Constantly being aware of your surroundings... I call this Situational Awareness...! and in a dangerous environment like yours and mine it's Hyper Situational Awareness... Being like this saved my life when I was working on the railroad on the tracks one day... We had to get off the tracks because a freight train was coming through and because I was on the side of the tracks constantly looking at the train all along the way up & down (looking for any issues) I noticed one of the box cars was waving back and forth side to side. One of the 4-wheel trucks on the box car jumped the rails and was at a diagonal being dragged along the tracks under the car. Long story short that part of the train derailed right where I was. I saw it coming and hightailed it running as fast as I could into a field of jagger bushes... It was either that or get crushed by the train. Thank God I'm still around to tell the story. I'm here to say I totally agree with you that Situational awareness WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE...!!!
Absolutely!!! The entire trip was an amazing experience. I have to say that the people from Zip's AWD made us feel welcomed and like a part of a family. We are extremely grateful to you and the entire Zip's team!!!!
I’d have loved to see what you learned in the towing class you took at the show but I’m guessing we’ll have to wait until you use what you learned in a real life situation while you’re doing a recovery!!!
Ron, you are a celebrity, no two ways about it. You're also handling it the best way there is: just be the same guy you've always been. Take it from someone who's been there and done that. Enjoy it, pay it forward when you can, use it to lift up the people around you... just like you have been. Great work!
Great post Ron, and great to see you getting the recognition deserved. I remember watching the vid used when you posted it originally. Impressive then and even more so as used here. The sight of your Dad (bald eagle) on overwatch was an amazing catch, and I am sure deep down, you knew this was going to be a worthy task completed. Best wishes to you, your good lady, family and all the crew for Christmas and a prosperous and Happy 2025.
Going off the camera movement. This has been mentioned before. It’s actually easier to watch when the camera is head mounted compared to chest mounted. I remember Talon’s old chest mount recording. 🤣
I’ve always enjoyed watching recovery content from you, Jammie Davis, and O’Hare Towing just to name a few. Although the methods may differ from one company to another the end result from all of you is to do it safely and make it home when the job is over. When my dad was a tow operator for a couple of companies that contract for AAA he would work with the other companies n the city and never stopped learning. He developed a reputation of being willing to help another operator out of a jam and had so many companies in the city that would drop what they were doing to help him when he made the call on the radio. He had a few close calls but trusted in the Lord to watch over him.
Nice video. A learned something that I had been wondering about. On a different recovery channel, an operator uses synthetic winch lines. Now I know that you are planning to switch to these also. I was wondering if these were seen as an improvement. Thanks for giving me that answer. Stay safe and healthy.
Hi Ron, I use to work on the railroad and the cost of shutting down major freight train rail tracks due to an accident can vary widely depending on several factors, such as the severity of the accident, the duration of the shutdown, and the specific location. Generally, the costs can range from $200 to over $1,000 per hour. These costs include expenses related to delayed cargo, additional inventory holding costs for shippers, and potential environmental and public impacts. Nice to see a Wednesday video from your trip to MD...!!!
I do like the breakdown after the fact, kinda cool to be able to hear your thought process of what you wanted to achieve and how you achieved it and adapted to issues. Maybe as a treat you could do others later on. Awesome videos as usual
I already have several that I plan to do. Not only for the viewers, but to use inside the shop for training. What did we do right? What could we have done better? What can we learn from this situation? What will we do next time? Stuff like that. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Finally getting to know who Mr Ron Pratt is Not a professional interview but it was fun to watching been to Baltimore Convention Center a few times as long as you stay in the inner harbor you will be fine BTW if anyone is from Baltimore city there use to be a boat that you pay a fee that going around the inner harbor and you can eat as many Chesapeake Crabs as you can like to know if that still exist
Looks like I have a new company to look into. That new angled piece will definitely replace the angle iron we've been using. Hopefully bossman can get it added to the rotator, before it ships. I have learned so much from watching your videos, and from on site training. I appreciate all your efforts in making these videos. I've even caught myself on a few recoveries, asking myself now is that how Ron would do it? Yes, there are multiple ways to reach 10. But I've watched so many videos, that I have actually asked myself that.
Maybe if he had 2 rotators but doubt it with rotator and newest truck. Locos can weigh 180 tons (180000kg) alone so they are very heavy. Hence why they take a long distance to stop bc loaded they can be 2000mtrs (2km long) and weigh over 1million kg
Ron. Your videos are fantastic and have confirmed to me that my dream job is heavy recovery. Do you or anyone in your comments section have any tips on how to get started? I’m in Canada. Thanks, and again, love the videos.
Just a suggestion from a viewer, find a tow company close to you and talk with them about what they do and how they got into the business. Maybe they would hire you or give you some direction.
I think there needs to be some kind of law, whether it be at the local level or federal level that requires all crossings for railroad tracks to be marked whether they are private or not
I don't think you said exactly what you intended to say. All crossings of the tracks by automotive equipment are marked with crossbucks but not all crossings need to be marked plus have lights and gates. The cost of lights and gates on all crossings would be an astronomical sum of money that would not make an individual crossing any safer than if just protected by a single crossbuck. A single private crossing may not see a single vehicle other than trains for weeks or even months at a time. The approximate cost of a single-track crossing with lights and gates is around $150,000 and up over the cost of the crossing material installed. The big problem is that drivers don't treat the crossbuck sign like they treat a STOP sign. A lot of drivers don't even stop at STOP signs either. So. it is a driver problem, not a railroad or marking problem. The ONLY way to reasonably keep road and rail traffic apart is to literally grade-separate them at all times, but that will not totally accomplish the goal given accidents.
The Ron Pratt intro and outro songs are legendary.
Constantly being aware of your surroundings... I call this Situational Awareness...! and in a dangerous environment like yours and mine it's Hyper Situational Awareness... Being like this saved my life when I was working on the railroad on the tracks one day... We had to get off the tracks because a freight train was coming through and because I was on the side of the tracks constantly looking at the train all along the way up & down (looking for any issues) I noticed one of the box cars was waving back and forth side to side. One of the 4-wheel trucks on the box car jumped the rails and was at a diagonal being dragged along the tracks under the car. Long story short that part of the train derailed right where I was. I saw it coming and hightailed it running as fast as I could into a field of jagger bushes... It was either that or get crushed by the train. Thank God I'm still around to tell the story. I'm here to say I totally agree with you that Situational awareness WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE...!!!
Thank you, Ron! It was a pleasure to meet you and LaDonna. Hopefully we can do more videos like this in the future :)
Absolutely!!! The entire trip was an amazing experience. I have to say that the people from Zip's AWD made us feel welcomed and like a part of a family. We are extremely grateful to you and the entire Zip's team!!!!
I’d have loved to see what you learned in the towing class you took at the show but I’m guessing we’ll have to wait until you use what you learned in a real life situation while you’re doing a recovery!!!
Ron, you are a celebrity, no two ways about it. You're also handling it the best way there is: just be the same guy you've always been. Take it from someone who's been there and done that. Enjoy it, pay it forward when you can, use it to lift up the people around you... just like you have been. Great work!
Your videos you make are among the best regarding tow operators..i enjoy watching them both old and new regularly..
Great post Ron, and great to see you getting the recognition deserved. I remember watching the vid used when you posted it originally. Impressive then and even more so as used here. The sight of your Dad (bald eagle) on overwatch was an amazing catch, and I am sure deep down, you knew this was going to be a worthy task completed. Best wishes to you, your good lady, family and all the crew for Christmas and a prosperous and Happy 2025.
Going off the camera movement. This has been mentioned before. It’s actually easier to watch when the camera is head mounted compared to chest mounted. I remember Talon’s old chest mount recording. 🤣
I’ve always enjoyed watching recovery content from you, Jammie Davis, and O’Hare Towing just to name a few. Although the methods may differ from one company to another the end result from all of you is to do it safely and make it home when the job is over. When my dad was a tow operator for a couple of companies that contract for AAA he would work with the other companies n the city and never stopped learning. He developed a reputation of being willing to help another operator out of a jam and had so many companies in the city that would drop what they were doing to help him when he made the call on the radio. He had a few close calls but trusted in the Lord to watch over him.
She’s a peach nice interview
Pls tell Shelby congratulations! Many blessings ❤
Happy thanksgiving, and a merry Christmas to you and your family Ron!! God bless!
Hi Ron! I’m in Hagerstown MD and I’ve watched you Midwest just before your Dad passes.Good Jobs, great teacher, positive always!💥❤️💥
I mean this in the nice😮way~
~ TV star RON ~
Great job Ron!
Nice video. A learned something that I had been wondering about. On a different recovery channel, an operator uses synthetic winch lines. Now I know that you are planning to switch to these also. I was wondering if these were seen as an improvement. Thanks for giving me that answer.
Stay safe and healthy.
That was a very good video thanks all of you 👍🙏🎄
Thanks I'm trying to keep up with videos, but I'm retired now from Towing but teaching younger people if they ask
Hi Ron, I use to work on the railroad and the cost of shutting down major freight train rail tracks due to an accident can vary widely depending on several factors, such as the severity of the accident, the duration of the shutdown, and the specific location. Generally, the costs can range from $200 to over $1,000 per hour. These costs include expenses related to delayed cargo, additional inventory holding costs for shippers, and potential environmental and public impacts. Nice to see a Wednesday video from your trip to MD...!!!
I live 20 minutes from there
Love your videos and have been a subscriber since the beginning
Ron you are always amazing
Your an excerpt tow trucker
I appreciate all your hard work
May God be with you and the crews always on each recovery. Happy holiday from us, and to everyone!!!
I do like the breakdown after the fact, kinda cool to be able to hear your thought process of what you wanted to achieve and how you achieved it and adapted to issues. Maybe as a treat you could do others later on. Awesome videos as usual
I already have several that I plan to do. Not only for the viewers, but to use inside the shop for training. What did we do right? What could we have done better? What can we learn from this situation? What will we do next time? Stuff like that. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Finally getting to know who Mr Ron Pratt is Not a professional interview but it was fun to watching been to Baltimore Convention Center a few times as long as you stay in the inner harbor you will be fine BTW if anyone is from Baltimore city there use to be a boat that you pay a fee that going around the inner harbor and you can eat as many Chesapeake Crabs as you can like to know if that still exist
Looks like I have a new company to look into. That new angled piece will definitely replace the angle iron we've been using. Hopefully bossman can get it added to the rotator, before it ships. I have learned so much from watching your videos, and from on site training. I appreciate all your efforts in making these videos. I've even caught myself on a few recoveries, asking myself now is that how Ron would do it? Yes, there are multiple ways to reach 10. But I've watched so many videos, that I have actually asked myself that.
If I was in that business, I'd definitely be asking myself if that was how Ron would do it.
Good Afternoon There My Good Big Bro Ron Pratt Sir & Have A Great Rest Of You're Day Today There My Good Big Bro Ron Pratt Sir
Keep up with the good work Ron love watching your videos on RUclips God bless
GREAT Video... Handled very well, nice.. 😊
Wow a Wednesday Christmas present! Thanks Ron. 57th like, first to comment
Who else loves this channel?
I wonder how many people who follow this channel could walk right by Ron without recognizing him until he spoke.
Cool
Hi Ron - If you used both your trucks could you pick up a locomotive engine? Maybe 1 End? God Bless!✝
Maybe if he had 2 rotators but doubt it with rotator and newest truck.
Locos can weigh 180 tons (180000kg) alone so they are very heavy.
Hence why they take a long distance to stop bc loaded they can be 2000mtrs (2km long) and weigh over 1million kg
Most adds I have "seen" in one video! 😂
I'm first one like. Yay!!
Ron. Your videos are fantastic and have confirmed to me that my dream job is heavy recovery. Do you or anyone in your comments section have any tips on how to get started? I’m in Canada. Thanks, and again, love the videos.
Just a suggestion from a viewer, find a tow company close to you and talk with them about what they do and how they got into the business. Maybe they would hire you or give you some direction.
I think there needs to be some kind of law, whether it be at the local level or federal level that requires all crossings for railroad tracks to be marked whether they are private or not
I don't think you said exactly what you intended to say. All crossings of the tracks by automotive equipment are marked with crossbucks but not all crossings need to be marked plus have lights and gates. The cost of lights and gates on all crossings would be an astronomical sum of money that would not make an individual crossing any safer than if just protected by a single crossbuck. A single private crossing may not see a single vehicle other than trains for weeks or even months at a time. The approximate cost of a single-track crossing with lights and gates is around $150,000 and up over the cost of the crossing material installed. The big problem is that drivers don't treat the crossbuck sign like they treat a STOP sign. A lot of drivers don't even stop at STOP signs either. So. it is a driver problem, not a railroad or marking problem. The ONLY way to reasonably keep road and rail traffic apart is to literally grade-separate them at all times, but that will not totally accomplish the goal given accidents.
I saw Sam video thay are woch