Sands of Time Part 1 The Lift 

There seem to be a couple of common questions and I will attempt to answer them with this comment. One of the questions is "Why did I have to lift the trailer rather than just dropping the trailer on it's legs like a normal trailer?" This is a valid question. This particular style of leg is called either a "drop" or "peg" leg and they are not designed to handle the weight of a loaded trailer. They are only designed to support a trailer when it is empty. The second question is "Why didn't I charge the air system on the disabled truck rather than caging the brakes to allow it to be pulled out from under the trailer?" Also a valid question. Either way would have worked and airing up the tractor was my first choice. I edited out that section from the main video, but if you watch the "time lapse" at the end you will see me with the truck's hood open and looking at the air system. Long story short, my fitting to tap into the air system in front of the check valve on this truck was missing. I could have aired it up by other methods, but chose to simply cage the spring brakes. I hope this answers those questions clearly. Thanks for watching and God bless.

Lots of folks don't get this close to see these rotators at work, if I can call it that. So thanks for letting one of those folks ride along with you.

Its nice to see that the customers are willing to help rather than just sit there and watch you.

As always wonderful professional work Ron, I do hope you and your crew were finally able to get some rest that day, and always thank you for sharing part of your life with us, we or I do enjoy watching you.

I missed seeing the rotator. That is one of my favorite trucks.

Ron, that was a safe lift. Your careful, deliberate approach is a joy to watch.

Ron, I have been viewing your professional accomplishments for several days and have enjoyed everyone. You are a true professional in a dangerous job. Each video has all the elements necessary to lock a man down in his seat. As a former project manager in the Dept of Defense for 41 years I have always enjoyed dealing with realtime logistical tasks, especially when it involves 'big boy tools in the tool box". During my employment time I understood the need for clear communication, indepth understanding and respect all around. You certainly show those same skills and then some. After watching so many videos I feel I could pass a test to know what hardware is located in what cabinet on the 1150R and how too cage brakes. Knowing the location of all equipment was necessary when I was a VFF in the '70's/'80's around the suburban Maryland. Your upgrades in video equipment really enhance the videos. Looking forward to future videos. Stay safe and enjoy each day the Lord gives you.

I am always impressed with the size of your rotator plus it is always shiny clean. You and your equipment constantly appear very professional which begets confidence in your service. Your clients are assured of getting what they pay for and I can not imagine there is a better towing service anywhere. Keep up the great service to those in need of HEAVY lifting and towing.

WELL DONE, I think the company that builds the 1150 R should make you their spokesman and give you a discount on future purchase

Good to see good people helping other good people in their time of need.

This would have made a great, "This day in Ron Pratt and Midwest Truck history" moment in the community tab.

Wow.. you are one busy man. I think your customers think they have found an angel in you. As tired as you were, you came through for them and helped them solve a HUGE problem. :) I know your customers are blessed with such a wonderful person.. you. :) Now I have to wait for Part 2. lol Hope you got some sleep after this one. And so ends another episode of A Day In The Life of Ron Pratt: Tow Truck Driver. Stay tuned for Part 2. ;) Hugs and God Bless.

always done carmly and safely and very enjoyable to watch thank you Ron Pratt.

Nice job. Heavy lifting. Plus nice to see drivers helping u out and the perfect communication to get the job done safe and easy by smart working. God Bless.

Every time I see this wrecker, I'm in awe. The design must of taken a long time, the truck is complex being it's hydraulic and electronic combined operation. I'm amazed at how much weight it can lift high into the air, but most I'm exasperated at what this truck much cost brand new. You got to do a lot of towing to make the payments on a truck that complex. If you had to start out with a little tow truck and work your way up in profit to be able to afford a massive truck like Ron's, if must of taken awhile, perhaps years. What else is wild, it's not your only big truck, but I think is the biggest in the fleet.... Nice job as always, and thanks for your time here in producing the video. God Bless you back..

Enjoyed this video as always. Waiting for part 2.

Great job you make it look so easy

I always look forward to seeing the next video from you Ron. Another job well done.

This was a wonderful video Mr Pratt thank you for all you do i know how dangerous it is i lost my uncle to towing about a year ago in west virginia he was hooking up to a semi in the mountain when another semi hit the trailer of the broken down one he was smashed in between his truck and the semi he died on the scene but he died doing what he loved and i know where he is thank you ron for spreading the word of slow down and move over till next time god bless.

Very well Orchestrated team work. A better day when the customer helps out. Thanks Ron fer the video Bud. Keep the shinny side up and them wheels a rollin.

I like those chamber caps the caging bolt actually fits in the end to be able to pull the cap off slick design

I worked for a crane hire company in London UK, if I was on police call duty I would take it home. The office would call me and often a police motorcyclist would be waiting at the end of my road, to escort me to the emergency. mostly we would only be moving and or loading the truck load. Guys like you would take care of the unit and trailers. After a while I got into a repore with the guys and we would assist one another to get the job done safe and quickly. Some jobs were pretty gruesome but had to be done, I can tell you sleepless nights followed. Especially if kids were involved.

Hi again Ron yet another one of your videos to enjoy watching & thanks for your comment on me commenting on one of your previous jobs ,when you said about me having been doing heavy recovery work fo at least 50-years but i am now getting close to 77 years old & still doing it & loving every minute of it. when i aventualy get to the point where i cant do it, then they might aswell dig a hole & bury me ij one of my wreckers. I would not be happy with life if i cant do heavy recovery work of all types & I specialize in doing site work jobs like sunken diggers, bulldozers etc. in fact i recently bought & imported a caterpillar D* bulldozer with a massive hyster winch on the rear & i mported it from America. Now i have had built on it a rearly big strong pair of ground anchors & believe me it will pull out vertualy anything. The heavier & deeper the casualty is the better i like the challeng. Anyway now on to looking at some more of your videos. good luck ,take care & keep safe. Brian.

You need a few pieces of rail road tracks to shove under the trailer, then chain up the railroad tracks on either side to lift straight up. At the top you can have another piece to keep the chains spaced out enough from the trailer walls forming a triangle above the upper rail towards your crane hook. Not sure if thats a good idea, because you would probably have done so by now :p

Great job Ron, looked like an easy bunch of guys to work with, everybody working together, good team work job well done. And an awesome job organizing the fundraiser for Mrs Ayers car repairs. stay safe. pat. uk.

Awesome to see some familiar territory on youtube. Those guys wear out 72 for sure. Stay safe out there as always!

Excellent job! Thanks for the video.

Another tricky job.Keep up the good work Ron.

Love the boom-cam footage (and the dash-cam footage) that you tag on at the end.

Love what you do Ron for the community you live in. Thanks for the service

We love Ron Pratt! ❤ we are geeks & watch him every night. Watching from Clearwater Fl.

I used to pull a 60 foot spaghetti rack (rebar) that had the same kind of legs back in the 60s. One outfit I worked for the tractor and trailer were never separated in all the years he owned them. Same thing when I was hauling equipment on a 50.5 foot float.

man caging brakes is a dangerous job, God bless Ron

I watch your video's from the Philippines!! Originally from outside of Detroit!!

I can watch these videos all day. Love your truck.

We don't have to wait all week for part two, do we? I don't know if I can wait that long!! I'll have to come for a visit! I'll bring the sweet tea and tater salad, if you'll fry up some yard bird!

also, congrats on the successful funding on that kind womans car, hopefully you can do an update at some point in the future :)

Job well done, I like how you always make sure that everyone is safe,keep up the good work Ron. Hope you get some sleep

I'm addicted to your channel.

😊 nice new music. Love the sped up ending. Thanks, Ron.

Thanks Ron on the 2 common Q's. Lucky you were on this lift. Lots of years on experience to do this one. Our trailers are drop legs. My truck got sold for $5,500 for a '99. It's not destined for the road ever again. Clutch went so its scrap. As always keep safe and God bless you and those around you.

Really enjoying these, and thank you for posting them You answered one of my questions in your last post. I have never seen peg leg type landing gear in a road going truck here in Australia. Had this scenario happened to me I would have been cranking for 30 mins, as no boss I've had would pay for you to come out. Couple of comments: I salute you for having such a well organised truck, it's a credit to you. I am amazed and amused by your blue and reds and sirens. On a wrecker! Here in oz that would be a hanging offence, as only the "emergency services" can have those. I have done a bit of recovery in the past, but not at this level. Gee, heavy tow trucks have come on. Your Pete is incredible. Keep 'em coming. I'll sub for sure.

Great video as always brother. Stay safe out there.

GOOD ... GOOD ...JOB MR. RON..BUEN ...BUEN ...TRABAJO SR.RON.....JOSE R MOLINA.HIDALGO TEXAS...

Yup yup, I know the feeling being stuck with the truck needing towing service. Happened to me just yesterday reversing badly. American Truck Simulator is so unforgiving 😁

Hey Ron keep up the work

Your soap opera is better than a tv soap opera.

The Variety of things you do on a weekly basis keeps your job Fun and quite Interesting. 😬

job well done ron. stay safe.

That customer seems like a good guy. helpful

Hi ron great job that was am good life stay safe buddy

always tons of fun giving a fully loaded trailer the heave-ho.

Fantastic job well executed

God bless you Ron you are a good man

Ron you are one patient man. I am Christian also but older. To many cooks in the kitchen for me. God Bless You. Jim in Yosemite, Ca.

Wow. This has to be one of the heaviest lifts in the series of RonPratt's videos;

That truck of yours :D Amazing piece of machinery. Trucker with bearlights on top... now thats not entirely what happened to Rubber Duckey from Alberquackie in "Convoy" :D

One bit of related experience I can add is using about a yard of 3" rope as a wheel chock; in a previous job moving aircraft about the size, weight and tire size as a class 8 truck we used those particularly when we were moving an aircraft with no brakes because it doesn't take precise aim or getting in the path to get them into place.

Brilliant work, well done everyone.

Thanks Ron,love the sky cam.

Good job RON thanks for sharing , your videos very,interesting !!!!

Great work, Ron

for a very skilled set man i am very inpress with your work i know nothing about towing but i sort of do know a couple of things about mechanics my uncle is a diesel mechanic but i come here every day to learn something knew

Hey Ron, another save the day! Been watching your videos a little while now a little off subject for our profession but I enjoy your rigging. You take pride in your hauling just as every cdl driver should regardless of there haul. One thing I have noticed is no lanyard or shoulder strap for your controller?! We have several pieces of equipment and trucks with similar/valuable controller as yours and a simple binoculars double shoulder strap works great! They make really nice ones now affordable, adjustable, and easy to find at any outfitter or online. Just make sure it has good quick clips to the controller. Stay safe. Keep rolling!

New music.....nice! Must have been a good size sandbox. lol

Scary operation, lots of weight, make no mistakes.

Wow, another tricky job! Lucky you had some grey-beards to help. Was just wondering what Ron was up to, then ding!

Heavy work seems much more fun then the lightweight tows I've been on.though I haven't gotten my first roll over yet or good winchout eather. Good work Ron!

You know I do not understand people that watch these videos only to give it a thumbs down. Why watch if you are not enjoying it, or is giving a thumbs down their enjoyment?

I couldn’t help but cringe at seeing the pickup trying to pull the tractor from the ball. Too many times I’ve seen those snap off and go through something. Otherwise as always, great video and very professional and kind. Keep up the great work!

Finally caught one early! Great work ron!

Good informational video thx for uploading.

You bet your butt, teamwork,precision,effective timing (I can’t tell ya how many times I’ve watched you literally jog to the rig). 5 stars, this is beyond MSTV. I watch this over corny Canadians on Discovery which I actually pay for. Love the professionalism and work ethic (clean rigs 24/7). Shoot, what more can ya ask for from such whole hearted employees. Ron, you in particular were born for this, the Good Lord has Blessed you. One more cable clip question...sorry...how long does it take to receive and install new cable? Thanks

Hi Ron I love your video 📷 the are so good 👍 and God bless you from you tube

Nice lift...smooth as silk

You do awesome work when rolling a caged brake truck I always have the driver put the truck in like 3rd or 4th gear key off and use the clutch as a brake

It is really good to have the equipment to do the job

Great video Ron thanks for sharing

DPFE is going to be the death of the diesel truck. I bet there is nothing wrong with it except the DPFE system is messed up. I also see a $10K+ repair bill generated by this "failure". So sad. Great job as always Ron!

Ron, I've been meaning to mention a great idea that I saw while I was watching another company like yourself also in America, they use rotators and the same sort of mixture of crane's that you have, anyway I was watching them get a truck mixer that had gone down a bank and into the front of a house, very interesting to watch and then you could see an aerial shot and I was trying to hear the helicopter but there wasn't one, no he was using one of those radio control flying cameras and you could see how this mixer went down the deep bank, lucky nobody was hurt. If you had one of those cameras it would help you so much and you could make your videos much more interesting, if that's possible, a Ron? Just a thought my friend. Take care.

I would love to work with you any day! You would be a great boss and amazing person to work for and with! God bless you!

Great team work..Nice job holding that trailer for that 5th wheel. Just wondering if you were able to show, how...That 5th wheel and the trailer pin lock together. I am a driver and understand. Those that have never seen,or understand how the unites hook together. .That's why I say... You guys did a great job. That truck of yours is a work horse. LOL Peterbuilt :-) God Bless Be safe.

Life's a Beach! (27K worth)... Well done Ron!!!

You are one heck of a wrecker owner/operator. Im on interstate 55 just in arkansas in a city called blytheville.

Ron Pratt does it again!

That was an interesting job

Good job

i have watched you channel for a wail now and found it very interesting how you do the recoveries when you lifted the dump trailer off the truck i did found usual to have to lift the trail that way. i did can across jacks to be able to lift the trailer up the link of the web site is prairie farm report look for high- clearance sprayer jacks. just wonder if they would work faster the lifting the trailer we will be looking at the jack for our own use for the sprayers we have and other use around the shops.

Loving the new intro music!

Don't worry Ron, I am tandemly challenged by my size too. Lol

It’s hard to put videos like this on line because you open yourself up to critique from all kinds of people. Experienced and none experience. But truth is, unless your there in person doing it, it’s hard to say what should of could of been done.

As well as enjoying your videos Ron, I really admire just how you work out not only the best way of doing whatever job you're doing, but you also always seem to be working out the safest of ways to work whatever it is you're doing, we have an old saying in Scotland, "You didn't just pick that up off the street" which means, you were either very well trained by a very good tutor, or, you studied very carefully to do what you do, and I hope you've no objections to me asking, which one was it?

Good job Ron good job. Coming at ya from Thailand.

Another blessed mission. Great job Ron and company👍. The first video I watched was today (load shift). Subscribed immediately and now I'm back. Got those wheels looking good. Another mission or are you going to the Truck Show?😄God bless.

Better to be busy like that than sitting around with no work. (I bet you've never had THAT problem.)

Nice driver for the cage bolts. Beats doing it by hand (experience talking).

Maybe an old Video but it was a good one 100% teamwork

Have you considered adding a lift beam to your equipment? If you had a simple (adjustable) beam you could slide under these type of trailers in front of the legs. You could beam out and lift directly from above the trailer.

Another quality job ron.... Not sure about the new intro music though...

Hey Ron was wondering why you didn't just run an air line from your truck and air that pete up. Sure would save alot of work.