mushspeed

This diamond T diesil.....has been barn stored for many years the owner was an agricultural antiques collector and having recently passed away , his family put all of his collection for auction We understand the auctioneers put a couple of new batteries on it and it started easily It looks a bit shabby but it is all there ...and not full of rust holes ....a good project !! It was sold for 8, 000 pounds sterling plus 15% buyers fee...to another historic vehicle collector I wanted to buy it ....but Aileen put the block on, saying we already have too many other projects going on . She was absolutely right ....I don't know when we could have got on with it .... I am not sure the make of that crane perhaps someone can identify it...... or is it a self made one ? John.

An awkward job ... nicely co. ordinated... those rocks look sharp and could have easily punctured the tank. good job.. John.

This piece of equipment is called a Trax and is marketed in the UK and Europe they are very good for getting stuff that is stuck in park etc, gets into places where it is not possible to use dolly wheels or in multi storey or underground carparks where height is a restriction they are becoming quite popular as a damage free option, with big city towing companies having to move high end cars and 4x4's no worries about using skates or slippery jims, they are available in all sorts of derivatives , either diesel or electric, tracked or wheeled. and different weight capabilities. I haven't heard of any bad feedback about them.....yet ! John.

A continuance of the above post ....not tow trucks but these were stunning !!! A tipper truck on regular tarmac planing work, in and out of job sites all the time, not a mark on it. The chassis is Volvo the 4th axle is self steering the engine is a mighty 760 horse power a mega space sleeper cab with custom paintwork , Operated by Charlie Doyle. A 3 axle tractor with custom paintwork and airbrushing from Charlie Doyle A T cabbed Scania tractor fabulous paint job and air brushing again by Charlie Doyle

Last weekend saw a Trucking show in the South west of the UK with over 800 trucks on display from trucking companies from throughout the west country the quality standard was very high... making the judging for the various categories very difficult to choose the outright winners ... The weekend was initially raining but cleared up with bright sunlight and attracted large crowds of visitors... The Tow Truck and Recovery section had 58 different vehicles entered to include light and heavy duty's, rotators, low loaders, service Van's and support vehicles Each day, a series of recovery demonstrations were enacted in the main arena in front of large crowds, to include.... the rollover of buses and truck's and cars and the subsequent recoveries.... I was honoured to assist with the commentary on the second day ...with the Recovery display organiser... and the head of the Professional Recovery Drivers Club (PRDC) Stan Gallears , Stan and I gave an important message across to the audience about the importance of "SlowDown Move Over " and the dangers tow men face at the roadside A very compact lift and tow truck specifically designed to work in confined spaces, multi storey and underground car parks where height is very restricted supplied by Boniface Engineering it has a French made Jige lohr underlift... Jige is part of the Miller Corporation in Europe. This neat unit is owned and operated by Hinton Recovery based in Bath and Bristol .... Check out the overhang beyond the rear axle ...that is short ! Making manoeuvring with vehicles on tow a lot easier. A smart little lightweight transporter from J & W Recovery a recent newcomer to the towing industry and very well presented and a hard working business. The truck is an Iveco 3.5 tonner and has just undergone a complete restoration It can carry a load of about a tonne ... Probably the heaviest and most powerful Rotator in the western region standing on 5 axles and weighing nearly 40 tons... 88,000 lbs Has a self steering rear axle, twin steer front axles and 2 drive axles . Based on a Scania megaspace chassis with a 640 hp V8 and hydraulic gearbox retarder this truck has all the bells and whistles !! Equipped with the NRC sliding Rotator owned by prominent operators Ashley Wood Recovery and driven by my old friend Dave Hankey , owner of Bride Valley Recovery. A Scania 4 axle rotator operated by prominent South Wales operators, John and Jamie Walls The equipment is NRC and sporting 4 winches on the crane plus a drag winch and driven by " nappy " Another truck from Walls Recovery The business end of the two Walls Trucks ... A smart 3 axle Mercedes unit from Bride Valley Recovery. . A novel display by Rivermead Recovery , using the knuckleboom crane of their accident unit dangling a motorcycle over 30 feet in the air. A 6x6 Foden off road winching truck and Recovery crane, equipped with a powerful drag winch and a front mounted winch Operated by the highly respected Slades Garage of Chard ... A medium duty rollback based on a MAN chassis fitted with a 6 seater crew cab with a payload of over 4 tons, owned and operated by Unity Garage, the owner is the legendary John Rogers, one of the most highly respected companys in the UK. Check out the reg no 3 TOW ..... An NRC slider on a 3 axle daf chassis very well presented by R S Recovery A well presented 3 axle Volvo fitted with Boniface Recoverer equipment, operated by prominent southern operator ... Ray Avery .... Ray has a large fleet of heavy and off road equipment, his manager is Colin Ryan who is an expert in difficult recoveries ...I have had the pleasure in working on several big jobs with Colin and is a clever operator. Note the additional side stabiliser legs. The old timer of the show, an original Diamond T.... owned and still operated by Lanes Recovery ...now only used for severe off road winching and the occasional shows A view of the working end is now mostly redundant, but is I am told, it all still works ok, but a bit of a finger nipper !! Boniface Recoverer and maxi reach equipment, operated by ND Services, a prominent Wiltshire operation. 9h The business end of a few of them .... check out the reflectivity of the rear facing panelwork ...sorry about the quality of the picture, my battery went flat ... Apologies to those I have not included....I have missed lots of superb trucks but....no battery left..

We attended the South Eastern Truckfest at Hop Farm just south of London with about 500 trucks on show to include, tractor trailers, historic, specialist vehicles and tow trucks ... A recovery demonstration was held in the main arena in front of a large crowd by the Professional Recovery Drivers Club ( PRDC ) organised and commentary by Stan Gallears, showing the overturn and upright of a large tractor trailer ....plus various scenarios involving car recovery etc Stan is also part of the UK Slowdown Move Over campaign and was using commentary time to get the message across to the viewing public .... Stan works as a Heavy Recovery operative for Crouch Recovery his truck is the 4 axle Scania 530 hp V8 diesel fitted with Boniface Recoverer , twin winch maxi reach equipment A very smart custom built light duty transporter with a Century rollback body giving a working payload in excess of 4 tons Operated by highly respected Ashford Recovery, owned by my old friend Nick Ovenden and driven by eliot Pauley This is a band new Volvo on 3 axles for Dynes Recovery fitted with the latest walk in type locker system very popular with European operators ... This is a lightweight Iveco rollback also operated by Dynes payload approximately 2 tons The livery is specially done to raise funds and commemorate one of their drivers who was tragically killed at the roadside whilst on a rescue job ..... This is a NRC Rotator operated by Cedars Assist based on a 4 axle MAN chassis fitted with the very latest low emission engine now necessary to enable working in London. A brand new DAF on 4 axles operated by Niel Yates Recovery part of his fleet replacement program also featuring the latest Boniface euro style body and Recoverer equipment. This has to be one of my favourite older Rotators, and a very hard working truck, on a triaxle rear ended cabover Kenworth, the paint scheme affectionately named and based on BJ the Bear ......several of Neils fleet has the same colour scheme ... A new 3 axle DAF also fitted with the high Euro style body from Boniface and maxi reach equipment from Neil Yates Recovery. A 4 axle plant lorry fitted with a massive 65ton /metre knuckleboom crane designed to haul plant and construction equipment ....additionally it can be used for vehicle Recovery work at accident scenes and all sorts of load transfers and lifting situations Neil tells me he wanted his trucks to be as versatile as possible and able to be put to most situations ....so far they haven't failed to perform .. This is a tractor also fitted with a huge 75 ton/metre knuckleboom crane also operated by Neil Yates Check out the rear subframe and stabilisers legs double extenders ....they extend out nearly 20 feet either side

Thanks for that guys ...appreciate your kind comments ... Coordinating 8 winches ....all running at different speeds was a challenge ! Hence the bent shackle... Regards John

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Richards family, friends and co workers, From your fellow towers in the UK and Europe.

This is a job we did a few years ago...... We had a call from the Police control asking if we could send an incident manager to liaise with the emergency services on the recovery of a Tank transporter that had overturned and blocking the westbound side of the A31 and causing major traffic disruption in the surrounding areas On arrival we met with the police, fire and rescue, highways officials and army officers. What we had was a 4 axle Oshkosh tractor hauling a 7 axle low loader trailer carrying an armoured KRAV recovery unit ......whilst negotiating the roundabout the suspension on the left hand side of the trailer had collapsed, throwing the whole lot over .....the weight of the KRAV with its combat armour on was 67 tons 150,000 lbs and was lying upside down still attached to the trailer The army advised the police that they will organise their own recovery teams to recover the vehicle .....when the police asked how long will it take ? The reply was it will take 2days !! To get the necessary teams and equipment on site .......this was totally unacceptable by the police officers in command and we were asked how long will we take ? .I replied we can have all the necessary recovery equipment on site within 2 hours.....at that stage we were advised by the highways dept there was a subway directly below the vehicle and ther could be a point bearing risk for any heavy equipment directly above , we were also advised by the water authorities that there was also a 24 inch high pressure water main close by feeding two major towns.... no pressure !! We advised the police that we will need a full road closure for at least 10 hours because of the risk of shock loading we decided it was also necessary to get a 80 ton crane in from one of our account customers ....just to be on the safe side that will take 4 hours to get there.....the police and army agreed to that and we got on with the job. The first job was to release the KRAV from the trailer ....the plan was to upright the unit and trailer first and get it all out of the way .......some of the hold down chains had snapped when it rolled but there were 2 chains holding on and they were under extreme tension ...it was too dangerous to cut them so we chocked the wheels of the trailer and rigged to winch the trailer further over See the chain round the blade ....that had a lot of stored energy on it ....if we tried to cut it it could have gone anywhere... This Graham and me having a discussion with the police, army high ways, fire and water co, officials working out a lifting and winching plan We put the 750 in the field adjoining and rigged to haul over and then restrain on the upright we put our Mercedes 6x4 alongside ( just out of picture ) giving plenty of deadweight for the final restraints 4 x 2 part lines A picture of the entrance to the subway which runs directly underneath the job After the chains were released, the next job was to square up the unit and trailer ready for the upright the back end of the tractor was lifted over and then rigged for the upright We hauled the unit and trailer over using 4 x 2part lines to haul over and 4 x 2part lines to restrain plus we used the crane as a catcher on the front of the unit .... It came down perfectly a bit of overkill perhaps but we were taking no chances !! The army had showed up with transporters in readiness to take the casualty vehicles away there is a 3rd one, just out of picture Once the unit and trailer were out of the way ..... now we can concentrate on the tracked vehicle ....fully upside down there is a crane on the top of it and that was buried into the roadway As we did with the tractor trailer, we rigged 4 x 2 part lines to haul and 4 x 2 part lines to restrain we used the crane as a catcher for the last couple of feet just in case it kicked The job went perfectly.....no dramas, no injuries, no breakages, the only thing we had, was a bent shackle pin ....we cleared the site at midnight giving a total time on scene start to finish 9 1/2 hrs 2 days Huh ! Good job there is not a war on ! The road was closed for the rest of the night to repair the holes made by the KRAV .... Police happy, Army happy, Highways dept happy, Water co happy, me happy, we got paid by return..no quibbles !!.

Aileen and I will be going, along with my Grandson Jordan, his partner Callie, Aileen's sister Ann and her husband Neil plus several friends and colleagues from the UK towing industry, Really looking forward to meeting up with old and new friends and acquaintances We shall be taking part in the 5 km run 😊 🚶‍♂️🏃‍♂️🚶‍♂️🚶‍♂️🚶‍♂️ John.

We travelled 500 miles to the north of the UK to Edinburgh in Scotland for the Scottish Truckfest, the premier trucking show ...... With over 1, 500 entries showing off the very finest working trucks and historic vehicles in the country ... Scotland's Towing and Recovery operators were very well represented with most of the top operators in attendance A 3 axle heavy duty on a DAF 105 XF chassis fitted with boniface recovery equipment to include a very long reach Maxireach slimline Underlift ideal for coaches and vehicles with set back axles and low ground clearances Operated by Norscot Recovery from Perth A 3 axle Mercedes Actros operated by M8 Recovery based in Glasgow A MAN 2 axle car transporter fitted with a 6 seater passenger cab payload on the platform is over 4 tons plus a 1.5 ton 2nd car lift Another truck from M8 Recovery The 3 axle Mercedes fitted with Boniface Recoverer tilt boom fitted with twin winches and a Maxireach extralong underlift A versatile medium duty from M8 Recovery The proud boss of M8 recovery Junior Mc Manus a very hard working operator who is out on recovery jobs all of the time with his crews The pride of Sotland some of M8 recovery crew having a beer and a bit of fun with the boss A 4 axle Scania V8 fitted with Boniface Recoverer equipment operated by another prominent operator Karen Yuill Heavy duty trucks from Andrew's Recovery A tidy NRC quick swap from Andrew's Recovery A roll back installed on a 18 ton Mercedes actros chassis with a payload of 8 tons a slick looking unit from Karen Yuill Recovery A very smart 2 axle Sania T cab tractor also from Karen Yuill Recovery A 3 axle MAN coupled into a sliding 3 axle Landoll giving a total payload of 46 tonnes from M8 Recovery A front line NATO spec MAN 8 x 8 from the Scottish army and part of the Army recruiting display This vehicle has seen action in Afghanistan and the middle east A lightweight breakdown service vehicle and can lift and tow upto 1.5 tons from the Arnold Clark Group More vehicles from Arnold Clark group A Mercedes Unimog 4 x 4 severe off road winching truck from M8 Recovery

That is tragic ....our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and co workers... From fellow towers in the UK and Europe.... John.

Well Done Guys... Looks like you kept the load intact ….happy Fedex...

Last weekend saw another Truckfest in the mid west region of the UK, bordering Wales in the delightful.... Malvern Showground .... I had the pleasure of meeting up with long time friend and colleague Archie Archibald, the boss of ASK Recovery, A long established and highly respected Towing and Recovery service based in Wales. He had just taken delivery of a very neat 2 axle medium duty Volvo .... the NRC equipment and body having been removed from one of Archie's old wore out trucks and fitted onto a low mileage Volvo chassis All the equipment had been shot blasted, painted and installed by Roger Dyson Recovery Systems of Droitwich ... Archie is delighted with the versatility of the vehicle doing pretty well everything asked of it ....so far. Towing anything from a small car through to a buses and tractor units Based on a 2 year old Volvo 18 tonne chassis The Equipment is NRC ...fitted with twin winches, rear support legs with detachable ground spades , motor cycle attachment long reach underlift. The control levers are located either side under hinged protective covers the air lines are piped for 2 different operating pressures at the same ...to accomodate some of the latest European trucks fitted with high pressure air operating systems .. One Locker is totally dedicated to accommodate the very latest VDZ System of lift and tow attachments necessary for lift and towing and winching the new breed trucks and tractor units ...... most European manufacturers specifying chassis attachments with 2 pick up points must be used for towing ... The easy accessibility of the forks, chains and airlines Archie tells me it is very easy to work and is delighted with the out come It has been a successful low cost refurbishment coming in on time and below budget ..

Promoted by the Professional Recovery Operator Magazine, The largest annual trade event in the UK dedicated to the Vehicle Towing and Recovery Industry.... returns to the Telford International Centre Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th September 2019 for further information, Visit, www.recoverytowshow.co.uk As well as all the very latest Recovery Vehicles from all the main manufacturers, the Tow Show displays a broad selection of the Equipment, Accessories and services that make up the Recovery Industry the 2 day event includes seminars, live recovery displays and one of the highlights.... the Gala Charity Dinner.... the UK industry dress up for an evening of entertainments, presentations and fundraising for the industry charities.

Nice pick.... you guys made a tricky job look easy ... John.

This is one of our multi purpose accident units, very adaptable for all sorts of car and van recovery, This vehicle was Based on a IVECO chassis because of the sensitive work it was doing on statutory removals, tow aways and repos we did not have any graphics or writing. the slide bed has a payload of 4 tons , built in extension ramps for low ground clearance vehicles. The Knuckleboom crane equipped with a street lifter attachment for damage free removals, the frame has a hydraulic levelling and rotating capability. It can lift 1.5 tons at full reach and rotate through 180 degrees. the lifting equipment can be easily dismantled and stowed at the front of the platform fitted with hydraulic winches on the platform and an additional front mounted one.. Note the Jack Plugs for 12 and 24 volt jump leads … Second car lift with provision for clip on ball hitch and a clip on winch fairlead on the platform. This truck was very busy al the time and did pretty well anything asked of it within reason, including carriage of stolen /recovered goods, load transfers.

That is tragic... our thoughts and prayers go out to the families .. John.

Over 3,000 trucks were on show at Peterborough, the UK's largest Truckfest of the year One of the UK's top recovery operators CMG and long time friend Mark Cowan at the controls of one of his Rotators and a small selection of his fleet on UK and European Recovery and repatriation work Part of the Crouch Recovery fleet ... Dave Crouch has the largest private collection of historic and military tow trucks and heavy haul units in the country A pair of N R C s from the Statham Group A beautiful Scania fitted with a knuckle boom crane a very popular application in Europe All the paintwork and graphics are airbrushed Another fine airbrushed Scania A couple of rotators from the Neil Yates group, a large operation located just south of London A selection of trucks from Lantern Recovery....located just north of London serving one of the busiest motorway networks in the country One of Neil Yates newest tractors fitted with a mighty 75 tonne/ metre knuckle boom crane and 3 inch pin 5th wheel used with a 5 axle trailer for heavy haul work A 4 axle rigid with slide off body and knuckleboom crane More knuckle boom cranes.... A customised van travelled to the show from Austria over 1000 miles a fabulous airbrushed paint job A truck and trailer travelled from Poland the airbrush theme is to commemorate the polish pilots that fought and lost their lives in the Battle of Britain ... My dear friend.... Dave Bland a prominent tow truck builder in the UK joining us for the show weekend with his latest creation, a stunning custom v rod ... Another pic of Dave infront of my Pete and trailer The Lantern Recovery truck racing team.....

That's heroism in my book …. it takes a special kind of person to commit to that... John.

Randall.....that is the most sobering and accurate piece of text I have read in a long time ....you are bang on the money !!! I too in my career have been hit twice, my son Graham had his leg smashed, we had 2 other guys also injured on seperate occasions, both had life changing injuries, Additionally we lost long term employee Terry Booth ......Terry died at the side of a busy road in the middle of the night....witnesses at the inquest testified that his truck was properly positioned with cones out and lit up like a, quote ... "Christmas tree" he had a comprehensive training record with all the regular refreshers ... And STILL it happened !!! The woman driver that hit him was DUI and went to jail ....my point is ...on this occasion all the training he had did not save him .. I whole heartedly agree with your points about self preservation at the roadside ...... Just this morning, on my way to the supermarket , I saw a tow truck at the side of the road half on the kerb and half on the carriageway......apart from the beacons on there was no cones or warning signs displayed the operator had no reflective clothing on, just shorts and tee shirt and worst of all, he was working on the traffic side of the truck ....I stopped and parked my car behind him with the hazard warning lights on....as a bit of warning to other traffic .... I said to the driver, don't you have any hi vis clothing ? Yes he said, I forgot to bring it .. This Tow truck is owned and operated by a very good company and the owner is a long time friend and colleague, he is very pro active with safety and training...he will be furious and dissapointed when I advise him what I saw ...... .your point about macho, testosterone, it wont happen to me ??. Case in point !!! NEVER TAKE THE JOB FOR GRANTED .....NEVER DROP YOUR GUARD . The constant loss of life at the roadside is an absolute tragedy .....but if 1 life can be spared through increased reflectivity, hi visibility clothing, awareness training.... Then it is worthwhile .... Sorry if I have bored or offended any one but , self preservation is the key ...no matter what country or language it is in John.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and co workers at Algoa towing ... From their fellow towers in the UK and Europe. John.

That is a Stunning looking truck .... I am sure it served you well... Thanks for posting, John.

Plenty of Holmes trees to help the job along ......nice rigging. John.

Hello Ed ....I am looking into message boards similar to yours for application in the UK.....do you have a makers name and website link so that I can explore the capabilities, availability and price ..... How does it lift up into the vertical position ? Is it electrically operated or manually operated.... how does it lock into vertical position.? Can you drive along with it in the vertical position ? Does it have a menu of pre planned messages or can you put your own message in at the scene of the job ? Many thanks ..... John.