Heavy Tow/Recovery Company Drivers and O/Ops --A Few Q's

I know nothing about towing, but It always amaze me how they tow a broken down tractor with a 53" trailer all in 1 piece... I am sure that's not easy cuz it's like driving a tractor-dolly-trailer combo and I am sure that's hard.... Also air brakes will be a big problem, do you supply air to the combo, or do you just coil all the spring brakes? OK, and if the brake system has been damaged and all the brakes has been coiled, that means you are hauling something that might be significantly heavier than you, but that something has no brake... And now we are only talking about break downs, not even talking about a wreck yet... Hats off to those guys!

 

I'm on tow411, and looks can be deceiving trust me. There is going to be a good 3 or 4 sections on that forum that you won't even be able to see...thats where most of the fun happens.

As far as towing a tractor/trailer combo...there's a couple of options.

you can plumb an air line into the tractor by the compressor, or right into the tanks to supply the tractor/trailer with air on a longer trip, then there is the option of using something called a brake buddy if your pulling something heavy...its basically a device that presses on the brake pedal in the cab running off of a service line from the wrecker, for a short trip down the road when a truck still either runs, or has lots of air left I've just released the brakes and towed it down the road...basically betting on the air ride not sucking all the air up on the trip.
Have also caged the brakes on the tractor and run my own supply/service lines to the trailer...in this case everything works like normal except that the tractor has no brakes.
In BC (the part of Canada I'm in) your not actually legally aloud to tow a truck/trailer in combination if it's a divisible load, which is 99% of the time...but that never stopped some of us from dragging things off the highway or out of traffic...or 5km's down the road to the shop it was going to lol.

when it comes to wrecks...it's all about winging it and improvising. Most major wrecks...just cage the brakes and drag the dead truck away, a lot of times it's not worth the headache of chasing air leaks caused by the incident.

 

Wont say who, But i currently work for one of (if not the largest) towing companies in Canada. We currently have 14 Heavies. To be honest, I jumped right into Heavy towing/recovery. I have no clue how to tow a car or truck. Personally, I beleive Heavy towing is easier, As long as you know what your doing. In my head, there are 4 Sections on how to tow anything ( sometimes less depending if you tow from front or back)

1st is Hook up: Will you tow from front or back? what Fork to use and where? Whats wrong with the broken down unit? any flats? any back wheel bearings? any damage? you have to think about all this before you hook up. You'll need 2 Tie down chains and 2 Secondary Chains (safety Chains)

2nd is Air/Brakes: How would I air this vehicle up? (personally 95% of time i go to the air dryer), if im towing a tractor trailer and it has a load, how would I air up both units? Id usually supply air to the tractor to air dryer, air the tractor, have the tractor supply air to the trailer, then run a line from MY truck to the trailer so when i use my brakes, the trailer brakes come on.

3rd is Drivetrain: If front towing, how should i disconnect the drivetrain from the wheels on the ground? Should I pull an axle? how many? Would it be easier if i just pulled a driveshaft? Disconnecting the drivetrain is a MUST. a tranny gets into the Thousands, a traction motor on a Hybrid bus is around $75000. Trust me you WANT to know what to do

4th: Lights. Either a light bar, or into a trailer and use the trailer lights.

These are all questions that need to go through your head when you want to be a Heavy Tow Operator. I hate to say this, but noone around here pays for training either (ontario). You'll need to ride around with an operator on your own time for free (im actually a driver trainer at our company). And there is ALOT to know that wreckmaster DOESNT teach you. Wreckmaster basically is mostly for recovery, and it shows you how to Use your truck within its limits by calculating how much force it would take to move something and figuring out how many lines (with snatch blocks) to run to safely move it.

Tools: You'll need to buy all the tools it takes to do the job properly, and once you HAVE all the tools to do the job, You'll buy MORE tools that will help you do your job easier/quicker (ie Cordless Impact gun vs running air lines with an air Impact gun)

Laws and tips: In Ontario, under the highway traffic act, A tow truck IS NOT a commercial motor vehicle (listen in black and white under exemptions. We dont run a log book in ontario, but we DO have sleepers and we go to sleep when we feel its unsafe to run any longer. When we leave the province, or go to the U.S., we DO need to run log books. Where you work, you will need to but licenses/permits to be a tow operator in that City. Because i work in the Greater Toronto Area I have permits for Metro Toronto, Vaughan, Mississauga. As far as company and pay... Thers really good companies like the one i work for (80% of the time im doing back to back calls all day long averaging 4-8 in a day and i work commission based. Ill work between 60-80 hours a week and our drivers make anywhere from $80,000 to 130,000/yr depending on ur truck/abilities are limited to. ALSO AND I'LL SAY THIS IN CAPS. YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR YOUR DAMAGES. ANYTHING FROM WIND BLOWING A FERRING OFF ($1000) TO A BLOWN TRACTION MOTOR IN A HYBRID BUS ($75000) so you HAVE to be sure on what your doing.. So... Although money is good, you'll have NO LIFE and theres LOTS to learn. But if your good with ur hands and like a challenge, than it COULD be for you.

 

As was said before, there are tons of issues with towing vehicles compared to just pinning the trailer, running air and light cord and dollying up the legs...

34 years of practice here for me and I still will admit that I do not know it all. And as Gigarange and Wreckerchad said, its a life not a job...(they also should know who I am by my SN here and on 411 among other sites)...

Learn to crawl before you walk in this business, start with light duty and work up. Read, learn, get training and you will most likely go far.

 

Like others have said, Towing is a lifestyle not a job. Plan on only being able to eat once a day if you are lucky. Usually some kind of roller food from the convenience store where you managed so squeeze 5 minutes in your day to grab another soda and use the rest room. Once you are able to go home to sleep plan on being woken up at least twice on a call out. Dont ever plan anything with your family, it will be interrupted. Just when you think everything is going your way, something will go wrong (cleaning up after an accident police and fire are gone and another accident happens in the same spot). Right when you are loving life from the fat paycheck you are expecting, business will drop to nothing. That doesnt even bring in to consideration customers. They are going to be pissed off ant take it out on you. They arent actually mad at you, but that they had to call you. Plan on being out in any weather at any time of day. Nothing like -40 and 60 mph winds in a blizzard to go rescue someone who wasnt even bright enough to wear a coat let alone drive in that. Or 120 deg at noon in the middle of multiple lanes of traffic, on hot asphalt, trying to not be killed by passing motorists while hooking up a car to get it out of traffic. By the way, I loved driving a tow truck. I just hated all the company BS that seems to be involved. There are some great companies out there, but also a lot of bottom feeders too. Just have to feel them out.