Ever since 1916 when Ernest Holmes, Sr., created the first tow truck, continuous innovations in technology have spurred critical changes in the towing and recovery industry. “Since I started in the industry we’ve gone from regular, mechanical Holmes winch trucks to big hydraulic 75-ton rotator trucks,” noted Todd Suhr, parts manager at Zip’s Truck in New Hampton, Iowa. “And now we also have those big side-pullers you can install on your truck so towers don’t take up to or three lanes of traffic while they’re recovering a vehicle.”

          But it’s not just technology that’s altering the way towers approach their work — there’s also a change in mindset. The majority of towers we talked to mentioned new safety procedures and safety equipment as two of the most important innovations in recent years. But it’s not just about reflective clothing and a renewed sense of caution — it’s also about newer gear that helps create a safer on-the-job environment.

          At Totman Enterprises in Searsmont, Maine, owner Brian Totman works with his wife Susan and their three sons, Ryan, Matthew, and Joshua. A 30-year veteran of the towing industry — he’s been doing recoveries since he was a teenager — Totman admits that it took him a little while to shrug off some of his old-school methods. “I was an old-time tower — a sling and a truck, and that’s it,” he said. “Going from a sling to a wheel lift, it took me a long time to say, ‘Yeah, I can do this.’”

          While the old-school ways of towing are still very much alive, advancements in equipment design have revolutionized the industry in recent years. The local tow operator might still pull up in an old truck, wrap chains around the wheels, and accept only cash payments. But these days, you’re more likely to see a bright LED-lit wrecker sporting a fifth-wheel underlift, with a driver working with a wireless credit card processing device, updated straps, and alloy snatch blocks, among other items.  

Wheels Up

          The fifth-wheel underlift can make a big difference on the road. “We have them on all of our trucks,” said Louis Anglin of General Automotive Services in Searcy, Arkansas. While Anglin’s drivers seldom have to use it, the fifth-wheel underlift comes in handy in certain situations, making it a very worthwhile tool — for example, when recovering a tractor-trailer or while towing travel trailers.

          “Typically, we tow tractor-trailers in as a combo,” explained Anglin. “About the only time we use the fifth-wheel underlift is during emergency situations with a trailer, bringing it out of a parking lot or something like that.”

          If you’re looking to save on costs, Kevin Hamman, owner of Hamman Engineering in Newbern, TN, recommends taking a look at the fifth-wheel underlift. “To begin with, the purchase price of a ‘fifth-wheeler’ is dramatically less than that of a wrecker body,” said Hamman. “So from payments to fuel cost to maintenance, the cost of operation for a fifth-wheeler is much less than that of a wrecker.”

          According to Hamman, one big advantage of this newer equipment is that it improves the tower’s quality of life. “At the end of the day,” said Hamman, “he can accomplish more tows with less fatigue and less chance of injury.”

Airborne Payment

          For many towers, the old-fashioned ker-chunk sound of the credit card slider has given way to fully electronic transactions when accepting payments from customers. The Totmans use wireless technology: portable, wifi-enabled credit card processing terminals. Slide the card through, punch in the price, and the transaction is automatically transmitted via satellite — no muss, no fuss.

          “I charge up the machine overnight, then put it in the truck,” added Brian Totman. The machine works “out in the middle of no-man’s land where my cell phone doesn’t reach. I just pull out my little machine and slide the card through, and I’m paid. You don’t have to worry about carrying a traditional credit card machine, or making phone calls to authorize a payment, or coming all the way back to the shop to use the credit card machine.” Before, said Totman, “It was, ‘Do we take a check from this person, and if we do, will it be a good check?’”

          This is a significant improvement in billing practices, especially in the rural areas that Totman Enterprises serves, where mobile phone coverage can be spotty. “The drivers don’t need to call in, but can process on the road,” explained Susan Totman. “There are a few spots with no access, but for the most part we're able to process almost anywhere within our area.”

Bright Lights

          Because he works with his sons, Totman has a heightened personal interest in the safety of his employees and his towing equipment. “We need to be as safe as we can out there,” he said. To that end, Totman’s recent truck purchases have included LED lighting on the light bar “and all through the running lights and taillights,” he said. Some of his trucks still feature strobe lighting, but Totman is gradually replacing that older equipment with LEDs.

          “It’s easier to see the LED lighting in the daylight as compared to strobes,” continued Totman. “I bought one truck with LEDs, liked it, and that’s how we started.” According to parts manager Todd Suhr, LED lighting has been around for about a decade but has really taken over the marketplace in the last five or six years.

          Installing LED lighting on tow trucks is a simple process, and Suhr sells a lot of the product to his customers. “With the strobe system you needed a power source and a cable to reach the strobe,” said Suhr. “With the LED system, you just need a power wire to the lights.”

          Equally useful are wireless towing lights that attach to the vehicle being towed. Butch Hogland, owner of Hooks Towing & Recovery Supplies in Wynne, Arkansas, said that wireless towing lights are one of his most popular sellers. “Customers have really used a lot of them,” he said, “and they’ve been a major improvement from the old to the new.”

Endless Slings

          Even the traditional sling has been updated with the endless round sling, a flexible, lightweight alternative to the traditional heavy sling. “It’s a strap that’s a continuous circle,” explained Don Mesaros, owner of Auto Works Heavy in Milford, Ohio. The company performs light- to heavy-duty towing and recovery. “Continuous loops are useful because you can take one, go through the wheel, and you have an attach point.” Lift, and there’s no damage, said Mesaros.

          When Mesaros first worked in the towing industry, “straps were expensive,” he recalled. “When you’re putting a strap on the bottom side of something to upright it and you can’t see anything, you might nick or tear it.”

          The straps are available in different lengths and provide more contact area across a surface than a chain does. “When you spread that load out, you’re not nicking the side of the car or a panel,” said Mesaros. “Let’s say you want one for a car. You can buy a four- or six-foot sling if you’re going through the wheel, or you can get an eight- or 10-footer if you want to wrap the car.”

          Mesaros praises continuous slings for their ease of use and lightweight construction. A 10-foot chain, he said, weighs about nine pounds per foot, while the endless sling weighs about 12 pounds total.

          For heavier recoveries, Mesaros says he buys a lot of 20-foot slings, which work really well with airbags. “They stay in place because you’ve got a big grip on the surface,” he explained. “I make protection sleeves to slide on the straps. And you don’t have that chain going up the side of the trailer, nicking it all up.”

          Mesaros also says the price is right — gone are the days when he had to spend $1,000 on a sling. If a strap is nicked or breaks but doesn’t do any damage to the vehicle, “the insurance company doesn’t mind spending $150 for that strap because you’ve saved them $4,000 in damage,” explained Mesaros.

Alloy Blocks

          Finally, towers praise the use of metal alloys in snatch blocks. Tony Coffey, owner of Tri Power Towing in Effingham, Illinois, notes that alloy pieces are, in general, stronger and lighter than their steel counterparts. “I have a 12-ton alloy snatch block that’s lighter than my eight-ton steel snatch block,” said Coffey. Gear made of metal alloys allows Coffey to boost his towing capacity.

          Don Mesaros offers another weight comparison: “The old Johnson snatch block, made of steel, weighs 68 pounds,” he said. “An alloy snatch block weighs 43 pounds. That’s a whole lot of difference when you’re carrying things up and down a hill.”

          “Really, anything made of alloy is good!” said Coffey.

*****

          Perhaps you have a favorite recent innovation that has made your work easier and safer. Maybe you have created a device yourself that could help other towers in their work. Or you’re an equipment dealer with new or improved equipment that you think towers might like to know more about. We’d like to hear from you. Let us know at [email protected] and we’ll contact you to get the details.

          In any case, the entire industry certainly welcomes any and all improvement in towing and recovery equipment, providing tremendous benefits in safety, ease of use, and the tower’s quality of life.