American Towman Magazine - October 2013

Official Program Inside: Exhibits, Events, Seminars, Music, Art, Food, Hotels

Towman Monument

towman.com

towmantv.com

towweek.com

Inner Harbor

Register online at: ATExposition.com

Number 176 on Reader Card

AT EXPO PROGRAM pages 45-76

FEATURE CONTENTS

32

Make the Road a Safer Place Defensive driving saves lives and practice is the best teacher.

by Terry Abejuela

36

Dealing with Downed Trees Using a chainsaw on-scene is about more than just getting to work.

by Randall Resch

Departments Walkaround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 News Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

78 Towing professionals get up close to the latest equipment on the market durting AT Expo, November 15–17.

Dump Truck Rollover in Ohio A load of asphalt makes for a tough recovery and cleanup.

by Jim “Buck“ Sorrenti

Road Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 AD Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

90

On The Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Off Road Recoveries

Tow Boss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Beacon’s On! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Meet MORT, the little Iowa workhorse that rescues big farm machines.

by Jim “Buck“ Sorrenti

Repo Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . .42

104

My Baby. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110

Transform Dispatch Calls into Sales

Towman’s Market . . . . . . . . . . .112 Low Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116 Adventures of A.T. . . . . . . . . . . .117

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Increase your bottom line by selling instead of simply order-taking.

by Daniel Ostrov

Number 109 on Reader Card

Wait, what?

There will be a lot of talking going on in Baltimore at the 25th American Towman Exposition. But how well will attendees and suppliers be listening?

Listening has a big influence on our jobs and in our associations with others.

Good listening skills can improve your relations with customers, employees, motor clubs, emergency personnel, municipal officials … basically anyone you come in contact with.

I admit this is an area where I am personally challenged and need to focus.

I am very interested in the opinions and thoughts of others, but during a conversation my brain begins to formulate questions and/or responses so I don’t forget to bring them up after they’ve spoken. My mind is obviously distracted with my own thoughts, so how can I possibly totally absorb what the other person is saying?

Research indicates that we tend to remember less than 50 percent of what we hear (possibly as little as 25 percent).

Pretty scary, huh? Those percentages

Sawing Through the Show Season

by Dennie Ortiz

show that we must work to keep our focus on whatever is being shared.

You endanger relationships with others—whether it’s your customer, employee or spouse—if you do not completely comprehend what they are saying.

Conversely, think about how those bonds get stronger by paying careful attention. The people around you will appreciate the time and effort you give to ensure you understand what they are saying.

Communication specialists suggest that you should concentrate on listening and remind yourself regularly that your goal is to really hear what the other person is saying. Put aside other thoughts and behaviors and focus on the message. Remember, it’s always good to ask questions and reiterate what you’ve heard to ensure you understand the message.

If you become a better listener, you can improve your productiveness and increase your skill to persuade and negotiate. You also may avoid misunderstandings and potential conflicts.

So listen up!

Dennie Ortiz Steve Calitri Brendan Dooley

Publisher Editor-In-Chief Editor

Randall Resch

Operations Editor

Terry Abejuela

Field Editor, West

Jim “Buck” Sorrenti David Kolman Bill Simmons

Field Editor, Northeast Chassis Editor Safety Editor

Emily Oz

On Screen Editor

Mark Lacek

Repo Run Editor

Editorial Board Tommy Anderson Don Archer Roy Carlson Debbie Collins Belinda Harris Bill Johnson Ron Mislan Kurt Wilson

Dallas, Texas Jefferson City, Mo. St. Paul, Minn.

Las Vegas, Nev. Greensboro, N.C. South Hadley, Mass.

Warren, N.J. Creve Coeur, Ill.

American Towman Staff Ann Marie Nitti Dennie Ortiz Ellen Rosengart Norma Calitri Neila Smith Miriam Ortiz Henri Calitri Toni Vanderhorst William Burwell Emily Oz Steve Calitri

Page Layout Artist Advertising Sales Mgr. Senior Account Exec.

VP of Accounts VP Communications Subscription Manager Customer Service Publisher’s Assistant TIW Media Director ATTV Producer President

American Towman Media Headquarters 7 West Street, Warwick, NY 10990 800-732-3869 or 845-986-4546

by Brendan Dooley

The October issue of American Towman is our “show spectacular” on the it’s here-before-you-know-it Baltimore show.

As I’ve been working on the issue, it struck me that one article in particular underscores the importance of getting outside of your comfort zone and attending an industry trade show or two (like AT’s Expos in Baltimore, San Antonio and Las Vegas).

In Operation Editor Randy Resch’s article on page 36, he covers safety tips and bottom-line ideas for keeping chainsaws stowed on recovery rigs. Why would that article make me think about the importance of show attendance?

I was standing right next to Randy at the San Antonio show when he saw a chainsaw in the toolbox of one of the pageant rigs, and started outlining the story idea to me then and there.

Enjoy this issue of American Towman; stop by and tell me your stories and ideas, or just to chat, when you see me in Baltimore next month.

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First On The Scene!

E-mail: Publisher: dortiz@towman.com Editor-In-Chief: scalitri@towman.com Editor: bdooley@towman.com AT’S Digital Edition: itowman.com AT’S Website: towman.com AT’S Weekly: towindustryweek.com ATTV: americantowmantv.com Copyright ©2013 American Towman Magazine is published 12 times a year by American Towman Media, Inc. Subscription: $50–1 yr; $95–2 yrs • US $65 and $105 • International Editorial Policy: the act of mailing or delivering a letter or article to American Towman Magazine, shall constitute permission to publish that letter or article or any portion thereof. American Towman Magazine reserves the right to edit any and all material submitted.

Number 216 on Reader Card

Tower Fired after Rant Goes Viral

A video showing an angry tow truck driver in Portland, Ore., ranting to a business owner has 26 expletives in just two-and-a-half-minutes. The viral video has a lot of people talking, and now the tower is out of a job.

The driver had responded to tow a car and, according to witnesses, began yelling at an elderly woman to move her car.

Business owner Dean Hurford intervened and one of his employees captured the exchange with his Smartphone.

When reached for comment, the owner of 3 Boys Towing wouldn’t identify the driver, but said he had been fired. The company also posted an apology on its Facebook page.

Source: www.katu.com.

CTTA Sets Towing Regulatory Council The directors of the California Tow Truck Association unanimously agreed to form the Towing Regulatory Oversight Council, known as the T-ROC, to provide leadership on towing-related regulatory issues. The council will include experienced industry professionals who reflect the diversity of the towing industry.

The T-ROC was delegated the exclusive authority to take positions on behalf of the board on all regulatory issues that may impact the CTTA and the industry it serves and to communicate those positions to the various agencies and branches of government, such as the CHP, CalTrans, ARB, DMV, the California Legislature, governor, and local governments.

“Our goal is for [T-ROC] to be regarded by governmental entities as the definitive and unbiased authority on towing regulatory matters,” said CTTA President Sherry White.

To learn more about the T-ROC, visit www.TowingCouncil.com.

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$1M Settlement in N.J. Lawsuit A Williamstown, N.J., tower will get $1 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed township officials retaliated against his business.

John Simmermon III sued Monroe Mayor Michael Gabbianelli and other township officials in November 2009, alleging his civil rights were violated during a dispute over municipal towing services.

Simmermon said his firm was barred from seeking township towing business in 2008 and his shop was closed during a zoning dispute in September 2007.

He alleged township officials targeted his firm in a “retaliatory and discriminatory” manner because Simmermon had advocated tougher standards for tow operators. The suit also asserted Gabbianelli “had a direct financial interest” as the landlord for a rival towing firm.

As shown on ATTV

U.S. District Court Judge Jerome Simandle of Camden turned down the township’s bid to dismiss the case in March 2012. In that decision, Simandle noted, “other towing companies were granted leniency or exemption from the towing ordinance in multiple ways, while A-Jacks was not.” Source: www.courierpostonline.com.

Tow Company

Evacuated for ‘Suspicious Powder’ A suspicious looking white powder brought the Hazmat Team out to an Orange County, Fla., towing company. Employees of MFSI Towing & Recovery had to be evacuated after a package with the powder was discovered.

The powder was not considered dangerous, but investigators believe it was still meant as a threat.

The employees moved to the building next door as hazardous materials experts began testing the powder. It took about an hour and a

half to determine that the powder was not dangerous.

Federal investigators were at the scene throughout the morning.

Source: www.wftv.com.

. . . a section of the road collapsed under the vehicle . . .

Tower Rescued from Sink Hole A tow-truck operator in Barrington, R.I., was rescued from falling into a sink hole after a full-size Chevrolet Suburban hit a utility pole and a fire hydrant.

The tower was attempting to place tow hooks under the SUV when a section of the road collapsed under the vehicle from the water main break.

The tower lost his footing and almost fell into the hole filled with water and road debris.

Firefighters on the scene rushed to the operator and kept him from falling into the hole. He was not injured.

The broken pole strained wires until a National Grid repair crew installed a new pole and wires. The Bristol County Water Authority responded to repair the water main break.

Source: www.barrington.patch.com.

Customer Dies Assisting Tower Idaho State Police say a 32-year-old Utah man died after being hit by a semitrailer on I-84 near Glenns Ferry in southcentral Idaho.

Police say Jason Richmond of Midvale, Utah, was helping a tow truck operator remove his disabled 2012 Jeep Patriot from the Interstate.

Police say 57-year-old Vo l o d y m y r Boyko of Portland, Ore., was traveling eastbound on the Interstate when he struck Richmond and his vehicle.

Richmond was pronounced dead at the scene. Idaho State Police are continuing to investigate the crash. Source: www.standard.net.

Texas Towers Request a Raise Towing companies in Killeen, Texas, are asking the city to increase the fees charged to residents who have their vehicles towed by police.

Thirteen local companies that provide incident management towing services for the city brought a request before the Killeen City Council at a workshop last month.

“The rates have not been increased since 2003,” said Rose Goode, an employee of Goode Towing and representative for the West Bell County Towing Association. “It’s been a very long time.”

In Killeen, the rate is $90 for arrestrelated tows and $110 for accidents.

Goode said the number was low, and did not take into consideration the growing costs of running a towing business.

Companies have to be licensed to operate in Texas, including licenses to drive and store vehicles, licenses for drivers and office workers in addition to costs for training, drug testing and other business-related expenses.

Goode and the other members of the association are asking the city to increase the rate to between $140 and $150, with an additional $50 fee if the companies have to use a flatbed.

“City staff is now researching the information provided by West Bell County Towing Association,” said Hilary Shine, the city’s spokeswoman.

“Staff will compile their findings for a future discussion with city council.”

Source: www.kdnnews.com.

Tower Shot in Foot A tow truck driver is recovering from being shot in DeKalb County, Ga. The wrecker driver was trying to tow an abandoned vehicle when an individual approached with a gun and fired.

The wrecker driver tried to run and the shot missed, but the bullet ricocheted and hit him in the foot.

The suspect fled and police were searching for him. It was unclear whether the gunman owned the car the driver was attempting to tow.

Source: www.ajc.com.

TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 9

Check Out What’s NEW and HOT!

New 20’ XLP Low-Profile Carrier

Vantage LED Lightbar ECCO’s new Vantage LED lightbar has been designed to offer value in terms of cost, performance, durability, flexibility, easy installation and use. Included among the options are three lengths, an in-cab controller and 24 flash patterns, plus LED stop-tail-turn lights, worklamps, alley lights and take-down lights.

www.eccogroup.com Number 200 on Reader Card

IONV Super-LED Combination Light

See Jerr-Dan's new Low-Profile Carrier at AT Expo in Baltimore!

The 15-degree angular placement increases horizontal visibility while deck is tilted.

Whelen’s versatile V-Series now includes the ION Super-LED compact lighting. Features include combination lighting for warning, flood/alley and ground warning. 180-degree wide-angle models include compact standalone with surface mount, built-in flange, universal or SideKick fender mount. All feature hard-coated lenses with High Definition Optics and 25 ScanLock flash patterns including 14 synchronizable patterns.

Comes with five-year HDP Heavy-Duty Professional warranty.

www.whelen.com Number 201 on Reader Card

‘Extreme Duty’ Trash Can Mounts In The Ditch Towing Products’ new XD “Extreme Duty” Trash Can Mounts are available for 4- or 6-gal. trash cans and easily mount to the tool box on a carrier or any other flat, vertical surface. The 6-gal. mount also holds a 5-gal. plastic bucket. The durable design will hold 60 lbs. of weight and matches the bolt pattern on Pro Series Tool Boxes with no drilling or measuring needed to install. Each trash can mount is made from 1/8” aluminum and has a bungee cord installed.

Side-mounting helps to minimize potential blockage from payloads.

J

err-Dan’s new 20’ XLP low-profile carrier is now available for the Ford F-550 and Dodge 5500 chassis without additional chassis modifications. The carrier features load angles down to 7.5 degrees, No-Lube technology for slide pads and pivot joints, aluminum beds with Galvanized Steel Beam Technology, on-board hydraulic pressure gauge, combination winch cable guide roller/tensioner plate and more.

The 20’ deck has a 12,000-lbs. capacity, comes in 96” or 102” widths, and 8,000- or 10,000-lbs. worm-gear winch. The deck is available in conventional or dualangle for either aluminum or steel option. Aluminum deck includes fixed or removable blade side rails; steel deck includes fixed or removable side rails or removable blade side rails.

The wheel lift’s lift capacity is 3,500 lbs. and tow capacity is 10,000 lbs., with maximum extended reach at 68”.

Accessories include: • Exclusive Rear Awareness Indicator Lights.

• Wireless remote with exclusive Actuated Remote Mechanism.

• LED emergency lighting.

• Multiple work light mounting locations.

• 36”, 48”, 60” and 78” toolboxes, storage trays and baskets.

• Automatic throttle-up on-demand (subject to chassis configuration) • Galvanized sub-frame and wheel-lift components.

www.jerrdan.com Number 203 on Reader Card

www.intheditch.com Number 202 on Reader Card

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TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 11

Number 107 on Reader Card

AD INDEX

Fax To: 888-847-6035 Page #

AAA Access Tools Actus Mfg. Advantage Funding Agero Akins Body & Carrier Sales American Safety Suppliers Apple Towing Auto Data Direct Auto Return AW Direct B/A Products Century Chevron Chrylser Fleet Coach–Net Columbus Truck & Equipment Condor Products Crouch’s Wrecker & Equip. Sales Custer Products DewEze Mfg. Dynamic Towing Eq. & Mfg. Eartec East Penn Truck Equipment ECCO Elizabeth Truck Center Equipment Sales & Service Ford Commercial Truck Freightliner GEICO Ginn Motor Company Hino Motor Sales USA Industrial Netting Insurance Auto Auctions (IAA) Integrated Vehicle Leasing Intek Truck Eq. Finance & Lease I Tow In Jerr-Dan Jiffy Jump Keystone Tape & Supply Kalyn Siebert Landoll Lift & Tow

23 89 41 30 19 83 43 35 16 94 105 29 60, 61 31 38, 39 93 22 27 27 106 42 103 98 12 43 88 115 2, 3 7 119 33 57 103 79 25 13 88 120 85 25 115 97 27

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RS# 179 102 127 106 114 126 135 101 197 169 209 108 143 154 162 153 154 167 177 128 147 165 133 107 138 123 152 176 216 129 125 142 111 110 104 145 175 124 164 208 115 174 139

Page # Lodar 100 Loganville Ford 95 Lynch Chicago 91 Matheny Motors 15 MatJack/International Wreckers 108 Muncie Power Tools 17 National Automobile Club 98 NationWide Towing & Rec. Group 106 New England Truckmaster 87 North American BanCard 5 Nussbaum Wreckers & Carriers 85 Ohio Power Systems 87 OMG 114 PDSI 100 Phoenix USA 103 Pierce Sales 21, 80 Progressive Commercial Ins. 13 Quest Roadside Services 102 Ramsey Winch 73 Recovery Billing Unlimited 30 Road America 16 Rush Towing Systems 99 Savatech 101 Sonetics Corporation 13 Sovereign Bank/Santander 65 Sovereign Merchant Services 97 Specialty Vehicle Equipment Leasing 44 Steck Mfg. 28 TCF Equipment Finance & Leasing 109 Tiger Tool 81 Towman Hero Award 107 TowIndustryWeek 101 TowMate 96 Tow Ramps 20 TowLot.com 70, 71 Towman 500 84 TransitPros 109 USAC/MD 82 Vulcan 77 Warn Industries 33 Whelen 86 Worldwide Equipment 28 Zacklift International 30 Zendex Tool Corp.

100

RS# 163 207 149 194 186 116 178 142 171 109 196 113 215 134 170 117 193 199 148 155 158 198 118 172 103 130 195 132 158 141 206 206 191 131 159 206 173 190 143 120 137 151 121 181

ADVERTISER

ACTION PAGE

October 2013 For more product info, go to www.towman.com and click on the FREE Product info icon.

Or circle the corresponding reader service number on the Action Card to the right, and send it in.

Form is valid for three months

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TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 13

Protect Your Online Presence and Reputation

by Michael Rappaport

E

very day, existing and potential customers of yours are talking about businesses online, whether it’s on Yelp, Google+, Facebook, personal blogs or elsewhere.

Eighty-three percent of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase decision; this wealth of chatter has a direct impact on your sales.

Everyone has heard of an online reputation, but there are very few towing companies truly leveraging the opportunity that online reviews provide.

The towing industry is unique and certainly isn’t immune to bad reviews.

As an industry, we face a negative image to start with, so positive reviews should be as important to you as response time, training, your certifications and overall advertising and marketing.

There’s an old adage that the best form of advertising is word of mouth.

Well, the Internet has put that on steroids! Everyone is a critic these days and with such a connected society, your positive reviews can and should be leveraged by reposting across your website, blog and, of course, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. That’s easy, fun and effective, but what about the negative reviews? Well that gets a little tougher. When someone is talking bad about your business, it’s like a “your mama” joke.

Your image is important and what people say does matter. I don’t care if you do private property tows, motor clubs, municipal contracts, cash calls or cover the spectrum—a bad review stings. The first order of business is knowing it’s out there.

1. Get a service to send you alerts when a review is posted.

The worst thing is to hear from

14 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

someone else that you have a bad review. Best practices suggest that all reviews get answered, with no regard to how accurate the allegations may be.

You may have a bona-fide complaint and it should be addressed. You may even have a competitor or disgruntled employee hiding behind a fictitious screen name, and that should be uncovered. You can’t afford to sweep it under the rug.

2. Don’t be emotional with your response; be professional and factual.

Do a search on Google in your area and you will notice the Google Local is primarily populated with providers with reviews. Coincidence? No way. Google wants reviews, which is why they bought Zagat. Google wants social interaction; that’s what Google+ is all about.

3. Set up your Google+ and Google Local and make it your mission to get more Google reviews than your competitors.

Lets face facts; it’s a new world.

Your traditional Yellow Pages print ad has been replaced with Smartphones accessing a variety of sites. Sure, Google is the Holy Grail of online significance, but there are dozens of other relevant online destinations and search results that are ready for you to improve business.

Just relying on your website and mobile site is not enough digital real estate to truly dominate your market or “own the page.” The progressive marketer is investing the time or engaging a professional service to exploit their directory listings and manage their reviews and online reputation. Think about it in simple terms: the more signs you have on the digital super-highway, the easier you are going to be found. Search engines will make you that much more relevant.

Towers like Jim’s Towing and Road Service in Monroe, Mich., have

Number 194 on Reader Card

invested in cleaning up and maintaining their directories by using OMG National. Tim and April Peck now are benefiting from cash calls not only from Google, but 411.com, YellowPages.com, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp, Judy’s Book and other search engines, directory sites, review sites and social sites.

4. Get all your directory listings filled out and properly populated.

This will enhance your website ranking through back links and be a source of new phone calls. For the tower that wants to “own the market,” managing your online data and your reputation has never been more important than it is today.

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series to help towers build online presence and institute an effective on-going review program. Next up, we’ll cover how a towing company has motivated drivers and dispatchers, increased sales and enhanced their Facebook page with positive reviews.

Mike Rappaport is the co-producer of American Towman TV and chief creative officer at OMG National.

Contact him on Facebook, LinkedIn or email him at mrappaport@omgnational.com for a free Online Reputation and Presence report.

Number 197 on Reader Card

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Number 158 on Reader Card

Number 116 on Reader Card

Making the Most of a Tow Show

by Don Archer

T

here’s an isolated tribe of aboriginal ancestry who live on a tiny island in the northern part of the Indian Ocean. They’re called the Sentinelese and they choose to have no contact with strangers. The Sentinelese vigorously resist all attempts at communication and live in grass huts; they survive by hunting, fishing and gathering wild plants. Fear of the outside world and the belief that their way of life is superior has halted their progress for thousands of years.

Sound familiar?

Minus a few details, like living on an island and gathering wild plants, some towers I know are kinda like that.

We’d prefer to do things our own way and resist all suggestions of change—to our own detriment.

Change can be good. If it weren’t for change, some of us would still be knee-deep in mud, face-to-face with our favorite mule begging for “one more try” to dislodge a customer’s car.

Far removed from equine extrica-

Smart tow bosses realize they don't have to come up with every innovation, and walking the floor of the AT Expo is a great place for ideas.

tion, today’s successful tow bosses embrace state-of-the-art equipment and techniques that minimize their effort and multiply results. They’ve come to realize that even though it’s their business, they don’t have to come

Learning new ways to be more efficient is a big reason why tow bosses attend AT Expo in Baltimore..

18 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

up with every innovation … they just need to be smart enough to know when to use one.

One place to find such innovations are tow shows. Now I know what most of you are thinking, “They just want to

Number 114 on Reader Card

sell me a truck.” OK, yes, they would like to sell you a truck, but if that stops you from taking advantage of all the training, networking and new ideas you’ll find … then you’re gonna be no better off than one of those isolated tribesmen.

Think about it: the only contact most towers have with folks in the industry is when you accidently bump into a competitor at the scene of an accident or during a trip to Walmart for Christmas shopping. (Not that you’d take any advice from that guy anyway.) The point is you don’t have a lot of walls to bounce your ideas off for feedback.

Oh sure there are many who hear you complain, but what about the solutions to those complaints? That’s what tow shows are all about, finding solutions.

Think of a problem you’re having right now. Maybe it’s a motor club issue, or a billing issue, or you need to have a better presence on the Internet. Whatever it is, at the upcoming American Towman Expo in Baltimore, they’ve got a class or seminar for it. Tested by towers and developed for towers, these guys have been where you are and have worked through it. They are there to offer you a solution.

You won’t find just any solution either. These aren’t your typical know-it-alls selling snake oil on late-night cable TV and the Internet. These guys are veterans in the industry who show up, primed and ready to take your quieries. If what they’re saying doesn’t make sense, you get to call them on it—right there.

But it’s not only the Recovery Billing Specialists and the presenters for the Police Towers Track or attorney Michael McGovern’s outstanding knowledge of tow law that you’ll find compelling; you’ll also make valuable connections and meet new industry friends.

If you allow yourself to be open, you’ll even walk away from each encounter with fellow towers a bit wiser, and maybe you’ll give a little wisdom back in return.

Do you have an idea for your business that you’re sure would be a good money-maker but haven’t taken the next step? Maybe it’s incorporating a service truck into your fleet or buying a tandem-axle carrier to dive into equipment transport? Is it still only an idea because you’re not sure exactly how to do it effectively?

Tow shows are where you’ll find people who are dealing with similar problems. They’re confronting some of the same challenges as you and they might even know where the traps lie. You’ll find help and insight and at the very least be pointed in the right direction.

Last year during Festival Night in Baltimore, I spoke with a couple of guys with two decades of experience in two separate towing businesses. These highly capable towers operated almost 1,000 miles away from me and freely offered up loads of helpful information, like tips on scheduling and how they compensated their drivers.

Their unique combination of an hourly wage with stepped incentives helped to decrease turnover and worked to keep drivers happy and motivated, which was exactly what I needed help with at the time.

Number 131 on Reader Card

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The Captain's Table in Baltimore is another place you can exchange tips and seek advice from the nation's top tow bosses.

They weren’t presenters, just folks I met while eating dinner.

Do you think I would have been able to get that type of information from the people I compete with for labor? Nope.

Competition in the towing business is ceaseless. And no one feels the pinch more than the technologically challenged.

Isn’t it funny how the same guy who can rig and recover a rolled-over

concrete truck has yet to master the intricacies of changing the ink cartridge in his fax machine or attaching a cell phone photo to an email? Technology can be your best friend when you use it, but a hated enemy when it’s used against you. It’s hard to know what technologies to invest in and what to discard.

If you’re the biggest fish in your pond, you know it wasn’t easy getting there; you worked hard to convince the

Number 105 on Reader Card

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decision-makers that choosing your services over your competitors was in their best interest. Even without the latest high-tech gadgets, they still call you because of the value they receive. But the last thing you want to do is sit back and watch as someone else uses readily available strategies and technologies to steal contracts away.

Don’t let the bright lights and shiny trucks scare you. There’s always great food, entertainment, freebies and awards.

Tow shows are the catalyst of positive change in the industry, and Baltimore is the preimer tow show to aid in moving the industry forward. The 25th AT Expo holds the possibility for you of gaining an edge and learning that one thing that will make the whole trip worth it … and then some.

Editor’s Note: Don Archer lives and works in Jefferson City, Mo., where he and his wife, Brenda, own and operate Broadway Wrecker, a 12-truck operation that’s been in business since the 1950s. He also contributes weekly columns on the towing trade to TowIndustryWeek.com.

Email him at don@broadwaywrecker.com.

Number 179 on Reader Card

Don’t Desensitize the Public to Move Over Laws

by John Borowski

I

n the United States, the Move Over laws are aimed at protecting emergency responders working along the roadside. Move Over is the law in 49 states (Hawaii and Washington, D.C., are holdouts). The law requires drivers, upon noticing either emergency vehicles with sirens or flashing lights, to move away by one lane or, if that isn’t possible, slow down by 20 mph below the posted speed limit. This includes law enforcement vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances.

Drivers must use due care when approaching an emergency vehicle that displays emergency lighting such as law enforcement vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances and also vehicles with flashing amber lighting such as tow trucks, construction vehicles and other service workers stopped along the side of the road while performing their duties.

Our industry fought hard to help get this law passed. While there are more tow truck operators killed each year than police and fire personnel combined, I watch our own industry improperly use their emergency lights which confuses the motoring public.

For some reason, operators need to tell everyone that they got a call and are going to it by using their lights. Then they need to tell everyone to look at them while they have one on the hook.

24 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

Emergency lights should only be used while on scene—if there is an immediate danger for their presence or oncoming traffic while loading, unloading or recovering. The usage of these lights for any other reason is simply not needed. In fact, it dilutes the perception of the emergency nature to motorists with each unnecessary usage.

Emergency lights should only be used while on scene.

While towing a vehicle on a carrier, why would you need to have the emergency lights on? Your load is secured on the bed and doesn’t need to be advertised.

While towing a vehicle on your tow truck, tag lights or auxiliary taillights on the vehicle in tow are being used, right?

No matter the call that you’re going to or from, the usage of lights doesn’t allow you to run red lights, pass other vehicles, tailgate or violate

any other rules of the road. So why are they being used?

The only time running your emergency lights would be required, besides being on scene, is when traveling with a load that makes you over on width, height, length or weight.

Safer Tie-downs Another safety issue I see is many different improper types of carrier tiedowns. There are the two J-hooks and the winch in the front, one J-hook in the rear. This has got to be the No. 1 type of situation out there. Some are far worse with just the hook on the wire rope in the front and one hook off to the side in the rear. Some are even brave enough to have nothing on the back.

I understand that most operators think, “I’m not going far … just down the street,” but every tow should be secured as though it is going 100 miles.

When a vehicle is loaded onto the deck of a carrier with a winch, the operator should be securing the vehicle down with a four-point tie-down and then releasing the winch line so there is no load on it. The rear connections should cross to prevent side-toside shifting. Secondary or safety chains should always be used.

Once secured in this fashion, there

is no need to apply the emergency brake or to put the vehicle in park.

This will prevent the operator getting on the deck and being exposed to a slip-and-fall injury.

On wheel-lifts, tie-down straps should be used on both wheels being lifted, every time, along with secondary or safety chains.

Owners need to take the time to explain these simple compliance rules and keep it safer and less confusing to the general motoring public.

John Borowski is a two time recipient of the American Towman Medal for heroism, a past president of the Statewide Towing Association of Massachusetts, a veteran tower of 30 years, and a former towing equipment sales specialist for two wrecker manufacturers. An inductee in the Int'l Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame, John is a regular contributor to American Towman and the operations manager for Amber Energy Services, specializing in accident cleanup.

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Separating Your Business from the Competition

by Mark Lacek Bing.com maps have a great feature for changing angle of view when checking debtor addresses.

T

he mission is to locate, repossess and deliver the asset to your secure facility. While reaching your objective you must conquer these three steps: 1. Follow all of the laws.

2. Make a profit.

3. Do a better job that the other guy!

Many repossession assignments will be parked in the driveway or at the place of business. Very often the client will provide your office with exact information where the asset will be picked up on the first run. With the price of being in business today, it is wise to verify all provided information.

Taking the assignment page off of the fax machine or printer, jumping into your truck and heading into the field to search for the asset will cause you to go broke. Why? In many situations, the address is no longer valid.

There is a procedure that can save time, money and help you recover more cars and trucks.

In the old days, the client was sure to provide the repossession professional with tons of information. Today, the client will simply give debtor name, the most current address on file, the year, make and model of the asset, the VIN and, if you’re lucky, a valid contact phone number.

With the information the client provides, it is time for your skip trace or verification department to work its magic.

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Here’s a few steps of what I do: First, I either run a comprehensive report on the debtor using TLO.com, or I run a “360” search using Masterfiles. I sometimes run both. These searches are a few dollars each and believe me a few dollars spent at your desk are much easier to justify than spending a tank full of fuel checking a few addresses.

With the added data, I have access to probably 10-times the amount of information from what is provided by the client. Keep in mind the information from the client is more than likely the information of record when the loan originated and easily could be outdated.

I use the Masterfiles 360 to obtain the latest information including associated persons who lived at an address at the same time the debtor lived at the address. This information is valuable for the social networking pages because if the person lived at the same address, chances are they have befriended them on Facebook.

Masterfiles also provides the previous addresses with the dates the debtor was there. Very often there is a phone number next to the address.

Property owner information is also provided.

I like TLO because it provides me with residence information and all vehicle information past and present and current license tag info. TLO also provides a list of phone numbers of

the subject and email addresses, along with a relationship diagram of relatives and associates and information on any and all businesses using the address.

If the assignment is a commercial vehicle, I will use satellite maps from Google.com and Bing.com to view the address of the debtor to see if commercial vehicles are parked in the street or yard.

Online Maps When on Bing maps, use the photo spin icon in the top right of the screen.

The different views are taken on different days. This gives you photos of the subject address taken at different dates. I really like the Bing maps feature of changing the angle of the view.

Often times I spot the asset in one view but it is not there on the next view. This is probably because the photos are collected on different days.

Google maps puts you right on the street where you can sometimes look to see if the grass is worn in a way where you can tell if a semi truck would park there. Sometimes you can still get tag information.

I create two perimeters around the subject address. The first perimeter is what I call the “specific perimeter.”

This is where a vehicle exits the driveway of the residence and makes three left or three right turns and ends back at the location.

I will use the satellite imagery on

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the mapping to search the streets for the asset. The second perimeter is what I call the “general perimeter;” main roads surrounding the debtor address. These streets are where the businesses and parking lots are located. Very often a commercial asset is parked at the nearest shopping center.

Mapping also helps to locate public storage areas near the debtor’s residence for boat and RV repossessions.

Social Media

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Next I might search the social media pages for the subject. If I do not locate the page, I will use the info from TLO or Masterfiles to search for the social pages of relatives, friends and business associates. The more original the name of the subject, the easier it is to find the page. If I’m having a hard time because of a common name, I’ll jump into IRB Search and plug in some info to see what I can find.

From there I will search the friends list for the subject.

Once found, it is wise to search the photos page. There is a very good chance you will find a picture of the asset with vital information on the doors or in the notes next to the photo. I cannot tell you how many times what I am searching for is sitting there online in a photo gallery, just waiting.

Something else to look for in the photo page is background information. I have seen where the debtor I am looking for is sitting on the front porch with the house number behind them on the wall.

Next I will log on to BRBPUB.com and navigate to the free public records. You can click on the state, then county.

This site lets you navigate through the property and clerk of court public information pages. Make sure you go to the business entity page to search for corporate information, fictitious name registration and UCC filings, current and lapsed.

I like to see what business entities the subject is involved with on the state corporate info site. This will provide you with his partners and the address of the business. Often I might look up info on an ex-partner of the debtor. Ex-business partners can be as helpful as ex-wives.

Next I will do my mapping searches on these addresses. After the corporation searches, I will go into county records and search both civil and criminal on the subject.

Chances are something in these searches has caused the debtor to become delinquent. This also gives you vital information on who else might be interested in your subject. There is a good chance the subject has other equipment with a different lender who may have information of interest to you. There is also a chance your asset was recovered by another lender who may have issued a blanket Uniform Commercial Code action. (A blanket UCC will list all of the debtor’s assets to a lender as secure collateral even if the collateral has existing liens.) Believe me, it gets really ugly in court with attorneys fighting over blanket liens. It’s fun to watch a room full of lawyers … upset … a judge.

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The pre-field investigation should take less than an hour and the cost should be no more than a few dollars, or free when using public records if just verifying supplied info. With the newly obtained information, the agent should know where and when to locate and recover the asset. Commercial accounts must be worked in-house before sending an agent to the field.

Automobile accounts should also have the information verified before boots and wheels are sent to the field.

The bottom line is to provide your clients with a more productive service than the competition. Anyone can pick up the low-hanging fruit.

There is no better feeling than locating and recovering an asset your competitor could not find. Bam!

Author Mark Lacek is a 30-year recovery industry veteran and former editor of Professional Repossessor magazine.

Mark@commercialassetsolutions.com Number 155 on Reader Card

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Make the Roads a Safer Place Practice Defensive Driving

by Terry Abejuela

D

efensive driving saves lives.

Thousands of deaths and injuries result from traffic collisions every year in the United States. You can find more reports on the Internet than you could possibly read with statistical data about collisions. The majority of a tow truck operator’s time is spent behind the wheel of the truck; when towers practice defensive driving, the life they save could be their own.

I recently helped my 16-year-old daughter earn her provisional drivers license. In the process, I evaluated my own driving performance and admit that I was not driving as safely as I thought. Out of concern that my daughter learn to be a safe driver, I decided to make a few changes to set an example.

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Defensive driving is a skill that towers must constantly practice in order to safely negotiate the traffic hazards they face on a daily basis. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 90 percent of traffic collisions are caused by driver error.

When you drive you must constantly evaluate and process information and make quick and accurate decisions.

Being a defensive driver means being prepared for anything—including mistakes that other drivers make.

I strongly recommend that all towers take a defensive driving course every two or three years. Computerbased training is better than nothing, but it shouldn’t take the place of an instructor-led classroom or hands-on training program.

Most of the information in a defensive-driving course will not be new information, but you will probably realize that you are not consistently practicing these techniques. I challenge you to practice defensive driving all the time. Practice is the best of all instructors.

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Be Alert Would you feel comfortable driving for a few seconds with your eyes closed? Of course not—but taking your eyes off of the road for any reason has the same affect. You must be alert, and pay attention when driving. One of the most important things you can do to be a defensive driver is to always remain alert to your driving.

There are plenty of driving-related distractions that you can’t avoid like scanning mirrors, dashboard indicators, managing space, reading the myriad of regulatory, informational and warning signs and anticipating hazards.

Many experienced drivers feel like they can drive on auto-pilot safely.

Have you ever been driving to a call and suddenly realize you forgot where you’re going, but once you stop to think about it realize you’re heading in the right direction? You allowed your mind to wander and became a distracted driver. What happens when something unexpected happens like a child on a bicycle suddenly darting out of a driveway in front of you? If you were paying attention and visually scanning the area you may have noticed clues and been prepared to stop.

The trick is to recognize and direct your attention to the things that are critical to the safe operation of your truck and eliminate distractions that are not critical to the task of driving while you are behind the wheel. Distractions like using a cellphone, eating, smoking, emotional conversations and daydreaming are not critical while driving.

I believe that rear-ending the vehicle in front is one of the most common collisions that towers are involved in.

Many of these collisions could have been avoided by following at a safe distance, reducing your speed and scanning far enough ahead. Operators must increase their following distance and slow down—especially when in tow or inclement weather.

Weight a Minute Most light-duty tow trucks weigh between 11,000 lbs. and 18,000 lbs. and require more distance to stop in an emergency. When in tow, the tow 34 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

truck and towed vehicle gross combination weight may be anywhere between 16,000 lbs. and 26,000 lbs.

This is a lot of weight to try to stop quickly. When towing with conventional tow sling or wheel lift, the distance required to bring the combination to a stop will increase due to the reduced front axle weight on the tow truck.

Establish a 30- to 40-second visual lead time or more when you are in tow or transport, and even more in inclement weather.

Many drivers have the (wrong) impression that anti-lock brakes help them to stop their vehicle in a shorter distance. The truth is they help prevent the brakes from locking up, but they do not reduce braking distance.

"Direct your attention to the things that are critical to the safe operation of your truck and eliminate distractions."

Manage your space. Maintain a situational awareness of the traffic around you to the front, rear and on both sides. When possible maintain an escape route. Accelerate, decelerate and change lanes when necessary to safely manage your space and an escape route.

Rainy Days In most areas of the country the coming winter brings rain and snow which become additional hazards. It is important to maintain your truck in a safe operating condition at all times, but it is even more critical in inclement weather. Maintain properly functioning windshield wipers, window defrosters, brakes, tires and lights.

Make sure your headlight lenses and window glass is clean and clear.

Reduce the potential for hydroplaning in the rain by reducing

your speed and maitaining good tread on your tires. The roadway is most dangerous in the first 15 minutes of rainfall as the oil on the roadway becomes slick before the oil washes away. During cold weather be alert for areas that tend to develop black ice, like areas under bridges.

Don’t drive drowsy. This is easier said than done in the towing business, but it is very important to follow this rule. Driving while drowsy reduces your reaction time, decreases awareness and impairs your judgement.

Studies show that approximately 16.5 percent of fatal collisions in the U.S. involved a drowsy driver. Some drivers feel that they can tell they are about to fall asleep. Research has found that people need to be asleep for two to four minutes before most will acknowledge they have been sleeping.

Dozing off for even a second or two while you are driving can be fatal.

Forty-one percent of drivers surveyed admitted to having fallen asleep at the wheel at some time. (That doesn’t include those drivers who fell asleep at the wheel and didn’t live to be surveyed about it.)

I challenge all tow operators to help save lives by practicing defensive driving at all times, whether on the job or off. Let’s be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Terry Abejuela has 30+ years of light-duty towing-and-recovery experience. He is also a lightduty level 1 instructor for the California Tow Truck Association since 1998. terry.abejuela@sbcglobal.net

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All a Buzz

Chainsaw Safety Dealing With Downed Trees at the Recovery Scene

by Randall C. Resch

W

hen motorists don’t have the simple sense to stay inside during servere storms, we’re called to tow, recover and rescue them.

We’re in an industry that puts us smack-dab in the middle of harm’s way where the elements are uncontrollable as we head into Mother Nature’s fracas.

I remember many Sierra Mountain snowstorms during the late 1990s 36 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

where California Highway Patrol requested winch-outs up and down I80 just this side of Donner Pass. Even if the wind wasn’t howling at the time of recovery, heavy ice and stormy conditions snapped trees under the weight of the ice… you could hear and see the trees and branches snapping all around, making for dangerous recovery conditions.

According to the Bureau of Labor

Statistics, logging and tree trimming are the most dangerous and potentially fatal of past and present occupations. Although towers aren’t tree trimmers by nature, some recovery situations require chainsaw use to get to casualty vehicles and ease the extrication. Simply driving to and from service areas during severe storms makes for a daunting and dangerous task.

The Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention reported that 1,285 workers died while performing tree care and maintenance from 1992 to 2007. The most common causes of death were being struck by or against an object like a falling tree or branch, falls and electrocutions.

For tow operators who utilize chainsaws during recoveries, trimming accidents and accidental death scenarios are ever-present. Like all towing and recovery actions, using a chainsaw requires full and complete operator attention. Extreme caution must be used around and near moving chainsaws; even the simple act of walking with an idling saw can result in injury or death.

I’ve seen towers use dangerous techniques with chainsaws, from cutting with the tip of the bar to cutting above their heads, or the classic onehanded outstretched reach-beyondnormal extension. I cautioned them that their techniques were more than dangerous, and they should reposition themselves to be less exposed to danger; they barked back that they “know what they’re doing” and for me to “mind my own business.” I’ve witnessed towers who, in order to reach higher positions in trees, seated themselves atop their tow truck’s boom while another driver moved the boom up into the tree. (How stupid can that be … trying to maintain balance with an idling chainsaw in the dummy’s lap?)

Likened to riding motorcycles, when it comes to chainsaw operations, you might be the best chain sawer operator in the world, but it takes a greater sense of safety than starting the machine and “getting to work.” Never take on the attitude that nothing’s gonna happen to you. Owners, if you let your drivers work with chainsaws as part of their recovery procedures, the topic of chainsaw safety must be discussed in periodic safety meetings.

You Can’t Tell Last year, a Picayune, Miss., tow driver was killed when a tree, damaged by Tropical Storm Isaac, fell on his truck. This freak accident could have happened to any one of us as it did and without warning. At the time

the driver was killed, media reports stated the area was suffering heavy rain and strong winds from Isaac’s rage.

Trees are most vulnerable during tornado-like storms or hurricane-force winds. Even healthy-looking trees break under excessive weight of wet or frozen branches and leaves. Ice storms can cause individual tree limbs to weigh 30-times more than their actual weight. Weakened tree limbs pose the danger of falling even days after a storm passes. Never stand under a heavy tree canopy for any amount of time other than to hurriedly complete a task.

Look to see where the limb fell from in its proximity to power poles before entering the work area.

Another problem associated with downed trees is when falling trees strip overhead high-voltage electrical wires. Look to see where the limb fell from in its proximity to power poles before entering the work area. If the limb fell atop or through power lines, make no attempts to extricate casualty vehicles or work the limb until utilities are confirmed off.

Chainsaw Safety 101 At Skeeter’s Towing, in Whitesboro, Texas, the company’s big rigs carry small 16” 33cc Homelite chainsaws.

“The Homelite makes adjustment cuts on beam-sized lumber that’s too long or doesn’t fit between a semitrailer ’s landing gear,” said Ron Hardy, a heavy operator for Skeeter’s.

“It’s lightweight, inexpensive to buy, and really easy to use. It’s great to have when a crash site needs clearing or branches get in the way of gaining access to crashed semis that go into the trees.

“I know they’re dangerous and I really respect that.”

The chainsaw is one of the the most dangerous power tools purchased in today’s marketplace, and it requires no license or training to own or operate. Common considerations of chainsaw safety include: • Don’t cut until all persons are removed from cut and fall areas.

• Never use chainsaws when tired or intoxicated.

• Wear chainsaw appropriate safety equipment (chaps, leggings, hard hat, face shield, hearing protection, heavy boots, etc.)

• Keep saw blades out of the dirt and away from rocks.

• Sharp blades provide safer cutting.

• Make a clearing to see the work area.

• Anticipate where the tree/limb will fall; have a pre-planned escape path.

• Cutting from ladders or raised platforms is dangerous.

• Never make cuts to limbs that are over your head or beyond reach.

• Anticipate the blade/bar will bind or kickback; use wedges.

• Let the saw work the cut—don’t force the blade. Chainsaw cutting in wet, rain, ice, or snow conditions may cause branches to split or bind the chainsaw’s blade, leading to kickback.

It’s Not Your Job In bigger municipalities, there are utility companies or municipal departments assigned to handle the workload of downed trees. We’re towers, not trees surgeons. There’s generally nothing in a contract requiring you to provide tree removal services. You may be so gracious as to provide a free service and make good will with your agency … maybe even get your photo in the local newspaper, but you do so at your own risk. This is generally a job for city or county operations … but when Mother Nature hammers your community, the emergency service network may be overwhelmed.

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to their location and remove or relocate downed trees. While officers are simply looking to clear the roadways vs. waiting for county shops to arrive, their request is friendly and thinking it’s something your company can do quickly. Because it’s generally not a contract requirement, if you take on the job, you assume the responsibility of doing it at whatever costs and time it may take to get the job done.

Move it First?

When downed-tree scenarios block the roadway, consider pulling the tree vs. cutting it up, if the tree seems like it can be dragged without damaging the tow truck or compromising public safety. Unless the tree is of monstrous girth and size, most tow trucks can pull the oddity (with chains) to the side of the road far faster and without the effort that cutting the tree takes.

Dragging a casualty tree involves: • Backup near the tree’s trunk.

• Emergency lights on; emergency

In small towns, it’s not uncommon for officers to request tow trucks come to their location and remove or relocate downed trees. brake applied.

• Attach chain(s) to the tree’s trunk; returning it to the tow truck’s D-ring or location that will bear the weight of the pull.

• When the pull begins, avoid jerking movements.

• Start slow to ensure the truck can handle the pull.

Stowing a chainsaw on a rig that responds to a variety of recoveries is a good idea, as long as safety is part of the equation.

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• Ask the officer on-scene to control traffic in a straight path or provide escort if movement is a considerable distance.

• Drag obstruction completely from traffic lanes.

• Set cones to identify obstruction.

A Side Biz In areas where there tend to be lots of downed trees, there’s always opportunity to have side sales selling stacked and delivered firewood. At my former tow business in the Sierras, downed trees were plentiful yearround, especially for the energetic entrepreneur holding a wood cutting permit. Downed pine trees were my favorite, especially 70-footers that could be sectioned and winched onto my carrier’s deck. By taking a couple of 20’ lengths back to my property, I could cut them into 18” rounds and split them as business slowed.

If you run a chainsaw at a recovery scene or run a side wood-cutting biz, have enough experience and safety sense to use the saw as it was intended (including wearing all safety gear). A saw can get away from even the most experienced operator if it binds or perhaps hits an embedded strand of barbed wire that’s unnoticeably been grown over.

Nonetheless, working with chainsaws is dangerous business. Be sure your company’s insurance policy completely covers use of chainsaws with full worker’s compensation coverage for you and your employees.

And … any time you or your employees pull a chainsaw from your truck’s equipment box, the element of danger increases. America’s emergency rooms are packed with stories about manly men who sawed themselves in half because something went wrong and the chainsaw simply did what it’s designed to do.

Randall C. Resch is a retired California police officer and has been in the towing and recovery industry for 40+ years as a tow business owner, manager, consultant and light-duty trainer. Email Randy at rreschran@aol.com.

Tow Business Burned DuraStar Gains Cummins ISB 6.7L The owner of Isaac’s Auto and Towing in Wilmington, N.C., spent his labor day sweeping up glass, and picking through the charred remains of vandalized cars at his shop.

Owner Isaac Rodriguez opened his shop a few months ago, but after several cars were vandalized over the weekend, he said he is struggling to pick up the pieces.

“I went through Hell to get the little bit of money to get my business going, and now I’m basically shut down,” he said.

“My life has come to a stop basically.”

He said anywhere from 9 to 12 cars were damaged, and of those, four were lit on fire, including his company tow truck.

David Hines of the Wilmington fire department says there is about $40,000 worth of damage to the cars.

Rodriguez said he doesn’t know what to do because he does not have insurance to cover the damages. He said it will be a struggle to keep the shop open without the help of the community.

Source: www.wwaytv3.com.

Navistar International Corp. recently expanded its medium-duty engine offerings to include the Cummins ISB 6.7L engine for International DuraStar medium-duty trucks.

DuraStar trucks with the Cummins ISB will be Navistar’s first mediumduty vehicles with Selective Catalytic Reduction emissions after-treatment.

Navistar will begin taking orders

immediately for trucks with regular production scheduled for December.

While the Cummins ISB is a new offering for Navistar’s medium-duty trucks and buses, Navistar has gained extensive experience packaging and manufacturing medium-duty trucks with the Cummins ISB since 2010 through its Ford Blue Diamond joint venture. The Cummins ISB allows Navistar to meet the needs of its truck and bus customers by adding a proven mid-range SCR engine to its line-up.

sureFleet Adds GPS Options FTI Groups recently added GPS integration options for its sureFleet fleet management software. The GPS integration options include partnerships with BudgetGPS, Geotab, TomTom, and a low-cost phone tracking option using sureFleet Mobile. sureFleet currently offers integration with three popular GPS providers that allow automatic capture of travel speed, direction, and vehicle diagnostic data.

Information is transferred to sureFleet and is analyzed to provide information for fleet maintenance along with a typical tracking toolset.

Customers can also subscribe to a new sureFleet phone-tracking option.

With this feature, users are able to track the locations of their drivers via the free sureFleet mobile apps for Android and iOS. Reports include driver location history, stop events, speeding events, and total driving time.

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Rotation Policy Dear Editor, In the February 2012 issue of American Towman, you published my letter regarding the rotation policy used by the Vermont State Police. Mainly quoting the “equal and fair” part of the policy, I explained how a few in the Vermont Tow Association used their position and “friends” in the Vermont State Police to change a system that rotated and was fair to what I call the “Right of Refusal” system.

With the “Right of Refusal” system, Company A got all the calls until he was too busy or just didn’t feel like taking the call, then Company B would get the call.

So Companies C and D rarely got calls, and when they did, they weren’t the wrecks or money-making calls, but the tire changes, gas service and not-so-profitable calls.

After much work, requests for radio logs, attorneys meeting with several commanders that didn’t want to hear a word about favoritism, lack of rotation, negative effects on business, consumer protection—and never mind safety.

This year that all changed. A new commander had come in to take over

some of the barracks. The Vermont State Police had a problem with a long-time officer padding his time sheets and not covering areas he was supposed to, and the new commander walked into a cleanup to gain trust back from the community.

I got a letter from the state police last winter explaining that there was a new commander and the letter included a copy of the State Police Wrecker Rotation Policy. In the same letter, the new commander said he wouldn’t be making changes in the current system.

The problem for me was that he sent a letter explaining the state’s clear policy explaining “equal and fair,” yet there wouldn’t be a change to the system. I emailed this new commander, mainly to explain my position on the system, and to explain that the letter I got was contradicting.

Surprisingly, I got a call from him a couple of days later. A few days after that he was at my shop to see what I was working on, asked why I was frustrated and to listen to what I had to say. The commander informed me that he would work on the rotation sooner than later.

He asked for my input, policy research, what I have learned from what other areas are doing, and I showed him how I

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was keeping track of calls, officers, wrecker companies, etc.

Within a few months, the commander researched, worked with dispatchers and put together a meeting to change the system back to fair rotation.

As of July 1, the system was being put back in place. We all understand that there will be some problems until the system is worked again for a while. But it’s a win in my book. Some love me, some hate me and some don’t know or care about how it works. It’s moving in the right direction. The system no longer favors five companies in different areas.

With all that being said, the “good ol’ boys club” is still a problem in the town where my business is located. So my battle isn’t over. I have officers telling my customers in the same town to use my competitor. I have a few cases where my customer called me directly and the officer on scene still called my competitor—but I’m not moving, storing or washing the town vehicles for free either. (Not exaggerated.)

I just wanted to thank American Towman for putting that letter in print for me … a lot of good people emailed and called me as a result. I got a lot of useful information from your readers and was pointed in some great directions about this issue.

As much as I have been frustrated with losing calls, revenue, sleep, and the stress this struggle caused my family, it’s made me a better tower and better businessman (which still needs some work).

I’ve sought more training and gained a new respect for what we do. I have a lot to learn and will never stop learning in this industry; that is why I love it. I have been in business 10 years, and I see many more in my future.

I also thank Bob Fouquette at Big Wheels and attorney Mike McGovern for their input and direction. I should also thank my competitors for telling me, “You can’t do that.”

Mathew Norton Anytime Towing, Essex Junction, Vt.

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Thursday 11/14

Friday 11/15

Rotator Training

Rotator Training

Camden Yards 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

8 a.m.–Noon

AT Academy Seminars

Welcome Cruise

8:30–11:30 a.m., 5:10–7:10 p.m.

Inner Harbor 5:30–8 p.m.

Police Towers of America 11:30 a.m.

Captains of Industry

Renaissance Hotel 7 p.m.

See Beer Stein Special on Registration Page.

Baltimore Air Fares Roundtrip Atlanta $215 Boston $130 Buffalo $163 Charlotte $189 Chicago $289

Cincinnati $241 Cleveland $183 Dallas $235 Denver $306 Detroit $217

Indianapolis $264 Jacksonville $221 Las Vegas $157 Los Angeles $317 Miami $144

Minneapolis $206 Milwaukee $261 Montreal $398 New York $239 St. Louis $250

San Francisco $284 Seattle $330 Toronto $456 Tucson $265

Donnie Recovery Luncheon Noon

Exhibits Preview: Hall Open 2–5 p.m.

Bull & Pig Roast–Miller Rocks Hard Rock Cafe 7:30–10 p.m.

Calitri’s Cuba

Luckies Tavern, PowerPlant 9 p.m.

Welcome Captains of Academy Recovery Cruise Industry Passport Luncheon

$55 Supper Cruise aboard Spirit of Baltimore. American Towman humorist Ricky “The Real Deal” Shackleford headlines.

Sponsor: American Towman Thursday, 5:30 p.m. boarding

$75 Surf and Turf at the legendary Captains’ Long Table. Features two keynote addresses and breaking bread with Industry leaders.

Sponsor: American Towman Thursday 7 p.m.

$75 Includes breakfasts Friday thru Sunday and entry into all seminars.

Reovery Track Sponsor: Miller Industries

$35 Lunch features the Donnie Cruse Recovery Awards and critiques of the winning recoveries.

Co-sponsors: B/A Products and AW Direct Friday Noon

GET YO

Saturday 11/16

Sunday 11/17

AT Academy Seminars

Recovery Billing Course

Recovery Billing Course

AT Academy Seminars

Exhibit Hall Grand Opening

Exhibit Hall Opens

American Wrecker Pageant Opens

ACE Awards

Towman 500 Luncheon

4 p.m

8–11 a.m.

8 a.m.–Noon 11 a.m.

12:30 p.m.

10 a.m.

Exhibit Hall Closes International Feast

Exhibit Hall Closes

4 p.m.

6 p.m.

Wrecker Pageant Ceremony

Towman Order

4:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

All events held at Baltimore Convention Center unless otherwise noted.

Festival Night

Renaissance Hotel 7 p.m.

FREE Towing’s premier party– Miller Rocks!

At the Hard Rock Cafe.

Sponsor: Miller Industries Friday 7 p.m.

9–11 a.m.

2 p.m.

11 a.m.

Bull & Pig Roast

8–Noon

Cigar Smoker

FREE Calitri’s Cuba in Luckies Tavern’s heated, covered patio right in the middle of the action of the Power Plant Live!

Co-sponsors: Lift & Tow and Savatech Friday, 9 p.m.

Festival Night

$55 Featuring dinner, Howl at the Moon, Mike Corbin’s Towman Ballads, and the American Towman Medal Ceremony.

Renaissance Hotel Sponsor: American Towman Saturday 7 p.m.

Int’l Feast

FREE Beef Brisket, Suckling Pig, Bavarian Sausages, Mexican Tamales and more!

Exhibit Floor, Pageant Hall Sponsor: American Towman Sunday, 4 p.m.

UR TICKETS

Over 200 Exhibitors and 800 Exhibits Pack Hall There are many events that make up the 25th American Towman Exposition but the heart of towing’s “Main Event” is the Exhibit Hall – The Show. Over 200 exhibitors and 800 exhibits are packing the Baltimore Convention Center by the magnificent Inner Harbor.

Ask any towing professional why they are on the show floor and you’ll hear hundreds of reasons among the 10, 000 attendees; checking out GPS, hooking up with motor clubs, comparing the latest carriers on the market, shopping accessories, looking to compare and save on insurance premiums, researching dispatch software, the seminar on fleet management or bus towing, etc. Most attendees to be sure are there for many reasons.

The biggest reason for being in Baltimore is this is where the action is. From the industry’s suppliers to its progressive-minded tow bosses, the exhibit floor is the place to shop, research, network, and learn.

Fourteen motor clubs and call providers are exhibiting, making it convenient for tow business owners to strike up new business relationships and shore up existing ones. It’s not uncommon for a tower to ply

48 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

the motor club booths at AT Expo and return home with another $1,000,000 in call volume for the coming year. For towing professionals looking to strengthen their motor club portfolio, Baltimore is a mustplace-to-be.

If you’re looking for a wrecker, carrier, trailer or chassis, AT Expo brings the manufacturers and sellers to you.

You can meet the people who build the trucks and the chiefs of these companies. If you are looking for allies in other aspects of your tow business, the suppliers in the exhibit hall cover every aspect of your operation and some aspects you may never have realized until you come across the exhibitor who offers a solution or assistance to a specific challenge.

The diligent attendee goes into the American Towman Exposition and then goes home to increase revenue and becomes more efficient (which cuts costs). It may be just one supplier that made the difference or several of them.

One tow business owner can go home adding one million dollar revenue for the coming year by simply signing on to conduct online auto auctions, picking up a new motor club, adding GPS and/or dispatch software, getting a better deal on finance or insurance, maybe saving considerably on an equipment purchase, or profiting from the Accident Cleanup seminar. Of course, even a fraction of the million dollars makes the time spent in Baltimore well worth the investment in the trip.

EXHIBITOR ROSTER AAA The nation’s largest motor club salutes the best of the best – AAA service providers and preferred suppliers.

AASP-PA (Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of PA) The largest automotive aftermarket repair association in Pennsylvania, serving mechanical, collision and towing businesses.

Access Tools The undisputed leader in car opening tools and other automotive specialty tools.

Actus Manufacturing Manufacturer of electrical linear and custom actuators and hand controls for tow trucks.

Advantage Funding Equipment Financing for the towing industry.

Agero A leader in roadside assistance, offering high volume dispatches, easy online billing and free dispatch software.

AHT Automotive Equipment Providing the finest automotive equipment for your parts, service, and repair operation.

all-Grip Vehicle Recovery Systems Manufactures/distributes the finest line of tiedown equipment and accessories for the towing professional.

Allstate Roadside Services Over 50 years of experience developing customized, branded roadside assistance programs.

Alteso Develops and implements fully scalable and manageable systems, web-based services and solutions.

Ambest Sales, purchasing, market cooperative for independent service centers and travel centers.

Amdor® Manufacturer of quality aluminum roll-up doors and Luma Bar™ LED lighting solutions.

American Safety & Supply High visibility clothing and safety equipment.

Advance-Register online @ ATExposition.com

2013 Exhibitors

An alphabetical listing of Exhibitors (as of September 14th) American Towman Magazine

Bobee Tech Corp

DudaMobile

Towing's premier publication now in it's 37th year.

American Towman Standards Authority

Road Mate DVR specializes in design and manufacture of advanced portable mini full HD video recorders in cutting-edge technology.

Assists tow businesses to convert websites to mobile sites.

Rates towing operations for professional standards.

Car-Part.com Kentucky-based used auto parts marketplace.

Offers a full line of self-loading wreckers and carriers with three-year warranty.

American Towman Magazine's video coverage of towing industry events, featuring Emily Oz.

Century

Eartec Co.

See Miller Industries

AmeriDeck™

Chevron

Leading manufacturer of full duplex communication systems. Providing simple sound solutions for industry applications.

Manufacturer of safest, easiest towing system for motorcycles that will load at ground level.

See Miller Industries

American Towman TV

Dynamic Towing Equipment & Mfg.

East Penn Truck Equipment Coach-Net Partner with a leading motor club providing light, medium and heavy duty services.

Distributors of Miller Industries towing equipment; two locations to serve your needs, sales, service, financing.

Code 3

Ecco

Astralease

Leading emergency lights manufacturer with array of amber light products for towing industry.

Financial services designed to assist tow owners in the purchases of their tow vehicles.

Comeup USA

Manufactures beacons, lightbars, directional warning lights, back-up alarms, rear view camera system.

Anchor Graphics Signs-chorplast/aluminum, parking permit decals, plastic hang tags, violation/warning, regular/NCR stickers, visitor passes and more.

Manufacturer of winches.

Excel Sportswear

Convoy Technologies

Specializing in silk screen printing of t-shirts and sweatshirts as well as a variety of outerwear clothing.

Atomic LED Custom LED truck lighting, factory fit LED strobe lights. Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Kenworth, Peterbilt chassis.

Improve safety, security and productivity-like no other; using backup cameras, gps, and mobile DVR’s.

Auto Data Direct Industry specific business solutions through web-based tools designed to expedite and simplify business processes.

Copart Auto Auctions

Automotive Training Institute (ATI)

Crashfilm/Boxes4U

Offers automotive management training programs.

A blue self adhesive film with a 45 day UV protectant. Protect your cars without tarps.

Sells more than one million vehicles yearly by VB2, patented two-stage Internet sales technology.

AW Direct America's leading supplier of towing and recovery equipment, supplies and support.

B/A Products Manufacturer of chain, web, wire rope and accessories for the towing and auto transport industries.

Crouch's Wrecker & Equip. Sales Sales and support of full line Miller Industries tow trucks and tow accessories since 1989.

Locations in Tennessee and Florida.

Custer Products Limited Manufacturer/supplier of LED lighting products, since 1993.

B&B Industries Tow truck manufacturer.

Dangelo's Custom Built Mfg.

Bad Dog Tools

Heavy tow trucks designed to the specifications the customer prefers. 30-80 ton rotators.

Offers a wide range of carbide-based tools for drilling and cutting.

Delavan Automotive

Bailey’s Towing Accessories Manufacturer and distributor of towing equipment and accessories that stands behind customer service 100%.

Beacon Funding Corporation

Part of the automobile transport industry for over 60 years.

Deweze Mfg. The preferred provider of clutch pump kits to the tow industry.

Specializing in spectular toy trucks and tow trucks for all ages since 2004.

Eye3Data / MAI Media Group Manufacturers of bile digital video solutions.

Federal Signal A premier provider of lightbars, perimeter lights, back-up alarms and cameras for tow and recovery vehicles.

Flash Equipment Complete line of LED lights; light bars, mini-light bars, beacons, traffic arrows, vehicle work/scene lights, back-up camera and obstacle detection systems.

FleetMatics GPS tracking system for fleet trucks.

FleetNet America 21st century technology and processes with America’s best 3rd party vendors to create great value for commercial fleets.

Flitz International Manufactures and distributes premium polishes, waxes, buffers, cleaners, kits & microfiber cloths.

Ford Commercial Truck

As a premier provider of equipment financing solutions, Beacon Funding focuses on helping businesses grow.

Digital Ally

Beacon Software Company

Dual-Tech

Dispatch, call management solution integrating motor club calls, billing, utilizing Smartphones, GPS solutions to locate/communicate field payment solutions for accounts receivables & reporting.

Extreme Toys

Providing video systems and reporting for ROI, safety & liability protection to thousands of fleets.

Manufacturer of durable, long lasting, low maintenance 2-car carriers and wreckers for 24 years.

Leading manufacturer of light- & medium-duty trucks featuring the Super Duty, and F-350, 450, 550, 650, 750 cab & chassis models for all applications.

Free State Nam Knights MC Non profit organization raising money for US military veterans & law enforcement officer's families in need.

AT Expo Exhibit Highlights

EXHIBITOR ROSTER Gaither Tool Company

AAA

Visit the AAA Web site built just for AAA service providers – it’s a network of savings!

Invents and manufactures convenient tools and systems needed to service, maintain tires and wheel assemblies.

GEICO

Access Tools

Motor club and provider service program.

One Hand Jack Set

GM Fleet/Commercial

The One Hand Jack Set is designed to include the essentials to open virtually every vehicle on the road today.

Offers wide range of Chevrolet and GMC light and medium duty pickup trucks and chassis.

GPS Secured GPS system for tow truck fleet operators.

Actus Manufacturing

Hale Trailer Brake & Wheel

Electric Actuator

The Actus Electric Actuator delivers better, safer control for your hydraulic levers, wirelessly and affordably.

Trailer dealer for all of the major specialized trailers in the tow industry.

Hella Hella manufactures high quality worklamps and optical warning systems with halogen, Xenon and LED technology.

AHT Automotive

Mohawk Lifts. System 1A, 2 Post Lift

Hino Trucks

A 25 year warranty on this USA made 10,000 LBS service lift makes it one “safe” investment.

A Toyota Group Company which assembles, sells and services medium- duty trucks in the US.

Holmes See Miller Industries

AW Direct

Hooks Towing & Recovery Supplies

Steck I-Bolt Universal Tow Eye

Steck® I-Bolt: the highly anticipated universal hook-up solution for 200+ vehicles is here. Come check it out!

Hooking you up with the best parts in the towing business since 1999.

IAA (Insurance Auto Auctions) Over 160 North American locations convenient to help you not crush your cash.

all-Grip Vehicle Recovery Systems

IGTC - McManus Peard Gesl

The All-New Revamped MD001 Cycle Loader is now available.

Provider of truck and commercial insurance for the tow businessman.

MD001 Cycle Loader

In The Ditch

American Safety & Supply Bomber Jacket

AWSI Class III WATERPROOF bomber jacket w/ fixed liner.

World's leading manufacturer of dollies and equipment to make towers jobs easier.

Industrial Netting Disposable netting helps contain small, loose debris during the transport of wrecked or salvaged vehicles.

Anchor Graphics

Integrated Vehicles & Equipment Leasing & Financing

Duplicate copy of warning stickers. Decal goes on vehicle an actual NCR copy of the warning goes with your paper work.

Since 1999 Integrated has been providing leasing and financing for the tow truck industry.

Duplicate (NCR) Violation Decals

Intek Leasing Offers financial services for truck purchases & leasing.

B/A Products

Towing & Auto Transport Parts & Accessories

The most complete line of towing and auto transport parts and accessories in the industry.

50 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame & Museum The only tow truck museum in the world, Hall of Fame and Wall of the Fallen.

I Tow In We put SKATE in the vocabulary and tool box of towers worldwide.

Advance-Register online @ ATExposition.com

AT Expo Exhibit Highlights Beacon Software

Dispatch Anywhere for Drivers

Use a Smartphone or tablet to receive jobs. Give time stamped information, add photos, take payments, print or email receipts and job tickets, and send important job info back to dispatch.

EXHIBITOR ROSTER Jerr-Dan Corporation Redefining the towing & recovery industry by setting new standards for performance, quality, innovative technology and service.

Kalyn Siebert Manufactures sliding-axle trailers specifically designed for the towing industry.

Keystone Tape & Supply of Texas

Bobee Tech Corp.

Self adhesive auto wrap and auto tape, spill containment, safety supplies.

RoadMate DVR, 7202 HD Car DVR

A portable Full HD car DVR especially designed for your security and protection when you drive down the road.

Crashfilm/Boxes4U Crashfilm

A blue self adhesive film with a 45 day UV protectant. Protect your cars without tarps.

KOLO DBS Professional real time dispatching and billing services call center providing fast & reliable answering service.

Landoll Corporation Manufacturer of traveling axle & detachable recovery and equipment transport trailers, powder coat – galvanize.

Lift And Tow

Custer Products Limited

Manufacturer of a quality under reach wheel lift for pickup trucks.

Custer Products Limited/Blades Tow Right delivers the highest quality wireless products in the market with proven performance and advanced technology.

Lodar

LITE*IT Wireless Tow Lights

Dangelo's Custom Built Mfg. Custom Built 40 wt

The latest from Dangelo's Custom Built Mfg. The new Weight Transfer CBWT.

Top quality wireless remote control systems puts the operator safely at the hook end, out of harms way.

Lynch Towing Equipment Midwest’s leading distributor for Miller Industries and Talbert Trailers. Two locations with parts and service.

Magic Massage Therapy

Delavan Automotive

Delavan Head Ramp and low mount car transport systems

Delavan offers 3 models of car transport trailers along with several tractor head ramps designed to maximize loads in the transporting of vehicles. Delavan refurbishes services for auto transports.

DEWEZE

Clutch Pump Kit for 2013 Ram Diesel Engine

Clutch Pump kit for the newest 2013 Ram Diesel Engine

Massage therapy units to relieve body stress and tension.

Magnetworks / Stamp Works II Promotional items including magnet tow trucks, business forms, T-shirts, caps, pens, etc.

Martens Johnson Insurance Agency Comprehensive insurance plans including auto, cargo, garagekeepers, life & health products for the towing industry.

Maryland Carrier & Wrecker Sales Full line Jerr-Dan distributor of carriers and light to heavy duty tow trucks.

Matheny Motors

Digital Ally

Full line Miller Industries distributor: Ohio, West VA, North VA. Parts, service & experienced sales staff.

Booth giveaway for a vehicle video system that supports 8 cameras, reporting, monitor & more!

Matjack International Wreckers

Win a DVM-250Plus Video Event Data Recorder!

Complete line of inflatable cushions and air bags for all types of recovery scenarios.

Mfr Express

Dual-Tech Side Puller

Dual winch, safer, more versatile side recovery system offered on carriers or wreckers in multiple capacities.

Distributor of hooks, chains & tow accessories.

Miller Industries Towing Equipment World leader in towing & recovery equipment manufacturing many of the industries leading brands including Century, Vulcan, Chevron and Holmes.

Wrecker Pageant Hall

AT Expo Reflects the Unsung Glory of the Towman’s Work The Murals

Lifelines–The Towing Industry on Canvas was designed in five panels, each 20 feet wide. When they are all attached in order, it’s one Mural spanning a city block and it shows five distinct moments depicting different towing and recovery scenes in various weather conditions. This is a hand-painted mural known for its vivid colors. There is nothing in the world like it. This year, Lifelines will appear in the Pageant Hall.

Towman Chopper

Nicknamed “Hero” the Towman Chopper is the only towingthemed motorcycle in the world. It is truly a work of art with a unique design. Some of its features include custom spokes formed like wheel lift forks, tow-chain handle bars, and a sissy bar that is a functional hand-cranked boom and winch. There’s more, but you just have to see it for yourself at the Jerr-Dan Diner on the show floor.

Art on Metal

Lifelines mural spans a city block

Passing through the American Wrecker Pageant inside the Baltimore Convention Center one might think he or she is in an art gallery. Only the canvases are made of metal and fiberglass. The art, usually hand painted or airbrushed, depicts scenes that could be found inside the Louvre in Paris or your nearest comic book store. They depict scenes that are a tribute to loved ones or national tragedies like 9/11. They depict happy and celebratory scenes or scenes of skulls and crossbones and the grim reaper.

They depict scenes of beautiful women with gorgeous legs.

American Wrecker Pageant Sponsored by Dual-Tech

Towman Monument

Standing ten feet tall on its base, cast in bronze, and sculpted by California sculptor Gil Flores, The Towman Monument portrays a tower who has discovered a woman submerged in water with the fender of a car showing above the water line. He is reaching down and she is reaching up, their fingers almost touching.

First unveiled in 1998, the Towman Monument was the first monument ever created to honor the towing professional. It stands before the Baltimore Convention Center during AT Expo.

The world’s greatest wrecker pageant features electronic balloting. The winners of each class in the Pageant take home the legendary Silver Trophy.

Last year AT added the Champion Class for all of the first-place winners from the previous year. This year there will be a light/medium duty winner and a heavy-duty winner in the Champion Class.

This year’s Winners Ceremony will take place during the International Feast in the hall adjacent to the Pageant hall, so that show attendees and Pageant contestants won’t have to go anywhere to partake in the Feast, compliments of American Towman and its Legendary Hospitality Sponsor. Feasting among the world’s most amazing trucks…it doesn’t get any better than this.

American Towman Chopper

TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 53

AT Expo Exhibit Highlights Dynamic Towing Equipment and Manufacturing

EXHIBITOR ROSTER Minimizer Manufacturer of poly truck fenders, custom floor mats, mud flaps and truck accessories.

Montana Commercial Credit

Dynamic T180 Rotator

Car carrier with wheel lift; rotates 180 degrees to recover in all environments and situations.

Commercial lending at its best – Montana Commercial Credit and Stearns Bank – your partners in financing.

Muncie Power Products Manufactures Power Take Offs and hydraulic systems for mobile power applications.

EarTec

Nation Safe Drivers (NSD)

Comstar Full Duplex

A breakthrough wireless full duplex system designed for teams that need to communicate while working with their hands.

Founded in 1962. A motor club with a fresh new attitude.

National Interstate Insurance Co. A leading specialty property & casualty insurance company serving the transportation industry since 1989.

East Penn Truck Equipment

Nationwide Towing & Recovery Group

Chevron Series 12 LCG and Chevron Twin line Renegade custom built by East Penn.

Towing & recovery database for the trucking industry.

Chevron Carriers & Wrecker

NRC Industries NRC is the home of the Slider & Sliding Rotators.

Ecco

Ohio Power Systems

Value that's easy to see – in terms of rest, performance, durability, configurability, and easy installation.

Designs and builds radio remote control and hydraulic valve systems for manufacturers, dealers and users.

12 Series Vantage LED Lights

Olson And Company

Federal Signal Legend LPX Discrete Lightbar

Federal Signal’s Legend LPX Discrete lightbar is all-LED with S/T/T and work light options ideal for Tow and Recovery vehicles.

Axle caps, axle covers for tow trucks & buses.

Distributor for VitaLife wire rope lubricant.

OMG National The technical production company behind American Towman – TV provides wide ranging marketing services to today’s tower.

Online Parking Pass

Flitz International, Ltd.

Dramatically increase productivity, safety, profitability, customer satisfaction. Monitor a property without leaving the truck.

Flitz Heavy Duty Truck Polishing Kit

Includes XL Buffball, Premium Polish Paste & Waxx Protectant to remove multiple types of build-up & stains.

PDSI (Professional Dispatch Services)

Hale Trailer Brake & Wheel

Talbert 55 Ton Hydraulic Double Drop Extendable.

24/7, 365 days a year dispatch services allows tow owners to concentrate on towing, not dispatching.

Penny Pockets Embroidered jackets, digitally printed T-shirts, sweat shirts and dress shirts.

Permco

Hooks Towing and Recovery Supplies Brake Buddy

Used to apply brake to vehicles with air brake and air assist while being towed.

U.S. manufacturer of high quality gear pumps, clutch pumps & motors. Vane units available.

Phoenix USA Market leader in the towing & utility industries for decorative wheel products & storage accessories.

Photo Card Specialists Producers of promotional products from photographs, business cards, calendars, greeting cards, clocks, postcards, etc.

54 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

Advance-Register online @ ATExposition.com

Five Bands Play Nine Event Venues Celebrating AT Expo's 25th!

Like no other trade event in the AT celebrates the 25th Anniversary world, the American Towman in style. A new band, Collect All 5, Exposition’s got rhythm. Never is playing for Miller Rocks at the before in any industry has music Hard Rock Cafe, Friday evening. played a supporting role as it does The show’s Grand Opening on at the American Towman Saturday features Mike Corbin Exposition, apart from the music playing and singing the Towman industry itself. Why the “Main Ballads, I and II. And on Saturday Event” even has its own anthem in the Towman Ballad night Corbin joins Howl at the Moon and the Dueling (The Road Calls).

Pianos for a rockin’ musical evening during Festival Night.

While the 25th show has a lot of music power music has never been a stranger to AT Expo. Indeed all kinds of The show floor will feature Part Harmony at the Jerr-Dan bands have played in past years: country, bluegrass, Diner and Smooth Teaze at the International Feast in the acapella, rock, soul, and big bands from nine-piece to six- Wrecker Pageant Hall. So be teen-piece orchestras. Once barbershop quartets strolled there or be square, snap your the exhibit floor regaling everyone with harmonious fingers and sashay on in. crooning.

Collect All 5, top photo, plays Friday night as Miller Rocks at the Hard Rock Cafe

Smooth Teaze bring their acapella to the show floor

Howl at the Moon's Dueling Pianos at the Renaissance Hotel Festival Night

AT Expo Exhibit Highlights

EXHIBITOR ROSTER Pierce Sales Industrial winches, remotes, towing accessories and wrecker installation.

Industrial Netting

Disposable netting helps contain small, loose debris during the transport of wrecked or salvaged vehicles.

Integrated Vehicles Leasing and Financing

Financing / leasing for new and used tow trucks. A nationwide lender.

Pillow Protection Corporation Inflatable bladder attaching to the wheel lift creating a durable, yet flexible barrier between wheel lift & undercarriage of the towed vehicle.

Pneu-Tek Tire Tools Portable tire tools for mounting & demounting tires.

Police Towers of America

Keystone Self Adhesive Auto Wrap

Clear-white/black UVI self adhesive auto wrap. Protects vehicles all environments in transit & storage.

Association whose mission is to promote and protect the interests of police/municipal towers.

Pop-A-Lock Offering franchises for road service and residential locksmiths.

Powerhouse Industries

Landoll Corporation

The leading east coast innovator in truck, bus and plant jumpstarters for the past 21 years.

855HD Detachable

55 ton traveling axle with optional hydraulic kicker roller package. HD 201/2” rollers store below the deck, when needed, rollers pop up hydraulically.

Progressive Commercial Insurance Commercial auto insurance.

Progressive Platforms

Lift and Tow

5 Series Wheel Lift

This is a great unit for the body shop or used car dealer.

Global telematics with a regional focus.

Quality Craft Tools Power tools distributor.

Quest Towing Services America’s fastest growing and quickest paying network for towing and roadside assistance programs.

Lodar

Lodar has a back up Keypad on the Receiver.

Lose your Transmitter - not a problem. Instant back up for very little more money.

R-O-M Corporation R-O-M manufactures roll-up doors, cargo trays & slides, LED lighting, grating, and scene lighting.

RAM Mounting Systems

Lynch Truck & Equipment

2014 Century 1060 Rotator on Peterbilt 388 Sleeper Cab

2014 Century 1060 60-Ton Rotator on Peterbilt 388 Sleeper cab.

Loaded with accessories and options!

Miller Industries Towing Equipment Century Series 30 LCG Carrier

Century displays the redesigned Series 30 LCG industrial carrier for tandem or tri-axle chassis with dual rear wheels. Options include a 10,000 lb underlift or dock stabilizer.

Designer and manufacturer of rugged mounts for electronic devices, integral to the tow industry.

RAM Trucks/Chrysler Fleet Operations Manufacturer of the RAM 3500, RAM 4500 and RAM 5500 medium-duty truck chassis.

Ramsey Winch A world class manufacturer of planetary and worm-gear industrial winches.

Ranger SST All-In-One Solution – towing software, GPS tracking/mapping, driver navigation/messaging, storage lot, accounting, QB Link, digital dispatch.

RC Industries

Muncie Power Products New FR66 PTO

Muncie's FR66 PTO now offers mounting options for larger hydraulic pumps and 200 lb-ft output.

56 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

Complete line of durable tool boxes for tow trucks.

Recovery Billing Double your bottom line! Advanced business management! Monthly classes.

Advance-Register online @ ATExposition.com

Number 142 on Reader Card

Hardy Eating at American Towman Events!

American Towman’s Legendary Hospitality shines with several complimentary meals throughout the weekend and other event-meals subsidized by American Towman and sponsors to keep ticket prices reasonable.

Yes, Free!

The Bull & Pig Roast–Miller Rocks at the Hard Rock Cafe

Friday night, sponsored by Miller Industries, is free to all advance-registrants. On-site registrants take their chances that tickets remain at the registration desk.

The hardy food starts here and culminates in the amazing International Feast Sunday Afternoon on the show floor at 4 p.m., sponsored by American Towman. AT was inundated with requests last year for the name of the sausage supplier, so savory were they, and also got rave reviews on the Suckling Pig, the Beef Brisket, and the Tamales. All free! So advance register now!

The Hot Breakfasts Friday thru Sunday are free to

Academy Passport Holders, thanks to AT and its Legendary Hospitality Sponsor. The $75 Academy Passport gets you into any and all the seminars you are able to attend.

Carved meats are aplenty at the Hard Rock Cafe for Miller Rocks, Friday, and at the International Feast, Sunday.

The Towman 500 Luncheon, co-sponsored

by American Towman and TowLot.com on Saturday is free to tow business owners* who qualify as representing one of the 500 oldest towing companies in America. *If you haven’t yet applied, go to: atexposition.com/500now! Additional tickets are $55 each.

Get In! The Recovery Luncheon ($35), co-sponsored by B/A Products and AW Direct on Friday and Festival Night ($55), sponsored by American Towman on Saturday are both worth the price of admission. These events are indeed special and the food won’t disappoint.

Come in on Thursday and join AT for either the famed

Captains of Industry Conference for a surf and turf dinner ($75), or the Welcome Cruise ($55) for a supper hospitality

and entertainment featuring the towing comedy of Ricky “The Real Deal” Shackleford.

True, many attendees see no need to hit one of the many great Baltimore restaurants because the action is where AT is at the above listed events. But if you do steal away for a lunch or dinner at the Inner Harbor, check out our Inner Harbor spread and Calitri’s Dining Tips.

58 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

Advance-Register online @ ATExposition.com

AT Expo Exhibit Highlights NRC Industries

NRC will be exhibiting three of their Sliding Rotators and one Slider.

EXHIBITOR ROSTER Ricky’s Sales & Service Specializing in towing & recovery needs – parts, sales, service, HiViz apparel, lights, chains, straps & more!

RMP Powertrain Solutions

Ohio Power Systems

All makes and models remanufactured gas and diesel engines, light to heavy duty transmission.

Proportional radio remote control designed and built

by Ohio Power Systems using scanreco components.

Road America – A Mapfre Company

O.P.S Proportional Radio Remote

OMG National

On-Line Reputaion Intelligence, Websites, Video Commercials, mobile sites

Towers are often targets of bad reviews, don’t let on-line slander cost you that next contract, impliment a plan to manage your web presence for the search engines, review & directory sites, today!

ERS, accident, secondary and salvage towing.

Join one of the fastest growing motor clubs in the industry.

Robert Young’s NRC Wrecker Sales & Service A proud distributor for NRC Industries, all-Grip, B/A Products, TowMate, Best Tools & MatJacks.

Rontan Signals

Olson & Company

Manufacturer of warning lights, providing innovative solutions for the tow market.

Axle Caps axle covers are for towing trucks and busses when it is necessary to pull the drive axles.

RP Recovery Consulting Service

Axle Caps

Sales & service ot towing and recovery safety equipment.

Rugged Tow

Online Parking Pass

Reduce the time it takes to monitor a property by 80% using our revolutionary technology.

Manufacturers of wire rope, chains, webbing, V-ridles and other tow accessories.

Rush Towing Systems

Phoenix USA, Inc.

Authorized distributor of complete line of JerrDan tow trucks including carriers and wreckers.

Powder coated mesh steel basket with polished stainless front drawer and auto-close latch - 30”W x 18.5”D.

Savatech Corp.

Underbody Mesh Drawer (SSUD30)

Manufacturer of inflatable safety cushions.

Service Station Computer Systems Computer management systems and digital dispatch services.

Pierce Sales

Electric Actuator System

Wirelessly control two of your hand levers with this electric actuator system powered by Lodar and Actus.

Signal Vehicle Products / Star Headlight A wide range of light products including strobes, warning lights, Star Headlights.

Slick Top Solutions Distributor of complete line of emergency light products from Code 3, Whelen, and PowerArc.

RAM Mounting Sytems

Roto-view™ Tablet Holder with Bluetooth keyboard.

Rotate tablet between landscape and portrait mode.

Attach Bluetooth keyboard with magnetic plate.

Sound Off Signal Michigan based manufacturer of LED lighting and warning products

Sovereign Bank / Santander Offers financial solutions to help you expand / upgrade your fleet. Finance with a leader.

Ramsey Winch

HD-P 35,000 Planetary Winch

New HD-P 35,000 Planetary Winch Offering; Compact Design, Faster Line Speed, Less Weight, and Positive Locking Clutch.

Ranger SST

CommLink – Mobile Solution

Call details, status updates, navigation, picture-taking, call pricing, CC processing, signature capture, VIN scanning.

Specialty Vehic. & Equip. Funding Group Financing programs for tow truck purchases.

SpeedTech Lights Manufacturer and distributor of top quality emergency vehicle warning lights and sirens, a+Rated.

Steck Manufacturing Co. Manufactures the BigEasy lockout tool kit and new I-Bolt.

Number 143 on Reader Card

AT Expo Exhibit Highlights Ricky’s Sales & Service

Robert Young’s NRC Wrecker Sales & Service

Family owned and operated since 1972 Ricky’s is your one-stop shop for towing & recovery needs.

NRC, B/A Products, All-Grip, TowMate

Your one stop shop for NRC wreckers, parts & accessories.

Sound Off Signal

Magnum™ LED Lightbar

SpeedTech Lights

Magnum™ LED Lightbar is a collaboration of brilliant conspicuity, surprising versatility with a price point guaranteed to fit any budget.

STL Fusion Tow Bar 47”

204 Gen. III LED’s, Arrow stick, brake/turn signal lights, TD’s/Alley’s/Work lights included.

Steck Manufacturing Co.

Superwinch

Universal Tow Eye

H10P Planetary Winch Rrecovery Package

I-Bolt; Universal Tow Eye, PN 71490, to safely load disabled foreign vehicles on roll back wreckers

Superwinch’s H10P 10,000 pound linepull hydraulic planetary winch is engineered for reliability during recovery operation.

Talbert Manufacturing

Teletrac

5053TA’s six-degree slope is ideal for towing and recovery, and small to midsize construction equipment.

Top GPS Fleet Software. Integrated GPS Tracking, Fuel, Safety, Diagnostics and Alerts!

Immediate Demos Available.

50-Ton 5053 Traveling Axle trailer

Fleet Director

SSCS

Digital Dispatch

Cloud based Call Taking Dispatching with storage lot management. Only authorized AAA interface to D2000.

Trail-Eze Trailers

Towlot.com

TOM TOM Work

Online Auto Auctions

Find out how the success of your online auction is guaranteed by TowLot.com.

Nationally distributed GPS products.

TE1001-53

Our 50 ton sliding Axle Trailer is one of our most versatile trailers.

Many options available.

Velvac

2020 XG Mirror System with Integrated Camera

A combination of styling, quality and performance, make the Velvac 2020XG mirror with integrated side camera the benchmark for tow truck vision systems, providing clear views of blind-spots around the vehicle.

Vehicle Inspection Systems VIS-Polish

VIS Polish is a fully automatic aluminum wheel refurbishing machine and profit center/business system.

The Will-Burt Company Night Scan Powerlite HDT

Whelen Engineering Co.

Provides 360° of recovery scene illumination and fits perfectly on a standard storage box.

62 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

Super-LED® warning lights and illumination products.

Micro- and Nano- Pioneer™ Super-LED® work lights.

Advance-Register online @ ATExposition.com

EXHIBITOR ROSTER Stertil-Koni, USA

Towlot.com

Velvac

Heavy-duty vehicle lifts, including wireless mobile lifts, platform lifts, parallelogram lifts, in-ground lifts and two-post lifts.

Online auction service specializing in impound lots. Live, lightning round auctions tap huge Internet bidder-pool.

Super Springs International

Produces cost-effective, differentiated vision systems & components supporting commercial vehicles, Class 8 trucks, RVs, buses, fire trucks, ambulances, walk-in vans, refuse & fleet vehicles.

towPartners

Overload suspension springs.

Discounts for the industry on Sprint, Aramark, truck insurance, Surefleet and more, including revenue opportunities.

Vulcan

TowProgram.com

A leading manufacturer of planetary & worm winches.

Superwinch A global manufacturer famous for designing, engineering, building and testing the world’s greatest winches.

T.R.A.A. Towing and Recovery Association of America National Association for the towing industry.

T.R.P.M. Towing and Recovery Professionals of Maryland, state association.

Talbert Manufacturing Provides heavy haul trailers and specialized transportation equipment for the commercial, industrial and government sectors.

TCF Equipment Finance (TCFEF) Diversified marketing/sales strategy, covers major equipment sectors for lease & loan financing. A wholly-owned subsidiary of TCF National Bank, a subsidiary of TCF Financial Corporation.

Offers the Online Cash Call Builder Program delivering everything a towing company needs to be successful online.

towXchange The leading provider of towing management software including flagship products TOPS and Budget GPS.

See Miller Industries

Warn Industries

West End Service Full line Miller Industries dealer. International chassis dealer. Sales, parts, accessories and service.

Whelen Engineering Co.

Tracker Management Systems

USA manufacturer of Super-LED® warning lights and illumination products.

Computer & management systems for the professional tow operator.

The Will-Burt Company

Trail-Eze Trailers For 50 Years Trail-Eze has built custom trailers to work hard like you do!

Transit Pros We arrange for transportation of a company’s off-lease assets from the client’s yard to location of choice.

Increase revenue and improve nighttime safety and efficiency with our “No Generator Required” light towers.

Worksafe USA No-Jack Lift is a compact alternative for a service jack allowing for a self-loading wheel lift to be utilized safely as an onsite auto service jack.

Worldwide Equipment Sales Jerr-Dan, Landoll, Wells Cargo, Cottrell Trailers, Zacklift, MatJack, RaceRamps, B/A Products, In The Ditch, Whelen, Federal Signal, Code3, Muncie, & much more.

Tech International

Travis Barlow Insurance

World's leading supplier of tire repair and wheel service products.

Offering tow business owners an array of commercial insurance programs.

Teletrac

Tri-State Trailer Sales

Industry leader in fleet intelligence and tracking solutions.

Dealer for Kalyn Siebert and Landoll trailers.

WreckMaster

Trinity Transportation Services

Leading independently-owned towing safety training organization in the US and Canada.

The Insurance Professionals

Insurance programs for tow business operators.

Commercial tow truck insurance programs.

Zip's Truck Equipment TWG – DP Winch

Nationally distributed GPS products.

Hydraulic Winches and Swing Drives for the towing and recovery industry.

Tow Canada

United Plastic Fabricating

Bi-monthly trade magazine for tow operators in Canada.

Manufacturer of the PolyBody, the world’s first polypropylene service body.

Tow Ramps

United States Auto Club, Motoring Div. (USAC/MD)

TOM TOM Work

Lightweight yet very strong ramps to decrease angle of approach when loading cars.

Tow Times Monthly trade publication for towers.

Towing & Equipment Magazine Used truck and equipment periodical for tow businesses.

Towing.com More than just advertising. It is a toolkit you can use to build your company's internet presence.

Miller Industries distributor. Service, towing equipment, financing, parts & accessories.

Emergency roadside service provider to heavy duty trucks, automobiles and motorcycles. A driven solutions company.

Urgent.ly Mobile applications for Smartphones and tablets.

Vehicle Inspection Systems Wheel polishing system for private fleet and potential profit center.

Towingnearyou.com Online service directory.

TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 63

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW! Howl at the Moon’s Dueling Pianos join Mike Corbin for the celebration If you’re coming to AT Expo you owe it to yourself and anyone you are bringing to attend Festival Night, Saturday, November 16th. Nowhere else are towing professionals honored for the risks they take and their heroic acts. You’ll witness the March of the Heroes and the American Towman Medal Ceremony. You’ll see Mike Corbin perform the Towman Ballad live. And you’ll celebrate and interact with the Dueling Pianos of Howl at the Moon.

Festival Night is where the action is. From the heroic tales of the Towman Medal that often read right out of an Indiana Jones episode to the music and festivities, you’ll thrill and chill to Festival Night. And it’s held inside the American Towman headquarters hotel, the Renaissance, right on the Inner Harbor.

Festival Night is a special moment for towing professionals. Here like at no other time or place you will feel an immense pride in who you are. Many tow bosses will reward their tow managers or most dedicated tow operators by bringing them to Festival Night. The ceremonies and celebration underscore the importance of the towing profession, so the evening is a morale booster for all who attend.

Compared to any other place where one might go for dinner,

American Towman Medal Ceremony

Official Winch, AT Medal

Official Tow Management System, AT Medal

Mike Corbin sings Towman Ballads

Howl At The Moon Dueling Pianos

Number 103 on Reader Card

American Towman

Seminars are about opportunities, efficiencies and profits. $75 Passport: Access all Tracks, all Seminars; includes Breakfasts

Track 1: Police Towers Model 21st Century Dispatch Center

Scooby’s Mystery Theater

The cost and efficiencies of todays state-of-the-art dispatch center, showcasing the towing industry’s newest command center. Jeremy Procon, Interstate Towing, Friday, 8:30 a.m.

Accident Remediation

Make accident cleanup a profit center using the right equipment, training, and effective procedures in billing and collections. John Borowski, Police Towers of America, Friday, 9:30 a.m.

Preserving Evidence at the Accident Scene

Learn why proper tow and recovery techniques are critical to criminal prosecutions relating to the chain-of-evidence.

Randy Resch, AT Magazine, Friday, 10:30 a.m.

Corporatizing the City Contract

Single source companies are coming in to cities and competing against the rotation system. Jim Taylor, Auto Data Direct Saturday, 10 a.m.

Track 2: Motor Clubs Improving Your Customer Service Experience

Improve how your customer satisfaction with recommendations to help your company achieve a professional image.

Chris Griffin, Road America, Sunday, 9 a.m..

Track 3: Recovery Recovery Theater

Sponsor:

This legendary trainer critiques challenging recoveries on the big screen, some successful and some that go awry. Tom Luciano, Miller Industries, Friday, 5:10-7:10 p.m.

Incident Classification

A theatrical review of air cushion jobs around the globe.

Howard Egan, Matjack, Friday, 8:30 a.m.

Bus & Coach: Techniques & Attachment Choices

Challenges of hooking up high-end buses and coaches.

Tom Luciano, John Hawkins, Miller Industries, Saturday, 9 a.m.

Track 4: Tow Management.

Fleet Performance and Profit

Build a tow truck and fleet to meet the tow performance you are targeting. Shane Coleman, Jerr-Dan Corp., Friday, 10:30 a.m.

Increasing Profits and Tips

Raise the bar in quality service; keep customers talking about you and add more tips to the tow truck operators' pockets.Dave Lambert, North American Towing Academy, Sunday, 10 a.m.

Operational Productivity

Integrating processes between dispatch and drivers – from call taking to clearing calls; equipping dispatchers and drivers with tools that enable more calls per driver each month. Jim Shellhaas, Ranger SST, Friday, 6:10 p.m.

Don't Be Blind Sided by Tow Risks

This interactive session highlights best risk management tow practices that can manage and use to protect the business you’ve worked so hard to build and maintain.

Michael Harding, Markel Insurance Co., Saturday, 8 a.m.

Dispatch 101

Learn some new tricks and old tricks designed to improve your business and create repeat customers. Conducted by Dave Emmons, ProDispatch Service, Sunday, 9 a.m.

Police Towers of America introduces a revolutionary incident-classification system with billing guidelines.

John Borowski, Police Towers of America, Saturday, 9 a.m.

Efficiencies and savings. Jim Weaver, Tracker Mgmt., Friday, 10:30 a.m.

Testing Your Snatch Block IQ

Repo 101

Calculate loads on the snatch blocks, anchors and rigging through the understanding of the theories behind the multiplication or redirection of force.

Terry Abejuela, AT Magazine, Saturday, 8 a.m.

Team Communication on the Scene

Procedures and products to maximize profit in repo work.

Mark Lacek, Commercial Asset Solutions, Friday, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Rotator Economics

Hand signals to "Sonetics," WreckMaster discusses basic communication protocol. Saturday 10 a.m.

66 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

Office Management

How the Rotator generates opportunities and profit.

Bob Fouquette, Big Wheel Towing, Friday, 9:30 a.m.

Advance-Register online @ ATExposition.com

Setting Your Profit Goals

Your On-Line Reputation

Join instructor Matt Winslow of Chubby's Automotive Management Training Institute for a presentation of how to determine the profit win number you need to make the exact amount of money you want from your shop.

Sunday, 9:00 a.m.

Review your web presence and reputation and how to handle the bad and leverage the good! Receive a free comprehensive Reputation Report and Analysis of your business for review. Mike Rappaport, OMG National, Sunday, 10 am.

Track 5: Impound Management Don't Crush Your Cash

Tow operators can increase visibility and control over their business to increase profitability. Matt Gunzenhaeuser and Matt Curtis, TomTom, Friday, 8:30 a.m.

Learn how to buy and sell lightly damaged, high mileage, repossessed and abandoned vehicles at auction with a combined live and live-online bidding auction platform.

Ray Rodecker, Insurance Auto Auctions (IAA), Sunday, 10 a.m.

Assets and Liabilities

Know the real value of the assets in your impound yard and reducing their liability through online auctions.

Brandon Richard, TowLot.com, Saturday, 9 a.m.

Using GPS Intelligence

Leading With Video

Get on the first page with Google with highly coveted key words!

Jesse Lubar, OMG National, Friday, 5:10 p.m.

“Smart” Phone Add-Ons

The Story After The News: Famous Tow Calls

Learn about the latest Smartphone attachments you can use to make your office more mobile and life easier right from the cab of your truck. Todd Althouse, Beacon Software Co., Saturday, 9 a.m.

Supreme Court Decision: Dan’s City Auto Body

Includes Academy Passport

Why was the driver who impounded O.J. Simpson’s white Bronco on the hot seat at O.J.’s murder trial? Important legal implications in the impounding of vehicles.

Mike McGovern Saturday, 10 a.m Mike McGovern dissects the recent Supreme Court’s decision which applies to all impounded vehicles. Friday, 9:30 a.m

Track 6: Technology Talkin' Profitability

How to track performance to increase your bottom line.

Shon Allen, SSCS-Digital Dispatch, Saturday, 10 a.m.

Finding Value in Online Mobile Marketing

Lean how to make the best online mobile marketing decisions for your company.

Dennis Wencel, Tow Program, Sunday, 10 am.

Independent Courses Rotator Training

Lead by WreckMaster instructor Bruce Campbell.

Rotator Training is a classroom/hands-on component of the new WreckMaster 8/9 R course. You do not have to be WreckMaster Certified to participate. Class size limited.

12 hours: Thurs., 11/14, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. & Fri., 11/15, 8 a.m.–noon Test results/certificate Saturday at WreckMaster booth.

Fee: $595

Recovery Billing Course

Lead by Bob & Eric Fouquette of Recovery Billing Unlimited, this is the famous course that teaches you how to charge the value of recovery work and collect from insurance companies.

8 hours: Sat., 11/16, 8 a.m.–noon & Sunday, 11/17, 8 a.m.–noon Fee: $1650, includes two company personnel, the Boss and billing clerk.

Academy Passport includes breakfasts Friday, Saturday, Sunday mornings.

TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 67

What’s the secret to networking?

Being there. Only by being there does the process begin and the opportunities unfold.

The 25th AT Expo is Popping Miller Rocks to Calitri’s Cuba

From the industry’s biggest party at the Hard Rock Cafe Friday night to the hottest cigar smoker at the Power Plant and Luckies Tavern, this is chilling-out networking at its best.

Enjoy the Bull & Pig Roast, Magic Boy and the music of Collect All 5 at the Hard Rock Cafe and rock the night away with Miller Industries and American Towman. Then join old man Calitri with Lift & Tow and Savatech for a premium cigar.

Oh what a night!

Check out all these unique networking moments and more. Whether you hop on American Towman’s Welcome Cruise Thursday, or get in on the Int’l Feast Sunday, there will be countless events and opportunities to rub shoulders with suppliers, educators and peers.

With One’s Peers

Aside from networking with suppliers tow bosses often return to Baltimore because they have found that starting up conversations with their peers has been the most valuable part of the Exposition experience. Towers share notes on everything from one’s relationship with the police department to any given motor club; recovery logistics to driver retention.

On the Exhibit Floor

The American Towman Exposition has been the networking mecca of the towing industry since 1989. Tow bosses have come to meet new motor clubs, call provider execs, or their reps to shore up relationships

with those who have been dispatching them business. They’ve come to speak with insurance providers and finance companies. They’ve come to talk with GPS and computer system suppliers. They’ve come to talk to equipment manufacturers and sellers.

At the Hard Rock Cafe

In the Seminar Rooms

Of course, many attendees figure they can flick on warp-speed by participating in seminars, where the conversations are intense and the ground is covered with details. Many attending the seminars make it a point to talk with the presenter afterwards and in many cases

acquire a long-lasting resource that can be tapped by a simple email or phone call. The same goes with other tow business owners they meet and talk to. Then there’s the breakfast corridor open to Academy Passport holders, where just as much learning takes place chewing the fat with fellow towers.

Towers get the chance to speak with the men behind the trucks; Jerr-Dan's Senior VP Joel Amsley, above left, and Miller Industries CEO Jeff Badgley, upper right photo, center.

Recovery Specialists want to experience

The Recovery Luncheon featuring critiques of the Donnie winners. The Donnie Cruse Recovery Awards go to towers who have shown performance excellence on challenging recoveries. Multi-media presentations of these recoveries along with a WreckMaster critique highlights a luncheon of camaraderie among men and woman who appreciate a good war story from the trenches.

Presented by American Towman Magazine and WreckMaster, and co-sponsored

by B/A Productsand AW Direct.

68 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

Advance-Register online @ ATExposition.com

Towers network at the Captains of Industry Conference, above, and with one of the 14 exhibiting motor clubs, below.

14 Motor Clubs on the Floor

Revenue opportunities abound with fourteen motor clubs and call providers exhibiting.

Number 159 on Reader Card

Special Events Sponsors BULL & PIG ROAST “Miller Rocks!”

CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY

AMERICAN TOWMAN MEDAL SPONSORS

TOWMAN 500

AT EXPO FOOD COURT “Jerr-Dan Diner”

REGISTRATION COUNTER

AMERICAN WRECKER PAGEANT AT ACADEMY RECOVERY TRACK

FESTIVAL NIGHT

ACE AWARDS

CALITRI’S CUBA

BADGE INSERTS

INFORMATION BOOTH

DONNIE AWARDS

LEGENDARY HOSPITALITY

72 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

The first American Towman Exposition in 1989 featured Festival Night and the American Towman Medal Ceremony, The American Wrecker Pageant in the old “Festival Hall”, about fourteen seminars, the Towman 500 Luncheon and about one-third the number of exhibitors it has today.

Emily Oz

The very first AT Expo had the electricity and excitement of being a new, groundbreaking experience in the history of the towing industry. It still has that excitement. What it did not have back then was the Towman ACE Awards program, the Towman Monument standing before the Convention Center entrance, the mural Lifelines on the exhibit floor, the Towman Chopper–Hero, featured at the Jerr-Dan Diner, the Towman Ballads sung by Mike Corbin, digital balloting for the wrecker pageant, registration badges that exhibitors can swipe with a laser wand, Miller Rocks at the Hard Rock Cafe, Calitri’s Cuba cigar smoker at the Power Plant Live, the International Feast as the show’s grand finale on Sunday, exhibit preview hours on Friday, and a lot more! Oh, and Emily Oz running around the show with her cameraman filming for American Towman TV. The Exposition had American Towman Magazine going for it to get the word out back in 1989. Today it has AT, plus Towman.com, TowIndustryWeek.com, AmericanTowmanTV.com and the thrust of email blasts, online registration, and spreading the word via social media.

EXPO INFO CARD

SHOW BAGS

From Medals to Ballads to Oz

The Exposition now has 30 seminars and some 20 special events but one thing hasn’t changed. The show is at its core a people event. It’s run by people, attended by people, and the products and services are shown by people.

The great resource of AT Expo remains the people; towing professionals, industry suppliers and educators.

If you’ve ever attended a “Renaissance Festival” you may have observed that all the acitivity and all the attractions are powered solely by people. Well, AT Expo has electricity, Internet and so forth, but it’s mainly powered by industry professionals who’ve come to Baltimore from all fifty states and twenty nations to shop or show, teach or learn, break bread and celebrate.

Advance-Register online @ ATExposition.com

Number 148 on Reader Card

Towers celebrate who they are at America’s greatest seaport Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is at first a river port. Eventually you can cruise beyond Fort McHenry (where the Welcome Cruise turns back around) and at some point enter the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic waves. It’s the calm waters of the Inner Harbor that draw humans to it and this more than anything helped make the redevelopment back in 1980 the most successful urban/port attraction in the U.S. Aside from the brick promenade that stretches around the Harbor and the need to walk amidst the fresh air, there’s another basic human need that calls everyone

there: the need to eat. From fish to ribs, fast food to slow food, ethnic to American cuisine, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is a celebration of great dining. See Calitri’s restaurant tips.

The Harbor also features points of interest like the National Aquarium, its rain forest pavilion to its live dolphin theater, submarines and old frigates to tour, the Maryland Science Fair, and one of Pearl Harbor’s surviving ships, to name a few of the attractions dockside.

The harbor stretches beyond Harborplace, past Little Italy to

Sonesta Harbor Court

Calitri’s Restaurant Tips:

Fells Point, known for its pubs, restaurants and unique shops. The water taxis take you all about or you can walk it, or cab it. Take your pick.

The Baltimore Convention Center is just two blocks away with a constant shuttle bus dropping people by the harbor. A few blocks in the other direction is the famed B&O Railroad Museum, a must-see attraction.

American Towman makes sure you get a taste of the Harbor. The Bull & Pig Roast (Miller Rocks) takes place right on the water at the Hard Rock Cafe. Calitri’s Cuba cigar smoker is right there at Luckies Tavern at the Powerplant. Festival Night is right there at the Renaissance Hotel.

Hyatt Hotel

Just the like American Towman Exposition Baltimore’s Inner Harbor just keeps getting better with age. The Harbor keeps evolving and developing along the water. For example 25 years ago there was no “Harbor East” and now there is, featuring great restaurants, located between HarborPlace and Fells Point. Right by HarborPlace the “PowerPlant” is the building on the water with its name up high. This building is still there and at its foot is the Hard Rock Cafe (home of Miller Rocks) and Phillips Seafood, but what is now called the “PowerPlant” is the enclave one block up featuring restaurants and nightclubs. (Luckies Tavern is home of Calitri’s Cuba). The water taxis, which have always been cruising around, take you to the Aquarium, Fells Point, and now Harbor East.

Crab: Obrycky’s, by Fells Point Canton’s Dockside, Canton neighborhood just past Fells Point Steak: Sullivan’s, next to Hyatt Morton’s inside Sheraton Ruth’s Chris, Power Plant Fish: McCormick & Schmick’s, Behind Hard Rock; Phillips next to Hard Rock Oceanaire, Harbor East Rusty Scupper, Inner Harbor Italian: Ciao Bella, Da Mimmo’s, Little Italy Hawaiian: Roy’s, Harbor East Beer Garden: Leinenkugel’s Beer Garden, Power Plant Pubs: Where do I begin? From across the Convention Center over to Fells Point are those greatest of unpretentious laidback pubs. Kooper’s Tavern at Fells Point has great crab cakes.

All the pubs have the most welcoming names, from Bertha’s to the Horse I Rode In On.

Renaissance Hotel Hard Rock Cafe

National Aquarium

View from AT Headquarters, Renaissance Hotel Great pubs fill the Harbor and Fells Point

Advance-Register online @ ATExposition.com 74 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 75

Number 143 on Reader Card

Dump Truck

by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti

Rollover

State police discuss the situation with Bill as the Jerr-Dan 50-ton rotator waits to go to work.

B

ill’s Towing/Auto Service of Bridgeport, Ohio, has been providing road service, auto repairs, towing and recovery services to the Belmont County, Ohio/Wheeling, W.V., metro area since 1981. Company founder and owner William “Bill” Coulson has added employees and equipment to handle the needs of their growing business including sons Chad and Ty. Both have grown up in the family business and take pride in carrying on the tradition of professionalism. Chad now manages the Heavy Truck Department.

In May, Bill’s received a call to respond to a rolled over dump truck.

“We were called out by the Flushing Volunteer Fire Department for a tandem-axle dump truck loaded with hot asphalt that rolled over at the inter-

78 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

Spilled load of hot asphalt.

in Ohio

Number 110 on Reader Card

Bill’s Jerr-Dan 50-ton rotator in position to do the lift.

section of State Route 331 and 149,” said Chad.

He responded to the scene in their 50-ton Jerr-Dan HDR 1000 rotator; heavy operator Heath Arigoni responded in their 25-ton Jerr-Dan HDL 500/280 integrated wrecker.

Bill and Ty responded in their service pickup loaded with the MatJack landing bags and air cushions. Bill’s crew chose to use these bags because of past experience with uprighting loaded dumps and other rigs.

Chad was first on scene. “The dump

truck took the curve too fast, laying the truck over onto its driver side,” Chad said. “The load of hot mix went over the embankment into a farmer’s field. Luckily no one was hurt too badly.”

Bill’s team went to work getting the dump prepped for uprighting. First the drive shaft was removed and the front and rear axles were chained to the frame. Heath placed the 25-ton wrecker in the front of the dump with one cable through a snatch block off the stiff leg and back up to the front axle. The other cable was attached to the front of the

Number 117 on Reader Card

80 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

dump truck as a safety measure, to keep the truck from rolling back.

Chad placed the 50-ton rotator at the rear of the dump unit with one cable through a snatch block to the rear axle, and the other was attached to the topside with a recovery chain running under the truck to the rear axle.

Ty was at the air cushion control bank and Bill supervised the recovery.

“Once we were ready to set the unit up, the landing bags were deployed and aired up by Ty,” Chad said. “They were placed to catch the dump on its way up

Dump truck rigged with one cable through a snatch block to the rear axle and the other attached to the topside with a recovery chain running under the truck to the rear axle.

Number 141 on Reader Card

TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 81

ing any more damage and a smooth upright of the truck.”

Drying materials were poured on the road before and after the upright to soak up any fluids spilled from the dump. Once back on its wheels, the dump was placed on the underlift of the 25-ton and towed back to Bill’s storage lot.

Then they cleaned the roadway with their Bobcat.

“We went back out the next day and cleaned the asphalt up that went over the hill into the farmer’s field,” Chad said. “We scooped it up and hauled it away. The farmer was happy with the cleanup and we had another successful recovery on the books.”

Editor’s Note The dump on the underlift of the Jerr-Dan 25-ton ready to be towed back to Bill’s storage lot.

and over and ease it back on its wheels.

“The unit was uprighted in no time

and the fire department commented on what a professional job we did not caus-

Number 190 on Reader Card

82 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

Jim “Buck” Sorrenti, a longtime editor of American Towman, has been our field editor for the past few years. He is a freelance writer and photographer with more than 40 years of experience covering motorcycle, hot rod, truck and towing culture.

Number 126 on Reader Card

Number 206 on Reader Card

Ohio Lawyer Disputes Tow Bill Columbus, Ohio, lawyer Michael Bivens’ dispute began when a wrecker was dispatched to an apartment complex to tow an illegally parked vehicle. But before the tower could complete the job, he was interrupted by Bivens, the vehicle owner.

Bivens told the driver that he was visiting a resident of the complex. He said he knew he needed a parking permit and had gone inside his friend’s apartment to get one. The attorney explained that he was just returning to the parking lot to hang the pass from his car’s rear-view mirror.

When the tower refused to back down, Bivens called police and planted himself in front of the truck, blocking its exit.

Police allowed the vehicle to be towed.

Bivens was billed $349, while the Ohio Revised Code says the cost to reclaim an impounded vehicle weighing 5 tons or less is “not to exceed” $90 for the actual towing and $12 per day for storage.

An itemized breakdown included $20 for dollies, $25 for admin and $180 for something labeled “2 HR.” A/T Towing owner Herman Dague said that his company is entitled to charge extra to cover expenses associated with a towing job. In this case, he said, the “2HR” fee stemmed from Bivens’ decision to serve as a human traffic barricade.

“Is it fair for him to keep my driver at bay, standing in front of the truck, not letting him leave?” asked Dague.

Bivens said he’s weighing his options. Source: www.dispatch.com.

Number 196 on Reader Card

Rotation Wait: Six Years and Counting A towing company in Wareham, Mass., that has waited nearly six years to be included on the tow rotation list in town must wait a little longer for a final decision.

Selectmen opened a public hearing on a petition to add Murphy’s Auto Salvage to the town’s tow rotation list. Wareham presently uses four town-based companies to fulfill its towing needs.

However, because all paperwork related to Murphy’s petition had not yet been received, the board voted to continue the hearing to a later meeting.

Attorney Patrick Matthews of Fall River, representing company owner Michael Murphy, said Murphy’s petitioned the board in 2008 for inclusion on the list, but was denied, leading to a lawsuit by the company against the town. The case was ultimately remanded to the selectmen, who in turn scheduled the public hearing.

Matthews said Murphy’s has the essential equipment and storage area, and its employees are fully trained to satisfy the town’s towing requirements. He also submitted several letters of endorsement of the company’s work from town officials in nearby communities.

In 2008, selectmen (none of whom is still on the board) rejected Murphy’s request because its business office was located in Rochester and they wanted to give preference to Wareham businesses. Source: www.southcoasttoday.com.

Number 164 on Reader Card

TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 85

Police Towers Meet in Baltimore

Mayor Vetoes Increased Tow Fees

The Police Towers of America will meet during the American Towman Expo in Baltimore, Md., on Nov. 15 at 11:30 a.m. in the Baltimore Convention Center. The PTA’s initiative is to give municipal towers the tools they need to keep a prosperous relationship with their towns and police departments. You’ll be able to talk with industry vet and PTA head John Borowski after the meeting.

Source: www.policetowers.org.

Hammond (Ind.) Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr.’s veto of an increase in city towing fees was a hot topic recently in the city.

The council voted earlier this month to raise administrative fees from $20 to $40 for vehicles that have been towed in the city.

In a letter, McDermott said the increase in towing fees wasn’t warranted because of the county’s recent adoption of

Visit us at Booth #1020

a local income option tax. He also said the fund where the fees would be deposited has plenty of money available and is a nonreverting account, which means money cannot be taken out and used elsewhere.

“Usually when something comes out of the law department, the mayor is already in favor of something like this,” a councilman said. “The mayor doesn’t want it, so what are we doing with it? Maybe we don’t need to increase this — the mayor says we don’t need the money in his letter.”

Hammond Controller Robert Lendi said that the correspondence was out of context.

“It doesn’t say anywhere in that letter that additional funds aren’t needed to help run government,” Lendi said. “I think it’s a gross misstatement of both the ordinance as it was proposed and the mayor’s correspondence to the council to say things of that nature.”

Source: www.nwitimes.com.

Repo Assault A dispute between a Forked River, N.J., woman and a tow truck driver repossessing her car culminated in the woman’s arrest.

Pamela Patterson, 41, was arrested recently after police responded to a call in reference to a dispute between Patterson and a tow truck driver over a repossession of a vehicle.

An officer met with both parties and observed the vehicle already hooked up with the tow truck operator having taken possession of the vehicle.

While investigating the incident, Patterson attempted to get the car keys back from the tow truck driver who was repossessing the vehicle. When she could not get the keys, she began to shove the tower in the presence of the officer.

After “several warnings,” the officer intervened and informed Patterson she was under arrest, at which point Patterson resisted arrest and continued in her attempt to assault the tow truck driver.

She was processed and later released upon receiving criminal summonses, police said.

Source: www.lacey.patch.com.

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Best Practices to Avoid Road Rage The National Highway Traffic Safety Association defines road rage as “an assault with a motor vehicle or other dangerous weapon by the operator of one motor vehicle on the operator or passenger(s) of another motor vehicle.”

The American Automobile Association Foundation defines road rage as “a motorist’s uncontrolled anger that is usually provoked by another motorist’s irritating act and is expressed in aggressive or violent behavior with an intention to cause physical harm.”

AAA said the two most common factors of road rage are rushing and congestion. Aggressive driving behavior includes driving more than 15 mph over the speed limit, running a red light, tailgating, erratic lane changing and illegal passing. According to Number 175 on Reader Card

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AAA’s 2013 survey, these actions are a factor in up to 56 percent of fatal crashes.

A separate AAA Foundation study of 10,000 road rage incidents committed over seven years found they resulted in at least 218 murders and another 12,610 injury cases. AAA advice to avoid road rage: • Don’t offend. Four driving acts are the most likely to enrage other drivers: cutting them off, driving slowly in the left lane, tailgating and gesturing obscenities.

• Don’t engage. Steer clear of aggressive drivers.

• Don’t take it personally. Instead of judging other drivers negatively, imagine why they may be speeding or swerving, such as hurrying to a hospital or dealing with a crying baby.

Drivers who successfully “reinvent” their approach to the road report dramatic changes in attitude and behavior, AAA said.

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Off-road

Recoveries by

Diversification and Ingenuity in the Heartland

T

his isn’t just about another piece of equipment—this is a trueblue American towing and recovery success story spanning three generations of creative individuals who by necessity became towers. One of these third generation towers has used innovative solutions and ingenuity to fill a need in off-road recovery.

Matt Maloney of Maloney Enterprises in Madelia, Minn., is on a mission to find inventive solutions to recovery problems in the Heartland. Growing up in a family full of creative individuals was a great start.

Maloney Enterprises has served southern Minnesota and northern Iowa for more than 50 years. Matt’s grandfather Ronald Maloney started Ron’s Electric Motor Repair where he repaired and 90 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

MORT

by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti

Farm machine stuck in a cornfield.

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sold electric motors. Matt’s father, Arlen, now runs the business. Over the years the business has expanded into other areas like scooter and wheelchair repair, golf cart sales, even sign fabrication and repair.

When the golf-cart service began in 1981, a rollback truck was added to transport the machines. The rollback truck was the start of the towing side of the business.

MORT dug in a cornfield doing a pull.

“It carried four golf carts,” Matt said. “It was also used to transport and recover automotive vehicles. We never intended to get into towing, but once folks heard that we had the rollback they kept calling us to pick up brokendown vehicles. Even the local police would call us.”

In 1995, the company added sign fabrication and repair (Sign Connection) when Matt graduated from Northwest Technical College-Detroit Lakes where he specialized in Sign Graphic Design and Neon Technology.

“I can do all of our own graphics in house,” Matt said.

“All of our trucks are done in 3M reflective. Towers need to be more safety conscious. Safety first.”

That year also was a landmark year for the Maloneys as they officially got into towing and recovery fulltime. Matt and Arlen tow everything from motorcycles to semis. They provide local and long-distance services for ditch recoveries, rollovers, accidents, towing and vehicle repossession. They serve several motor clubs, car dealers, semitrailer repair facilities, trucking companies, city and sheriff departments and the Minnesota State Patrol.

“Once you get into towing and recovery work, it gets into your blood,” Matt said.

Their equipment lineup is as diversified and impressive as the rest of the company. It includes a 2007 Peterbilt 378 with Century 9055 low-rider wheel-lift, 2010 International Extended Cab with Century 23' LCG flatbed and side-puller, 2006 Chevy C5500 crew cab 4x4 with Jerr-dan 12-ton Cougar wrecker, 2002 Chevy 2500 crew cab 4x4 pickup, 1999 Chevy Tracker service vehicle, 2006 tandem-axle diesel delivery/pumping-off 400-gal. fuel trailer and a 2006 Bobcat T300 skidloader with tracks.

It’s their other Bobcat, though, that is the real eyecatcher. Their Bobcat T300 compact track loader has been converted into an off-road recovery vehicle.

“Our Bobcat winchbox unit is called MORT, which stands for Maloney Off-Road Recovery Toy,” Matt said. “We

MORT easily pulls a pickup out of a bog.

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MORT digs in pulling a sprayer.

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wanted something bigger and more unique, more beefy and more massive but with a one-person operation. Normally (some of our off-road recoveries)would take five employees. I needed something for a one-man operation.”

Maloney got the idea for MORT from seeing smaller versions at shows and conventions. He needed something more robust.

“Smaller ones are meant more for just cars,” he said. “We wanted something more unique and a lot bigger scale for going after farm equipment.”

Matt and Gary Woratschka sketched out an idea for MORT and then went to work and constructed his Bobcat.

“Gary is a welder and fabricator who works for us in the wintertime towing,” Matt said. “He was the welder on this project and helped fabricate some of the particulars on our winchbox design.

“I decided on the T300 because it has tracks to get in and out of muddy fields in farm country. I measured in between crop rows then decided for this rather than the bigger sized Bobcats so as not to damage the farmers’ fields. It has higher pushing force, increased flotation and minimal ground disturbance, which is perfect for the area we use it in.”

The 60,000-lbs. winch comes from a military retrieval vehicle. The unit features 750’ of 5/8 cable so Matt has plenty of line for using snatch blocks.

“I don’t need to piece together two shorter lines,” Matt said. “The spade is six-feet wide by four-feet tall and has five tie-offs on the front of the spade for more recovery versatility and points for snatch blocks or whatever I need. I can pull out a loaded 18wheeler.

“It’s a 4,000-pound unit mounted on an 11,000-pound Bobcat with 18 teeth to dig into the dirt and accomplish off-road recovery work that wreckers just can’t get into.”

The winch is welded and bolted in a frame and set into the blade of the Bobcat. The plate is a notched design, which is the hardest point of that machine. It is chained from the Bobcat to the top of the winchbox for adjustability.

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Farmers like that MORT is easy on crops.

Farmers who have combines or field sprayers with 6’-tall tires stuck in the mud are calling Maloney to bring MORT to get them unstuck. They like Maloney’s device because it’s cheaper than paying a company to bring out heavy-duty trucks that take longer to

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do the job, and the Bobcat can move stealthily through the fields without tearing up valuable crops.

The machine anchors itself into the ground as it’s winching the cable back onto the attachment. It plows into the ground and finds the hard dirt, pro-

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viding the stability needed to slowly tow heavy vehicles out from where they’re stuck.

Maloney’s peers in towing seem impressed with the machine. Maloney took Best in Show and Most Innovative awards at the Wisconsin Tow Show this year. Maloney’s machine was competing against about 125 other pieces of equipment. Matt now has had two of the Bobcats with attachments, and had requests from others to build one for them.

Many folks looking at Matt Maloney’s little Bobcat might scoff at the idea that it could possibly take on a job like towing a loaded cement truck stuck in a ditch. But that’s only until they see it in action, he said.

“Think outside the box and be aware of the type of environment you are working in,” Matt said. “From our side, the recovery side, we look to ‘work smarter not harder,’ and having this piece of equipment gives us the ability to do jobs that we couldn’t handle easily or at all before.”

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Seven Steps to Safe Maintenance

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Stertil-Koni research has found seven key steps that fleets should observe prior to lifting heavy-duty vehicles in maintenance facilities.

1. Understand capacity, first and foremost. Use a lift certified to meet or exceed the weight of the vehicle to be lifted.

2. Carefully measure the height clearance of the facility. Specifically, prior to selecting a lifting system, measure the ceiling height in the facility and also note the height of the tallest vehicle you intend to service on the lift.

3. Consider lift positioning. Make certain that all personnel are clear of the vehicle and that contact points between the lift and vehicle are properly positioned.

4. Select a lifting system that prevents unauthorized access to lift operation.

5. Stability through the full range of travel for safe and smooth lifting and lowering cycles.

6. Go wireless for added safety with maximum access to the vehicle.

7. Select heavy-duty vehicle lifts that are third-party tested and validated.

Diesel, Gas Prices Projected Down Average retail pump prices for diesel and gasoline took a slight dip recently across much of the nation, according to data tracked by the Energy Information Administration, with the agency still expecting fuel prices to remain flat or slightly down by year’s end in comparison with 2012.

The U.S. average retail pump price for diesel declined, with all regions of the country reporting price drops except for the Rocky Mountains and California.

Compared to the same week in 2012, though, the agency noted the national average retail pump price for diesel is down by 16.1 cents per gallon.

Gasoline prices declined in all regions of the country except the West Coast.

EIA still expect regular-grade gasoline retail prices— which averaged $3.59 per gallon during the first half of 2013—to average $3.60 per gallon and $3.44 per gallon during the third and fourth quarters of 2013, respectively.

Led by falling crude oil prices, the projected U.S. average regular gasoline retail price should end up falling from $3.63 per gallon in 2012 to an average $3.55 per gallon in 2013 and $3.43 per gallon in 2014, the agency said.

Diesel fuel prices, which averaged $3.97 per gallon in 2012, are projected to average $3.96 per gallon in 2013 and $3.82 per gallon in 2014, EIA said.

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WTRAA Awards Five Scholarships The Women of the Towing and Recovery Association of America is celebrating 30-plus years as an auxiliary organization for the TRAA. Since 1990, under the Education Foundation, the WTRAA Scholarship Committee has

awarded more than $120,000 in scholarships to students affiliated with the towing industry.

For the 2013 selection process, the Scholarship Committee reviewed nine applications and awarded $8,500 in scholarships to five recipients. Applications are reviewed for grade-point average, community service, scholas-

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tic achievements and personal statements. Those who didn’t receive a scholarship this year are encouraged to continue to apply in the following years. Historically, individuals that receive scholarship awards and continue to apply throughout their education are often granted larger (as funding allows) scholarships in subsequent years.

This year’s awards went to: Kristen Robbins, $2,500, University of Indianapolis; Haley Fay Grueber, $2,000, Missouri Baptist University; Lindsay Westfall, $2,000, Oregon State University; Taylor Powell, $1,000, University of Central Florida; and Randall Welborn, $1,000, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

The Scholarship Fund welcomes donations at any time at “Pershing for WTRAA Scholarship” c/o Committee Chairperson, Stacey Tucker, 130 Tweed Lane NW, Suite 2, Bremerton, WA 98312.

Bendix Offers Online Brake Help Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems expanded its curriculum at the Bendix On-Line Brake School, continuing its mission of providing current and in-depth training to drivers, technicians, distributors, fleets, and owners.

The website, www.brakeschool.com, features a dynamic menu of 5- to 7-minute video segments, as well as a broad range of other training tools on all aspects of electronics and air brake maintenance.

In addition to the Bendix comprehensive and interactive Air Brake Training course, the brake-school.com curriculum covers the full spectrum of braking and active vehicle safety system product topics from overall education on product features and operation to troubleshooting, diagnostics, and maintenance best practices. Other content includes segments addressing highway safety, emissions regulations, and the federal RSD mandate.

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Drivers Delay Vital Repairs ForeverCar.com, an extendedwarranty provider, analyzed socialmedia commentary during the last three months to better understand driver priorities when it comes to vehicle repairs. The results show a distinct difference in the priority people give to the type of car repair needed on their vehicle.

In terms of delaying vehicle repairs, 18 percent of comments were for safety-related repairs; 13 percent of comments were for performance-related repairs; and 7 percent of comments were technology/electronics related.

Repairs needed on non-safety issues including A/C coolant systems, and items such as the sound system, DVD or GPS appear to be a higher priority according to driver sentiment.

“People can’t live without their air conditioning, but they will find every way to delay making payments for a suspension system,” said Russ Carpel, CEO of ForeverCar.com.

Of course, the longer they delay safety repairs and preventive maintenance, the more likely they are to add towing to their bill. — Ed. Number 206 on Reader Card

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Custer Acquires Blades Tow Right Custer Products Limited recently acquired Blades Tow Right Inc. to provide wireless innovative solutions.

Blades Tow Right was founded by Ed Blades in 1991, and has moved from wired light bars to wireless towing lightbars.

“Blades was an ideal choice because of their quality, integrity and products that will allow us to expand in the tow-

ing industry, as well as other new markets,” said Brad Custer, president of Custer Products.

Custer and Blades joined forces to provide wireless technology products to the distribution market place.

TomTom, SSCS Partner for Dispatch TomTom Business Solutions has integrated its WEBFLEET with Service Station Computer Systems Digital Dispatch

software to improve efficiencies by reducing the manually intensive aspects of dispatching and receiving work orders, eliminating manual-entry errors by drivers, and increase visibility into vehicle location and driver behavior.

Integrated together, they bridge the gap between the office and tower by giving back-office software real-time locations. This reduces administrative tasks and opens a real-time window on driver location and status for better decision-making for a variety of jobs, including impounds, insurance service, commercial, police-related and motor clubs.

WEBFLEET provides visibility into vehicle location and driver behavior and optimizes travel with professional navigation using real-time traffic data and information on commercial vehicle restrictions. SSCS provides the industry’s only authorized interface to AAA’s D/2000 dispatching system. Digital Dispatch allows users to record calls as they come in from motor clubs, police departments, commercial accounts and automotive repair shops. Calls are then dispatched electronically to a driver equipped with the TomTom PRO and the driver can update call status from their device without dispatcher intervention.

In The Ditch on Speed Channel In The Ditch Towing Products was recently featured on Stacey David’s “Gearz” TV show on SPEED Channel.

“Gearz” shows viewers how to modify and build custom hot rods and projects.

Stacey David reached out to In The Ditch Towing Products to create some custom products to fit on a vintage Holmes body he called “Heavy Metal Wrecker.” From a pencil sketch to reality, In The Ditch created a custom tool box, fuel can mounts to hold custom beer keg fuel cans and a custom lightbar.

“It was a great opportunity and validated that our high-quality products and ingenuity haven’t gone unnoticed,” said Chuck Ceccarelli, president.

To watch a clip of the show, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTHSvBES9xk.

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Transform Dispatch

by Daniel Ostrov

Calls into Sales Transparent Pricing Gains Trust from Potential Customers

I

t’s a little disaster that happens every day. A driver is out on the highway when his or her car starts acting up, then breaks down. The driver pulls onto the shoulder, turns on a Smartphone and sees your ad on Google. The driver is frustrated, maybe even scared, and is looking for safety, service, security and a solution—something that you as a towing service are in a unique position to provide.

Too often, what happens instead is that the driver encounters not a problem-solver, but an order-taker.

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Almost every towing company has problems with the dispatch process, because most companies focus on order-taking and dispatching, not on selling. Order-taking is getting the customer information and getting the truck to the service call as quickly as possible. Selling means getting involved with people emotionally, discovering their needs and buying triggers, and compelling them to make a decision in your favor.

When a customer’s car breaks down, that customer wants to spend

his or her money on fixing the car, not on transporting the vehicle. The dispatcher’s job is to change the customer’s perspective by emphasizing the value of your roadside service over price. This is part of the difference between leading with the lowest price vs. selling your services with healthy margins and dominating your market.

Recently, we conducted an analysis of sell-through rates for more than 1,000 dispatch phone calls to numerous towing companies across the U.S. and Canada. We discovered that most

towing companies average between a 25 percent to 50 percent call-sales-conversion rate for incoming cash tow calls generated as a result of paid online advertising targeting non-branded towing and roadside assistance.

Changing The Game When you change the game to selling value over price, three things happen: • You can close more large deals.

• You can increase the average size of your service calls to sell at higher margins.

• You can increase your closing ratio to make more sales with the business that is already coming through your phone.

Once you’re making more money with higher margins, you’ll want to spend more money on advertising because you will know your investment is paying off.

To improve sales, you must first understand your customer’s typical state of mind when they call you. Finding the right towing service isn’t like comparison-shopping in other areas of life. When you go out for dinner, you can generally tell the difference between a good restaurant and a bad one. If you’re looking for a doctor, you know that you need to see a board-certified physician instead of some dude with a folding table on a street corner.

However, when it comes to towing, most people don’t know what questions to ask or what to look for from their towing company during an urgent situation—besides the fact that they need a tow.

But there are other values that may influence the customer’s buying decision, and it’s up to you and your dispatchers to frame the argument effectively for each individual.

There are numerous strategies and methods to improve your sales game.

Although many of these include techniques and skills that take practice and training, there are a few basic “rules of the road” you should follow consistently.

There are three important and practical dispatch sales strategies that can have an immediate impact on your sales revenues if you apply them correctly.

Rule No. 1 The first rule is to never quote base plus mileage—always calculate and quote a total price.

When asked for a price quote, most dispatchers respond by stating a base rate plus mileage, or a “piecemeal rate.” In other words, the customer is either left to calculate and estimate the price themselves, or to keep calling other towing companies until they’re satisfied with an answer.

With permission, our firm has studied our client phone calls to assess

the impact of dispatchers calculating and quoting a conditional flat rate for each customer; prices based on factors like expected mileage and the type of truck/equipment required for the job.

We discovered that by quoting a calculated or total price vs. a piecemeal price, dispatchers increased their likelihood of closing incoming cash calls by more than 20 percent.

In the book, “Blink,” Malcolm Gladwell writes about how consumers make buying decisions: “If you are given too many choices,

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TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 105

if you are forced to consider much more than your unconscious is comfortable with, you get paralyzed.

Snap judgments can be made in a snap because they are frugal, and if we want to protect our snap judgments, we have to take steps to protect that frugality.”

In other words, requiring potential customers to calculate their own estimated price complicates the sale and overwhelms the customer. Providing prospects with a flat rate makes it easier for them to say “Yes,” especially when your competition continues to quote partial rates.

Another reason for the increased conversion rate is that flat-rate quotes can improve the customer’s perception of your company’s honesty and integrity. It’s a subtle yet powerful way to combat the industry’s historical reputation with the public. Quoting a flat rate without any hidden fees communicates transparency and encourages trust.

Rule No. 2

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The next rule is to never ask a yes/no question when you don’t know the answer.

Every day, dispatchers routinely give price quotes and ETA estimates followed by the question, “So do you want the tow?” An effective dispatch sales person will never ask this question.

When you ask a yes/no question, you are relinquishing the power of decision-making to the customer and thwarting your own efforts to sell value over price.

Here is a common price quote conversation between a dispatcher and prospect.

“So how much is the tow going to cost?”

“You’re looking at about $75. Is that OK?” Silent pause of several seconds...

“Thanks. I’ll call you back.”

ETA estimates are often communicated the same way.

“So what’s the ETA?” “You’re looking at least an hour.

Is that OK?” Silent pause.

“Thanks. I’ll call you back.”

Official Winch, AT Medal

Nomination Deadline: Oct. 25, 2013

Official Tow Management System, AT Medal

*NOTE: Describe the incident and include the name, company, phone number and address of the nominee.

All accounts should be able to be corroborated by a third party source, i.e., police, victim, witness.

American Towman Exposition, Baltimore MD, Nov. 15-17, 2013 Nominee’s Name:

Phone: Your Name:

Phone:

Co::

Send to: Steve Calitri, American Towman 7 West Street, Warwick, NY, 10990 scalitri@towman.com Number 206 on Reader Card

When faced with a yes/no question, most people find it easier to either just say no, or to simply deflect the answer altogether. In fact, deflection is the reason so many people say, “I’ll call you back,” and then never do. It’s a way to avoid the possible confrontation of saying no.

Rule No. 3 Finally, never pause after you quote a price or an ETA estimate.

This is actually an expansion of Rule No. 2. However, this issue is so problematic that the rule stands on its own.

Here’s another common conversation between a dispatcher and prospect: “So how much is the tow going to cost?”

“You’re looking at about $75.”

Silent pause of several seconds...

“Thanks. I’ll call you back.”

First, the statement, “You’re looking at $75,” is a poor way to provide a

Ditch the ordertaker mentality and adopt a customercentric approach. price quote, a bad habit made worse by the silent pause that follows. The prospect is now expected to fill the pause with his response of either a yes (“I do want to buy your service”) or a no (“I don’t want to buy your service”).

Many dispatchers have the same bad habit when answering questions about ETA estimates.

“So how long will it be for the tow truck to arrive?”

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“You’re looking at about an hour.”

Silent pause...

“Thanks. I’ll call you back.”

Just like a yes/no question, the silent pause effectively interrupts the flow of the conversation and again sets the expectation that the prospect will respond either favorably or unfavorably.

Although all towing companies are in the business of helping people in need, this should never lull you into assuming that a prospect will automatically choose your service. Ditch the order-taker mentality and adopt a customer-centric approach that will make your business stand out from the crowd. It will transform your business, starting from the bottom line.

About the author Daniel Ostrov is a partner at Whiterail Media, a specialist in dispatch sales training and online advertising for the towing industry. Contact him at 503-822-6736, Daniel@whiterailmedia.com, or visit www.whiterailmedia.com.

B/A Towing for a Cure

B/A Products has designed a special line of pink “Towing for a Cure” straps to support breast-cancer awareness. Introduced this month, the line will be offered as a one-time only special release with 100 percent of the proceeds being donated to breast cancer research and awareness. Source: www.baprod.com.

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For advertising opportunities call 800-732-3869 Dennie Ortiz x213 dortiz@towman.com Ellen Rosengart x203 erosengart@towman.com

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TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 109

KaBIG KaBUS Twin-Steer Rig

by Jim “Buck” Sorrenti

F

amily owned and operated since 1990, Kabus Auto Body & Recovery in Independence, Wis., started in a small garage; 20-plus years later the company is still growing.

“I have worked for other companies before. I knew I had the drive and skills to take it to the next level and create my own business,” said owner Ted Kabus. “I wanted to start a business I could be proud of. In August 1990, I started out repairing and repainting vehicles out of a two-bay garage next to my house.”

From humble beginnings, the growth was sparked by a simple need.

“I was a one-man shop and wasn’t able to move these undriveable vehicles around by myself. I decided a tow truck would help move things around the garage. So in two days, I built my first tow truck and, just like that, I was in the towing business,” Ted said.

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“Incorporating towing into the business shifted more of a demand for collision type of work. We were able to expand our towing services over time, adding a flatbed and then heavy-duty tow trucks.”

The company concentrates on collision work, but towing and recovery is their “other” passion, according to Ted. That secondary passion is recognized through a fleet that includes a 1986 International tandem-steer eightwheel-drive with a 850 Holmes, 2007 5500 GMC 4x4 with a 890 10-ton Vulcan wrecker, 1994 GMC HD 4x4 Monroe conversion with a Century eight-ton wrecker, 1997 GMC 5500 with Vulcan aluminum flatbed, 1984 GMC 4x4 70 Series with a 600 Holmes Trebron Conversion, 1990 International tandem with a 750 Holmes and a Zacklift, and a New Holland skidsteer.

Twin-Steer Workhorse In late 2007, Ted found the 850 Holmes and recognized that he needed a big chassis for it. The seller had other equipment for sale including the twin-steer International unit.

The 1986 International twin-steer was a rear-discharge mixer chassis. “It has 40,000-pound fronts, 20,000 each axle, and 46,000-pound rears, and eight-wheel-drive, eight low, eight high, and four-wheel-drive in high,” Ted said. A 300-hp Cummins mated to an eight-speed Fuller transmission takes it through its paces.

Ted and his crew went to work on the build and bolted the 40-ton Holmes 850 wrecker to the twin-steer chassis. They started fabrication, including fenders for the front, and spent many late nights and weekends over the next three months in prepping, painting, detailing and finishing the rig.

When the truck was finished, they unveiled it at the Wisconsin Towing Association annual convention in 2008 where it won Best in Show in both the Heavy-Duty Mechanical and Fit and Finish categories.

Ted and his crew left nothing to chance in equipping and setting up this heavy. It has a winch brake, twin air-ride seats, CB, rear camera, all LED lights, six work lights, six strobes, hydraulic outriggers, cribbing, six snatch blocks, Brake Buddy, chainsaw, front winch, power up and down booms, high/low range

Tech Highlights Chassis: 1985 International twin-steer.

Engine: 300-hp Cummins.

Trans: Eight-speed Fuller.

Winches: 40-ton.

Builder: Kabus.

Paint: Kabus.

on winch transmission, seven tailboard D-rings, truck bar, jumper cables, toolbox, fittings, continuous loops, two 24’, 12” straps, shackles, tie-downs, angle iron, step ladder and a 20-ton railroad jack.

This big rig is built to handle anything.

“This is a workhorse that has done many interesting recoveries. In the spring of 2013 by Arcadia (Wisconsin), we used the twin-steer to recover a fully loaded packer. I’m guessing the weight was 80,000 pounds,” Ted said.

TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 111

USED TRUCKS FOR SALE 2010 Dodge 4500, Vulcan 810 Wrecker, 140,831 miles 2009 International CF 600, Vulcan 22 feet Steel car carrier, 76,787 miles 2011 Peterbilt 335, Chevron 21 foot, 171,084 miles 2011 Dodge 5500, Century 311 wrecker, 112,258 miles 2007 Ford F650, Jerr-Dan 21 foot Carrier, 94,354 miles 2009 Dodge 4500, Vulcan 810 Wrecker, 203,886 miles 2009 Freightliner M-2, 2009 Chevron 21 foot steel, 153,851 miles 2011 Ford F-550, 2011 Chevron Series 10 2011 Isuzu NQR, Century 21 foot Carrier, 154,162 miles 2008 Ford F-450, Vulcan 804 wrecker, 60,703 miles 2012 Ford F-550 19 foot, 74,468 miles 2011 Ford F-550, Jerr-Dan 19 foot, 2012 Peterbilt 337, 2012 Century, 99,099 miles 2008 Ford F-550, Dynamic 701

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robertyoungtrucks.com TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 113

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TOWMAN.COM - October 2013 • 115

Most Unique Trade Exposition

by Steve Calitri

I

t’s a bold claim to say the American Towman Exposition is the most unique trade event on the face of the Earth, but towing professionals who have attended know that AT Expo is very different from any other trade event, be it a tow show, a truck show, a car show, computer show, you name it.

No boast, just fact: there’s nothing like it in the world.

The uniqueness of the Exposition begins with the magnificence of Baltimore’s Harbor and its places to see and eat. Then at the doors of the Convention Center, towing professionals are stopped cold as they come upon the Towman Monument. What other trade event welcomes each attendee with a monument in their honor?

Inside, towers are regaled with AT magazine images that celebrate the unique work that towmen do and the sacrifices they make. On the show floor the canvas mural “Lifelines–The Towing Industry” spans a whole city block. The hand-painted mural depicts several towing scenes in all weather conditions, once again in honor of Expo attendees.

As tow business owners stroll through the exhibit floor and talk with exhibitors and examine the wreckers, carriers, trailers and chassis on display, they pass under banners once more honoring the attendees. At some point

116 • October 2013 - TOWMAN.COM

they’ll come upon the Retro Diner and see “Hero,” the towing-themed chopper, the only one of its kind in the world with wheel spokes designed like wheel-lift forks, handlebars formed by tow chain, a vintage wrecker boom above the rear wheel and more.

By this point towing professionals are floored, realizing the lengths American Towman and sponsoring suppliers have gone to in honoring them. But there’s more…

During the weekend, attendees will hear the Towman ballads, music that was written in honor of who they are and what they do. Tell me what expo scores its events like a movie!

The Expo has a lot of rhythm and the 25th features five musical acts across nine venues!

Sculpture, art and music that are all unique to the towing trade! Then, of course, the food! Nowhere else are professionals of any trade treated as they are in Baltimore by American Towman and the Exposition’s legendary hospitality. Just for being there, just for being who they are. It culminates Sunday afternoon with the International Feast, a buffet created especially for the hardy eaters among towmen.

Nor has any other event taken its professionals so seriously, as exemplified by the American Towman Academy that features 30 seminars designed to help them succeed in the towing business. It’s the most extensive educational program at a trade event in the world.

Towers from 20 nations attend the American Towman Exposition. Its reputation has spread far. Of all the years to be in Baltimore, the 25th Expo is it.

I’ll see you in Baltimore!

The very first American Towman Exposition in 1989 did not have all the media backing it that it now has; TowIndustryWeek.com, AmericanTowmanTV.com, iTowman.com, RepoTimes.com, not even Towman.com, as the Internet had not mushroomed into the American mainstream until 199596. Before then and before online registration we crossed our fingers that towing professionals were reading all about the Exposition in the works and waited for registration forms to come in the mail. Seeing the crowds storming the gates at the Convention Center was an electrifying moment and a relief.

Now we’re able to reach out through email blasts and AT’s Internet media as well as through the print publication, and check online at any moment to see how advance-registration is going. It’s now easier for people to register in advance of the show, we probably draw hundreds more communication-savvy towers than before, and we certainly get in those towing professionals who eagerly anticipate American Towman coming through the mail each month, which still makes up the overwhelming majority of the attendance.

Our Internet media also helps attract more towing professionals from around the world. The Google-Translate feature on ATExposition.com and TowIndustryWeek.com helps AT to connect with tow business owners who have nothing like AT Expo in their countries. Aside from satisfying all the towers in the hall on Sunday, the International Feast honors our far-away-from-home guests.

©2013 American Towman Magazine. Characters and stories are fictitious; no resemblance to real life characters is intended.

Send your thoughts/suggestions on the Adventures to scalitri@towman.com or American Towman, 7 West St, Warwick NY 10990

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