Orcas Tow

I had a couple hours today & started the first set of 4 for both my wreckers.

Started out with a 3x3 angle iron, had some 1/4" T100 plate, cut the T100 4" long x 4" wide, put some teeth on one edge, was going to weld but though it better to bolt first in case something needed adjusting down the road.

Left a bit of the T100 hanging over the top of the angle so the dolly bar could not over ride. It appears from a couple tests that they work great for chip seal, gravel or dirt but would probably skip on concrete like pictured,

The small rubber chocks work well on the concrete, so Ill have both on hand.

I also loaded loaded images over at my facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Orcas-Auto-Tech-Inc-DBA-Orcas-Towing-101133003263084/photos/?tab=album&album_id=3583004888409194

14 hours ago, ESC said:

I keep a jack stand in my truck and I use it when loading a flat tire onto dollies.  Basically I lift the car, and set it on the stand.  I then setup the dollies with the axles as close as they could go to keep it tight so the tire doesnt slide through.  If its only one flat, I try to load the flat tire on my wrecker rather than the dollies though.

I agree & have used stands or blocking for the seesaw method in the past but Im nervous doing that method with many of todays frameless vehicles unless it was a total, also a level road on my narrow mountainous road island is a rarity.

5 hours ago, GRUMPS The Towman said:

I get what your saying. I do it similar to your way when there is no other way around it. I made a wheel chock out of a 6"x 6" block of wood, Then screwed a handful of hex headed sheet metal screws into the bottom of it so the heads of the screws to act as "teeth". They work pretty good on most surfaces. Some concrete areas give me fits at times. 

Yes, that's similar to what I use now, mine are a bit smaller & works most of the time, Im hoping to find something that works 100% of the time without fail. I had a Volvo wagon wreck the other night on a steep incline that was well off the roadway & had to be recovered to the road. Being a small owner operator I very rarely have backup & very rarely go back for the flatbed after recovery as our island roads are narrow & windy with many blind corners so leaving a wreck in the roadway for any length of time is asking for a secondary accident. The Volvo had flats front & rear with one front lower control arm ripped from the mounts. I picked the front & dollied the back, I spent a few extra minutes trying to keep the cross bar planted when pushing the flat up on the bar, a few minutes extra is too many in our world.

Theres times when you need to load a rig with a flat on dollies, I have a small rubber triangular chock that I set under the rear dolly cross bar,  push the flat on top of the rear cross bar, install front cross bar tight then roll the flat in-between the bars, set up dollies & go. Sometimes that rubber chock/dolly bar slides as Im trying to push the flat up on the rear bar. I'm going to fabricate a spike or steel wedge that will bite the road for loading flats on dollies. Something simple, a piece of angle iron with a tab on the top ramp so it prevents the cross bar from sliding & over the angle. Anyone seen one made before? Ill share when Im done & have perfected;)

Planetary = fast line speed, worm = slow line speed but fabled stronger than planetary. Ive had both & now all my hydraulic trucks are planetary. I cant say that I have ever had to leave anything behind with a planetary, Ive had to use snatch blocks now & then but I prefer planetary, nothing like waiting on a slooooow worm gear winch to wind in 100' of wire rope working on a busy roadway.

Living on an island I try to make the most of the ferry ride to the mainland by taking 2 at a time. I carry In The Ditch dollies with the 4.80 tires in the toolbox pictured, they just barely fit & both fit in one 48" toolbox which I had to search for the right box with the proper inside dimensions & style, dolly cross bars in the tray on top of the boxes. For me they mean a double payday or not if I didn't have them.

1 hour ago, rreschran said:

Thanks Uzek for sharing your techniques. A photo essay is a great way for onlookers to see what you can do. May I add four more, "should be's", when stretched cable is the rigging set-up? ... chocks to help hold the wrecker in-place, an orange noodle on the cable to identify stretched cable, add six cones to identify the work-zone, and lastly, the tower puts their foot on-top of the control-side dually rim to feel movement of the wrecker and push-way if the truck were to break away. Sure, all that takes time, but hourly rates are typically being charged one doesn't have to hussle like it's necessary on quick clear. I've never used a reverse roll for quick clear.      R. 

All good info. In addition I am lucky to have great support from our local Fire Department & Sheriffs Office for traffic control on our narrow country roads. There has not been a time where one or both agencies have not responded to my request for traffic control or for shutting down one or both lanes. Agreed on the wheel chock, There is one on the passenger side rear of the truck for the standard rollover as it was on a grade, the reverse was on level ground, either way the parking brake & Mico Lock brakes are always set as redundancy in this truck. Nothing like training in private so you don't endanger or make a fool of yourself in public:)

Great Family history, thanks for sharing.

Training today for a standard rollover, discussed truck positioning, moving the vehicle into a position where its good for you after rolled, ie easy to hook & go, straps, securing rigging, working on incline, holding options including wheel chocks, parking brake cable ratchet strap, manually putting transmission in park from linkage at trans, chaining spoked wheels like pictured, high pull for initial lift & low pull point for spiking the low side tires into the ground. A good afternoon.

Training today for a reverse rollover, discussed truck positioning, moving the vehicle into a position where its good for you after rolled, ie easy to hook & go, straps, securing rigging, working on incline, holding options including wheel chocks, parking brake cable ratchet strap, manually putting transmission in park from linkage at trans, chaining spoked wheels like pictured, shock load ie lowering boom once the roll has committed.

How many train for reverse rollover? I see many pulling towards you but rarely see a reverse rollover. When pulling towards you the car may slide towards you if on a slippery surface, a reverse rollover does not have a choice but to roll. There is always a place for both techniques in the "toolbox" as the more options you have the safer, more efficient you can operate but if you ever have tried to roll a car off its lid towards you on an ice roadway you will appreciate the reverse rollover.

If you are on a hill & you need 100% guarantee that it will not roll away once uprighted in addition to 36" long 4x4's as wheel chocks is with most modern vehicles having spoked wheels is running a chain from a front wheel to a rear that will locking the wheels together.

3 hours ago, GRUMPS The Towman said:

That is an excellent example of this discussion Orcas tow. Could that roll been performed without the use of a catch line? Sure. The probability of it coming back over towards you even with a steep incline is slim BUT possible I agree. See, this is what I love about our industry most. It allows professional, educated creativity and flexibility to really shine while following "guidelines" of what has been implemented through the years as Operators and equipment have evolved. In reality, I have been using the term "catch line" incorrectly. It would better to be referred to as a "control line". You dont want to "catch" the casualty and shock-load your rigging and equipment. Your picture also shows another key example of doing a procedure that I would prefer not to do but will and have IF the situation dictates. And that is rigging the re-route block high up on the tree. Ideally, as we know the best way to use a "holmes tree" is at the base. but under the right circumstances, with a trained operator such as yourself you made the call to go high and knew what to look for while performing the roll. Excellent work Sir.

Thank you Sir, covering my bases & liability, all jobs are billed by the hour so no reason to rush & take chances.

Pretty rare but there is advantages to have all recovery techniques to be in the "Toolbox" as it broadens your recovery options. Most recoveries can be done in more that one way, having choices allows you to choose the most efficient, safest, causing no or minimum secondary damage.

This one I used a catch line as it was on a steep hill (pictures don't reflect how steep hill was)& I was concerned it may tip over towards me, the passenger rear of the truck was laying on a slight rise, the only way I could access it was from the lower side. It came over under full control.

1 hour ago, KY Nick said:

Will do.  Congrats on the Donnie Award just read your article.

Thank you Sir.

Looking good, keep the updates coming!

16 hours ago, Moose said:

We Use Straps! You don't know where that female receptor has been. Has it been damage in a previous encounter "A WRECK". Has it had a Male that Didn't Fit inserted. You just don't know and there in lies a huge liability and Yes we did go by the training and use them at first until the concerns where raised and we found we would be liable for those preexisting damages. I'll take the chances doing it old school...

Sounds like my first girlfriends description,

On 6/6/2020 at 6:43 AM, EdsTowing said:

Nice work. I like splitting the load between two trees for dead men to get your line load down.

Thanks Ed, not enough load on the trees to warrant using both but it was just as easy to rig to both for good measure;)

Personally I use these soft straps around the lower control arms as said before I don't trust the factory tow eye, you never know what's been done to the eye prior or if the female receptacle has been involved in some kind of trauma in a prior accident & the body shop took a short cut repairing. I had a whole bumper/mounts tear/come disconnected on an import years ago while loading a free rolling Toyota on my deck, luckily to was as the car just approached the deck & it did not roll away wildly, I was using the factory tie down loops. Someone had been there before & done a shoddy job. I like the comfort of a closed 

/latched securing method.

25 minutes ago, mooresbp said:

Very nice as usual. What are the two air chambers on the front bumper of truck that rolled?

Its a water spray bar, front & back for watering down job sights & fresh roadways after grading.

I had a call from one of our local excavation companies for a single axle water tanker rollover on a narrow private driveway. I arrived on scene with my 1981 KW W900A with a Holmes 750 to find this truck on its top, driver was ok, tank was empty. I surveyed the scene looking at what was available for Holmes trees on the high side. I set the brakes on casualty, chained front axle to the frame with a 1/2 grade 80 chain, wrapped the drivers front axle with a grade 80 recovery chain, wrapped 2 trees on the high side with continuous loops/snatch blocks. Ran passenger side winch line to tree #1 through 8 ton snatchblock to another snatchblock/chain at drivers side front axle terminating winch line hook at tree #2/continuous loop for 2 line to the load at front axle for roll then winching onto roadway. I ran 1/2" grade 80 recovery chain through holes in outer dual wheel. I ran drivers side winch line from boom sheave to snatchblock/chain then terminated back at drivers side sheave for a high pull for rollover. I set my drivers side outrigger & rear spades for wrecker stability. Both winches were engaged & casualty came upright, once on its wheels I ran a hard chain from wrecker tailboard to casualty so I could reposition my passenger side rigging to a lower position on the casualty to bring the back end back onto the roadway. I winched both ends onto roadway, hooked & towed to companies yard. I dont get to use this old girl as much as I would like but she never lets me down & always gives me an adventure:)  

Im an owner...well my Wife is the boss but my names on the door;)

Thank you, its a treat to be in print:)

I put a Miller 350lb counterweight behind the front bumper of my F450, it handles weight great for a short 60 C.A..