dperone

As I've heard before on this site, you can't fix stupid but you can sure charge for it

We were called by the NJSP to respond to a single vehicle crash, and they advised us the pick up was "partially" in a river. Upon arrival I found a newer model GMC that had left the road way and landed in a small river. I'm guessing by partially in the river, they were referring to the fact the roof was above water because the whole truck was in the water, approximately 60 feet from the road. 

I couldn't get a straight shot to it without some off roading myself, but it was the easiest choice.

I got as straight as I could and ran a doubled line as it was stuck in park and the cab was full of water. I had to switch my anchor between my truck and a few nearby trees to get the truck to steer around a few stumps before it came to the road. 

Once at the road we put it on a bed and moved on to the next one. With over two and a half inches of rain in the span of a few hours we had plenty of running to do.

My two cents, if you're just starting out go steel core non super swagged wire rope. It's a little harder to work with but the most forgiving as you learn your way around. Also, check the ratings tag on the truck and the winch, it'll tell you what the winch is rated to hold. On a bed I wouldn't go more than 75' as the longer the spool the harder it is to keep straight on the drum. 

I love it! My only critique would be the stock image of the antique tow truck on your towing tab, but the rest is amazing.

38 minutes ago, Derlyn Z said:

Nice Work! Hopefully he had good insurance! Not bashing, but just curious if you usually send a rollback and wrecker out right away to a call like this? We don't have any light duty wrecker, only a Med/Heavy, and rollbacks.

This area for some reason see a lot of full sends into the woods, and it can be over 30 miles from our shop. If we have a wrecker available we usually just send it with the bed at the initial dispatch because of the extended time it would take to get it out there after the fact. 

We were called the other morning for an overturned vehicle off the roadway. Upon arrival, we found a newer model Cadillac Escalade that had struck a pole and overturned in the woods. I'm not quite sure how the driver managed to squeeze the vehicle into the spot it was in, but we had no room to upright it where it was due to trees on either side being too close. 

We elected to slide it into the road on its side, then perform the upright.

Once we had the room we put it in it's wheels where it was loaded on a bed and we were on our way. 

That truck has pulled more weight than a lot of heavies out there and she's still looking good

We don't use them, but if you do PD towing read the contracts and municipal codes. We have 2 different departments that specifically state we must answer 24/7 and forbid answering services.

Wow, I love it!

Anymore the only thing I trust is my own gut feeling. I don't know why people feel the need to lie, it's like they don't think we're going to charge the hell out of them when we find out the truth. 

20 hours ago, usmc041127 said:

Not to sure about L arm storage on them.

Having to rely on bungee straps is a little hinky. Straps don't last 6 months around us before they dry rot and break apart. A holder that didn't need a cheap rubber strap to hold it in place would be better in the environments we deal with, imo

Damn, I was looking forward to seeing it in person. 

Someone not well versed in traffic management, TIM foundations, the MUTCD, any form of common sense, and no clue about criminal and civil liabilities...

We'll be there, most likely just for the day Saturday. The new schedule is not my favorite, I wish they'd keep Sunday.

On 10/14/2023 at 8:11 PM, Stubborn66 said:

We are CC only with them, and swoop, and honk.  The other thing I will say is that google tracking your every move works in your favor.  Agero tried their charge back BS with us, and we used our google information along with Towbook timestamps and won two disputes.  We bid them to make money when they call and as long as you cover your bases you can win the dispute when they choose to try it.  I think they prey on companies who dont dot their I's and cross their T's.

Our issue was the time and hassle it was to win the disputes. We used to just shoot the moon with a price to cover the impending dispatch issues, but at some point enough is enough. There's enough hack companies around me with shitty equipment and no idea what their time is worth that will run their calls, headaches included.

All their numbers are blocked, and when they call on a new one we decline the job and block that new number. We haven't taken a P.O. from them in at least a decade and we stopped running with the calls on a card a few years ago after we had an issue.

They must have been skinny to fit 3 on that little seat...

Job well done sir. Try uploading the video to YouTube, you can make it so people can only find it with the link if you wanted. Then share the link in the post.

Welcome back, I remember a lot of your 411 posts as they were great content

Any more the choice unfortunately comes down to which dealer is closer and/or better.

Whoever it was that decided to stick that constantly fading black plastic everywhere on these trucks is a true a-hole. Looks much better painted 

On 6/17/2023 at 11:52 AM, Orcas Tow said:

Yes thanks that's what we sill do if needed. I hesitate to do that as the rust holes are not only on the sides but coming up around the corner in the controls area too. From my experience theres double underneath compared to whats visible.

That was our issue too. Problem is being from the northeast every other body had the same issue. As much as I loved the looks of the Chevron steel body, the rust issue drives me nuts, they seem to rust through the second salt hits them.

Have you thought about redoing the sides in house? We did one of our renegades a few years back and it came out pretty nice. 

The training time depends on the driver. A guy coming in with a few years experience may just spend with me as a passenger to observe where as a new guy with no experience may ride shotgun with me for a week or so, then another week or 2 with me observing. 90% of our training is in house and I try to set up something every few weeks unless we get a job I can treat as training in the real world. 

Can't wait to see it in action. How's the Milwaukee blower keep up with it?