Signature 600 ISX Cummins engine brake calamity.

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by W900AOwner, Nov 24, 2016.

  1. xsetra

    xsetra Road Train Member

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    Contact OOIDA the have had a few court cases against towing operators. I read about it in the TOW Times magazine. This company deserves a day in court. 12,000 for a tow and storage. Outrageous.
    I had a driver run into a tree trying to avoid a van . Well the truck was towed. I drove down to Chicago Heights Illinois to get my truck.
    I was capable of towing my bad truck back with my good truck. Well when I got into the yard. My Battery box cover was missing. My aluminum step box was missing. As I walked thru their garage to find the man to sign off and open gate. Look what I found my nissing parts. Yeah he says they fell off and we picked them up. Yep sure.
    Well I did not look any closer at truck than the exterior. When I got the truck back home. Guess what open hood and there are shop rags stuffed in the openings created by the oil cooler taken off my N14 motor. Was I pissed. Called up the tow company and they said nothing was wrote up on release documents so could not have happened while they had it.
    Ya right, it disappeared while the bumper had a tight grip on the tree trunk.
    Once again Good luck.
     
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  3. W900AOwner

    W900AOwner Heavy Load Member

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    NorthernMechanic, if I hadn't worked with HD towing companies doing wrecks, towing and recovery work throughout my lifetime, maybe I'd be more apt to not know what was going on.

    First, even if the drawbar doesn't fit under the axle, the first thing you do is lift the truck with the draw bar in some manner and put some 4x4's under the tires (like was just mentioned above,) and set them down onto the blocks so you gain 4". Then at that point the drawbar will slide under the axle and it's all ready to set the forks into and do things normally from there.

    Yes, my axle was still fastened on the left side as normal, but the right side was pushed back to where the rear hanger was overcammed and touching the bottom of the rail flange. In those cases, you STILL hook up the exact same way as a normal functioning axle, but then you'd use an additional chain to secure the damaged side of the springs back to the frame. In some cases we've had axles damaged to the point that we still grabbed them with the wheel lift forks, but ran the chains up and around the frame and back to grab everything together.

    The hangers and U bolts were all in tact, just bent, but these waterheads never took the time to assess it. I personally was laying on my belly looking it all over and saw everything in real time and mentioned all this, but they weren't going to listen and neither was the 6' 8" DOT officer that went to school with the tow truck owner...he just wanted it off the highway, period. That's when you know you're in trouble. My buddy up here by me said if he could have, he'd have come got me and brought me home for $1,000.00 and it's 60 miles. I got whacked $12,000.00 for 9.

    Hahaha, have I called the insurance company yet...? This happened Sunday. I've been in this chair 10-12 hours a day since Monday morning online, on the phone, on the scanner sending documents, and everything else since then. FINALLY had an adjuster call me from the insurance company last night and did a recorded statement. Today I should know more. They just don't rush into anything on our account, but they sure know how to withdraw that stinking payment on the exact same day every month.

    As for the radiator, that was spanked in the crash and was all done on the bottom though...not in the middle of the grill. You can easily see and know by those pics (and thank God I took them,) the shape the grill was in sitting on the shoulder of the highway before they hooked to it, and the way it looks now. I can simply have my buddy up home here testify about how to properly hook up to a wreck if need be too. Been at it 40+ years himself too. Matter of fact as soon as the truck gets released, he's letting me take his $600,000.00 rotator down there to get my truck home, so we all kind of have a clue as to how to do things the right way...it's just amazing how these jokers get so big and so well admired doing this kind of work. Amazing.

    The little bit of info I got from the State Police yesterday as I was looking for some, they said the BMW driver was getting some criminal charges against him...didn't elaborate on it but that was a good feeling anyway. Probably was hauling drugs when he crashed. That stretch of interstate is known as the "Heroin Highway", so wouldn't be surprised.
     
  4. W900AOwner

    W900AOwner Heavy Load Member

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    xsetra, I hear you. I didn't have a good feeling about these jokers at all, so Tuesday my boy bobtailed down with his tractor and they miraculously released the tanker that isn't mine...and we got that out of there. We spent probably 2 hours cleaning my belongings out of my tractor, with the assumption that this thing is probably, most likely going to be totaled but you never know. I took EVERYTHING, except the carpeting and seats. I even removed my new steering wheel and old school Roadranger shift knob and hi-lo range plunger, hahahaha. They'll have to steer it with vice grips now if they move it, but knowing how they operate they'll probably just push it around with a loader those hacks.

    Shame of it is, there's 181 miles on the oil and filters that I changed/serviced the Friday before (3 days prior) and 8 brand new drive tires for winter (not even invoiced yet,) along with an elaborately built, personally designed wetline to run my RGN, dump trailer and propane pumps. 7 grand in that system alone. That'll be stripped off in that yard, you watch. Brand new drivers side split hydraulic/fuel tank built by Alumitank in Illinois the way I wanted it...what a shame.

    I was slowly building a truck the way I wanted it to be, with all the right systems, accessories, and mechanical advantages of a 2000 model I planned on keeping for the next 15 years too. All wiped out with one idiot in my way.
     
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  5. BigCam9670

    BigCam9670 Medium Load Member

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    Would the tow company you are referring to have neon green/yellow and black trucks?
     
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  6. xsetra

    xsetra Road Train Member

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    You can buy the truck from your insurance company
     
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  7. Sportster2000

    Sportster2000 Road Train Member

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    Dang it man. This is just tearing me up hearing that all this is happening and the tow company acts like it happens all the time. The company that my company uses is nothing but professionals about everything that they do so much so that we gave them card access to the lot to pick up a power unit to tow to another site if needed to bring a trailer back.
     
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  8. W900AOwner

    W900AOwner Heavy Load Member

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    BINGO!...I take it you're familiar?
     
  9. W900AOwner

    W900AOwner Heavy Load Member

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    That's the way you'd expect it, the way it should be. Not these clowns...I wouldn't give them a key to anything.

    Some forward motion as of Friday (yesterday) The insurance company has come to some settlement with the tower, and the truck's getting released next week and I am going to bring it to my buddy's shop. The way they do this nowadays is, no physical body shows up to look at the damaged unit. They go off of my (or a shop rather,) pictures and detailed photos and repair estimate. If it meets or exceeds 70% of the fair market value of the truck, chances are they'll total it. Then I have the option to buy it back of course. There's no doubt in my mind based on the rough calculations I've done so far, that 70% number isn't anywhere near enough to get them to pay for the repairs. On the other hand, the "other side's insurance company should pick it up, but that's to be determined. Meanwhile...I'm S.O.L. and out of business temporarily in my busy season.

    Found out that the driver/registered owner never contacted his insurance company, in 5 days since the accident. My attorney (oh yes, I did lawyer up for this,) called in the license plate number and worked in reverse to contact his insurance company (GEICO.) They never heard a word about it. Totaled an $80K dollar car and he never told them, lol. Guess he was a little embarrassed, the poor guy. Has a middle eastern name with hardly any vowels in it. Glad to hear from the state police trooper that they have criminal charges against him at least. Not known if it's due to his negligence of the accident, or for what they discovered in the trunk at this point yet.

    Moral to the story; This dude (meaning ME,) isn't going to come out of this better than he went in, I can smell it. I classify this as a form of terrorism. All of the other unfortunate damages they caused over the years like the Trade Center and all those never affected me monetarily until now. Just hit home. That may be harsh to some people reading this, but you're not sitting here stripped of your ability to earn your living right now either.
     
    lilillill, SAR and scottied67 Thank this.
  10. xsetra

    xsetra Road Train Member

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    Good to hear you will be getting your truck out of there. I would check it over and make sure someone didn't steal the steering wheel or something while it was in storage. You never know with them wacko's.

    I find it hard to put the other person in a category of being a terrorist. Definitely he made a very big mistake.

    I was lucky, every time I had a truck go down. I had a spare in the driveway. Not since I bought my current truck a few years back.
    I looked at my policy after I read about your accident. Mine covers me for lost income and pays for rental.

    Two ways you look at your truck for negotiation. If you plan to buy it back. You use the argument it is so old and worth nothing.
    If you don't want it you argue that because of truck is pre 2000 that it is worth more than traditionally because of the ELD rule.
    I think that tow company should have to pay for the damage it caused. $12,000 they should have towed and fixed it.
    Look at the bright side. You will be home for Christmas.
    Good luck.
     
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  11. BigCam9670

    BigCam9670 Medium Load Member

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    Yes, I am familiar with them. I have a customer that I do power only flatbed work for and that company also has their hands in it to keep their drivers busy when there isnt any regular work. Their tow rates may be astronomical, but they have the rates sliced right down to almost nothing with this particular customer. They came in at just a little over half of what my rate is on a pretty standard lane that we run. I am not impressed with them at all in that aspect. I have zero experience with their towing or recovery. I saw your post in "Kenworth A Model enthusiasts" on Facebook yesterday which confirmed my suspisions that it was indeed Interstate. I hope it works out for you in the end. Ive got my eyes open for a replacement A model for you!
     
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