need to strive for. One of the ways to prevent incidents is to use a blocker truck, sign truck or Traffic Management Attenuators. Now there are a lot of possibilities, obviously some much more elaborate & expensive then others, but each make a huge impact on safety. We send ours out whenever we are on the interstate in a dangerous area or inclement weather...and it works. Now I have had guys say "what, are you going to send it out ever time your rollback is on the highway?" And I say "You mean like Penn DOT, the companies fixing the bridges, the guys replacing damaged guard rails ect...." Every other sub-contractor you see working on the highway handles their own site security. Now I can appreciate that there are a lot of small operations out there that don't have the manpower or equipment to accomplish this so then you have to outfit your truck as best as possible to accomplish the same or similar results. Many guys complain about being able to get paid for the added safety. We have found that most companies will cover the cost of this when it is described & categorized correctly. One of the 4 main OSHA concerns is "Struck By" in your work zone. Can you get paid a buck & a half to send a additional truck out to assist when you are only getting $50 or 75 for the tow? Probably not...so maybe re-evaluate your exposure and business plan to address the root problem there. The bottom line is that I believe that the safety of you and your operators falls on the business owner first & foremost. Don't wait for the government to solve all of your problems. Of course these are just my opinions...I could be wrong.

George we have been very dry all summer. This past Saturday they listed our county in a drought status...then Saturday night it started raining heavy through Wednesday and that's when this guy tried parking here. We got over 4" of rain I believe...

I think you need to re-evaluate your insurance provider? It would be a $24,000 increase over what you are already paying for a 1 truck operation? That seems excessive.... And remember "Busy" doesn't equate to "Profitable". It's easy to be busy with that type of work...and even grow to multi trucks but sooner or later you got to pay the piper. Nothing against your friend, but most guys are busy right up to the day they close their doors... Figure out your true cost of operation, and don't be deceitful because you're only kidding yourself. Then be sure you can make at least that amount or don't do the call. Period! The days of "lost leaders" and "High volume but low margins" or "Take the good with the bad" are over...and I'll say that they were never a good business philosophy but even more detrimental in our current economy.

Got a call in the rain the other day for a Ford Motorhome in the mud. We didn't get much information since it was relayed through another customer of ours but I knew the area was very tight & back in the woods so I opted to take a small truck. Got there & found this F550 Superduty built in to a single rear wheel off road truck. It weighed just over 17,000 and had all 4 wheels stuck on a side hill & leaning towards some trees... I pretty much immediately wished I had our other truck with the stiff legs and over sized winches but figured we are here now.... Had a 16,000 lb winch on the front of it but that was pointing in the wrong direction... They had already tried jamming the wood under the tires but like we all know...that never works. No room for error... Ran one line to a block on a tree beside me to keep the wrecker from tilting and the other to the bumper for some vertical lift... Fortunately it had a big, bad bumper with large tabs that a 7 ton shackle fit in to that made the hook up easy. I should of had more rigging to get my line loads down but we started to pull At one point he turned the wheel too much at got the tire up against the trunk of the tree on the opposite side which stood me right up. We repositioned him a little bit and then it popped right out. We haven't had hardly any rain all summer but it's been hammering down for 4 or 5 days strait which added to his situation. We wiggled him back & forth a few times to get it strait on the trail. No damage, just needed a good car wash...

I still have to put a felt liner in the bed and I'm going to make it a planter box... Hopefully keep my dear from eating my veggies...

Well we got the project nearly completed...Like I said, something a little different... Pulled the motor & trans and installed a water tank & system under the hood... Then we positioned it for a water feature in my back yard landscaping... Made some custom retainers to mount low voltage LED lights in the head lights... Phil & I mounted the doors back on yesterday. We had a truck painter letter them in a "period correct" type fashion... A couple of admirers enjoying their new home....

We have an account with Comdata so I can get a Trip permit in minutes, costs around 75 bucks I believe. But usually I do the same going after hours... But regardless, the Apportioned doesn't come to play with a non CDL truck.

The officer told me you can't go out of state with that tag, it's for PA only. I explained that there is a Reciprocity agreement between NJ & PA that they honor each other's specialty plates. I offered to send it to him but he asked did it specifically state RT plates? I said no, it states specialty plates such as Farm, Emergency Vehicle, Municipal ect... He stuck to his guns. After going back & forth for a while, he informed me that "He was trying to help me out...that he should of had the truck impounded and then I would have to pay the fees and get a release from the Barracks to get my truck, then tow it out of there...but he was trying to be nice". I said "I get it, you're done with the debate". Pissed me off that he never wrote the guy for anything so I didn't have anything to fight over...just some aggravation, a tow and a waisted trip. After hours on the phone the next day, I had a woman tell me "Sir you don't have a problem with the NJ Dept of Transportation...you have a problem with the NJ State Police". She agreed with me that my plate was legal, I didn't need to nor could put apportioned plates on a Under CDL truck. I also know a couple of guys that have had problems with the issue at the same facility so it's probably one particular "Super Cop" that has all the answers...