mushspeed

Yet again ....another young towmans life has been taken ...he left his wife 2 hours earlier to go to work doing the job he loved and will never return...

 

.....additionally  2 young women were also killed 

 

 a fully laden semi ripped into them whilst Tom was loading their car onto his rollback at the side of the road ... totally destroying a fend off vehicle, the disabled car and the towtruck.

 

The truck driver was arrested  for driving under the influence of drink or drugs..

 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tom's family , friends and co workers...

 

John.

Excellent  hands on  training and multi service brainstorming....forging best working practices...

 

No Matter how many times you do it you are always learning  

 

Priceless  !!!!

 

Thanks for sharing and narrative...

 

John.

We are really hoping to get to chattenooga  to catch up with all our towing friends and colleagues at the show,  attend the Hall of Fame ceremony   and the Wall of the Fallen  ceremony ...

Flights booked, rooms reserved ...

It is all dependant whether Uncle Sam  lifts the restrictions on all UK citizens entering the country... and at the moment it does not look likely...we will be granted visitors  visas  any time soon ... however we will keep trying  and are checking the US embassy every day for any change of policy...

 

It really sucks  because we have both had our double vaccinations and are ready to roll

 

Meanwhile y'all stay safe and well..

 

John.

Excellent Recovery job ...well done guys.

We travelled to Malvern in the west of the country  for the first major trucking show in the UK where almost 800 trucks were gathered..i

It was well supported by a large crowd on both days even though heavy rain was forecast ..

I think folks were just glad to get out from the  9 months of continuous  lockdowns 

 

There was a fine turnout of west country  and Welsh  towing  companies  and some awesome vehicles and equipment 

 

 

A brand new  6x4   DAF  for Ken William's 

 

 

Another  DAF  this time an 8x4

 

 

The flagship of the Ken William's fleet  a 10x4  twin steer, mid lift axle ...fitted  with the 75 ton  Miller Rotator...note.. it also is fitted with side puller equipment 

It has 5 winches in total...a magnificent Machine  very well presented..

 

 

 

A rear view of the above vehicles  with some of the William's crew relaxing in the evening sun

 

 

A  6x4 DAF  from Millforge Recovery   located  in the far west of Wales 

 

 

A  very  smart  specialist Accident unit  of Millforge   equipped with a  heavy duty  knuckleboom crane and damage free lifting frame...

 

 

An 8x4  Iveco by Clyst Motors  fitted with the NRC Rotator    a couple of the guys  horseing around  in the evening sun

 

 

A rear view of the same  NRC Rotator 

 

The very smart Renault  from Toad  Towing  this is operated by owner  Lee Briggs...specialising in long distance towing  ....a  hard working machine 

 

 

A lightweight  NRC slider  and  a 6 seater  rollback  from  A J Autos  of Bristol 

 

A neat  mid heavy duty    fitted with  Syren equipment  Syren is a small local equipment maker  not very well known but their equipment is very good and virtually unbreakable 

Operated by  DN  mobile of Bristol..

 

A neat 6 seater rollback  operated  by  Towrite of Bristol 

 

 

A 4 axle Volvo  operated by one of   London's top  towing companies 

 

 

A selection of  rollbacks from  Lanes  Recovery   one of Wales top towing companies 

 

 

Some various types of equipment  operated by  ASK  Recovery  of Wales

 

Archie Archibald....My dear friend of 30 years and owner of  ASK Recovery 

 

 

Some of Wales top towmen  relaxing with a few beers 

 

An 8x4  twin steer Volvo  the whole fleet a credit to Lyndon William's 

 

A heavy duty sliding 4  axle trailer by trax  giving a payload of 48 tons powered by  Volvo 

 

 

Some immaculately presented  vehicles  from  William's  Recovery   including this very neat Mercedes light duty rollback 

 

 

A DAF Rollback from R&S Recovery    sorry about the picture quality 

 

 

 

 

The pride of Wales...crews from several different towing having  a  relaxing time in the evening sun 

 

 

 

I could not leave this truck out ...it won best in show for a working truck  absolutely fantastic..totally immaculately presented  after being driven 400 miles from Scotland in the heavy rain

John Templeton is the owner and worked all night to get it in this condition for judging 

 

 

 

 

An immaculately presented example 

 

 

a 

 

Winner of the best tipper / rock truck category 

 

 

Oh and I won best presented American truck with my peterbilt 379    standing in the pouring rain !!

 

Follows are a few shots I took around the Showground   of the different trucks that are working on British and European  roads ....enjoy 

 

 

 

 

 

The very latest DAF built in Holland,   biggest engine option  is 620 hp ...check out the Latest madness...no external mirrors  !!!!  Only a little camera on a plinth either side 

Screen attached to the windscreen pillars inside      the cost to replace a camera if damaged iis £ 3,000... bonkers !!!!!

 

 

 

Topic Originally Created on Tow411 in December of 2007:

 

We had a call to go and winch a boat on a trailer that was stuck , on arrival we discovered a landing craft on a 90 foot extender trailer,
The drives on the tractor were 6 inches clear of the ground, Sorry forgot to take pics when we arrived and it was dark, The driver had taken a wrong turning into a military complex, could not get back as the self steer on the rear trailer wheels had burst a hydraulic hose and it was impossible to get at without unloading the Boat ! so the driver decided to charge at the slope with the resulting effect.

 

 

 

We laid in 2 part lines, one to the tractor towing eye and the other to the trailer

 

 

We then put our Tator on the rear and rigged for a 30 ton lift , because of the restricted access the tator was not going

to be very helpful after a few feet so we put rollers under the spine of the trailer to help the traler over the hump

 

 

We then put railway timbers under the tractor drives and gradually winched it forward , everything went exactly to plan
Well done Matt, Taff, Andy, Sammy and Me Base to Base 3 1/2 hours

 

Nick Ovenden said:

Good to see it worked out for you bud.

Thought you said you couldn't get behind it for a lift?

Looks good

 

Byron Coleman said:

Nice job but I am wondering is the tator able to pick 30 ton with that much stick out if so WOW!

 

mushspeed said:

Thanks Guys,
Nick..... there was no point in lifting at the rear, it would have pushed the front of the trailer harder into the ground and almost certainly bent it, It was like a giant See Saw !!

Byron....we had to achieve a partial lift nearer the centre of the load,to reduce the ground resistance, you are dead right, we knew we could not get a lift with that amount of stick, (unfortunatly the pics dont properly show the angles)

The unit and trailer neck weighed about 12 tons.

That promises to be a very interesting new publication   by an extreemly well informed and knowlegible organisation 

 

I have subscribed for several years to one of its sister publications   Heavy Torque ....   in that, the articles are all about anything very heavy, over width, overheight or overlength being transported by road, 

 

The planning methods, llegislation, calculations,  specialised equipment used and operator company profiles.

 

Always a good read   

 

Looking forward to the new mag    

 

John.

Excellent work ....on a.tricky job...

 

I suspect the car was really hustleing  to launch that far...

 

 

An excellent  Team Ed's     presentation......

Nice coverage on the roll up doors    I'll bet it was difficult to apply 

it is good to see the chevrons on the rearward panels and bottom boom...

 

Good luck with the truck in the future 

 

John

Lee...You certainly get around in that truck ...I have spotted that in several far off places recently... 

 

excellent for long distant work with relatively low running costs...and a good train weight...

 

that is a hefty looking  counter weight on the front... 

 

Good luck with it in the future.  

 

Happy  20 th anniversary......what an amazing milestone ...

 

I am very proud and honoured to have been a part of this unique network for almost 18 years ....

 

During that time I have made many  friends and acquaintances in the Towing and Recovery  industry around the world ...

 

Aileen and I have had the opportunity to visit may members businesses on our travels  and have always been made very welcome....

 

The forums have always been interesting and informative......they showcase new and historic  equipment and new and old working practices ....

 

Varying  opinions on the right and sometimes the wrong way  of how the job is done ...

 

Very well done Ron and Chris....for your hard work and presentation 

 

Also ...not forgetting all the  Towers worldwide   for their continuing  input...

 

Y'all  ...stay safe and well  out there...

 

John.

Grabbing it with both hands .....That's the way to do it !!!

That is a perfect candidate for an air cushion unit

 

Those big pull out trays ....ideal for carrying low pressure air cushions  easy to unload and easy to pack ...

 

Good luck with your new project ...

 

John.

Wow ....you guys have got it real bad there...your new plow truck really earning its keep...

Plenty of repair jobs ....great stuff

we have only had a dusting here ....we are in a full lockdown so not a huge amount of car traffic ...but plenty of Van's and Trucks getting into difficulties...

Keep warm ...safe and well out there ....

 

John.

That is soul destroying ...our thoughts and best wishes for a speedy return to work...

 

Thankfully you had no injuries ...stay safe and well...

 

From your fellow towers across the pond ...

 

John.

My favourite one when asked how long are we going to take ?       ....."If all goes to plan, we will be done in a hour ...if it doesn't, we will be here all night" ....!!

 

My other favourite...    " Just another day in paradise "    !!

 

Stay safe and well out there...

 

John.

It is good to see a police patrol at the scene 

 

Most of them at the moment.... are committed  enforcing the lockdown and Covid  rules   

 

Things are pretty tough here at the moment ....

 

Y'all  stay safe and well  out there 

Congratlations on an amazing history book.....what a fantastic story  !!!  

 

The result of years of hard work and endless commitment .......Priceless !!

 

A very strong business going forward into the next century ...   wishing the very best for the future...

 

From across the pond 

 

John.

Happy Christmas and a safe and healthy new year to everyone from your fellow towers in the UK...

 

Guess who ....?.

Ron ....the problem is ...there is huge amounts of foodstuffs imported into the UK daily  by European trucks  ie meat, butter, cheese, oranges, flowers etc ..   they are then reloaded with other types of fresh produce   ie  fish, beetroot, root crops  etc back into Europe...

I understand distribution hubs are refusing some of the products because they have been delayed and no longer fresh enough ....thousands of tons will be going to landfill

 

Thousands of trucks at Manston  air base  20 miles from Dover ....roads to Dover  are gridlocked and the police and military have got involved to create a clear route 

Update .....24 hrs later    the approximate number of stranded trucks and drivers  waiting for Covid tests before they prove negative to be able to travel  on ferries to mainland Europe is nearing 10,000 ...with 6500 at Dover alone ....

Military personnel drafted in to assist clearing the backlog .... it will take more than a week to clear .....and only then     european freight drivers with a negative test will be allowed to enter ....no UK drivers or citizens permitted at all ...

 

I have tried to post pics from YouTube  with no success

All Ports in the UK Heading to France and Europe have been closed to all traffic leaving the UK 

 

Due to a massive resurgence of Covid 19 in the UK.....France has completely closed their borders and all outbound traffic into Mainland Europe has been stopped.... including all freight ...

 

over 3000 tractor trailers, rigids and vans which is growing hourly....all parked up or held in on airfields....  the majority with drivers from Mainland Europe ... all ferry ports are gridlocked

 

numerous trucks are loaded with fresh food and produce,  bound for the Christmas markets and supermarket distribution hubs ....all held up..  

 

France has just announced they will only allow freight drivers that have had an immediate covid test , that tests negative...  that will take days to set up ...

 

If this goes on for too long ... a huge amount of food will be going to landfill  and shortages will occur ...

 

Meanwhile  y'all stay safe and well...

 

John.

 

 

 

    

Excellent work ....using what you brought ..  that is a very useful machine ....

 

coupled with old school knowledge and experience,  you can tackle a whole lot of jobs........ many other guys would walk away saying they need bigger or more trucks...

 

As usual you guys nailed it !!

 

Stay safe and well out there ...

 

John.  

Is that a message / arrow board truck ?     we have something similar with a fold down  impact cusion...

 

John.