Recovery unit operator

One thing I do know is most companies that do 'trucking' recovery of a sort will start you off small and you have to work your way up. Getting promoted up to the wrecker for trucks could take a couple years at least.

So you'd be starting with a generic tow truck. Then you'd move to a flat bed tow truck. Then a medium duty wrecker. Then finally the heavy duty.

 

expand I was making around 70k per year, but now to explain on that.

Not only did I run a large wrecker but the smaller roll back and wheel lifts, to include road service calls. Flat tires, jump starts, lockouts etc.

Now 70k does not sound like much but that did not include tips, sometimes I could repair problems on location and the owner operators would give me a tip to keep them off the hook so to speak. Average was not that much but if you work the hours I did and the volume of calls taken it was pretty good pocket cash.

I also drove some form of a truck home so I hardly ever paid for my personal fuel, wear and tear on my pov. I drove my vehicle maybe 2 times per month and since all my personal runs were small or on the way to or from work the owner was informed and was ok with my use for short personal trips.

All my uniforms were paid for except 7.00 per week which was great since they were always getting oil or grease on it, never washed my clothes at home to keep the grease out of the washer.

If I wanted to work on my vehicle in our super sized shop all I had to do is ask and work on it when the shop was closed and did not dirty the shop up, also since the towing company was a authorized repair center all parts approved by the owner was discounted deeply, including tires.

Shop manger was cool to let me borrow tools after he got to know me and that was handy.

I figure my total yearly income was around 90k after it was all said and done, but the hours were a killer and never seen home much at all and always dead tired.

We were also responsible to keep all our own wrecker PM's up and also tire changes if the road mechanics were out we changed our own tires and service.

 

Great video of things going wrong, some people asked me why the controls are not on the inside of the cab.

Wrecker driver should have drained the air tanks and inspected all the brakes to be set or manually set them.

No cribbing or wheel chalks under the axles, too close to the roll over for my comfort and most of all a bad pull with air bags not being controlled while the lift was in operation.

Thanks for sharing that!

 

No problem,

Just do not let my sharing make the decision for you, I hear some places are good to work for and have some pretty good working conditions.

I took this job to be close to home and it was no one but me making this decision, no complaints but just wanted to share the dirty side of the job.

 

I run a Heavy Wrecker for one of the largest Tow Truck companies in North America. big thing is training training training. I trained 5 days on 5 days off (when i wasnt working my other job) for 2.5 months before they would let me go behind the wheel. Training doesnt stop there. I sometimes travel into the US (sometimes they come up to us for more courses). The more knowledge you have, the less dangerous/easy it is. Knowing how much force it will take to snap chains/wire rope/straps BEFORE you even hook up, then knowing how to Rig it up. How to Tap into Air system, Disconnect Driveline, Cage Brakes, Problem solve, And with well over 3000 tows on my record, im still learning new tricks every day. Because I work for on of the largest companies (At least double the size of O'Hare Towing which was on that show WRECKED), I work mon-fri 6am-6pm and one weekend a month. As far as pay is concerned.. We have about 17 Heavy Drivers.. The lowest paid makes $70,000, the top paid made $130,000. Keep in mind we are commision based, and we do back to back calls all shift long, everyday.

 

I use to drive a c class tater. It was adventure everywhere you went. I made good money doing it but didnt have much of a personal life. Always on call truck went with you everywhere you went. We did break downs, rollovers and repos. Repos were not fun. You are taking someone's lively hood. Your not just taking away their car. That's how they feed their family and try to put a roof over their head. I have had windows shot out of the tater and everything else. It isn't just hook and go. It takes awhile to hook up. Sometimes you would get lucky and they would leave it running in the fuel island. Did a lot of repos for covenants financing arm. Now regular hooks like previously stated can be a challenge. Do you have to pull the shaft or the axle. What forks do I need to use? Detroits oil pans sit low so you have to lift up the truck and put blocks under the wheels to get the right forks on the axle. Do I have to run air? If so where do I need to run it to? Do I have to cage the brakes? How much of a pain is it going to be to back this long nosed Pete and a 53' trailer into that parking spot hooked to drop the trailer? How tall is the cab of the truck when I have it hooked? Do I have any low bridges? How am I going to get there with the extra length with turns? This is just some of the responsibility to a c class. If you like a challenge go for it. It's always an adventure. It is hard, dirty and very dangerous work with a lot of responsibility.

 

I have been a "recovery operator" - "tow truck driver" for 34 years now, (have 3 otr also) and yes the challenge is there on the job.
It takes a lot to handle doing towing and recovery of vehicles, be it light duty (cars -pickups) and tons more for HEAVY DUTY TOWING.

The other posts about starting out in light duty and moving up to heavy duty are correct and as such, it takes time to get into semi truck towing. Not many companies will just throw someone into the heavy duty because they know how to drive it.

Its a fun job, its hard work, lots of long hours and working weekends and nights. But then its like trucking as I do not know where or what I am going to be doing. (was in Louisiana last week on a swap out).

There are a few training programs out there, but none are like what it takes to learn to drive a semi truck. Most of our training is hands on training, inhouse with the company you are working for. Yes there are programs out there from various Associations and companies who teach some towing stuff but they are either 1 day or up to a week long class.

You have to pay your dues in this business and work your way up. It can be great wages for the right company if you are there, and yes a lot of it is commission based. But we also go through our slow times and your pay will reflect it.
Other than that, you are home at nights and such, but the on call nature is rough unless you are working for one of the large companies where you work a set shift.