Called for a tow today, know the owners. First thing out of their mouth was "need a job?" I am a web developer with some extra time on my hands, so it looks like I have a second job on the way! Excited to learn the ropes, I will be operating an old flat bed. Wish me luck! And great video!
Just started my first tow job at a AAA contractor. I have common sense and good knowledge of automobiles but I've never towed before. I have watched a couple of your videos and your very clear on instructions and cover all bases. Thanks for doing these. Stay safe brother 💪
@Tony I'm 2 months in. This is not the life for everyone. We do 7 days on call then the next 7 days are 7 am-6 pm while the other team works the on calls. We do AAA, copart, rotations, COD's, basically everything. Stay safe out there!
We'll i watched whenever i was as green as midwest Prairie. And I've stumbled back into towing. I discovered I'm good at it, And i like it just a little bit. 2nd day back and this morning Don I'm goin threw my rig and setting her up for me. Thanks to you and 2 great trainers and 2 really Awsome tow companies one can vouch that I'm pretty good the 2nd I'm completely new here and the company is huge ppl seem rockin and i hope i can do this again.
Great job sir! I’ve been doing landscaping/construction for over 30 years and now I’m burnt out. So I’ve always wanted to give it a go doing towing/and battery technician for AAA! Just applied and have my first interview Friday!! I just learned a lot from your video! Thanks a lot and look forward to seeing more!!
I love what I do for a living I mean it's a lot of fun but the main thing is I can't stress enough is to be careful and keep your head on a swivel because this line of work is the top 10 deadliest jobs you can have
thanks. I'm trying a new carrier and have had tow trucks in my mind for years and I should have some knowledge of what I'm doing and you just did that sir. thank you
Good, thorough demonstration of basic hook, load, secure and unload. The aluminum bed on a 1ton chassis is a good combo for moving vehicles that roll normally. For my purposes, I like what I'm running now, a 21' steel JerrDan with the upward swept tail end on an International 2 1/2 ton. It has really great reach, tilt range and a powerful wheellift. I'm able to slide it under 3/4 and 1ton trucks and using the bed tilt and wheellift for support, hoist them off the ground to access linkages if necessary. Hooking bridle ends is made far easier than rolling around on the ground under a car. I also have a couple handles from Smart & Final that allow me to reach under the vehicle to push hooks across to the far side of the bed and at the delivery end, I can use the magic stick to reach under and detach J-hooks and/or mini-Js. I have a substantial amount of lumber and other items to help facilitate the loading of difficult vehicles. I don't know how much of what you do involves uncooperative cars but I sort of relish the challenges. Today, I loaded a charger that had the spindle broken from the control arm in an accident. That front wheel and tire protruded almost clear of the fender. It had been taken from the scene by another company whose driver did a good job of hauling it with the exception of one detail. He didn't seem to know how to release the transmission park mechanism. Either that or he just didn't feel like taking the time to do it, opting to drag the car up and shaking it back off. I observed the status of the bypass and the markings on the ground to make this conclusion. For my part, I put my bed in front of the front end and slicked the deck in front of the wiped out tire. Using the bed's range, I extended it under the car and lifted it enough to snake my mini-Js to the forward anchor slots. Took up the slack and released the transmission from park. A bit more slicker and the car came aboard with very little hassle. I also try to always use chains in components designed for strength and durability, crossing the rears whenever possible. Some designs preclude crossing, usually due to underside plastic panels. If I have to anchor a car by its wheels, I put the transmission in park or a low gear for a manual transmission plus locking the parking brake. You gotta do what it takes to accomplish the task at hand without hurting your customer's car. Sometimes, it's best to opt out if the customer shows a proclivity to be troublesome and an expert in the operation of the truck. They sure look funny as you drive away.
When hooking up the truck, I would have used the T hook in the frame. Then you know it isn't coming out. As you said, everyone has their ways. Great video's by the way. I subscribed. I'd use them as training video's for new Driver/operators. Good clear instruction, step by step and why it's done that way. Awesome job. Keep the lights on and watch your back. Stay safe. From a brotherhood tower from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Much respect.
Kyrk Nordfjeld yes I agree with you. Great training video. A little overkill with wheel straps and the rear safety chains. I learned a couple things. Thx--
What type of chain did you use to pull the truck from the front? Is there an auto store that sells it? My mom cant find anyone to show her what she needs to buy for her ford f550
You are very good man take care flatbad tow truck.you should owner your own tow truck company.you are very good man take care tow truck flatbed tow truck.good job.
You made my day with this one. it's easy to see it and understand it after your guidance on showing this video. I'm inspired to get my tow license ASAP. Thanks for the learning lesson
I have a lot of fun and make decent money doing this but if you do it keep your head on a swivel and watch your back because this has a very dangerous side of the business
by the wayim thinking of getting my own truck soon but not sure it im going to buy it here in jamaica ,or source it from the states, its bit expensive to ship,so im shoping around,. a friend has a older bed for sale here but it has the older type of wheel lift.and its about 17 ft length, do you think it would be hard to convert that to a proper working wheel lft
In my opinion from my experience I wouldn't convert anything over you're just asking for a mess look around and find your truck bud that's all together and complete might cost you a little more but you will be thankful in the long run I have had many tow trucks of my own and piecing them together never works right
Hey man thanks for that info and you made it look so easy and im thinking about getting into tow truck drinking but I'm just doing my homework first and you helped me out alot thank you so much brother and keep up the awesome job your doing sir
@@donaldchastain6847 oh ok and thank you again so much for the inside info and I did subscribe to your channel cause your keeping everything 💯 brotha 👍and I really appreciate that sir keep the videos coming cause I'm learning my friend
You probably won't believe this but in all the years that I have told cars I've only had one cable break on me and that was because I was trying to get it out of the medium put the cables running down to the ditch
I do believe ya. Mine would never fail if I was the only one driving my rollback at work. The problem is that they put rookies in it, and my cable ends up frayed and gets flat spots. I always try to re spool it on my first call of the day, but once the damage is done, its done. So I use the safety chain. If the boss wants to keep blowing money on fools beating up trucks and equipment, that's on him. But I'm gonna do whatever I can to get home safe and be here for my kids!
Great video! It came in very handy today. I like how you demonstrate step-by-step instructions. Many in the industry might say, "that's just common sense", and I would agree. When giving instruction though, it's important to assume your student has no previous experience (to provide them 'common sense'). Why would your boss be mad at you got taking the initiative to make and post this video? If he is, I'm sure another operator would be glad to have you represent them!
I see you are from Missouri, ever met or know of Ron Pratt (Midwest Truck)? He has an ever growing channel under his name of his tows and side jobs of interest and also educates us along the way. Instructional videos can only reach out so far, but do let anyone keep you from doing your own tutorials, also good to toss in some miscellaneous adventures with their own educational value too. Couple other towing channels to also give you some ideas to expand on while you are still in the business and working.
Very helpful video I just recently started towing I'm very green but catching on fast been on the trainers truck for 3 days now and I'm already loading and unloading with minimal help from trainer I'm already loving this carrer choice
YOU BOSS IS ONE IN MANY... BUT MANY WILL BENEFIT FROM YOUR TUTORIAL. AND THEN....THEY WILL BE ALLREADY TRAINED TO WORK FOR YOUR BOSS.....THANKS TO YOU. NOT BAD....EHHHH?
Hey man i had my truck loaded on a flatbed and i think he fucked up my front end. He strapped down all 4 tires first and THEN cranked the winch...seemed like he was literally ripping my truck apart. Looks like there is camber on the passenger front tire now that there wasn't before the tow. Should i be concerned about this? It did not look good at all. Thanks ahead of time!
Funny listening to the whimpering of the camera person, nice , thanks , as you know there are a lot of stupid tow truck / and Plano truck drivers, do so stupid stuff, thanks BigAl California.
Hi guys my name is Nelson, I'm looking to start my own towing business looking to buy a tow truck. I have a few questions. I would like to know if I should buy the tow truck 1st or get permits and if so what type of permets I need to get. Thanks for your time I enjoyed your video
Here in California (San Jose) you better have two chains on that rear end. Out here in Merced I've seen these jokers just rely on the wire wrap. "We're just going short..."
great video Donald am about to start my own business in California thinking in buying a 2014 ram 5500 this video help me alot what are the other levers do on the right side
Question: When you have a vehicle with low clearance, Can you put on the ground a couple of 2X6 boards under the "leg" of the bed before you tilt it, so you can improve the load angle like that? And maybe extend it with ramps if the bed is not long enough to reach the ground?
On trucks I keep the cable tight with the safety chain on the back just to take some bounce out of the truck but with cars after I get it on the bed then I leave some slack in the cable
@@donaldchastain6847 I was asking because I was trained to run a second chain on top heavy ( trucks) then winch the front on down till I can chain it tight to the deck then back the load off the winch. Boss said about 1.5 inch of play in the winch line. he said it was to save wear on his winch.
On our tow trucks if you put like an F-150 on there I use my cable and a safety chain on the ass end of that truck and squeeze the shocks down just a little bit just to take some of the body roll out of that truck makes for a better ride
@@mrrodneyalong Unloaded winch it how you want it, We all have towed with the winch tensioned down, we all have towed with 2 rear chains tightened by the winch and safeties on the front, but legally you need 4 adjustable independent tie-downs, And for safety the winch it suppose to be without tension as when tensioned it shock loads the winch with every bounce you hit.
This was a very good video on how to load and unload a car from a flatbed tow truck. Being that I'm a tow truck driver myself, I know how it can be sometimes to have to load or unload cars that are either missing parts or doesn't have keys. Either way, I load them up and get them back to the impound yard. I'm putting together an updated How to load and unload a tow truck using different cars because each hook up is not the same. Feel free to stop by and check out the videos of stolen recoveries and accidents calls which i have loaded to my channel. leave feedback so i know what you guys want to see.
I have a question for my fellow tow truck drivers on here.. I'm only on the job a couple months and am still learning .. I've been using J-Hooks on pretty much all of my tows with few exceptions where I've been hooking up to the frame with the smaller hooks. I'll admit that I've been grabbing control arms most of the time due to being taught that wayOne thing I do that I don't see here is I put big J-Hooks around the axle on the back of the truck or a small J-Hook on the frame and set the chains in the back and cinch them down so I have it tight on the front and back evenly. Then I'm putting my straps with a cluster on the front of the truck. Does this sound like a good procedure or should I definitely be looking to do things differently.
Great video chief and good information on how it's supposed to be done right, so thank you Sir for the teaching on hooking up vehicle's on A rollback tow truck, I can't wait to join the tow truck industry I appreciate your video it's very explanatory info.✌
Hi man have a good day. I have to ask you something about steel rope . Question is when i set free that rope before load car on tow truck , rope's shape is turn in spiral but i dont want this shape because when i start to load it damage's to wrecker. Why that's happen ? Thats because Steel Rope or Wrecker ? Car model is Fiat Ducato. If you answer this question i really appreciate it. And i know my English not enough to explain that problem i hope you understand )) .And please tell me what kind of u using steel rope can you tell me your steel rope brand ?
The steel cable that we use I can't stand it's always going to different directions if you watch my videos I'm always fighting with it I couldn't tell you what brand it is my boss get them from a company called Transwest thank you for watching my video stay safe out there
Great AAA video on the proper way to load and unload. My AAA driver from Ricci's Transport and Recovery didn't. Watch my post and you will see on RU-vid. Ricci's Transport and Recovery. Type in this and you'll see the car being dumped off and damaged.
Donald Chastain oh i bet i just started working as a tow truck driver and u showed me some cool tips on how to be more safe and i have moved all my strips to the driver side of the truck my fellow tow truck workers thought i was nuts intel i showed them how much more faster and better it was
Glad I could help you keep watching my Channel today or tomorrow I'm going to release a new video on some more tips on how to pick up cars without keys and stuff
my car was droven up a a tow truck because it had no hook holes to winch it up. put in park and emergency brake on. guy is a vet , he didnt wanna teach me cause he didnt want me towing because id take work from him but whatever i needed a new career
i learned more with ur videos then working 3 days with the losers they stuck me with to train me they were clowns thank you very much sir for taking the time.
The main reason is most cars don't have any kind of frame anymore or all tin and aluminum so the chains pull through them like butter put the straps on the tires and I don't even have to look back at them anymore
Yes sir very informative video thank you. And I agree with your opinion on people and wanting to bitch and make you pay for stuff. Exactly why I don't deal with the public anymore.
I have been working for the public most of my life and I have come to learn no matter how safe and how slow you do your job somebody will always have something to complain about
I would have used a T or an R hook in the frame , but as you know , there are plenty of ways to do it correctly , lots of preference in our profession , one of my guys did a video like you did with one of my trucks he never said anything about it , I waited a month and he had not made anymore videos , so I had some good fun , I called him into the office all serious , and said we seem to have an issue , he said what , I said well it seems you think using my truck to make A , I made sure to emphasise the A , video on how it use it , thats where he got really lost for words then turned into a jabber box , I let him go for a bit until I started horse laughing , then said "wanna keep your job?" he started jabbering again , I said would you hush , heres the deal , if I don't see another video in 24 hrs , your fired , well and confused he just said ok , and left , the next day he sure made a video , an apology video to me , this was not what I was looking for of course , so I had the rest of the guys along with myself start really dropping hints as to what I was really up to , we still laugh about this a decade later , he has actually built a nice youtube channel just like I was pushing him to , but he will still admit if I had not threatened to fire him if he didn't , he would have never done it ... like your video , hell it's advertising for your company , it's great PR for them , it shows your professional , and care about their cars , it also makes something good for a rookie to watch , it's win win especially if you get your videos monetized , keep up the good work ! if I see you on the side of the road , I will have your 6 , I don't care what company you are with , we stop and run blocker to try and prevent someone getting hurt ... if your boss ever thought anything other than this video being a good thing , let him read my prospective , and I am sure he will go , this guy sure has a point , keep it up lol
My boss is all about me making it videos he likes it the other company liked it too until I showed them up make them look bad and that was not my intentions but I deleted that video and they've been leaving me alone
I believe it's unsafe to unstrap the strap while it's level...do to the fact if the vehicle became into nuetral... I would of left the front strap on and started with taking the back strap off...it's alot safer...but to each there own
All that can and will happen eventually I'm just not taking the time to do it if it's my time in this rules will be gone then the good Lord and come and have me
