Special Delivery

C&C Roadside Handles With Care

By Steve Temple

Any tower can load everyday cars, but what about specialty vehicles? Like pricey imports and finicky electric cars— everything from Lambos to Lucids. That requires some skills and experience, which Joe Campanella of C&C Roadside has plenty of, since he’s been in the towing business for 25 years. He started out in New

York, but in 2002 moved to Texas and established his own tow business in North Richland Hills, largely due to the fewer regs and easier insurance there.

Joe also has a background in electrical engineering, which helped him with developing his roadside charger, “EV on the Go.” But first and foremost, he gives a lot of credit to his 2022 Mack MD6 with

TECH HIGHLIGHTS:

Truck: 2022 Mack MD6

Engine: Cummins PX-7

Wrecker body: Jerr-Dan 6 Ton XLP, 22-foot flatbed

Custom features: vinyl wrap by Marca Graphics; Phoenix LEDs by Dana, EV fire extinguisher, Steck rollers, custom ramps for low-profile exotics, TruckMax wheels and windshield visor, Lodar wireless remote ramp control a Jerr-Dan 6 Ton XLP 22-foot flatbed.

“She’s got power, she’s strong,” Joe enthuses. “A great truck to drive.”

To handle the specialized vehicles mentioned above, he makes sure he has three types of tow straps on board (for exotics, heavy-duty trucks, and regular vehicles). Plus a Lodar wireless remote ramp control, and a fire extinguisher for EVs, since he deals with several on a weekly basis. In addition, his custom ramps and Steck rollers come in handy for loading low-profile exotics on the flatbed, and EVs as well that lock up the brakes when their batteries die.

Joe actually has a fleet of six tow trucks, all Jerr-Dan, since he’s had many good experiences with the company and its equipment. He prefers having the colors match on all his wreckers, so he had Marca Graphics apply a bold red and white wrap with green accent outlines to his Mack. For some extra flash, he included a set of Phoenix LEDs by Dana. And TruckMax added those custom wheels and a windshield visor.

Clearly Joe is real meticulous about the look of all his trucks, so no surprise he took home a first-place trophy from American Towman’s 2022 TowXpo at the Fort Worth Convention Center. What prompted the judges’ selection? Joe feels it’s because the Mack is distinctive—and it didn’t hurt having an eye-catching red Ferrari sitting on the bed! That exotic is owned by his best friend, who’s his cardiologist too.

Looking back on his many years in the tow industry, at the end of the day, he had this to say: “Towing’s my passion, I love it! It gives you freedom to be out with the public.”

But he also shared details about some difficult recoveries, such as pulling out a car submerged underwater, some 300 feet down a ravine. So he admits that towing can be a challenge, and points out that, “My performance has to be the best it can be—what the public expects.”