American Towman Magazine - September 2011 by dortiz-towman

Paul Best

Whether it’s recovering an overturned tractor-trailer or towing a truck across town, you’re in command with your Vulcan V-100. The Vulcan V-100 is the tool you need to accomplish any task – just ask loyal

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Vulcan users who always demand the best from their fleets. Once you purchase

For versatility in light- and medium-duty towing and recovery, the Vulcan V-30 meets your demands. Available in an aluminum or composite modular body, this 16-ton powerhouse comes loaded with many features found on Vulcan’s heavy-duty units.

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Vulcan has led the industry in heavy-duty integrated towing and recovery units for 25 years. Available in 25-, 35- and 50-ton capacities, the Vulcan heavy-duty integrated series easily tackles the toughest jobs.

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44 Vulcan’s L.C.G. (Low Center of Gravity) car carriers features a deck height that’s 5- to 8-inches lower, offering more stability during transport, a lower load angle and greater ease in securing loads. For recovery, Vulcan offers the SP8000 Sidepuller, the ultimate in car carrier versatility.

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The Vulcan Intruder leads the light-duty line-up with an autoload crossbar capable of picking up vehicles at a 90-degree angle and your choice of steel, aluminum or composite modular bodies. Other popular Vulcan light-duty units feature Vulcan’s strapless wheel-lift system.

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FEATURE CONTENTS

Five Stars and All’s Well Five Stars were awarded to East Coast Towing in North Carolina. Paul Best discusses the process of being rated by ATSA. by Brendan Dooley

Ice Cold Recovery A twisted semi-trailer full of ice cream makes for a cool recovery on a cold day. by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti

Departments Low Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 News Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Tow Boss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 AD Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Beacons On! . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Road Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 My Baby. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Towman’s Market . . . . . . . . . .66 Adventures of A.T. . . . . . . . . . .69

10 Years After This is a somber “anniversary” for all of America. Towers can be proud of their efforts on 9/11. by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti

Maintaining Your PTO Part three in the series covers the best scenarios for performing preventative maintenance on your PTO. by Mikel E. Jantiz

TOWMAN.COM - September 2011 • 5

Technology Levels the Playing Field by Steve Calitri

efore blogs, the way to become widely read was to find a publishing house that believed what you wrote was worth its investment. Only a small percentage of writers were published this way. A last resort was going to the expense of selfpublishing, but that route lacked distribution. Then the Internet allowed anyone to self-publish their work and potentailly reach millions of readers at no cost. This leveled the playing field to where all writers, big or small, talented or terrible, could cast their words into cyberspace for anyone. Towers also are starting to discover their playing field is being leveled. The big fleet may be wondering how the two-wrecker company down the block suddenly grew to five trucks. It could be how that company is using Google or Facebook, or tying into smartphone technology with apps. The company may be small, but also riding the tech wave to become desirable to certain motor clubs who have shifted their dispatching and billing to the web. The technology already is here that allows motorists to be in immediate contact with the closest wrecker to their breakdown; this may well totally level the playing field between service providers and motor clubs before long. In this scenario, motor clubs will need to adjust to a new reality of what a service network is, when one is instantly at the motorist’s side via smartphone. Being a tow boss today has never been more challenging or exciting. Running an emergency services operation, which is what most towing fleets are, is akin to field generalship of an army in battle. Imagine how U.S. Grant or Robert E. Lee might have fared if they and all the soldiers had had smartphones. Think of the tower of yesteryear com6 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

pared to the tower today who has tools at his disposal like GPS, radio, smartphone and instant web access to answer any technical question. Todd Althouse of Beacon Software is conducting a seminar in Baltimore at the American Towman Academy (AT Expo) on the Smart Phone Revolution. It covers how smartphones are changing the way towers operate, from dispatching to drive management to billing and all the red tape in between. This seminar and others make this year’s Academy a must for all owners. There are 30 in all; check them out on pages 25-48. In the past, I had advised tow bosses to pull back from the trenches for a wider view of their business. Today, though, it is easier for the tow boss to be in the trenches and still run his company effectively. This kind of capability started 25 years ago with the cellphone and has only grown with the smartphone. Some readers may be thinking, “I’m way ahead of you, Steve.” But I know too many tow bosses out there still don’t have a computer, or even a fax machine. To those who are way ahead of me: Is your progressive way of doing things today in step with the latest tech developments? It’s hard to be sure if what we are doing now won’t be old hat in a matter of months. AT’s efforts to keep you tuned into what you need to know have intensified with Towindustryweek.com, our industry’s first weekly magazine. TIW’s format allows the reader to interact with the author and other readers by posting comments on news and articles presented each week. So you not only get what’s to be had out of an article, but you also benefit from the intelligence of other readers. Hey! We’re trying to keep pace, too.

Publisher Dennie Ortiz Editor-In-Chief Steve Calitri Editor Brendan Dooley Operations Editors Terry Abejuela Randall Resch Chassis Editor David Kolman Safety Editor Bill Simmons Editorial Board Tommy Anderson; Dallas, Texas Roy Carlson; St. Paul, Minn. Gary Coe; Portland, Ore. Frank Child; Cody, Wyo. Belinda Harris; Greensboro, N.C. Amado Llorens; Hialeah, Fla. Ron Mislan; Warren, N.J. Chuck Swider; Chicopee, Mass. Frank Sanchez; Bridgewater, N.J. Page Layout Artist Ann Marie Nitti Graphic Manager William Burwell Advertising Sales Manager Dennie Ortiz Senior Account Executive Ellen Rosengart VP of Accounts Norma Calitri VP of Communications Neila Smith Subscription Manager Miriam Ortiz Customer Service Henri Calitri President Steve Calitri Headquarters 7 West Street, Warwick NY 10990 800-732-3869 or 845-986-4546 Fax: 845-986-5181 E-mail: Publisher: dortiz@towman.com Editor-In-Chief: scalitri@towman.com Editor: bdooley@towman.com AT’S Digital Edition: itowman.com AT’S Website: towman.com AT’S Weekly: towindustryweek.com Copyright ©2011 American Towman Magazine is published 12 times a year by American Towman Media, Inc. Subscription: $50–1 yr; $95–2 yrs • US $65 and $105 • International Editorial Policy: the act of mailing or delivering a letter or article to American Towman Magazine, shall constitute permission to publish that letter or article or any portion thereof. American Towman Magazine reserves the right to edit any and all material submitted.

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Council Rules on Private Tows New towing rates and rules that would limit how much towing companies charge and where and how far they tow vehicles in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., received initial approval in August. Under the proposed ordinance, a nonconsensual tow during business hours would be $135, and $170 after hours which includes a $35 after-hours tow release fee. The city is proposing a $185 tow fee for a vehicle involved in a wreck instead of the current $150 and has proposed a $120 fee for a vehicle towed in an incident involving an arrest instead of the current $75. The daily storage fee has increased from $15 to $20, which would apply beginning 24 hours after the vehicle was towed. If a person shows up before the vehicle is hooked to be towed, there is a $30 fee. According to city officials, many people have been confused over which lots are private or public. Under the ordinance, towing companies would be prohibited from hauling off a vehicle more than two miles outside of the city. Signs clearly prohibiting parking and measuring between 4- and 4-1/2-sq.-ft. would have to be placed on private property. Source: thesunnews.com

B/A Products Hosts Open House B/A Products Co. will hold its fifth annual Open House in Baltimore, Md., on Nov. 18, 2011, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Shuttles will run every half hour from outside the American Towman Expo. Factory tours, destructive testing demos and recovery demos are scheduled. A charity auction to benefit the International Towing & Recovery Museum and Survivor Fund is set for 2 p.m. Food and drink will be available.

8 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

Jerr-Dan Sponsors Mike Ryan Freightliner Jerr-Dan Corp. has signed a sponsorship agreement with stunt driver Mike Ryan to be the official carrier of Mike Ryan Motorsports over the next three years. Ryan’s custom-built Freightliner Business Class M2 106 Cascadia race truck will be transported throughout the country on a Jerr-Dan 10-ton carrier on a matching Freightliner

chassis. The race truck and Jerr-Dan carrier will be available to view at a variety of race events and trade shows through 2014. “We are honored that Mike Ryan trusts Jerr-Dan to safely transport his race truck all over the country,” said Joel Amsley, Senior VP of Jerr-Dan Corp. For more, visit JerrDan.com.

Fireball Run Stop at

Tow Museum The Chevrolet Fireball Run Adventurally this September will bring nearly 50 celebrity and noteworthy driving teams to the Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum in Chattanooga, Tenn, on one of its stops. The rally includes driving teams from all over the country who solve clues and accomplish missions in order to navigate to the next stop and gain points. The 2011 adventure teams include NASCAR’s Geoff Bodine and NASA shuttle astronaut Winston Scott. The uniqueness of the museum inspired the producers to make it an interactive destination that all of the teams must locate using clues and spend a few hours solving missions at the site.

Wall of Fallen Monument at Museum in Chattanooga

The Fireball Run’s “race to recover America’s missing children” is the largest active recovery effort for missing and exploited children. So far, the effort has assisted in the recovery of 36 missing children. Source: nooga.com.

. . . Two-way radio users should act soon in updating equipment and licenses. . . .

Tower Shocked During Recovery A tow truck operator was thrown to the ground from the bed of a loaded pickup by electric shock from a drooping power line in Vanceboro, N.C. this last August. He is expected to recover. The man was working to remove a wrecked pickup truck from the roadside when the shock occurred. The wrecked pickup had crossed the center line and hit a pole, bringing the recovery team out. The wrecked pickup was loaded onto a flatbed wrecker. A state trooper said the wrecker operators had picked up some vehicle debris, and the shock victim was in the back of the pickup, loaded on the flatbed, handling the debris. He was putting some aluminum pieces in and one piece of aluminum touched the power line. “Power lines were hanging down a little bit, about the height of a tractor-trailer, maybe four or five feet lower than the normal. The line wasn’t on the ground sparking or anything,” said the trooper. “There was a loud bang, like a lightning strike, a few sparks, and I saw [the tower] fall from the vehicle into the ditch. “He had an entrance wound in his hand and an exit wound in his chest and was airlifted.” Source: www.freedomenc.com.

NRC Rotator Day to Benefit GSTA Battelini’s Wrecker Service of Landisville, N.J., and NRC Industries will hold a Rotator Day on Sept. 17 to benefit the Garden State Towing Association Inc. The event will include a presentation by Norbert Pigeon and Maxime St. Pierre of NRC Industries, lunch, door prizes, demonstrations of rotators, rollbacks and air bags, and a pig roast dinner. The proceeds from the day will go to the Garden State Towing Association with a portion designated to their Legal/Legislative Fund. Details are available at www.gsta.org.

FCC Ruling Impacts Two-Way Radio Use A new Federal Communications Commission ruling will impact many towing companies using two-way radios, according to AAA Frequency Coordinator Gary Ruark. (AAA provides FCC-chartered frequency coordination services to the towing industry.) The ruling, FCC Public Notice DA 11-1189, mandates that VHF 150-174 MHz and UHF 421-512 MHz equipment operate on 12.5 Kz or narrower bandwidths beginning in January 2013. Ruark said in most instances designators can be updated administratively and at no cost using the FCC’s Universal Licensing System. An alternative is to use a licensing agency such as RadioSoft, which will perform the service for a fee. Changes, such as switching from analog to digital communications systems, require the services of an FCC Frequency Coordinator and additional FCC licensing requirements and fees. Ruark advises affected licensees to act sooner rather than later in updating equipment and licenses to avoid last-minute backlogs. Failure to comply could result in significant FCC fines. For more information, visit https://narrowbanding.radiosoft.com, or call 888-601-3676.

Tow Trucks Used to Steal Cars Burnham, Ind., police said they are aware of multiple incidents of people using tow trucks to steal vehicles and salvage them for cash. The stolen vehicles allegedly were being taken to scrap yards in Chicago and Northwest Indiana, where they were crushed and the suspects were paid for the scrap. Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with the investigation. Police said one man was arrested because officers were able to view video from a nearby business to connect a tow truck to a July vehicle theft. Nine days later, Burnham police saw a truck matching the description hauling a vehicle and

stopped it. Police found that the tow truck and the vehicle being towed both were stolen. Police stopped another suspicious tow truck hauling a vehicle later, found the vehicle was stolen and arrested the tow truck driver. The tower was charged with possessing a stolen motor vehicle and driving on a suspended driver’s license. He also held falsified documents that said the vehicle’s title and registration were lost. Source: nwitimes.com

TOWMAN.COM - September 2011 • 9

Finding a Qualified Dispatcher by Randall C. Resch

oes your company’s reputation and success lie in the hands of a qualified dispatcher? You bet it does! Qualified dispatchers are competent and able to direct the actions of a company’s dayto-day operations, help make a business grow, and perhaps motivate company drivers. There’s a lot riding on your company’s success, so it makes sense to hire smart and get the ideal person in your company’s dispatch seat. How you go about hiring them is essential in choosing the right person. In smaller tow companies, a “multifunctional” dispatcher may be the same person to answer your company’s phones, dispatch calls to your drivers, or even release vehicles to vehicle owners. The right individual at dispatch is key to your company’s efficiency, productivity, smooth operations, and ultimate successes. So, what do you look for in hiring a qualified dispatcher? The Position’s Mission Long before deciding to hire a dispatcher, owners should define their dispatchers’ duties and tasks by writing a formal job description. There are different responsibilities and duties required of a dispatcher, so determine first whether or not your dispatcher will also be a “call-taker” to handle the company’s phones while concentrating on dispatch-oriented tasks. A call-taker’s position is far different 10 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

than that of dispatcher, and the difference is specific. In larger companies, dispatchers should have no outside duties other than to orchestrate movements of the company’s fleet. Call-takers answer phones, obtain information regarding the type, nature of, location and other specifics. Having job-specific call-takers lets dispatchers concentrate on dispatching calls in a timely manner, sending them to appropriately experienced drivers, dispatching the right trucks and seeing calls through from dispatch to completion. Your company’s dispatcher doesn’t have the luxury to make mistakes in the manner they handle dispatch duties.

A dispatcher always should be on top of the real-time activity of the fleet.

The best dispatchers are detail-oriented, can balance tasks and seem all-knowing. If your company utilizes a webbased dispatch system, an experienced dispatcher can be that much more effective and efficient in directing personnel and equipment to the right location the first time … every time. Crossing trucks wastes fuel and kills employee productivity. Operational costs and your company’s “on-time” reputation must be considered in putting the right dispatcher at the helm. Who’s the Best? Dispatching isn’t a gender-specific occupation; both male and female dispatchers are well-suited to the position. Having hired both male and female dispatchers before, I will say that both genders possess qualities that fit exactly into the “operational features” common to the dispatcher position. For that reason, I’ll say that gender isn’t important when considering who’ll perform better. I don’t feel that it’s smart to choose between genders when considering male or female dispatch applicants. Savvy owners know what works best by first understanding their company’s moving parts and the company’s personality itself. There still remain some tow truck drivers who don’t like “taking orders”

from female dispatchers. Their ignorance and unacceptable attitudes cause friction that has a direct effect on productivity and employee morale. If that’s an issue within your company, your driver staff must firmly understand the reality of today’s world, either individually or collectively. Nuts ‘n’ Bolts Hiring a qualified dispatcher begins with you deciding what traits your dispatcher should have. The person directly responsible for your company’s day-today operations will ultimately be saddled with orchestrating accurate movement of your company’s fleet throughout your service area. An under-qualified and inexperienced dispatcher can ultimately cost your company with dropped calls, sending operators to the wrong location, crossing trucks, sending the wrong class tow truck, upset customers, accounts, and/or law enforcement agencies and lower employee morale. When considering a dispatcher to hire, look at the big picture as to your expectations. At a minimum, a dispatch candidate should possess specific traits and abilities before being hired. Although a formal 9-1-1 certificate holder is ideal, don’t disregard applicants who demonstrate skills you can build on. Consider these skills and attributes when evaluating a dispatch candidate (not order specific): •Personable, outwardly friendly, self-motivated. •Innate customer service quality. •Experience in towing and recovery or a 9-1-1 setting (highly desirable, but not a must-have). •Calm, thinks clearly, quickly assesses and evaluates. •Great situational awareness. •Accomplishes tasks in a controlled, effective manner while working under moments of high-stress and/or highactivity. •Prioritization and attention-to-detail with skills to direct, move and orchestrate tow trucks from staged or rolling locations. •Knowledge of Internet or webbased programs, software and systems. •Quickly reads, retains and disseminates information.

•Excellent verbal and written communication skills. •Bilingual (varies by locale). •Familiarity with radio and telephone communications, receiving and transmitting equipment, and operation of common radio dispatch equipment. •Pleasing phone and radio skills. •Accurately types (30 WPM minimum). •Develop/maintain cooperative working relationships with company management, drivers and other personnel. •Establish/maintain cooperative communication clearly and effectively with the general public, safety officials and other governmental entities. •Willing to serve the company and the motoring public. •Freedom to work any shift. •Multi-task oriented to interpret both verbal and written instructions. •Problem-solver. OK … You Pass! When wading through the hiring process and reviewing an application/resume, be conscious if your dispatchers need to be “background qualified” to satisfy any law enforcement contracts, government accounts and major motor clubs.

Depending on the written narrative within a contract, agencies may require all company personnel to participate in background investigations that include “Live Scan” (fingerprint) clearances with the Department of Justice, National Crime Information Center and local law enforcement systems. Because we serve the law enforcement community and specialty agencies, questions regarding one’s criminal background should be tailored to the job at hand to accurately answer any application requirements. Such questions are not considered an invasion of privacy, so don’t be timid to ask the applicant if they’ve ever been arrested or convicted of a criminal act. (If you’re wary of this line of questioning, consult your company’s attorney.) Who’s in Charge? When your dispatcher is tuned in, they know where each tow truck is, what calls their drivers are on and which calls are pending. Activity can launch from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye forcing all trucks and drivers to run themselves ragged. Someone must be ready and experienced to direct those movements. For administrative tasks and day-today operations, owners must set the

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TOWMAN.COM - September 2011 • 11

ADVERTISER

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AD INDEX

Fax To: 888-847-6035 Page # RS#

AAA 24 Akins Body & Carrier Sales 49 ATSA 54 B/A Products 59 Blades Tow Right 68 Chevron, Inc. 71 Cross Country Automotive Srv. 19 Crouch’s Wrecker & Equip. Sales 18 Dodco 53 Donnie Recovery Award 63 Dynamic Towing Eq. & Mfg. 36, 37 Equipment Sales & Service 59 Equipment Sales & Service 55 Goodyear Wrecker Sales 53 Gwinnett Place Wr. & Carr. Div. 61 Hino Motor Sales USA, Inc. 23 Intek Truck Eq. Finance & Lease 22 Jerr-Dan 72 Landoll Corp. 62

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September 2011 For more product info, go to www.towman.com and click on the FREE Product info icon. Or circle the corresponding reader service number on the Action Card to the right, and send it in. Form is valid for three months

TOW BOSS continued from page 11 tone by mandating that company policy and procedure allow the on-shift dispatcher to steer the ship. A dispatcher always should be on top of the real-time activity of the fleet; owners should, from the start, empower the dispatcher to make the decisions in controlling the company’s fleet. Drivers aren’t aware of what is happening inside the dispatch office because they aren’t there. I find it annoying and distracting when drivers try and override a dispatcher’s decisions from the field. Make it known to all drivers that the dispatcher is in charge of dispatching and drivers are to follow their directions accordingly. There will be times when the dispatcher may not know exactly what driver and equipment to send on a given call. That’s where the working relationships between dispatchers and drivers are key to working together towards the success of the company. Challenge Test I’ve listened to a handful of drivers complain about the company’s dispatchers where their stupid remarks and disruptful attitudes caused dissention. Not only does the gender issue sometimes rear its ugly head, but sometimes personalities and attitudes clash if one driver thinks the dispatcher is doing a bad job and/or sending the “money calls” to another driver. In the “80/20 Rule of Business,” 20 percent of your company’s employees are doing 80 percent of the work: I think this especially applies to the driver-dispatcher relationship. Because experienced dispatchers know who their more experienced operators are and/or who the company’s producers are, dispatchers know they can count on certain drivers to respond to certain calls. This is commonly where accusations of favorites come into play. Before letting accusations get too far, realize drivers who complain may or may not have good reasons for their complaints. During monthly safety meetings, ask your drivers if there are issues with your company’s dispatchers. There may be valid reasons if more than one driver has the same complaints regarding the same dispatcher. At some point there may be a driver who thinks they can do a better job at dispatching. When it reaches the point of creating havoc or ill will, perhaps that employee should be firmly invited into the business office to see if they can do a better job. Having to sit at the dispatcher’s side for a few days may turn into a humbling and educational experience for the complaining driver. Conversely, to generate familiarity and understandings of the driver’s side, you may require your company’s dispatchers to go on periodic ride-alongs so they can hear, see, and understand how the dispatch office affects the driver’s job. You are your company’s chief referee; keeping open employee communications lends you the ability to control the dispatch environment. Where to Look Experienced dispatchers don’t drop out of the sky. It takes years to develop into a professional and competent dispatcher and those skills and abilities come with time and experience.

It’s great to find someone who’s completed a 9-1-1 training course, but chances are most applicants come to you with less training, but may have combined experience in other trades. Your company’s dispatcher can be trained by you for the type of business niche you serve, so don’t overlook an applicant who has demonstrated qualifications as listed in the Nuts ‘n’ Bolts. Post your “dispatcher wanted” information at a community college job board, especially if the college has a 9-1-1 or police dispatch course. Don’t overlook military veterans, former air traffic controllers, or perhaps someone who dispatched for taxi, ambulance, bus, or any type of over-the-road trucking companies. The way to keep all the pieces moving at optimum levels is to hire the right applicant the first time and tailor their abilities to your company. Dispatching is like playing chess. Competent players know what each piece does best and how to best position them. The same is true for the qualified dispatcher who discovers that towing and recovery is difficult at first, but can get easier with time and dedication to improvement. Randall C. Resch is a retired California police officer and has been in the towing and recovery industry for 40 years as a tow business owner, manager, consultant and light-duty trainer. Email Randy at rreschran@aol.com.

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TOWMAN.COM - September 2011 • 13

It’s a Dangerous Way to Make a Living by Michael Saks

ith the confrontational nature of the towing business in general, any situation can become violent, and potentially deadly as seen in some recent cases. In our current age of litigation in the United States, counting on the legal system to protect you after a violent incident occurs is not the best option. Explaining to a jury that you took certain steps during an incident may not be enough to protect you. Having recommended procedures in your company’s policy manual will go much further in showing your professionalism when confronted with irate patrons. One of the first steps a tower should take when a conflict escalates is to call 9-1-1 for help. According to the Web site Conflict911.com, steps you should consider include:

Have a Backup Plan Have a procedure in place before you or your employees are caught in any of these situations: A car in violation that is about to be hooked up and towed. An irate customer screaming between the hook-up and when the tower leaves with the car or leaves the car in a boot. An irate customer coming to the impound lot to retrieve their car.

Keep Your Self Control Do not let the unstable customer get you emotionally involved in their issue. Have a procedure in place to establish credibility. Have a list of steps you take in a conflict situation so you and your employees are clear on what to do. Have a copy of the authorization from the property owner that you are 14 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

Photo courtesy of PhotoXPress.

Any situation can become violent, and potentially deadly. It is not uncommon for a tower to find himself looking down the barrel of a gun in the hand of an angry motorist.

required to tow based upon set procedures. Make sure the authorization notice and the procedure form are with the tower in any towing situation.

Consider Their Side Listen to what they have to say but direct them back to the mandate you have from the city, lot owner or leasing company to tow the car. Maintain a polite but firm (not

rude) stance, and use that copy of your authorization to show the irate person that you are doing what is required of your job.

Work to a Resolution After hearing their concern, ask them politely to calm down. Reiterate you understand their point, but have a legal responsibility to do your job.

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Stertil-Koni’s Earthlift Goes Green

Check Out What’s NEW and HOT! Wheel Loader Improves Safety Steck Manufacturing’s new 4th Wheel Loader will help towers safely load vehicles with broken ball joints, lost wheels, locked wheels or brakes, collision damage and control arm failures. The 4th Wheel Loader is a hardened aluminum platform with two polypropylene roller wheels and six holes for mini J-hooks for loading assistance; easily hold and secure up to 5 tons while loading a vehicle. For locked brakes or broken wheels, simply lift the damaged vehicle and place the wheel in the 10” x10” recessed pocket of the Loader and chain the wheel assembly on the Loader platform. Comes with a 6’ x ¼” chain, hand-adjustable screw-type Load Binder and 3/8” extension nut. The Loader easily stores behind your seat or toolbox.

www.steckmfg.com Number 200 on Reader Card

Grab Hooks Lock in Place B/A Products has introduced a new line of grab hooks with a heavy duty Twist Lock latch. Once locked into place they will not budge until you are ready to move them. This patented locking hook is a must-have for anyone looking for a safer and more economical alternative.

www.baprod.com Number 201 on Reader Card

Worm-Gear Winch with Planetary Speed The HDG-350 heavy-duty worm-gear winch from Ramsey has a rated first layer line pull of 10,000 lbs. The company said the winch provides the robustness of a worm gear with the line speed of a similar capacity planetary winch. Features include 32 fpm line speed (first layer), manual or air-operated free spool, and available with blocked clutch and air shift. Ramsey also introduced its Heavy-Duty Planetary 40,000/50,000-lbs. winch and the Patriot 9500 and Profile 9500 Ultimate Technology winches. The HD-P

40,000/50,000 winch has a rated line pull of 40,000 lbs. or 50,000 lbs., depending on the application. The HD-P 40,000/50,000 weighs 742 lbs., has a standard two-speed motor and compact design. The Patriot and Profile 9500 UT winches feature semi-automatic clutch to reduce winching time and improve safety. They have a rated single line pull of 9500 lbs., gear reduction ratio of 138:1, weigh 93 lbs. and come with 105’ of 5/16” galvanized aircraft cable with replaceable clevis hook with safety latch.

www.ramsey.com Number 202 on Reader Card

16 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

HDG-350

9500 UT

HD-P 40,000/50,000

tertil-Koni’s new Earthlift Wireless Mobile Column Lift is now ALI/ETL certified and available in the United States. The lift has no connecting cables or wires. Other features include: • A variable speed controller. • An advanced operating system with a graphical user interface that digitally displays lift speed, the weight bearing on the individual column, battery charge level, lift direction, lift extension measurement and more. •A self-regenerating power supply that increases productivity. “The Earthlift’s patented Active Energy Retrieval System captures the kinetic energy generated by a raised vehicle as it descends on the lift and uses it to recharge its own batteries,” said Jean DellAmore, Stertil-Koni USA president.

This battery-operated hydraulic mobile column lift was engineered with the environment in mind and is the ecofriendly alternative to the more basic wireless portable column lifts that have gained popularity over recent years. The Earthlift’s components are 98-percent recyclable, its closed hydraulic system uses biodegradable Panolin oil, its electrical system complies with RoHs directives and its deepcycle marine batteries can be completely recycled. The lift’s green advantages can help companies earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for their facilities. The Earthlift Wireless Mobile Column Lift is certified by the Automotive Lift Institute Inc. and the Electrical Testing Laboratories.

www.stertil-koni.com Number 203 on Reader Card

TOWMAN.COM - September 2011 • 17

BEACONS ON continued from pg 14

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Calmly go through the steps you will have to take if they do not calm down. Consider having these written down for the driver to show the customer: The customer may choose, if they wish, for you to finish your job and leave, or whether they want you to call the police. If you cannot do your job, you will go to your vehicle and then notify the police. You will not engage the patron, other than to get out of the hostile environment. If possible, try to get all the vehicle information and leave the immediate area if violence (armed or unarmed) looks probable or imminent. Then, from a safe distance, call the police and go over what has happened. Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in the East Coast Truck and Trailer newsletter (www.ectts.com). Used with permission. For more info: www.conflict911.com

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SE R VICE

East Coast Towing maxed out on uniform points for having collared, high-visibility shirts.

Five Stars All’s Well and

by Brendan Dooley Photos by Al White

The Best Rating is Announced by the New ATSA

aul Best and his 55 employees at East Coast Towing in Raleigh, N.C., always knew they were good at what they did and how they did it. Now everyone who takes note of the company’s five-star rating knows it, too. At the 2010 American Towman Exposition in Baltimore, Md., Paul signed on to get his company rated by the American Towman Standards Authority because he wanted a thirdparty validation on what he felt was a rock-solid light-duty towing shop. After attending a workshop on the ATSA that outlined requirements, Paul was sure his shop could meet the criteria for a high rating.

“Honestly, I wanted to be the first one to get a top rating,” Paul said. “Being at the show and listening to the criteria, I thought we were right there.” They were. East Coast Towing received five stars from ATSA this year. In fact, East Coast is the first company to get a five-star rating from the new ATSA. Paul started East Coast with three trucks in 1998 after eight years in the business as a tower. Currently, the company has expanded to 34 vehicles, including light- to medium-duty JerrDan rollbacks and wreckers, and several service vehicles. Paul carefully evaluated expanding the business and used a measured approach; it appears to be working, and ATSA thinks so, too.

East Coast scored well in fleet points for their trucks' upkeep. 20 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

Five-star morale Achieving the top rating made Paul “happy and proud” of his business, and he said the validation from an outside source gives him “the energy to stay the course.” He felt the rating “boosted” employee morale when he announced the company’s rating in April to his staff. He saw that they were “taking more pride in their jobs and equipment,” the way they cared for it. In addition, they are announcing it on their Facebook site and company Web site, so that “not only do employees know, but their families and other companies will see what we’ve achieved,” Paul said. “It raises the bar on the industry

and shows that we’re not just a place to work, but excel,” he said. “This rating lets employees know we take pride in our company and in them.”

Prep work When Paul first started readying his shop’s rating materials, he found out just how tough getting a quality ATSA rating would be. “The merit of this system is in the submittal process,” Paul said. Compiling the needed shop information and documentation was “more detailed than what we anticipated. It was a lot of work,” he said. For Paul, all the work was definitely worthwhile though. One unexpected benefit he found to the ATSA process was putting together all the documentation for the application packet. Once they got everything compiled, he made duplicates of the documents for the shop’s own benefit to share with their insurance provider, prospective clients and others. Paul said East Coast Towing is currently the largest AAA contractor in the area and on two area rotation lists. As they look to expand business, having the five-star rating plus the readily available documentation of his business is a big plus for potential customers. “We just won the AAA [Service Providers of Excellence - Gold Level] award; putting together our ATSA materials and the five-star rating helped to get us to that level,” Paul said.

Strengths Areas Paul felt were company strong points included driver safety and uniforms, as well as the upkeep on their equipment. Regarding safety, the standards were updated to reflect changes that have occurred over the past decade. The uniform standards reflect this shift in ANSI requirements, and Paul’s shop does, too. “We’re strong on safety,” Paul said. “All the ANSI-approved high-visibility uniforms set a standard for our drivers and what our customers expect to see.” The “Uniforms” standard is mandatory for an ATSA rating at any level; 30 points for shirts that meet ANSI requirements and have the company name visible, 50 points if they are collared shirts. East Coast Towing got the full points, as the drivers wear reflective yellow, collared shirts as part of their standard uniforms. The “Satisfactory Truck Fleet” standard mandates that vehicles be “predominantly

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Changes

East Coast Towing is the largest AAA provider in their area using Jerr-Dan trucks like this MPL selfloader (above) and LDUL Roadside Assistance Truck (right).

clean with insignificant dents or rust and show company name clearly with phone number.” Meeting the standard gets a company 50 points; in fact, meeting this standard is mandatory to achieve a four- or five-star rating.

Paul’s towing and service vehicles met that mark. “I think our trucks are kept at a high

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Paul said there are still some areas they are working to improve where they weren’t as strong as they thought. In the ATSA’s standards, “Professionally Trained Operators” has a scale of points available from 100 to 30, depending on what percent of the driver force is professionally trained and certified. Additionally, the “Tow Operator Certification” criteria offers 75 points if 75 percent of the company’s drivers are certified by a recognized national or statewide program. “In some of the certification areas, I said, ‘Wow, there’s some things we could do just a little bit different,’ ” Paul said. One of the changes Paul made to the business based on another ATSA criteria was with associations. The ATSA gives 30 points each for membership in a local/state towing association and membership in a national towing association. Paul said he had previously avoided joining an association, thinking the most benefits were for “the big boys with the big equipment. “In the process, we did see the benefit. ... We joined the TRAA and a North Carolina state association,” Paul said. “Getting to know local members has helped us a lot, they were great resources on questions that came up ... we realized this industry takes all of us. “It’s the little stuff that helps us excel,” Paul said. “The extra mile is a whole lot less traveled ... so it doesn’t take you long to get there.”

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Events, Seminars, Exhibits, Hotels: Advance Register here or online at ATExposition.com

AMERICAN T O W M A N EXPOSITION XX III B A L T I M ORE

M A R Y L A N D ' S INNER

H A R BA R

Exhibit Days Nov. 19 & –20, 2011

American Towman Exposition Is Awesome! Wrecker booms are rising to the heavens, and the entire industry is there inside the Baltimore Convention Center: the manufacturers, motor clubs, service companies, and 10,000 towing professionals – like kids in a candy shop – making it the greatest tow show on Earth.

New equipment designs and innovations debut in Baltimore at AT Expo.

Exhibit Days Nov. 19 & –20, 2011

Upgrade Your Towing Business at The American Towman Exposition Tow bosses come to AT Expo for the tools to upgrade

AT Expo offers a host of vendors who specialize in

who cannot justify the overhead of night dispatch.

With 200 tow industry

their towing business to the next plateau. These tools

dispatch systems, either software or Internet based,

AT Expo is all about finding vendors who will do a

suppliers exhibiting

are found on the show floor, in the seminar rooms,

that can elevate the way you manage the whole ball-

better job for you at less cost, or greater value, and

products and services

and among the many networking events of the Expo-

game: call-assignment efficiency, tow-operator pro-

those that offer services that will drive down your

inside the Baltimore

sition.

ductivity, call-segment analysis. These dispatch

costs. For example, on-board camera systems that

Convention Center, the American Towman Exposition is your

Upgrading the fleet is certainly one reason why tow

greatest opportunity to explore ways in which you can

bosses trek to Baltimore. Manufacturers of wreckers,

improve your operation and make it more profitable.

carriers, trailers and truck chassis exhibit inside the

Several dispatch system companies are exhibiting and demonstrating at Expo.

Baltimore Con-

AT Expo is great

vention Center,

for scouting out

and they are

what’s new in the

there to sell. AT

marketplace.

Expo is a buyer’s

There are several

market with

companies ex-

everything under

hibiting ready to

one roof!

help you finance equipment. Maybe

Several trailer manufacturers exhibit.

Kicking your call

it’s a carrier or

volume up a notch

even a low boy trailer; maybe a specific part or

through motor-club work is another reason towers

200 exhibiting suppliers: a chance for a strategic approach to key products and services and the people behind them.

go to AT Expo. With 14 motor clubs exhibiting on the

system providers demonstrate these wonders at their

will reduce fraudulent claims from motorists.

show floor, tow bosses have an opportunity to mine

booths on the show floor.

You can upgrade your business so that all the red tape of running a towing operation is managed without angst.

for more business, as well as strengthen their relationships with clubs they already do business with.

At AT Expo there are also vendors that specialize in

AT Expo offers vendors that help your company reduce

dispatch services, particularly for tow companies

the time and cost of managing the lien process.

Only in Baltimore can you meet with all the manufacturers of wreckers, carriers, chassis, service trucks and trailers and compare...

Exhibit hours are on Saturday and Sunday, November 19-20.

accessory; you can drive home your new equipment or have it shipped home from the exhibit floor.

Two Big Show Days, Saturday and Sunday! To get the most out of AT Expo, plan on being on show floor both days: Sat. 11-6 pm, Sun. 11-5 pm

Check out AT Expo’s roster of exhibitors at ATExposition.com

AT Expo Boosts Your Critical-Business Segments AT Expo helps boost the tower’s

Towman. The Rite of Passage and the

relationship with key business segments;

pinning of the Cross of the Order

police, commercial, and motor club.

holds a mystique for an industry that is bonded with the police in serving

Seminars on Police-Tower

the motor-

Relationships and Rotation

ing public.

Systems motivate those who tow for the town to

On the show floor, towers

reassess their home strat-

will come across 14

egy. Other seminars, like

exhibiting motor clubs

Accident Cleanup and GPS

and call providers. By

tie into the police-tower

meeting with the club

relationship and working it

representatives, tow busi-

to the tower’s advantage.

ness owners can find new

The AT Academy tract of

allies and shore up old

seminars on recovery as

ones, with hundreds of

well as the DC Recovery

thousands of dollars at

Conference will help your

stake for the average tow

company excel before

company.

police and fire officials. The show floor is not the Meanwhile, police chiefs

only place where tow

across the nation are par-

bosses mingle with motor

ticipating with American

club management. Towers

Towman by nominating

will have an opportunity

towers for the Order of

Police chiefs around the nation are nominating towers for the Cross of the Order.

during the many events to meet up with the men and

women who can influence call volume. The American Towman Academy is helping tow bosses to explore their potential with motor clubs through seminars like Managing Club Calls and the smart phone revolution that address tower-motor club dispatch and billing processes. The commercial sector is also critical to the success of individual towing companies. AT Academy is offering seminars that help tow bosses score with commercial accounts; John Borowski’s seminars on Seminars on the Police-Tower relationship, GPS, and Dispatch are geared to help towing operations work more effectively with police.

14 motor clubs and call providers exhibit on the show floor where the tow boss can make critical contacts. Thinking Outside The Box: Building Commercial Accounts, and DJ Harrington’s seminar on Using Rating To Win Accounts are two must-attend sessions. And the Academy’s dispatch seminars will touch on how your dispatcher can help build your business.

Towers meet with management at a motor club booth to discuss business at AT Expo.

Motor Clubs/ Call Provider Booths AAA Allstate Roadside Services Asurion Copart Cross Country (CCAS) FleetNet America GEICO National Automobile Club National Motor Club Nation Safe Drivers Quest Towing Services Road America USAC-MD

There are two sides to AT Expo: the business side and the events of celebration. The business side kicks off with the famous Captains of Industry

Recovery specialists will want to take part in the DC Recovery Conference/Luncheon and the critiques of the recoveries that win the Donnie Cruse Recovery Awards ... also the six recovery-related seminars of the American Towman Academy.

Conference, featuring a keynote address that will awaken and excite you on the developments of dispatch, GPS, smart phones and the Internet ... a theme that carries over to the American Towman Academy.

Check out the American Towman Exposition on Facebook

The Donnie Cruse Recovery Awards are co-sponsored by Miller Industries and B/A Products.

Nov. 17 - –20, 2011

Nov. 17 –- 20, 2011

Five Tracks and 30 Seminars To Fuel Your Towing Business

$75 Passport gets you into all seminars. Passport holders enjoy complimentary breakfasts, all three mornings.

Track 1: Business Opportunities Turning Clean-up into a Revenue Source

Expanding into Auto Repair

The Challenges Facing Today’s Repossessor

Option one is to start up a separate company that operates to cleanup after a roadway incident. Option two is setting up a protocol that bills out separately for clean-up work. Either option must take the right approach with the insurance companies. John Borowski, Amber Energy Services, Saturday 10 a.m.

Diversifying into full service for profit. This seminar reveals secrets to creating a 30 percent net auto repair business that’s compatible with your existing business. You’ll discover the systems you’ll need and the numbers to watch to keep your service bays busy and your cash profits rolling in. Matt Winslow, Automotive Training Institute, Friday 9 a.m.

The perils, pitfalls and impediments to today’s professional repossessor. The presentation will cover current events, legislation (state and federal) and case law that effect the repossession industry. Conducted by Mike Howk, RSIG, 3 hours on Friday 4–7 p.m.

Auto Auctions: Do it Yourself

New Club Opportunities

Some towers around the nation have kicked up their usable revenue by running their own auctions. Find out not only why you make more money this way, per car, but about the other benefits that come with being your own auctioneer. Conducted by veteran tow boss, Gary Coe, Speed’s SuperTow, Sunday 9 a.m.

Maximize your fleet with two new Cross Country programs. Get in on photo documentation of damaged vehicles and expand your service territory through an Internet bidding system. Learn how Cross Country’s new ViewPoint and Cross Country Bids programs work to your advantage. Mathew Capozzi, Jeannine Booton, Cross Country Automotive Services, Sunday 10 a.m.

The Road Service Option You’re already serving truck accounts, so now what does it take to offer roadside repair to these same companies? Conducted by Jim Heward, Cumberland Towing. Friday 4 p.m.

Business Opportunites is sponsored by Dynamic Towing & Equipment Mfg.

American Towman Academy Track 2: Increasing Your Core Business Effective Marketing in the Internet Age

The Police-Tower Relationship

Towing companies are adding auto service to survive. This session reveals marketing secrets to keep your service bays busy and your cash profits rolling in. Discover how to use web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 to reach the customers you want now! Matt Winslow, Automotive Training Institute, Saturday 10 a.m.

This veteran tow business manager and former CHiP knows what both sides want and expect. The police department can make or break you on rotation or single contract. It can be extremely demanding of your services. Keep the police on your side. Randall Resch, AT, Friday 11 a.m.

Finding Profit Killers Identify where the profit killers are in your facility: Operations (people and processes), Capital Assets (Trucks & Equipment), and Customers. Learn how to avoid or fix these profit killers now. Andrew de la Chapelle, USFleetTracking, Friday 4 p.m.

The Smart Phone Revolution Smart phones and tablets like BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad, Xoom, etc., will allow you to receive calls from motor clubs, dispatch them to your drivers, track truck and incident locations in real time, assist navigation via audible turn-by-turn instructions, print invoices, retrieve towing instructions from TowSpec, scan VINs and capture signatures from the front seat of a truck. Want to keep up? Todd Althouse, Beacon Software, Friday 9 a.m.

Track 3: Fleet Strategy and Utilization Alternative Fuels Ever-increasing fuel costs are prompting many tow operators to transition their fleet to Natural Gas Vehicles, which deliver superior performance, quieter operation and 30 percent to 50 percent lower fuel costs. Other alternative fuels and trends are discussed as well as available trucks, economics and steps to successful transition. Stephen Yborra, NGV America, Friday 10 a.m.

Fleet Strategy & Utilization, Wreckers to Lowboys Are your tow trucks on the road or sitting in a lot? Do you know when you should buy a new unit and are you sure which type of unit you should add to your fleet: wrecker, carrier, service truck or lowboy? There are many variables. Three veteran fleet owners help you sort it all out. John Borowski, Bill Johnson, Jeremy Procon, Sunday 9 a.m.

Thinking Outside the Box Building your commercial base is as simple as looking right under your nose. According to this veteran tow boss, aka Mr. Industry, you just have to start expanding your perspective beyond the obvious account types. You need to think outside the box. John Borowski, Amber Energy Services, Friday 10 a.m.

Use Your Rating to Your Advantage The “Tow Doctor” discusses getting your towing operation rated by the American Towman Standards Authority; how it works; and how you can use it to win commercial accounts, municipal contracts and lower insurance premiums. D.J. Harrington, ATSA, Friday 9 a.m.

Bold Leadership Impacts Your Bottom Line A seminar to inspire greatness. Learn essential keys of leadership for productive teamwork that meets everyone’s needs; understand knowledge of attributes, challenges, and styles of effective leaders. To take home skills for “best practices” that translates into a more profitable workplace. Stacy Tucker, Chico Towing, Sunday 9 a.m.

Gas Vs. Diesel The new emissions laws have resulted in more expensive diesel trucks, making the gas powered chassis an option for towers to look closer at. Todd Kaufman, Ford Commercial Truck, Saturday 9 a.m.

GPS: Maximizing the Power of Your Fleet This session on the impact of GPS technology will address using GPS to increase productivity and make more money, increasing response times with auto-dispatch and navigation, matching customers to drivers and efficiently routing them, providing motor clubs with verified data to get paid quicker, lowering operating costs, and integrating GPS with your towing software program. Andres Bejerano, Traxxis GPS, Friday 6 p.m.

Managing Your Fuel Expenses How to effectively manage your fuel expenses and protect your business from rising fuel costs. Steve Fowler of 360FuelCard.com, Sean Jimenez of Prolock, with Cross Country Automotive Services. Saturday 8 a.m.

Fleet Strategy & Utilization is sponsored by Cross Country Automotive Services

Nov. 17 - –20, 2011

Academy Passport gets you into all seminars of any and all tracks! And breakfast to boot! Track 4: Managing Critical Processes Discovery Workshop

Lien on Me!

Are the issues preventing you from running a smooth, profitable, customer-oriented operation the same as other big towing companies? This is a participatory workshop; together we find solutions to issues and problems you have in common with others joining the session. Jim Weaver, Tracker Management, Friday 11 a.m.

The focus is on liens and the lien notification process. Find out how to get traction in notifying owners and lien holders when their vehicle is on your lot. Benefit from experts who provide services as well as discussion with peers who can share tricks of the trade to ensure a more efficient process. Jim Taylor, AutoDataDirect, Friday 5 p.m.

The Dispatcher Should Build Your Business

NMVTIS Reporting

Sure, we all want a great personality matched with efficiency in our dispatcher. But it’s all in the details, from knowing when your words are helping to sell your company to knowing how to determine where the broken-down car is located. Conducted by Dave Emmons, ProDispatch Service, Friday 11 a.m.

This session will provide you with a better understanding of the recent Department of Justice clarification on reporting of junk and salvage vehicles to the national database. Find out what types of vehicles must be reported, time frames and the various systems to report your data. Jim Taylor, AutoDataDirect, Saturday 8 a.m.

Dispatch Dynamics: The Failure to Communicate All too often in the tow industry messages are sent one way and received another way. This seminar focuses on the art of communication as it pertains to the tow customer. How to keep your customer on track, while getting the information you need for a successful dispatch. Conducted by Dave Emmons, ProDispatch Service, Saturday 9 a.m.

Managing Motor Club Calls This workshop will show you how to improve your efficiency with automation when dealing with motor clubs. Learn how to eliminate lost calls, how to bill and reconcile your invoices. Learn how to analyze the cost of doing business with the motor clubs. Shon Allen, SSCS/Digital Dispatch, Saturday 8 a.m.

Risk Management: Don’t be Blindsided Getting Recovery Bills Paid This veteran towman has built one of the nation’s most profitable businesses by knowing how to bill out and collect on recovery work. He identifies areas you may not be charging for and discusses how to collect from insurance companies. Bob Foquette, Recovery Billing, Saturday 9 a.m.

This presentation will point out risk management best practices and fundamental considerations every tow owner/operator should understand. It will highlight what you can do better to protect the business you’ve worked so hard to create. Conducted by Mike Harding, Markel Corp., Saturday 10 a.m.

Track 5: Towing and Recovery Air Cushion Dynamics

Know Your Rigging

Critiques of award winning recoveries using air cushions, including in-depth discussion on underwater recovery. Howard Eagan, John Sweezy Jr., Matjack, Saturday 8 a.m.

Understand the numbers behind the equipment you use: chain, shackles, straps and wire rope all have ratings built into them. This seminar will make you a knowledgeable buyer. David Bouvia, WreckMaster, Saturday 10 a.m.

Pitfalls of Rollover Recovery You can roll over cars with wreckers and rollbacks, with or without side winching gear. This seminar is about identifying the pitfalls in rollover work. Terry Abejuela, AT, Sunday 10 a.m.

The Path to Recovery Success Understand the dynamics of recovery through the eyes of WreckMaster’s senior lead instructor. Terry will explain weights and resistance regarding their effect on winching and uprighting procedures. Terry Humelsine, WreckMaster, Friday 10 a.m.

Overcoming Damage Claims Through Education Damage claims are a major issue for towing services in our industry; find out what piece of equipment causes the most damage and why. You will learn ways to improve efficiency and safety and reduce your exposure. Scott Aey, WreckMaster, Sunday 9 a.m.

Recovery Theater This legendary trainer critiques challenging recoveries on the big screen, some successful and some that go awry. Tom Luciano, Miller Industries with Nick Ovenden, Friday 5-7 p.m.

Towing and Recovery is sponsored by Miller Industries.

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The Industry Soars on Festival Night Where else in the world will

Many tow bosses treat their tow

you hear tales of heroic

operators to Festival Night so

towers putting their lives on

they understand why they

the line in the most challenging

should be proud to be towers.

circumstances? Towers who

Many come with their wives and

brave car fires to extricate

significant others for a

motorists, who dive into

moment of celebration, and yes,

freezing waters to save babies,

a little romance, perhaps a slow

who run past flying bullets to

dance or two to the Festival

rescue kids, who rappell down

Night Band. Some bring their

mountains and bridges to save truckers. Where else will you

Pops and Moms who towed in AT Publisher Dennie Ortiz bequeaths the American Towman Medal for “The Simple Act of Bravery.”

the day where such respect and

hear these stories?

The Towman Order salutes the American Towman Medal Recipients during the March of the Heroes.

Where else will you see towing professionals

recognition was never dreamed of. Some bring their

march in ceremonial tribute to salute their

kids, not just to show them how special a tower is that

fellow towers? Where else will you find hundreds

he is bequeathed such honors as a Medal, but be-

of your peers gathered to celebrate the finest

cause the festivities are for all ages and for that kid in

spirit that resides in all of us?

all of us.

Festival Night, November 19th, 2011. It is the

Festival Night Dinner Ticket

event the dedicated towing professional will

with advance registration:

cherish their entire life. In placing the American

$55 per person.

Towman Medal around the necks of towers

Limited ticket availability

who have performed “the Simple Act of Bravery,”

during on-site registration

we are recognizing the unsung hero that resides

at $75 per ticket.

in all of us who tow on these perilous roadways.

To nominate a Hero email scalitri@towman.com. Acquire your Festival Night tickets today through advance-registration.

Nov. 17 - 20, 2011

Dual-Tech sponsors the American Wrecker Pageant.

The American Wrecker Pageant at AT Expo is the world’s largest wrecker pageant, a truck show unto itself with its very own hall inside the Baltimore Convention Center. More than 60 contestants show off the most incredible wreckers with the most amazing hand-painted graphics and most creative wraps to custom hood ornaments, deckcontrol levers and more. The American Wrecker Pageant has broken towing’s word of mouth barrier (competitive towers just don’t talk much amongst themselves) and wrecker owners have come from as far as the Pacific Ocean to compete with their “babies,” hoping to bring back one of the pageant’s legendary Silver Trophies. Nov. 17-20, 2011 Whether you enter a truck in the pageant or not, you’ll marvel at the creative presentations. You may

You’ll see mountains, deserts, rivers and oceans. You’ll see dragon slayers and knights in armor.

see war memorials and city landscapes, and the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Bugs Bunny and the Incredible Hulk. You’ll see mountains, deserts, rivers and oceans. You’ll see dragon slayers and knights in armor. This year, when you cast your ballot, you’ll do so with the Pageant’s new electronic voting system. A vote that may win you one of the Exposition’s grand prizes! The 2011 American Wrecker Pageant is proudly sponsored by Dual-Tech, an independent manufacturer of carriers and wreckers.

Round Trip Air Fares to Baltimore* Atlanta $222 Boston $108 Buffalo $118 Chicago $248 Dallas $288 Denver $278 Detroit $218 Los Angeles $348 Miami $182 Minneapolis $304 Milwaukee $244 Orlando $178 St. Louis $266 San Francisco $390 Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is the networking mecca

like Big Bertha’s at Fell’s Point or the Baltimore Brew-

of the towing industry. It’s where towers meet to talk

ery by Little Italy, and certainly at the Pratt Street Ale

shop and play, both inside the Baltimore Convention

House across the street from the Convention Center.

Get around on the many water taxis or enjoy lunch on the Towman Cruise.

Toronto $473 Tulsa $178 *BWI (Baltimore Washington Int’l Airport), prices subject to change.

Center and out. You’ll likely run into towers at the B&O Railroad Networking is about making friends and alliances

Museum a few blocks away and Friday on the

among suppliers and peers. Yes, your peers. Don’t

Towman Cruise or at the National Aquarium, right

worry, there are thousands of tow business owners

on Harbor Place.

Fell’s Point, full of unique shops and pubs, is on the harbor. Towers walk or ride the water taxi to Fell’s Point.

here who don’t compete in your home area. In fact, towers come from all 50 states and 20 nations!

AT Expo is also a chance to meet with new suppliers that can help your business, as well as an opportu-

You’ll meet other tow business owners who face the

nity to put faces to those voices you’ve relied upon

same challenges you do, in places like the Hard Rock

for years.

Cafe during Miller Rocks on Friday Night, or the Cross Street Tobacco Shop, or

American Towman Exposition is because in all their

Saturday during Festival

travels they never find any place like Baltimore’s

Night. You’ll run into the

Inner Harbor for its magnificence, its great food, its

most diverse array of tow

shops and clubs, its old ships and submarines ... and

industry professionals in pubs Nov. 17-20, 2011

One of the reasons why towers keep returning to the

Miller Industries sponsors the Friday Night Bull & Pig Roast, Miller Rocks!

the camaraderie.

Advance-register on the back page or online at ATExposition.com

Miller Rocks, the Friday Night Bull & Pig Roast, at the Hard Rock Cafe and harborside tent is the industry’s biggest bash.

Celebrate! The American Towman Triumph is about our achievements, our success, our indefatigable spirit. In ancient Rome, conquering generals and their armies were awarded with a “Triumph” as they marched victoriously into the great city. They were feted with cheering crowds, games and feasts. On Sunday, November 20, AT celebrates all that’s great about our industry, and the individual towing companies that continue to endure. Time to take stock of how you have succeeded where others have fallen by the wayside. Your hard work and intelligence, sacrifice and tenacity. Your dedication to those you serve. If these words ring true, then you are invited to join in American Towman’s Triumph.

Participate in the Triumph in the ways you wish. You may join the March of Towmen into the exhibit hall at 11 a.m. , and if you choose, with the Triumph’s Ceremonial Scarf (see Souvenirs page). You will be pampered by masseuses and masseurs on the show floor as you explore the hall and the 200 exhibitors and more than 700 booths. You may join in American Towman’s Chocolate Decadence on the show floor at 3 p.m. or be one of hundreds of prize winners among those attendees in the hall on Sunday afternoon. If the Triumph sounds a little bit hokey, you may want to sleep off that recovery you did last night, and start smelling the roses. Just keep your head up high as you enter the 23rd American Towman Exposition.

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AT Expo Souvenirs AT Expo Hotel Perks AT Expo’s headquarters hotel, the Marriott Waterfront, is right on the Inner Harbor with free shuttle service to the Convention Center. Expo guests receive 10% off all food/meal and gift purchases and special drink discounts. The following events take place at the Waterfront: Festival Night, Order of Towman Ceremony, DC Recovery Conference and Luncheon, Exhibitor Hospitality, Captains of Industry Conference. Expo attendees staying at the Rennaissance Hotel will receive a free souvenir AT Expo coffee mug and free coffee! Attendees staying at the Marriott Inner Harbor will receive a free souvenir AT Expo drinking cup, a complimentary Nacho Bar reception Thursday night at 6 p.m. with discount drinks. These three hotels offer AT Expo guests free Internet access. All AT Expo hotels listed on the registration page will sell out! If you need accomodations, choose your hotel and advance register now!

The Triumph’s Ceremonial Scarf

Official AT Expo Beer Stein The Official Beer Stein of the American Towman Exposition, titled “The Industry Soars,” is being custom manufactured in Germany for American Towman Magazine. The artwork will be baked into the porcelain ware and you will be able to drink from it and wash it time and again. There are two Latin phrases on the stein. Below the top rim is the inscription: vehiculum recuperatio professio spectaculum, which translates as “vehicle recovery trade spectacle.” Inside the Towman Monument show emblem are the words: industria heroica, which translates as “industrious and heroic,” or “heroic industry.” “The Industry Soars” beer stein is available for free only to advance registrants of the American Towman Exposition who subscribe to American Towman Magazine ($45) with this registration form or the Expo online registration form; a current subscriber would extend his or her subscription by one year (12 issues). This official AT Expo Beer Stein will be at the Baltimore Convention Center for pickup on Saturday and Sunday, November 19-20. Those qualifying must be present at the Convention Center to pick up the stein. After this promotion, a limited number of steins will be put on sale for $75 each.

This beautiful cloth scarf can be purchased through advance registration for those choosing to be part of the exhibit hall’s day-two opening ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 20. The artistic design of the scarf will reflect various images and icons of AT Expo XXIII. Only $10 through advance registration. Your scarf will be waiting for you at the Convention Center on Sunday morning. This is a mock-up of the actual stein that is in production. The stein’s lid will feature a customsculpted wrecker in pewter on each stein.

custom sculptured wrecker in pewter will be part of the stein’s lid

EXHIBITORs 1-800-Rescue 911 AAA AASP/PA Access Tools Allstate Roadside Services American Express Open American Towman Standards Auth. AmeriDeck American Towman Magazine Anchor Graphics Astralease Associate Asurion Roadside Assistance AutoDataDirect AW Direct B / A Products Bad Dog Tools Beacon Funding Beacon Software Car-Part.com Century Chevron Code 3 Commercial Safety Services Condor Products Copart Auto Auctions Cross Country Automotive Svc. Crouch's Wrecker & Equipment Sales Custer Products Danco Products DewEze Mfg. D. G. Towing Equipment Dual-Tech Dynamic Towing Equipment & Mfg. East Penn Sales Excel Sportswear Extreme Toys Federal Signal Flash Equipment FleetNet America Flitz International Ford Commercial Truck Free State Nam Knights G&S Safety Products Gaither Tool. Co GEICO GM Fleet/Commercial Gulf Atlantic Supply Hale Trailer Brake & Wheel Happy Feet Hino Motor Sales USA Holmes IGTC (Ind. Gar. & Tow Contractors) Illumination Promotions InSight USA Insurance Auto Auctions In The Ditch Towing Products Integrated Veh. Equip. Leasing Intek Truck & Equipment Leasing Int’l Tow. & Rec. Hall of Fame & Museum Jerr-Dan Corporation Junk my Car Kalyn Siebert Landoll Corporation Lift And Tow Lodar Lynch Chicago Martens Johnson Insurance Massage Corner Matheny Motors Truck Co. Matjack/International Wreckers Miller Industries Minute Man Manufacturing Muncie Power Products Nation Safe Drivers (NSD) National Automobile Club

National Motor Club (Coach-Net) Navistar / International Truck NBB Controls NRC Industries Olson & Company Penny Pockets Permco Hydraulics Phoenix USA Photo Card Specialists Pierce Arrow Pillow Protection Corporation Powerhouse Industries Professional Dispatch Service Progressive Commercial Insurance Pro-Vision Video Systems Purpose Wrecker Sales Quest Towing Services Ram Trucks Ramsey Winch Ranger SST RC Industries Recovery Billing Unlimited RMP Powertrain Solutions Road America Robert Young Wrecker Sales R•O•M Corporation Rontan of North America Rush Towing Systems Safetyline Service Station Computer Systems SVP/Star Headlight & Lantern Co. Slick Top Solutions SoundOﬀ Signal Sovereign Bank/Santander Steck Mfg. Stertil-Koni, USA Super Springs International Superwinch T.R.A.A. T.R.P.M. Talbert Mfg. TCF Equipment Finance Tech International Teletrac The Insurance Professionals TIS / Transportation Info Systems TNT Insurance Agency Tow Canada Tow Dawg Software Towing.com towPartners TowWithRope.com towXchange Tracker Management Systems Trail-Eze / Dakota Mfg. Transfer Flow Travis Barlow Insurance Traxxis GPS Solutions Trinity Transportation Services Trucker's Guide Tulsa Winch (DP Winch) UD Trucks North America USAC-MD USFleetTracking Vulcan Warn Industries West End Service Whelen Engineering Will-Burt Company Wireless Matrix Worldwide Equipment WreckMaster Zip's Truck Equipment Partial exhibitor list, as of June 15

sponsors CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY

BULL & PIG ROAST “Miller Rocks!”

AMERICAN WRECKER PAGEANT

FESTIVAL NIGHT

AT EXPO FOOD COURT “Jerr-Dan Diner”

A.T. ACADEMY

DONNIE AWARDS

INFORMATION BOOTH

SHOW BAGS

REGISTRATION COUNTER

ACE AWARDS

EXPO INFO CARD

LEGENDARY HOSPITALITY

Quick & easy registration here or online at ATExposition.com

Register Today ... no later than September 30th $ave on Events, Seminars & Hotels • Avoid On Site Lines! AT Expo: Fax: 845-986-5181 • Mail: 7 West Street, Warwick, NY 10990 • Phone: 800-732-3869 / 845-986-4546 x214 • Online: www.ATExposition.com

By advance-registering, the “Boss” and one guest are admitted free to Exhibit Hall. $5 fee applies to all others. Kids under 14 free.

1st Registered Name: " 2nd Registered Name: "

" 3rd Registered Name ($5): "

4th Registered Name ($5): "

" Title " Title "Title "Title

Company: Show Special

Address: City:

State:

Phone:

Zip:

Fax:

E-mail:

PLEASE CHECK BOXES BELOW

First time at Expo:

Yes

2. Secondary business (check those that apply):

check off boxes

3. No. Employees:

1-5

EVENT SIGN-UP

Distributor Equip Other______________

Truck Repair Auto Body Shop Service Station Auto/Truck Dealership Vehicle Leasing

Towing/Recovery Auto Repair/Serv. Ctr. Repossession Transport/Trailer Serv. Salv/Auto Parts

6-10

11-20

Country:

21-50

51-100

100+

1. Is your Primary business Towing/Recovery :

Yes

4. Check one that best describes your purchasing authority: I authorize/approve purchases No authority I recommend 5. No. tow trucks in fleet: 1-3 4-7 8-12 13-16 17+ 6. Types of tow trucks in fleet (check those that apply): Light Duty Wrecker Heavy Duty Wrecker Transport/Trailers Medium Duty Wrec. Carriers Class 7/8 Tractor Service Vehicle Rotators

AT EXPO: Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 17-20 • Baltimore, MD

PRICING

Subscribe to American Towman (or extend your current subscription) and receive the Official AT Expo Beer Stein on show floor. Advance-Registrants Only

FILL IN PRICE

EXHIBIT HALL !" %, 11 am - 6 pm • " %, 11 am - 5 pm, Nov. 19-20. You’ll need both days to take in all exhibits & your badge is good for both days! Yes, please advance register me for the exhibit hall. 1st & 2nd registrants are free: addt’l $5 each. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5 per person $ ___________ ACADEMY PASSPORT! All Seminars, Nov. 18-20 (Includes complimentary breakfast Friday, Saturday, & Sunday) ............. $75 per person $ ___________ 1st registrant 2nd registrant 3rd registrant 4th registrant (register now and save: fee rises to $95 on-site) AMERICAN WRECKER PAGEANT Sponsor: Dual-Tech, Fri.-Sun., November 18-20 $100/$150 $ ___________ Check class you will compete in - one vehicle per class and two per company. Trucks must enter Fri. and stay in hall until Sun., 5 pm $100:

Light (pre-2010)

Light (2010-11)

Med

Vintage (Pre-1985) $150:

HD Single Axle

HD Tandem

Rotator

Carrier

CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY DINNER & CONFERENCE Thurs. Nov. 17, 6:30 pm. Sponsored by American Towman Magazine, Marriott Waterfront Hotel; Surf ‘n Turf Dinner and Legendary Captains Long Table Limit: two people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$75 per person TOWMAN HUNT-SKEET SHOOT Friday, 9 am, Nov. 18. Includes shooting fees, lunch and transportation. # of People _____ $75 per shooter HARBOR LUNCH CRUISE Friday, 12:30 pm Board, Depart 1:00 pm, Nov. 18, # of People _____ $45 per person DC RECOVERY CONFERENCE/LUNCHEON Sponsors: Miller Industries, B/A Products; Marriott Waterfront Hotel Fri., Nov. 18, 12:30 pm., features Donnie Cruse Recovery Awards and critiques of the winning recoveries. # of People _____ $45 per person FESTIVAL NIGHT American Towman Presents: March of the Heroes, Towman Order Salute, American Towman Medal, Marriott Waterfront Hotel Saturday, Nov. 19, 7:30 pm Features Gourmet Dinner and Entertainment # of People _____ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$55 per person TOWMAN TRIUMPH Sunday Celebration on show floor, free # of People _____ TRIUMPH’S CEREMONIAL SCARF ...... $10 per scarf AT SUBSCRIPTION W/PREMIUM GIFT OF AT EXPO BEER STEIN Order: one year/one stein two years/two steins........ $45/one year AT Expo Beer Stein(s) must be picked up Saturday or Sunday on the show floor.

TOTAL

$ __________ $ ___________ $ ___________ $ __________ $ __________ $ ___________ $ ___________

$ __________

BULL & PIG ROAST AT THE HARD ROCK Miller Rocks! at the Hard Rock Café: Free! Sponsor: Miller Industries, Friday, Nov. 18: 7:30 #_______ people.

PAYMENT INFO: Credit Card#:

Exp. Date:

Name on credit card

Signature Required:

Check(s) Enclosed $______ (Registration, Event & Item fees payable to AT Exposition)

HOTEL RESERVATION REQUEST

Make out separate hotel check to BACVA if not using credit card (1st night amount only)

Hotel check enclosed $_____________

Guarantee reservation to credit card above

Arrival Date:______________, 2011 - Depart Date: _______________, 2011 Special Requests ____________________________________________________________________________ If reserving more than one room please list names for each room: # of Rooms __________ # of Guests in each room ___________ # of beds _________ Room #1___________________________________________ Room #2____________________________________________ Room #3__________________________________________ HOTEL CHOICE - Please write in your 1st, 2nd, & 3rd choice hotels below. You will be emailed your confirmation. MARRIOTT WATERFRONT

___Marriott Waterfront Hotel • $172 Sgl/Dbl AMERICAN TOWMAN HEADQUARTERS HOTEL, 4-Star, harborview, fitness center, restaurant/bar. Shuttle Service to Convention Center. Non-smoking hotel, CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY, FESTIVAL NIGHT, TOWMAN ORDER CEREMONY, AND DONNIE AWARDS LUNCHEON TAKE PLACE HERE! GUESTS RECEIVE 10% OFF FOOD / MEAL PURCHASES AT WATERFRONT H OTEL R ESTAURANTS AND R OOM S ERVICE & FREE INTERNET

___Marriott Inner Harbor • $172 Sgl/Dbl One block from Conv. Ctr., fitness center, restaurant, non-smoking hotel. "# $ " " ! !

! %

___Renaissance Harborplace Hotel • $172 Sgl/Dbl Balt. 2011 Balt2010

4-Star, rooms w/harborview, fitness center, restaurant/bar, connected to Mall. Three blocks from Conv. Ctr. Non-smoking hotel. ! % "# $ " ! ! ___Days Inn Inner Harbor • $125 Sgl/Dbl Across from Conv. Ctr., bar & grill, fitness ctr.

___Sheraton Inner Harbor • $164 Sgl/Dbl, $185 T One block from Conv. Ctr. with a catwalk, indoor pool, fitness center.

___Holiday Inn Inner Harbor • $129 Sgl/Dbl, $154 T One block from Conv. Ctr., indoor pool, fitness center.

___Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore • $119 Sgl/Dbl/T Three blocks from Conv. Ctr., bar & grill, fitness center.

___Hilton Baltimore • $189 Sgl/Dbl, $209 T Next to Conv. Ctr. with a Catwalk, pool, fitness center.

___Best Western • $109 Sgl/Dbl Located two miles from Harbor, Shuttle to Conv. Ctr., breakfast included

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Recovery

by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti Photos by Sabil & Sons

50 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

Twisted Ice Cream Trailer and Frigid Temps Challenge Team

abil & Sons of White River Junction, Vt., received a winter call to recover an overturned tractor-trailer loaded with ice cream. Outdoor temperatures were in the single digits; good for the ice cream, but a hindrance for the recovery team. After surveying the scene, Sabil’s recovery team decided that the first order of business would be to secure the trailer to prevent it from rolling any farther. Securing the trailer also would allow them to off-load the containers of ice cream and keep the work area safe for the crew. Using their Mack with the 35-ton Challenger body, large straps were secured around the trailer and it was lifted slightly and held in place the entire time it took to off-load the ice cream. Snow was cleared from the access area using an allwheel-drive Volvo bucket loader. The bucket loader was then used to help off-load the ice cream containers and place them into bins for transport. The job was challenging due to the snow and cold, along with the position of the tractor as it was twisted into the air by the weight of the overturned loaded trailer.

A great deal of stress was off the tractor once the trailer was unloaded. The Sabil crew used their T800 Kenworth with 25-ton wrecker body in tandem with the 35-ton Challenger to lift and straighten the twisted trailer to accomplish the final portion of the vehicle recovery. The T800 was used to tow the tractor-trailer unit to Sabil’s yard. The complete job went “sweetly,” with minimal damage to the recovered vehicle. Got a recovery for AT? Email the details and high-resolution photos to the editor at bdooley@towman.com to be considered for a recovery feature in AT. Your submissions may also be considered for AT’s online use and/or a Donnie Cruse Memorial award.

YEARS AFTER

9/11 Is a Somber Anniversary for America and the Towmen Who Pitched in

Story and photos by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti

"We loaded up whatever safety equipment we thought we would need and headed to the designated staging area."

t started out as just another day at the office. I walked to the local cafe for my morning cup of coffee, where I noticed a crowd had gathered on the sidewalk in front of an entertainment store. People were focused on a big screen television in the window; there were gasps, and some were crying. I watched over the shoulder of a local firefighter as the second plane hit one of the World Trade Center towers. I thought it was a movie. The firefighter turned to his buddy and urged, “We’ve got to get down there!” They hurried away and I stood wondering what was going on. The crowd had grown considerably and I went inside the

52 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

cafe to get my coffee. The place was silent; everyone was listening to news broadcasts. The Twin Towers in New York City had been hit and were crumbling. We were under attack. This was no movie. Back at the office the phones were ringing off the hook. Family, friends and business associates were calling to share the news and concerns. Radios were all tuned in for broadcast updates. The AT staff fielded calls and met to discuss how to cover this. We were working on the November 2001 issue and scrapped the planned editorial to create a special issue. Steve Calitri, John Borowski and I talked about heading down to the city. My phone rang and I was informed that TRAA Executive Director Harriet Cooley had spoken with an official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offer national assistance in the cleanup effort, and wanted a list of towers volunteering services.

Call for Help WreckMaster founder Donnie Cruse issued a call to action and mapped out a plan for tri-state towers to assist in the cleanup. Josh Shimoni of City Wide Towing was set to do the dispatching, and vehicles were taken to a storage facility at a Westside pier. Cruse called for 60 T/T Landolls, 80 heavy carriers, 100 medium carriers and 150 light carriers; each with a two-men unit. Towers from across the northeast left their businesses, families and homes and made their way to the designated staging area at Port Imperial in New Jersey. “We were at the WreckMaster offices that Tuesday morning when we heard the news coming in over the radio,” Ken Cruse said. “Donnie and myself drove to his house so we could watch what was happening on TV. As we watched, Donnie said, ‘We’ve got to do something. There are going to be a lot of cars and emergency vehicles that are going to need to be removed. Towers have the equipment and experience to do the job.’

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“I asked him, ‘How do we get in there?’ Donnie said, ‘We’ve got to try.’ He said he had an idea and we headed back to the office. He went through our database of 6/7 Updated WreckMasters, guys with credentials and badges. Donnie then got on the phone and put out the call to action.”

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Getting to Work Towers were staged all day Thursday waiting for a call. Penndel Towing of Penndel, Pa., B&F Towing of New Castle, Del., and Janeway Towing of Conshohocken, Pa., #&'/& ,' were%a few of those from the staging area to actually make it into Ground Zero to help.

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“After receiving the call from Donnie Cruse, we loaded up whatever safety equipment we thought we would need and headed to the designated staging area,” said Bill Leonhauser, of Penndel Towing. “On Thursday, ,* from "&"& B&F '* ,*and "&"&me 1 Jamie from Janeway, Jim decided to take ' the ferry into the city and get to the Javits Center where they were signing people up. When we got there, the lines were around the block. “It had started to rain and a woman had come outside to smoke under an overhang. I gave her a light and told her we were recovery specialists and that we had trailers full of safety equipment, including hard hats, masks, respirators, and other things. She was with a group that had handled the Oklahoma City bombing cleanup amongst others and said she could get us in with her group. We got our clearance and credentials, headed back to the staging area loaded up and were escorted through the Lincoln Tunnel to start loading wrecks,” he said. “An NYPD officer would show us what cars to pickup and we would go about loading them,” said Jim Fennimore, of B&F Towing. “I had my rollback, so I would put one on the bed and one on the bar. They would escort us in and out of the tunnel to the landfill and back. “Besides cars, I loaded a hot dog van and a Snapple truck. Bill even did a UPS truck. We were hauling whatever they pointed out, a lot of different vehicles. We

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worked downtown for a few weeks loading cars and taking them to the Staten Island landfill.” Carl Napolitano, of Grecco Brothers Towing in Brooklyn, said that in addition to removing vehicles, “we would load 20-30 firemen at a time on our flatbeds and ferry them from Ground Zero to Brooklyn, so that they could get a shower, a hot meal and some sleep. Then we would return to the devastation with a truckload of fresh men.”

Post-9/11 Economy Beyond the immediate destructive

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effects of the 9/11 terror attacks, the psychological and economical effects are widespread. The psychological effects cannot be measured, but the economic effects are still being felt today. According to Ezra Klein, in his May 2, 2011, column in the Washington Post: “Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz estimates that the price tag on the Iraq War alone will surpass $3 trillion. Afghanistan likely amounts to another trillion or two. Add in the build-up in homeland security spending since 9/11 and you’re looking at another tril-

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Towing companies who volunteered their time and equipment at the staging area included: • Crane’sTowing, N.Y. • Dave’s Auto Body, Pa. • D&E Service Center, N.J. • Hilario’s, Conn. • Joe May’s Exxon, Pa. • Kevin’s Professional Auto Detailing, Mass. • Nu-Look Carstar Towing, N.Y. • Paps Truck Repair, Pa. • Pro Tow, N.Y. • Rispo Towing, Pa. • Schlier’s Towing & Service Center, Pa. • Somerset Hills Towing, N.J. • Suburban Wrecker Service, Pa. Among the companies that made it in: • B&F Towing Co., Del. • Grecco Brothers Towing, N.Y. • Knights Collision Experts, N.Y. • Janeway Towing, Pa. • Misa Auto Body, N.Y. • Penndel Body Works, Pa. • Rosa’s Garage, Mass. • Staten Island Towing Service, N.Y.

lion. And don’t forget the indirect costs of all this turmoil: The Federal Reserve, worried about a fear-induced recession, slashed interest rates after the attack on the World Trade Center, and then kept them low to combat skyrocketing oil prices, a byproduct of the war in Iraq. That decade of loose monetary policy may well have contributed to the credit bubble that crashed the economy in 2007 and 2008. “Then there’s the post-9/11 slowdown in the economy, the time wasted in airports, the foregone returns on investments we didn’t make, the rise in oil prices as a result of the Iraq War, the cost of rebuilding Ground Zero, health care for the first responders and much, much more.” The effects on oil prices and the downturn in the economy affect every towing company, not just those in the New York area that came to help. At press time, the 9/11 Memorial was scheduled to open this year, on the 10th anniversary of the attacks. The 9/11 Memorial Museum is set to open in 2012. For more information, go to www. 911memorial.org.

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Maintaining Your

PTO By Mikel E. Janitz

Part 3: Keeping Your Equipment in Top Shape

roper maintenance on the correct schedule for your power take-off unit is required to ensure the equipment runs trouble-free. Maintenance can be divided into several distinct stages: initial, short-term, duty cycle (normal vs. severe duty), and long-term. Prior to starting any maintenance tasks, ensure the vehicle is stopped, the engine is off, the wheels are chalked and keys are removed from the ignition. Working under a vehicle near rotating components is very dangerous. Use safe practices before any work is begun and adhere to all safety warnings and precautions.

Working the Stages The initial maintenance can be carried out within the first 24 hours after first starting up the PTO. Once the PTO and pump have been run a short period, they need to be inspected. Make note of the drivetrain sound; if it’s too noisy, further investigation may be required. Let the engine cool down and look for leaks and repair any that are found. Re-torque all hardware and fasteners as necessary and check the transmission oil level and fill as needed. 58 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

The next stage of maintenance is the weekly review. The vehicle, at this point, has had the PTO run for an extended period of time. The truck and hydraulic system have experienced a typical duty cycle. This is the ideal time to inspect the vehicle for leaks and check hardware for proper torque. It is also important to listen to the PTO and transmission noise level. Noise is a key indicator of maintenance needs; loud noise can be a sign of gear damage. Utilize the indicator lights if so equipped. If lights are illuminating unexpectedly, read the manual to determine their meaning and address the issues to reduce any possible damage to the system. After a few months have passed and the early stages of maintenance have been done, you need to think about scheduling maintenance based on the duty cycle. Duty cycles are either normal duty or severe duty. Severe duty is defined as a PTO operating more than 5 minutes out of every 15 minutes. Anything less than that is considered normal duty. You know the equipment, know how it functions, know how it sounds and see the results first hand. Use this knowledge

when establishing a schedule. Normal duty maintenance tasks typically are established farther apart than severe duty. The harder you work the hydraulic system, the more it needs inspection. Long-term PTO maintenance should be tied to the regular maintenance suggested by the transmission or vehicle manufacturer. Consider the PTO as an extension of the transmission. When fluid levels on the transmission are inspected, the PTO should be reviewed as well. If fluid is low, add to it and then look for any leaks to fix. Verify fasteners are torqued correctly and the unit is not leaking around the seal. If there are leaks, replace seals as required. If the PTO has a cover that allows gear inspection, remove it and check the gears. Look for nicks, cracks and worn gear teeth. The PTO can be removed to inspect gears and other components. If serious defects are found, replace bad gears and contact the manufacturer for guidance. Also look for spline wear at the coupling of the PTO and pump. If the

continue to page 60

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PTO continued from page 58 splines are heavily worn it is a good idea to replace before further damage can occur. Any time the PTO is rebuilt, look at shafts for worn areas. Replace worn or scored parts immediately. It is a good practice to pack bearings with anti-seize grease if the PTO is disassembled for maintenance or repair. First clean the bearing and inspect it, then grease it or replace the worn-out bearing before reassembling. Finally, any time regular maintenance is carried out on the chassis it is a great time to inspect and maintain the PTO. In fact, any time repairs are performed on the vehicle, it is a great time to inspect the PTO and hydraulic system. At the time the chassis is being lubed the PTO should also be lubed. PTOs coupled directly to a pump should have their shaft cleaned and lubed to increase the life of the PTO and pump splines. Use anti-seize grease or high-temperature, highpressure grease. About an ounce of

grease will do in most cases. Clean off the zerk fitting after the grease is applied to reduce the amount of dirt and grime that collects. Keeping your PTO running and in top shape requires only simple maintenance. The key is that maintenance be conducted on a routine basis. Always use OEM parts. Keep detailed records of your maintenance to streamline future maintenance tasks, as well as improve scheduling and increase uptime. Basic maintenance conducted at regular intervals will increase the useful life of the PTO and prevent downtime and unnecessary replacement of components. Mikel Janitz is the Manager of the Engineering Department and Test Lab for Muncie Power Products. He holds five patents and has authored numerous technical articles throughout his 20-year career.

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Facebook Offers Marketing Help Facebook has introduced a new site walking potential advertisers through the process of advertising and marketing on the social network. The site, Facebook for Business, provides “step-by-step guidance for how to best use Facebook’s marketing tools,” a company rep said. Such tools include Pages, Ads, Deals, social plugins and Sponsored Stories. With the site, Facebook hopes to offer more of a helping hand. “We want to inspire small businesses by seeing how other businesses have found success on Facebook by sharing their stories,” the rep said. Source: Mashable.com.

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Smart Phones and Savvy Towers Digital and Internet technology is racing ahead of the tow dispatching methods like roadsters once passed by the horse and buggy in the early 1900s. Some towers know this and have even customized apps for their business and their customers’ smartphones. Motor clubs are shifting their modus operandi over to smartphone technology and so are online search-and-find services. Among the 30 seminars at this November ’s AT Expo, The Smart Phone Revolution is addressing all that tow business owner should know. You think you are racing ahead of the pack with your Google advertising? Todd Althouse of Beacon Software is presenting The Smart Phone Revolution in Baltimore. He’ll talk about BlackBerry, iPhone, iPad, Xoom, etc., and how they all allow you to receive

calls from motor clubs, dispatch them to your drivers, track truck and incdent locations in real time, assist navigation via audible turn-by-turn instructions, print invoices, retrieve towing instructions from TowSpec, scan VINs and capture signatures from the front seat of a truck. He’ll also show you how an app may be in your immediate future. You can check it out at ATExposition.com.

1-800-RESCUE 911 Expands 1-800-RESCUE 911 is expanding its services across the country and into the towing industry. The toll-free number is licensed to one tow company per market area, and gives that shop access to retail, emergency and non-contract service calls. They offer month-tomonth or yearly license plans. For more info, check out www.800rescue911.com.

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Precision’s 9/11 Tribute Truck

Tech Highlights Chassis: 1989 Peterbilt 379 Engine: 425 Caterpillar Trans: 15-speed Eaton Fuller Winches: 35,000-lbs. Ramsey planetaries Body: Custom Built Manufacturing 30-ton HD

by Mickey Mills Photos by Neila Smith

ichard Branch founded Precision Towing in Johnston, R.I., in 2003, and has seen modest growth in the eight years since. Today the company has nine employees, including Richard's wife, Debbie, who serves as dispatcher and office manager. Their fleet of nine trucks covers the full spectrum of towing from motorcycles to tractor-trailers, 24/7. The most recent addition to the Precision fleet is truck No. 26, a 1989 Peterbilt 379 30-ton HD by Custom Built Manufacturing in 2010. The unit was sent to 64 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

Simple Sign Works for graphics. The truck debuted last November at the American Towman Expo on the trade show floor. “I used to be a volunteer firefighter and have a heartfelt respect and admiration for the firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. I wanted to honor them,” Branch said. “We get lots of thumbs up when people see this truck.” Branch said that finding a place to put the picture of the three firemen raising the flag at the 9/11 site was problematic because the rear of the truck says

“Some gave all, all gave some” in gold leaf. That’s why the firemen were placed on the front of the toolboxes. (It also says “United we stand” in gold leaf on the boom.) Although unable to participate in the beauty pageant in Baltimore, the truck showed its winning ways at the New Hampshire Tow Show where it won the First Place trophy in the beauty pageant, and owner/driver Branch took home first place for the Class C and Class D Rodeo. He was also selected as driver of the day.

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Stock #: 165999 2005 f650 supercab, cummins auto champion 21' steel, 8,000lb winch, removeable rails independent wheel lift, whelen strobe light bar upper floods, lower work lights tool box w/ss front work lights at winch, 120,000 miles automatic trans, hyd brakes, power windows power locks, air conditioning, super cab CLEAN SUPER CAB!!!

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Stock #: s50445 2010 hino vulcan LCG 21' steel removable rails, 8,000lb winch 12,000lb deck, independent wheel lift 2-48'' tool boxes, dual controls lower work lights, 220hp diesel automatic trans, spring suspension air brakes,power windows power locks, drivers air seat. Stock #: 117934 2005 kenworth w900 475 isx 18 speed 2008 century 5130, 25/30 ton boom, 2-25,000lb winchesalum body, alum tubular pylon, 3 stage underlift, whelen strobe light bar 3 stage 116'' wheel lift, air free spools hyd rear spades, 475hp isx cummins engine brakes, alum wheels air ride suspension, 335'' wheelbase 343,000 miles, sleeper mid roof dual enxhaust clean clean clean!!!!!

Stock #: 502984 2011 dodge 5500 2wd vulcan 894 10 ton boom, 2-12,000lb winches car sling, 6,000lb wheel lift led light bar, alum body 24'' tunnel tool box, lower work lights cummins diesel, auto trans power windows and locks cruise control, air conditioning stainless wheel sims, am-fm-cd stereo.

Stock #: 401231 2012 IH terrastar diesel automatic, vulcan 21' steel nap-work in progress.

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800.205.3232 or 734.449.0518 18

Number 216 on Reader Card

/R DER i ii Ord i~ rha 4 HE ,AK ä OF4O WMAN owman

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$EADL I NE 3E PT E MBE R #R O S S/F4 HE/R DE RT OBEPR E S E NT E D.O V T H A TT HE!ME R I C A N4 O WMA N% X PO S I T I O N . O MI N E E 4 O W# O MP A N Y): ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Nomin as (Tow Company Name ofF Owner orR-A Manager: . A MEO / WN E RO N A G E R ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Address! D D R E S S ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

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68 • September 2011 - TOWMAN.COM

-A I LTo: 4 O Mail 3T EV E# AL I T R I Steve Calitri, % DI T OR) N#HI EF Editor-In-Chief !MER I CAN4 OWMAN American Towman 7 West 7E S TSteet 3T EET 7AR WI CK, . 9 Warwick NY 10990 X S CAL I T R IT OWMAN COM

Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 7 West St, Warwick NY 10990

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Designed for the most difficult-to-load automobilel, Chevron 's Generation II Loadrite option is perfect for exotic or low-clearance vehicies because it lowers the angle by an addi-

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Number 124 on Reader Card