Now THIS Is How You Show Holiday Spirit!

[EdsTowing]

This Topic is from November 2011:

 

This was something we thought was a little different and that some may get a kick out of. Wasn't sure where to put it since it has a little bit of everything in the job....

Got a call last week from a local church asking if we would be willing to help them pick up their Christmas tree. We told them sure we would take care of it. Little did I know just what kind of project it would turn out to be! It started on Saturday when I met a few volunteers from the church at a tree farm. Then we drove a half mile through the woods on trails to get to the back of a field. I started to get that "feeling" you get when you know when things could get ugly very quickly.... I parked the rollback and walked the last couple hundred yards to see what I was in for.

This was the trail....the white spot is one of my International carriers...

 

This was the view from the trail to where they cut the tree. The blue spot is a tarp they covered it with...

 

I walked down through the woods to find this beast of a tree. My first thought was "what were you guys thinking?"

 

I guessed the weight at around a ton or so and explained that I couldn't run my truck through the woods. It was about 24' tall and figured their was not enough people in the congrigation to man handle this bad boy. We walked out a number of possibilities but none of them were good. They offered to use their Dodge P/up to back in there but we were concerned with destroying the tree till it got out where I could load it. So we cut some trees & brush, hooked a strap around the trunk and rigged the tarp to act like a "sled" to minimize the limb damage.

 

Once we got it to the trail, I decided to try to back up to it and load the tree. Got stuck in the mud twice...knew it was coming...but got it on the bed. Once out to the field, we were around 16' wide so I ran a couple of straps to pull the side branches in. I just wanted to fit in to a lane on the 15 mile ride back to the church. Fortunately we had 2 escorts to keep people away. When we arrived, it was determined to drop it in the lot until they could prepare to set it up...

 

 

So once unloaded, I asked how they were going to get it in the building. There was some puzzelment and then a basic notion to drag it in. They were going to try to set it on some makeshift carts made from caster wheels and a pallet jack but that didn't seem to promising to me. I told them to give me a call when they got ready and we would assist in setting it up.

So today began part 2.... I rigged the tree to my little wrecker and figured a way to lift it in order to not do any more damage...

 

Strapped the trunk to the wheel lift, boomed all the way out and ran a strap around the tree to both winch lines...

 

ust in case anyone was curious as to what you can do with a Jerr-Dan MPL40 if you need to....

 

Now if this wasn't a "freebee" job....that would be the money shot! One heck of a tree not?  Fortunitely the front doors will bifold open to allow a big entry way....which we filled to the brim!

 

his is a huge church so we were able to drive right in the building. It was a little bit of a squeeze but we got it in the the meeting hall area. Then I could raise it back up and maneuver around some tight quarters to get it in the front foyer area. It's not hard to be "tight" when you got a 24' tree hanging off your butt!

 

Little did I know this would commence the "easy" part of the job.... We figured the best way to stand it was to wrap a loop strap around the ceiling beam with a 4 ton block. Then I ran a winch line to the roof and back down to a strap cinched around the tree. We stood it up as close to strait as we could get but it wasn't easy... Luckily we had a Man Lift to do all of the rigging & set up.

 

 

My son Joe was volunteered to do the rigging since anything pretty much higher then a cab over is too high for me! Fortunitely he is feerless so the necessary high wire act was no big deal to him....

 

 

Once up, we ran wire cable from the beams to the tree for guide wires. We set up a block tackel with a rope to help get it strait since the winch was hooked 6' down the tree. It took quite a bit of time because neither of us have ever done anything like this. all in all, it appeared to be secure and safe when we completed...

 

 

We were invited to a private unveiling on Thursday night to see it all decorated. They are having the official lighting on Friday for the congregation. They were very appreciative for our assistance and it felt good to give a little back to the community that has supported me for so many years. I'll post some pics when it is all done.

Thanks for reading the long post and remember that good deeds don't go unnoticed!

 

annettemcd said:

That is unbelievable! When I was a child, we always went to a tree farm east of Cleveland to cut a tree and Dad always had to veto a number of choices to prevent us from picking one that was too tall. It sounds like you should have had my Dad along. Trees always look smaller outside, than inside.

That was quite a job! A good deed indeed!

 

Randy1 said:

Great job ,,how did they put the tree up last year ?

 

McGinnis Towing said:

Thats very cool! Good work!

 

EdsTowing said:

Randy that was a good question....and one I asked a few times myself. Apparently the tree last year wasn't quite so big but the person who handled it was no longer at the church so they weren't sure. Everyone remembered the tree....but no one remembered how it got there. They thought that the fire company helped with the rigging though.

 

cav towing said:

If that dosent put you in the holiday mood what will. Good job by great people.

 

BlackAutoload said:

Hopefully you get a big sign next to it for all your time and resources.

 

Kama said:

That's an interesting one, thanks for posting.

The things a guy gets asked to do with a tow truck sometimes makes ya really wonder.

Jody Oliver
Big Time Towing and Recovery Ltd.
Bonnyville, Alberta, Canada
(780) 201-TOW_U (8698)  

 

No recognition needed....I got my "sign" 9:00 this morning.....

 

Maybe it's fate....maybe it's coincidence...or just maybe there is a Santa Clause....

 

Chariot Towing said:

That is one heck of a story and tale to tell. Good job on thinkin outside the box and using all tricks of the trade. Thanks for sharing Ed!

 

Acestowing said:

Thats a cool story, now if that number pops up on your phone in the next few days means it fell over!!!! I'm thinking your probably going to be getting a call this time next year!

Bryce Weber - Aces Towing
WM 091409 Level 6/7
1-519-889-3350

 

Tom Jr. said:

That picture of the tree sticking out of the back of your truck is worth a million bucks. How big is that church? We dont have any churches you can drive into around here.

 

Towmanjc said:

You`re going to Heaven for sure Ed!!! Keep up the good work..

 

mooresbp said:

Merry Christmas ED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! very nice work

George
Moore's BP
We'll see you on down the road

 

EdsTowing said:

Tom this church is huge! I was thinking that I'm probably one of the only towers in the world that can say I drove my wrecker in to a church....at least intentionally!

It has a full auditorium with a huge stage, large video screens so everyone can see the action, a cafe, gift shop, Pre-school, daycare...it's got a little bit of everything. They told me that they have 2000 people through the facility every weekend!

Thanks for all of the comments.

 

ASAPautomotive said:

Awesome job Ed!

I love CHRISTmas trees as much as anyone, but I have one thought that I have pondered for years...
Why cut down and kill a beautiful tree when a congregation can joyfully celebrate at or under the tree the Lord gave us.
Just a little something to think about, and yes we always have a live tree in our living room for CHRISTmas.

 

In Memory of PlanBTransport who said:

Great Job, I'm wondering what they used for a Christmas tree stand?
Could you post some pics after the tree is lit?

 

unknown member said:

We use a tree about that size at my church. The tree farm we buy ours from bands it for us so that it easily fits through double doors on a couple furniture moving dollies. We set it up by hand with about 12 men and then cut the bands. Carefully. We had a tree stand made out of a piece of pipe with 4 bolts to tighten against the trunk. There is a large bottom plate and 2" angle iron braces. When we remove it after Christmas we cut it into smaller pieces. 

 

Niemans Towing said:

that is very cool great job guys

 

 

[GRUMPS The Towman]

And here I am thinking I'm all festive by putting a wreath and bow on the grille of my truck for the holidays... Lol

As always, Team Ed's knocks it out of the park.. great job !!!!

[rreschran]

I hafta' ask ... Ed ... from my limited knowledge of Christmas trees ... if the tree is half dead, does it mean Christmas is coming early?      R.

[EdsTowing]

That was a fun job...I haven't thought of it for years. I love the pic of the tree hanging off the back of my Ford....

 

I just remember the guy asking "can you get it in there?".... I looked around and smiled....Yea, Yea I can get it in there...LoL

[yoBdaBenO]

We had a company ask us to move a tree this year. They didn't like dads price, he even said they could donate the money to a charity they both agreed in our companies name. Amazingly they said no and there isn't a tree at their HQ this year.

 

Thanks for the great images, obviously that was a bigger job which you made look easy...