A 10yo Boy and his truck, with a purpose.

[Old77]

This thread is the very reason I just don't ever drink! I can't say I never have but I've only been 'drunk' once and I've NEVER drank and then drove. It's just so easy to go down the path already posted about I've just tried to stay away from it as much as possible. It's just a shame and a very real issue for many people.

 

[Swims350]

That's some BS, how can it be your fault she died? She was just out with you having a good time and got hit, that can happen anyday at anytime. The way you made it sound it was a little bit after she left from where she was with you. I know what you man though, my old man drove a wrecker for a towing company back in i guess the 70's and had a girl wreck, had both knees broke, or had to break them to get her out, and had to pry her teeth out of the steering wheel.

My dad drank all of his life and heavy too, up until maybe 7 or 8 years ago, he got in bad shape with his back and neck and they put him on pain meds and such, he always refused to take any medicine even tylenol the day after he had drank and during, so he just stopped. he used to drink everyday, or every other and would drink over a case by himself when he would. I've seen him put away 2 cases himself and still walk and talk. he always said he couldn't drink liquor though because he always wanted to fight and would not remember anything. I used to hate seeing him get drunk all the time. I'm really glad he stopped. We had some good times drinking together, but for me it was only once in awhile not that often.

 

[Old77]

Her parents still blame me to this day though it was not my fault.

How could her parents blame you for that? That's horrible!

 

[Jaymez]

How could her parents blame you for that? That's horrible!

Some people just need someone to blame. If he hadn't gone over for dinner, hadn't proposed, etc. then just MAYBE she wouldn't have gone back to his place and gotten killed on her way home.

It's a leap at best, but, if you let go of the logic that we're looking at the story it can be a little easier to understand.

I drove a wrecker for a few months. Thankfully, the few calls that required EMS support were calls where the injured were taken away before I was even called. I think I only showed up on one site where the Ambulance was still there. I always wondered how I would react if I came upon a scene like that in general, and again if it involved someone I knew.

 

[Old77]

I would not handle it well I know that much! There's very good reason why I'm not an ambulance driver. I don't handle horrific events like that very well much less if someone I loved was involved in the accident

 

[HotRodPC]

I guess we all have driven a wrecker??? I did too. Lucky for me, I didin't get to see alot of gore. I just drove to go pick up cars from auctions to a car lot, or broke down cars for Triple A. This company was not set up with an impound yard that complied with the city police standards so they weren't on the the list. I did have a buddy that I rode with occasionally and he was on the city list. But I didn't get to see the gore, only fender benders. I didn't care to go to the fatality calls, which he'd call me up and ask if wanted to go to a TC with a FOS. Traffic Collision with Fatality on Scene. NO Thanks !!!

 

[Jaymez]

The company I was with was on both the City and State Police rotations as well as the AAA call list. My police calls were mostly DUI stops with very few wrecks. It seemed like most of the work I did was for AAA. That's a subject for few rants right there.

As a driver, I hated AAA. As a customer, I feel guilty for having AAA.

 

[HotRodPC]

hahaha, oh did you have to go give Mrs Jones a jump every morning at 6am for 2 weeks before she could finally afford a battery??? Triple A ended buying the old bat a battery just to get the service calls down.

 

[Old77]

The company I was with was on both the City and State Police rotations as well as the AAA call list. My police calls were mostly DUI stops with very few wrecks. It seemed like most of the work I did was for AAA. That's a subject for few rants right there.

As a driver, I hated AAA. As a customer, I feel guilty for having AAA.

As a customer I absolutely love AAA and when I do need a tow I'm always very grateful to those guys who come help me out!!!

 

[Jaymez]

hahaha, oh did you have to go give Mrs Jones a jump every morning at 6am for 2 weeks before she could finally afford a battery??? Triple A ended buying the old bat a battery just to get the service calls down.

Nawh, during my day shift, I made a steady hourly rate. At night, I made a comission on every call I took with the exception of AAA calls. No matter how long the call took, if it was an AAA call, I only made something like $5 for whatever work I did.

I remember one night, it was pouring rain out and some woman got a flat tire on the side of the highway. After getting the lugs off, I still could not remove the wheel as it has corroded and froze to the hub.

I was under the car, in the rain, trying to beat the wheel free with a hammer when some asshole crossed two clear lanes and just missed running my feet over. He was close enough that I could feel the splash in a driving rain.

My customer called the State Police to see if they would come out. All they had to do was sit behind my truck with their lights on. The SP dispatch refused. I bolted the wheel back onto the car and dragged it onto the truck and brought it to our shop to fix.

In the clean, dry, shop, with proper tools, it still took 15 minutes to beat the wheel free. I told my boss about it the next day and he yelled at me for not giving up and taking the woman home. She lived 90 minutes away.

That night I started looking for another job. I was working like a bitch for half bitch pay.

 

[Irishman999]

I was just about to apply at a towing company there in Reno but decided not to. My last day at my last job some lady crashed into me while I was driving a bright orange power broom with flashing lights, another foot to the right and I might not have survived. People are ****** stupid and don't drive safely so screw driving a tow truck.

 

[HotRodPC]

Nawh, during my day shift, I made a steady hourly rate. At night, I made a comission on every call I took with the exception of AAA calls. No matter how long the call took, if it was an AAA call, I only made something like $5 for whatever work I did.

I remember one night, it was pouring rain out and some woman got a flat tire on the side of the highway. After getting the lugs off, I still could not remove the wheel as it has corroded and froze to the hub.

I was under the car, in the rain, trying to beat the wheel free with a hammer when some asshole crossed two clear lanes and just missed running my feet over. He was close enough that I could feel the splash in a driving rain.

My customer called the State Police to see if they would come out. All they had to do was sit behind my truck with their lights on. The SP dispatch refused. I bolted the wheel back onto the car and dragged it onto the truck and brought it to our shop to fix.

In the clean, dry, shop, with proper tools, it still took 15 minutes to beat the wheel free. I told my boss about it the next day and he yelled at me for not giving up and taking the woman home. She lived 90 minutes away.

That night I started looking for another job. I was working like a bitch for half bitch pay.

Ohhh that sucks hardcore. I had some things to say that boss when I left. I think he may have had some faulty or defective equipment that cost him a pretty penny when I got done. Ooops the PTO no longer works, awww damn, would you look at that, need a $150 hydraulic hose what a shame and can you believe ..... just terrible !!!

 

[Jaymez]

Dude. I am by no means a mechanic by any stretch. Despite my willingness to take on a project, I don't know anywhere near as much as most people think I do. Before I left that towing company, I spent two weeks trying to fix stuff and get it even remotely capable of being road legal.

The other driver told the boss that his International 4700 had a leaky seal on the wheel lift. Rather than order the parts, he told the guy to keep an eye on the fluid level.

We had a 1985 RCLB GMSB that was converted over to a wrecker, but, it wasn't done the right way. You know how the wheel base is stretched on a typical wrecker based on a light truck and the wheels are actually at the back of the frame?

He used the correct rear springs, the ones with the shorter reach behind the axle, and bobbed the frame! The wheel base was the same as any other RCLB. Something as light as a ******' Fox Body Mustang was enough to take weight off the steering axle while driving!

I was going down an otherwise smooth road and the truck kept bouncing. On every bounce there was a chirp and I couldn't figure it out at first. The moment the steering was unresponsive it dawned on me. My front tires weren't on the ground!

I took it on a call when I first started and the cop on scene started giving me a hard time about the truck. Truly, it would not have passed a DOT inspection. I informed the boss when I got back and he handed me two quarts of paint, one for each color on the truck, and he handed me a touch up brush. I was told to paint the rust on the truck!

Did I mention the company also had a body shop?

Finally, one day I got back from a call and told him that I was never driving that truck again. It simply wasn't safe or road legal. Naturally, he threw a fit. That was maybe 5 years a go.

It had a 454 under the hood with a 3 speed and a granny gear. Too bad it didn't run on all 8 cylinders and burned oil as if it were a diesel.

That truck hasn't been on the road since I parked it. It's used to jockey cars around the impound lot and that's it.

The unfortunate thing was, the truck had a stronger winch than both the International 4700 and the Topkick 4500.

That Top Kick was a piece, too. It was an older, OBS based,Topkick. I don't know what it had for a motor in it, aside from being a diesel, but, if it had a turbo it was completely ineffective. I had a 91ish FWD Cutlass almost drag me to a stop on a hill in second gear. I approached the hill doing 60 and no, I didn't miss a shift!

 

[Jaymez]

I was just about to apply at a towing company there in Reno but decided not to. My last day at my last job some lady crashed into me while I was driving a bright orange power broom with flashing lights, another foot to the right and I might not have survived. People are ****** stupid and don't drive safely so screw driving a tow truck.

It's not bad work if you can get into it. Of course, if the company has decent equipment they probably want people with experience operating their trucks.

One of the guys I worked with had been towing for so long he'd worked up a good relationship with all the cops in the area. When he would take his 70 something F250 on 44's out, a truck that's WAY too tall according to DMV regs, they would never hassle him.

The biggest downside, aside from the unsafe equipment and low pay, was being on call. I worked one holiday weekend where the phone would be dead as long as I stayed at the shop and goofed off. If I went home to chill, the phone would ring.

We were allowed to make customers wait, but, if the cops called we had to jump up and go. The only time we could make the cops wait was if we had a car already on the hook.

I'm just glad I left before the snow started falling.

 

[HotRodPC]

Damn, sounds like some junky equipment already. And a boss not into safety at all. Fugg that !!! That old Top Kick likley had a Cat diesel in it. Those things about junk too. Bad heads. Now Cat Motors are good, but not that one. Just like Detroits are good, but not the 6.2 in most people eyes. Those big motor builders need to stick to big motors. Differant story for Cummings though. That was also back then. Technology has come a long way in the last 10 years. But you notice, you don't hear of Detroit and Cat making small diesels now.