Tow Trucks, Wreckers and Car Hauler Discussion

[ScottyB]

So today was all about picking up a 79 Silver Trans-Am. I got out there and got it loaded when the owners brother showed up. Apparently the brother knew more about the history of the car. First off, Odometer reads 33,***. It was assumed to be 133,*** given it's age. This was not correct.

The second owner had a Ford Anglia that had been written up in Ht Rod magazine. He then repainted it another color and it was written up again. The original owner of the Trans-Am traded for the Anglia plus $22,000. When the guy who had the Anglia had the Trans-Am brought home his wife saw it and rolled her eyes asking what that was. He handed her the keys and said your anniversary gift. She took it out and came back to never drive it again. The car scared her. After that it was only driven around the island. This is not a large island and there is no where to really run the car. It was basically a grocery getter.

It spent a good deal of time in later years outside and has the surface rust to prove it, but there is no cancer on that car. That is 33k on the clock. The third owner got it but never really did anything with it. I think that is when it sat outside. The new owner is going to do a full restore on it. I figured he got ripped off when he agreed to pay $6,000 for the car. Now I am thinking he probably got a deal on it.

All in all I had 10 hours into that tow and 2 and a half of that is double time. Not a bad day.

 

[RetroC10Sport]

a Silver 1979 TA would be a 10th annv. TA.

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[89Suburban]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf72WizMPi0&list=FLuPWYmntgPewsK0dtSKqq8g&index=33
Thought you guys would get a kick out of this.

Cool, I got a truck delivering right to that town on Monday.

 

[ScottyB]

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[Driver4r]

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[Old77]

I'll just leave this here for the lulz

[yt]KBxSntGGm8U[/yt]

 

[HotRodPC]

I'll just leave this here for the lulz

[yt]KBxSntGGm8U[/yt]

That's Awesome !!!

 

[Old77]

You're BACK!!!!! Good to see you

 

[HotRodPC]

So today was all about picking up a 79 Silver Trans-Am. I got out there and got it loaded when the owners brother showed up. Apparently the brother knew more about the history of the car. First off, Odometer reads 33,***. It was assumed to be 133,*** given it's age. This was not correct.

The second owner had a Ford Anglia that had been written up in Ht Rod magazine. He then repainted it another color and it was written up again. The original owner of the Trans-Am traded for the Anglia plus $22,000. When the guy who had the Anglia had the Trans-Am brought home his wife saw it and rolled her eyes asking what that was. He handed her the keys and said your anniversary gift. She took it out and came back to never drive it again. The car scared her. After that it was only driven around the island. This is not a large island and there is no where to really run the car. It was basically a grocery getter.

It spent a good deal of time in later years outside and has the surface rust to prove it, but there is no cancer on that car. That is 33k on the clock. The third owner got it but never really did anything with it. I think that is when it sat outside. The new owner is going to do a full restore on it. I figured he got ripped off when he agreed to pay $6,000 for the car. Now I am thinking he probably got a deal on it.

All in all I had 10 hours into that tow and 2 and a half of that is double time. Not a bad day.

Every now and then you'll get to haul some bad ass cars. I've done real nice old restored cars, like a Mercury Couger, a 68 Chevelle, an 80's Rolls Royce that was still showroom new in and out and not a restore project, just kept inside and driven very little.

I take it this was the ferry run you had talked about?

 

[HotRodPC]

You're BACK!!!!! Good to see you

Yeah, I'm at the yard where I have internet service. I don't have a phone anymore and I don't have internet at the house since my phone was my hot spot.

Was dealing with way to much drama with my daughter and son in law, several times a day, with and without cops, with and without guns involved and all kinds of good F'in drama for the last 3 1/2 weeks or so, all while trying to be on call 24/7/365. I've had 1 night off since I started working here over a month ago. Not that I've had a call everynight, but when on call, you have to sleep lighter awaiting a call, and can't just take off and start on a project and be in the middle of something you can't walk away from.

So yeah, I got a phone call where I'd just had it with suggestions and everytime I do make suggestions, I get the excuses of why it can't be done that way, or being told what they're going to have their attorney do and blah blah blah, and I finally had a melt down screaming some **** into the phone and then it took flight into a wall. A nice freshly painted clean wall too. That's all easy to fix, but what does suck, it was a $400 phone. I was so f'in pist I wasn't even thinking. It takes an awful damn lot to get me there and they did get me there. But, it does sound as if they got hint and I certainly got their attention finally. I sure hope so for the sake of the 1yo, 3yo and 5yo kids. I'd have ducked out the ******** a long time ago if it weren't for the defenseless little ones getting torn to pieces.

 

[ScottyB]

I take it this was the ferry run you had talked about?

That's the one. I had 10 hours just in that one trip.

Today I had my first real solo accident recovery. I had one a couple weeks ago but it was just a fender bender. This one was car vs pole broadside. He hit the pole just behind the drivers door and crunched it in about 18". It bent the back of the car about so the rear wheels are about 30° out of square. It was sitting about 40' out in some farmers field perpendicular to the road. It wasn't complicated to get it back to the road but rigging it for transport took some thought. I ended up grabbing it from the rear and dollying the front. Of course, if I had to critique the end result I would say I failed. I got to Impound to discover I forgot my safety chains AND tow lights!

I think I need to spend more time driving the wreckers to get a routine down on those.

 

[MrMarty51]

Yeah, I'm at the yard where I have internet service. I don't have a phone anymore and I don't have internet at the house since my phone was my hot spot.

Was dealing with way to much drama with my daughter and son in law, several times a day, with and without cops, with and without guns involved and all kinds of good F'in drama for the last 3 1/2 weeks or so, all while trying to be on call 24/7/365. I've had 1 night off since I started working here over a month ago. Not that I've had a call everynight, but when on call, you have to sleep lighter awaiting a call, and can't just take off and start on a project and be in the middle of something you can't walk away from.

So yeah, I got a phone call where I'd just had it with suggestions and everytime I do make suggestions, I get the excuses of why it can't be done that way, or being told what they're going to have their attorney do and blah blah blah, and I finally had a melt down screaming some **** into the phone and then it took flight into a wall. A nice freshly painted clean wall too. That's all easy to fix, but what does suck, it was a $400 phone. I was so f'in pist I wasn't even thinking. It takes an awful damn lot to get me there and they did get me there. But, it does sound as if they got hint and I certainly got their attention finally. I sure hope so for the sake of the 1yo, 3yo and 5yo kids. I'd have ducked out the ******** a long time ago if it weren't for the defenseless little ones getting torn to pieces.

Gubment intervention really sucks and so does human services, but, I`d think with that many calls to the police and such that human services should be contacted and them childrens foster`d out and the parents not know where duh fluk they went, with You as being the only one that can contact the grand childrens, it sounds like they are in a very dangerous invirenment.

Really bad about the phone too. I know what You mean by the "Slow to Anger" bit, but when it happens, **** flies, I am the same way, just ask Mine wifey. She does`nt have to tiptoe around Me, We know each other too well, but, mine sons and the step-son can tell You, along with a few other arshholers.

 

[Old77]

They need a few wreckers for this debacle. Check out the crazy vid in this article

http://www.carthrottle.com/witness-an-acid-tripping-truck-driver-do-a-savage-hit-and-run/

 

[HotRodPC]

Gubment intervention really sucks and so does human services, but, I`d think with that many calls to the police and such that human services should be contacted and them childrens foster`d out and the parents not know where duh fluk they went, with You as being the only one that can contact the grand childrens, it sounds like they are in a very dangerous invirenment.

Really bad about the phone too. I know what You mean by the "Slow to Anger" bit, but when it happens, **** flies, I am the same way, just ask Mine wifey. She does`nt have to tiptoe around Me, We know each other too well, but, mine sons and the step-son can tell You, along with a few other arshholers.

We've already discussed DHS and they've been contacted. Grandparents are lined up, ready and willing when it happens, if it happens. Had a talk with the kids that **** just got real, so if they can't straighten it up NOW, then DHS it will be. Then the ******* husband says, well if that happens they can't go there cuz the grandma takes anti depressants. Then OK *******, would you like your kids staying with complete strangers and probably separated cuz it's hard to find someone who take a 1yp 3yo and 5yo. He's a ******* !!! But, it does seem to be getting better. Either that, its just better cuz I don't have a phone and not hearing about the ****. I have had the grandkids at my house 2 of the last 4 nights and they are here tonight with my daughter.

 

[HotRodPC]

That's the one. I had 10 hours just in that one trip.

Today I had my first real solo accident recovery. I had one a couple weeks ago but it was just a fender bender. This one was car vs pole broadside. He hit the pole just behind the drivers door and crunched it in about 18". It bent the back of the car about so the rear wheels are about 30° out of square. It was sitting about 40' out in some farmers field perpendicular to the road. It wasn't complicated to get it back to the road but rigging it for transport took some thought. I ended up grabbing it from the rear and dollying the front. Of course, if I had to critique the end result I would say I failed. I got to Impound to discover I forgot my safety chains AND tow lights!

I think I need to spend more time driving the wreckers to get a routine down on those.

Yep, you'll eventually get a mental checklist that becomes automatic. For now since you're new at it, Reason being, you want to develop your mental checklist and good habits NOW. Then, once you have your mental checklist and good habits developed and being automatic, then when you do come across an oppurtunity to skimp or cheat, you'll know you're doing for a reason, and not doing it because you forgot to do it. Why is that important? So you can drive accordingly. Example being yesterday for me. We loaned a hard frontal collision vehicle to an EMT class at the college to use for a couple days. They will use it to have fake patients in the car with air bags in the way and crushed dash, and hanging windshield in the way. So since that was a freebie run, I took a Copart car with me on deck, and wheel lifted to hard front crash car to drop off at the college on the way to Copart. It was hit so hard, there was on access to put straps around the front wheels to the L Arms. The wheels were set real nice into the arms, and turned a bit to where they like wedged a bit into the L arms, so the odds of it popping out were slim. I could have gone 2 different ways. Either a 2 lane highway with 50mph speed limit or interstate with 60mph. The interstate 60mph, was about 1 mile longer for this 8 mile run, now 9 mile. Knowing the 50mph road was not well maintained and lots of pot holes to dodge, and if the car should pop out, it would go into on coming traffic. So, being it had good back tires, I opted to take the freeway instead of the county road, just crawled over the railroad tracks. There will be times you can cheat, just know when those times are, and always consider the route you have to take considering rough roads, speed, weather conditions and all. Like on a roll back.. many times guys will only throw 1 chain on the rear end of a car. Well, if it's raining and your deck is wet, and you didn't get that 1 chain perfectly straight to it's anchor point, that rear end will scoot over on the wet deck. When that happens, now your have slack in your rear chain and don't know it. It can even get loose enough to drop a mini J with a little bump, then the next time you hit your brakes, you've got a car slamming into the back of the cab or headache rack. So, either use 2 chains or make damn sure your rear single chain is straight on from hook point to anchor point on the bed. I try to do that anyway, even in good weather, cuz I don't like to have to tighten my winch line very tight. You can really tear a car up by pulling to tight. You'll see where idiots have tightened down to tight and ripped the hook points right out of cars.