How Would You?

[dperone]

A serious question, based on my overactive imagination.  I've noticed a majority of companies send beds to accidents, and many stopped running wheel lifts with booms. For those companies, how do you handle pulling up to something like this?

 

 

 

As we usually send one and one to a 2 car accident, and if I get a single car accident I'm taking my wrecker. This was a simple job for me, I just lifted the Chevy a little offset with the boom and swung it away from the Durango, dropped it and my other driver loaded it on a bed while I loaded the Dodge on dollies. 

 

I'm curious to see what the bed only guys would do. You couldn't (I'm assuming because we never really use the bed for recovery work) slide the bed under the front tires of the Chevy because the Dodge is blocking one side and the curb the other. You couldn't winch the Chevy forward off the Dodge onto the bed (again, assuming) because the back tire was barely on the curb and the other side the wheel broke off the truck completely. To add to the obstacles, the bed was wrapped around the pole, making it difficult to get the truck to roll forward, especially straight enough to go up a bed and not climb over the other car even more.

 

Like I said, 90% of our accidents get at least 1 wrecker sent to it do we are far from the authority on bed recoveries. I'm not saying it can't be done, just curious as to how. Jobs like this are why I love my little wrecker, as this was a half hour away from our shop and they left this detail about the balancing act out of the initial dispatch.

Edited August 7, 2020 by dperone

[John Siebring]

Major damage done already. I'd back the deck up to the curb, slide it back alongside the GMC, use a snatch block to the center rear edge of the deck, hook to the passenger side wheel and winch it off the Dodge. Not hard to load after that.

 

[GRUMPS The Towman]

If I was assigned the Gmc, I would back up to the front, as tight and angled to the Durango as I can and using cribbing and blocks on the end of my deck, Lift it off of the Durango so the other operator could remove the Durango then set it down, slide it away from the pole a bit and perform a traditional load using skates and boards for the damaged rear wheel. Option 2 would be Blocks, cribbing and Bottle jacks to support the Gmc while the Durango is removed.( Yes, I carry enough gear on my truck to do it ) I Know most companies, at least around here would just pull the Durango out from under the Gmc and let it smash down then still charge some ridiculous recovery rate because they can. Sorry, I am not that guy. I earn my living. 

 Both vehicles took nasty hits, I hope everyone was ok. 

Edited August 7, 2020 by GRUMPS The Towman

[ESC]

I do things in a similar manner to you.  I run an MPL40 wrecker typically and send a bed and we send a bed and a wrecker to most every crash.  

 

But if I had two beds working the crash pictured and nothing else available, I would back up toward the drivers side of the durango and winch the front of the durango away from the GMC.  The GMC looks like it would slowly slide off the durango as it was winched away.  Id load the Durango and move it out of the way and back the next bed up for the GMC.     Typically though, Id lift the GMC with my wrecker and winch the durango onto a bed, set the gmc down, winch it from the pole to the road and then load it on a bed.  Bill the Durango for a bed, and the GMC for a wrecker and a bed.  Cleanup and go.

[rreschran]

These are good responses and I like the creativity and experience abound. This is a like-type scenario I use in my Day-2 skills module for towers. HOWEVER, carrier or wrecker alike, removing a totalled vehicle shouldn't be a big issue here ... my immediate focus would be the secondary 220-volt (ORANGE) wire at the base of the pole. GOAL suggests get out and look. My first considerations? ... did impact crack the pole? Were wires compromised by impact AND, looking up, did impact dislodge the transformer way up there? Was the power shut-off or is there a danger to electrocution? If no issue and a carrier was all I had to my avail, I'd work the crash like Grumps using the carrier's deck, but not a bottle jack because of instability. Besides a 24-inch slow drop isn't about to cause more damage to an already totalled vehicle. Work slow and calculate to earn those hourly rates.     R. 

[Topkickguy]

The way I would do this with a carrier, after an official power representative gave the all clear of no electrical hazzards, and based on your pics, is with my truck pointed opposite direction of the GMC,  I'd side pull off the end of my deck,still in the locks  the rear of the truck into the street slightly, and away from the Durango gently, once on the ground, load Durango onto the deck, then reposition with the wheel lift to grab the rear of the truck, sling the rear, tie off the steering wheel and good to go.