So I have to ask. Why have a siren on a tow truck? I mean, I guess I could see it for like if someone is entrapped, but other than that, I don't understand the need
I get this question a lot and most people do not understand and some don't agree with the State of Missouri. I will attempt to explain so that everyone reading might have a better idea as to why we as tow/recovery operators are allowed "Emergency Vehicle" status in the state of Missouri. First, I have a video explaining the actual state statutes, but they, alone, do not answer your question. There are times when we are called to "Expedite" (run lights and siren) to a scene because there is a need for us to assist with extrication or recovery. Our company has trained with both Fire and Police personnel and have certificates for Traffic Incident Management Systems (TIMS), light duty extrication, heavy duty extrication, grain bin extrication, to name a few. We are not required to do so, but we firmly believe in cross-training to not only educate, but to build relationships, not to mention the fact that if you train together you work better together on-scene. Here is the part that a lot of people don't understand or don't agree with....every minute spent at a crash site is another minute for injury, death, additional crashes, etc. Keeping traffic flowing normally reduces the risk for everyone and also keeps the economic "life-blood" flowing. Quick clearance of a scene is recognized by the State of Missouri as a vital part of the Emergency Services and is in large part the reason that we are granted Emergency Vehicle status. Distracted and/or impaired driving are on the rise and having vehicles and personnel on the side of the road only add to risk of more injury, death, or crashes. Whether someone agrees with this or not, in the state of Missouri, towing/recovery vehicles are considered Emergency Vehicles. I hope I have sufficiently answered your question. Thank you for watching. Please be safe and God bless.
Ron Pratt, Thank you for helping me to understand this. I was also wondering about the siren. I understand & appreciate what Missouri has done now, thanks to you. I used to flag when I lived in Colorado and safety on the road is a great thing. Thanks again on the info. Hope you have a great day & be safe.
Unbelievably bravery by the police officer, as for the fire department they only need to be there if they are needed to fight fire or provide paramedic services. Public safety is the responsibility of the Police which is why the officer stayed and helped, however as always ‘slow down and pull over’.
Hi Mr. Pratt! I'm Mike. I like your videos. I love the fact that you always say God bless and be safe or God protect you 🙏🙏. Health issues that I have accured over time has taken me to the point that I could no longer drive trucks. I used to run a tow truck myself. I miss it and I miss driving trucks. God bless you and keep safe. Keep it between the lines 10-4
I don't know that Troopers name, but he sure has guts. He planted himself between the truck and traffic the whole time you were underneath the truck. Hands on his hips and stared them down. Bravo!👏
Ron, could you give a detailed explanation of when and why driveshafts are pulled. Most folks dont know and you are the perfect teacher to explain why. Keep up the awsome work.
Ron thanks for explaining the brake chamber procedure for releasing the brakes. I am sure I am not the only one that learned something tonight! Thanks for the videos.
At 29:24 in the video we see some of the finest protecting Ron and the Truck Driver. The Police Officer deserve THUMBS UP for protecting Ron and the Public while the Police Officer stood by slowing traffic for safety of others. Good job Mr. Police Officer. 03-Nov-18 Calais, Maine, USA
There is nothing better than a big truck that can get up and go. Its still amazing to me after 17 years in the fire service how people just ignore a huge truck with flashing lights and siren going.
Around here it is crazy. A lot of drivers don't respect ANY emergency service vehicles running code. I can cross over into Illinois, where I'm only allowed to run amber emergency lights, and drivers will slow down and pull over for just the ambers. Southern Illinois is just a few miles, but it is a whole different world. Thanks for watching and God bless.
I was not only impressed with such a tow truck as I was very impressed of your knowledge and skill of how you use it without fumbling and guessing and how you immediately went straight to the right accessories to do the job properly without incident for a successful clearance of a wreck removal. I don't see many operators as skilled as you and you are a true professional!
Great job Ron,and prayer's to that gentleman's wife in her struggle's with cancer,Thank goodness he wasn't hurt, Take Care out there,and bless the trooper for assisting in keeping you safe..Have a great week everyone..
Ron, I’ll admit, as a man, I got emotional watching the last few minutes of the video. You are so professional, courteous, and thoughtful. I’ve been in tow trucks and not said one word because the driver can’t make conversation or doesn’t like conversation. Big plus for giving that man a hat. God Bless you and your operation.
can't understand why drivers cannot obey the law to slow down and move over.. you are a nice polite gentleman and I admire your patience and dedication. I really like your videos.. you are a special person for sure. God Bless and keep you safe
I learned about sprung brake chambers by watching this video. Thank you, Ron. Also, I have the same Matco foam pad. What a back saver! Much respect for getting under there and working on the damn thing so you don't damage his equipment further.
Thank you for sharing a bit of your day with use. Really cool to see the things that massive tow truck can do. You serve our road ways well. Keep up the good work.
This is much more entertaining than watching TV in the morning. Thanks for sharing. Hope to see the Bus you're talking about for the fair. Maybe a show on how you lift the bus?
Nice recovery.. Its cool to see the mutual respect between tow truck operators and local law enforcement..Watching you haul all those air hoses.. Wouldn`t a built in retractable reel of maybe 50ft. air hoses make it better/easier to connect? I`m sure Miler could hide it internally. Or do you have better control as is, today?
We have built that level of respect by making the effort to train and work with our local emergency services. If we train together we work better together. As for the air hose reel, Miller does have them available as options on certain bed styles. On this particular truck with the rolling carriage boom and the rear drag winch, there is no room for a reel. Thanks for the suggestion. God bless.
I don't understand people passing an emergency vehicle when he's advertising. As near as I can tell that driver is both skilled and lucky, and I agree that the man upstairs does look after us. God bless Ron.
I am surprised they don't shut down one lane while you work at recovering the vehicle. Here in england the police, for safety reasons will often either fully close a road or if possible just close one lane which allows traffic to continue and for the recovery team to work in safety.
I'm sure if he asked them to they would do so, but closing even just a lane, much less an entire highway has far reaching repercussions. Traffic jams cost companies millions of dollars and a closed highway would be a traffic jam of the worst kind. As a tow truck driver myself I can say it is a point of pride and even a goal to keep the highway flowing as much as possible while we work. It is the responsibility of the people driving by the scene to do so in a safe manner and follow the Slow Down, Move Over law. Unfortunately this is a often misunderstood and frequently ignored law.
Yes, and the result of the nannying here in the UK, a Major motorway, the second busiest in the entire country, was recently shut for 9, yes that's 9 hours in both directons because of a bomb scare which turned out to be "corrosive chemical" After 9 hours, trapped traffic was finally allowed to proceed past, and in one direction the motorway remained closed overnight for "repairs". Here no-one "[takes] pride and even a goal to keep the highway flowing as much as possible while we work."
Ya in uk still have to drive within the law, abiding by the road rules.... Can't be driving through red light's or overtaking viechles or sirens for a recovery. Only the main police viechles, fire viechles, ambulance can
Here in the USA the roads must stay open. The other night we had a huge wreck that blocked all 4 lanes of traffic for several hours. The police had to send traffic down the 2 lane roads in the middle of nowhere just to get traffic rerouted and back on the Interstate. Where I live, 151 is the only Interstate. I've only seen my end of the Interstate closed completely once, because the snow was too high for the plows.
I see there are still a lot of people that do not want to give you the right away. It is always good to watch your professional at work. Take care and Work Safe
YES! A Q will let anyone know you're coming. I accidentally hit the switch on the one in our squad when I was a n00b... at 4am in a populated area. Didn't know where the kill switch was either....
Another great recovery Ron. Looked like the poor guy ran over 1/2 mile of cable barrier. Glad nobody got hurt. Lots of damage under the truck will add up for a costly repair. I remember once when I was flat bedding, I blew a tire on a 45 foot spread axle aluminum flat bed, out in IA. The boss told me to turn around at next exit & drive back 40 miles to a truck stop as he didn't want to pay for a service call. By the time I got back to the truck stop, now it's 2 tires, an airbag, some aluminum welding, & a couple of rear lights. Damn alligators. LOL. God Bless & keep up the great work.
We've worked hard to build a relationship of trust by training and working with our emergency services. It has been earned, not given. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Dang Ron I sure like the way you do things when you'r working, I really like how you are vary Organized every thing has it's place and you know exactly where things are and where they belong, you are sooo vary nice to everybody you talk to. I would give anything to be you'r little co-pilot. Excellent job Ron Pratt. Thank You for you'r service!!!
This was surprisingly interesting to watch, very well done! It makes me serious mad to see people ignoring Emergency Vehicles like that - greetings from Germany
Wow.. a Weapon of Mass Destruction should have been the title for this one. What a mess!!! Man.. those people driving around and not yielding to your siren got me a bit mad. I read the comments, and some of the ideas are worth looking into. Wig wag lights, rumbler and some wicked speakers for your sirens. I love these installments of A Day In the Life of Ron Pratt: Tow Truck Driver. :) You showed us how to work safely, quickly, and how to have your wits about you. OOH!! A frog??? I LOVE frogs :D
The frog came from a trip to the Miller factory near Chattanooga with my son. They were doing some warranty work on the rotator and my son and I went to an Aquarium. Together we picked out the blue and yellow frog as this truck's mascot. The blue and yellow matches our color scheme and my son has picked out mascots for all our trucks. Thanks for watching and God bless.
They're probably people who don't know that a truck like this can actually run sirens and lights like an emergency vehicle. Given how people sometimes throw lights and sirens on their cars and pretend to be cops or have amber flashers they probably thought it was something like that.
BlackHawkBallistic lol have you seen ems and cops running code on public roads in the US. It could be 10 cop cars with landing lights for an airport flashing and they still would not move. Most Americans don't give a rats ass about anyone and when they do it to start a confrontation.
That officer has some .... standing in the lane of traffic to make them move over while you lay under the trailer. Mad respect for that officer for keeping you safe. Nice job again Ron!
What a great video, learned a lot. I feel for the driver, he did a good job keeping her on her wheels. And what a wrecker! Absolutely beautiful!! Great job, and looking forward to seeing more!
Ron, another fantastic video as always, but don't be afraid to use the air horn!!! You might find people respond to that a bit better than the siren! God Bless!
Oh yes, they notice the air horn. My last truck had a set of train horns on it and they REALLY got people's attention. Thanks for watching and God bless.
It's a pleasure, Ron, to see your professionalism in action, your driving prowess with siren and red/blues going but it's really sad seeing how many drivers ignore same. Perhaps some bigger, brighter red and blue lights would help? And, as always, it's so wonderful that nobody got hurt. Thank you for making this all visible to us lay-people. (my profession was teaching flying for 30 years).
Ron Thank You for working to help keep our roads open , I know it can be a tireless thankless job , So I Say Thank You to you and the many others who work so hard .
You have a lot more patience than me Ron. I would be giving the air horns all they had while on the interstate. Numbskulls don't know how to behave around emergency vehicles. Edit: Ever thought about getting a wig wag for your high beams? Would really give you more push in the front to move people out of the way.
mrgeraldbrent Sirens aren’t common on tow trucks where he’s at. People don’t know how to react when they see something like that. When they hear sirens they are looking for police/fire/emt.
My apologies for the delay in answering. Yes, we have actually had wig-wags on some of our vehicles in the past. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for watching. God bless.
Extra footage at the end is a nice bonus. Thank you. Wish we could have seen you pull that tractor and trailer up through the field. Have a good one and stay safe out there!
Carl, like you, I am amazed and blown away how inconsiderate other drivers are about not yielding to Red & Blue lights, and siren. Granted, there are and will be times with no place to go, but give the guy a break.
@@alexthompson2289 Actually most state do have a law requiring that vehicles "Yield/move for oncoming emergency vehicles" . Most states includes this as part of their Slow Down Move Over law which now includes most services that work roadside, whether it is Police, Fire, road construction crews, towing/recovery units, road service trucks, etc. It IS the law in most all states and all it take is a couple seconds out of someone's day. It's not too much to ask so that we can ALL go home at the end of the day. Thanks and God bless.
It's always nice when the officer will stay with you to offer protection while you're getting hooked up. Rather than staying in his car, this fellow was especially helpful by standing in the traffic lane while you were under the truck caging the brakes.
I'm still grateful the officer stayed with me and actually stood in the active lane of traffic to help. It would have been nice to have the lane closed, but that creates more issues and has extreme liabilities. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Nice video. A buddy of mine has a wrecker business like yours and a few years ago on Thanksgiving day he had a truck that was cut off by a car and the trucks full load of hams shifted forward ripping the front of the trailer apart. He asked the company what to do with the load and they said to donate it so they found a mission a few miles away that was able to take them. Took him over 5hrs because he didn't have a pallet jack and the mission didn't have a dock so he had to pull out and transport each pallet with rollbacks.
The cables themselves are under a lot of tension, but they are designed to give your car a nice gentle hug. As nice and gentle as the men in the nice white coats that take you to the padded room. ;) They are designed to ensnare and stop a car. And belive me, I've seen enough of Ron's videos to know that no transportation agency wants you to cut those cables. The posts are inexpensive to replace. But if you cut the cable, you have to replace the entire thing. The cable itself probably isn't that expensive. But the equipment to move onsite to tension it, install it, combined with having to shut the road down to re-install, gets very expensive. GOd Bless!
Most vehicles and some people don't survive encounters with the barrier cables. They do their job well, but they destroy anything that they ensnare. I was very surprised that this truck took out so much cable and came back on the road. Normally the cables wrap up the vehicle. Thanks for watching and God bless.
gorillaau At the first accident I worked after the cable system was installed, I clearly remember the Trooper stating that he was not looking forward to any motorcycle encounters with the cables. Be safe. Keep both wheels on the pavement... God bless.
Raina Selone Once again, you have helped me in my time of need. Time has not been friendly to me recently and I have been delayed in my responses. Thanks for helping me out. God bless.
Annnndd another fine production of The Ron Pratt show! Brought to you by RON PRATT!! Excellent work, Sir!! Once again, you show that you have to show up at every recovery with everything one could imagine!! Including biscuits and cornbread!!
Agreed - Ron's videos are fantastic! If I am ever lucky enough to visit the US, I would make a special trip to Ron's place, if even only to shake his hand. A true gentleman, a true professional, and a credit to humanity.
I just love watching these vids to see all the equipment and attachments these guys use now days. Back when I did towing recovery, we didn't have half that stuff! Very cool!
It seems like you get the Rotator "up on the step" real quick! A lot of the people driving cars seem very confused when they see you in the tow-truck, with the red and blues flashing and the siren wailing. Another fine video Ron!
People aren't accustomed to seeing a tow/recovery truck run code. When you get around St. Louis it is much more common on tow trucks so people are more attentive. We are one of only a handful in our area that run red/blue lights and sirens. Thanks and God bless.
It’s hard to hear one speaker at highway speeds. And people don’t care about amber lights anymore so more red and blue would help with traffic clearing and some on the back would keep people from passing him
He has red and blues and runs them when the sirens are on in combination with the ambers.. even though in his state tow trucks are considered emergency vehicles, people thing, "Oh it's just a tow truck" but more so with the rotator, he could be called out to help with an extraction as he has the directional lifting abilities.
From what I've been told, anything over 65 mph and you are "over-driving" the sirens. We've tried different combinations of lights, sirens, train horns, etc., and some people simply will need give way. Sad but true. Thanks for watching and God bless.
I still have to follow all the same steps to prepare the truck and trailer for tow. Without the police/fire buffer I have to deploy road cones and take extra safety steps as well as constantly watching my own back....called "keeping your head on a swivel". So it would take a little longer without their assistance. As always, thank you. God bless.
Ron Pratt your police are better than our police and highways agency yours would come out and do safety buffer ours won't that's why an recovery agent got killed here a couple of weeks ago.
Bet tow trucks and recovery vehicles aren't considered emergency vehicles in your state either, are they? Here in WI they're not, and I think even though you can get one heck of a fine and license suspension for not slowing down/moving over, them not being considered emergency vehicles just creates more safety issues. Cops usually aren't around to buffer unless it's on an interstate, and even at that I think I've only seen one standing in the lane like that in my whole life, and I believe it makes people disregard the move over/slow down law even more, because there's nobody there to enforce it the vast majority of the time.
wow man. i never knew that much was involved in towing a truck. and you have all this stuff to do it with! must have cost a fortune. amazing! thank you for uploading 👍👌🙂
Those cable barriers have almost been completely removed here in the UK, Too many fatal accidents involving motorcycles. All Armco Barriers now with square impact ends as they found the rounded down end launched vehicles into the air if hit with speed.
Sir Ron !! Another good recovery !!! Thanks to the Officer who stayed with you till the end !!! People still don't have a clue as to what the Law is when coming upon a wreck or breakdown on the side of the road !! The Court says ignorance of the Law is no excuse !! Have seen this 1st hand in the Court Room !! I wasn't the problem.. Just a witness to the case !! Stay Safe and have a good day !!
Cage bolts are handy, but sometimes when you are in a jam it's a lot easier to just pull out the clevis pins where the rod connects to the actuator arm on the slack adjuster. Nice job as always Ron, you and your company are a first class operation.
Good job well done. There's a lot to do before you think about towing it but you considered everything and worked methodically and sorted all the snags, very well done.
Love your show, love your Rotator truck, I watch all that I can. I can't believe the gull of some people not getting out of the way for you, keep up the great work. God Bless
I hope this guy kept his job. As a commercial driver myself, he made the exact call that I would have as well. Its better to tear up your own rig (imo) than to risk the life and limbs of others. A truck can be replaced, a life can never be replaced.
I hate how the other drivers on the road are not yielding to your lights and siren. When you see or hear an emergency vehicle responding you get the hell out of the way its that simple. They are trained professionals doing their job. Great job Ron stay safe out there!
MICHELLE madson i was gald to see the video of you helping your malter my son was in the army and i will always love him i just find out today that he what back in to the army and i will always love watching what you do every day and night
First time watching. Very impressed that is one hell of a truck you have. I liked how you were explaining what and why you were doing things. Very informational. My wife drives a tractor trailer and we appreciate what you do out there.
I watch a lot of you doing recovery jobs & i think you did this one in a very good time especialy as you were on your own being a fellow heavy recovery man myself here in the uk i congratulate you on a very nice well equiped recovery truck & a skillful job
Thanks for another great video. I never saw you use service/emergency air before as you did on this one. Also, I learn something new every time I watch a video, especially with your helpful text-comments. Today is odd (9/26/2017), because I just passed my written CDL tests which included an air-brake section, some of which related to this video. Thank you once more for your fine video.
I really enjoyed this video, Thank you for sharing it. I now see what is involved in getting a wrecked semi. And the work involved. WOW. Thumbs up on this video.
So I have to ask. Why have a siren on a tow truck? I mean, I guess I could see it for like if someone is entrapped, but other than that, I don't understand the need
I get this question a lot and most people do not understand and some don't agree with the State of Missouri. I will attempt to explain so that everyone reading might have a better idea as to why we as tow/recovery operators are allowed "Emergency Vehicle" status in the state of Missouri. First, I have a video explaining the actual state statutes, but they, alone, do not answer your question. There are times when we are called to "Expedite" (run lights and siren) to a scene because there is a need for us to assist with extrication or recovery. Our company has trained with both Fire and Police personnel and have certificates for Traffic Incident Management Systems (TIMS), light duty extrication, heavy duty extrication, grain bin extrication, to name a few. We are not required to do so, but we firmly believe in cross-training to not only educate, but to build relationships, not to mention the fact that if you train together you work better together on-scene.
Here is the part that a lot of people don't understand or don't agree with....every minute spent at a crash site is another minute for injury, death, additional crashes, etc. Keeping traffic flowing normally reduces the risk for everyone and also keeps the economic "life-blood" flowing. Quick clearance of a scene is recognized by the State of Missouri as a vital part of the Emergency Services and is in large part the reason that we are granted Emergency Vehicle status. Distracted and/or impaired driving are on the rise and having vehicles and personnel on the side of the road only add to risk of more injury, death, or crashes.
Whether someone agrees with this or not, in the state of Missouri, towing/recovery vehicles are considered Emergency Vehicles.
I hope I have sufficiently answered your question. Thank you for watching. Please be safe and God bless.
Ron Pratt thank you for your reply! That sure does explain it better. I sure appreciate it!
Ron Pratt, Thank you for helping me to understand this. I was also wondering about the siren. I understand & appreciate what Missouri has done now, thanks to you. I used to flag when I lived in Colorado and safety on the road is a great thing.
Thanks again on the info. Hope you have a great day & be safe.
can you put the link to the video into the description below this video please
Ron Pratt im only 11 but you fascinating to watch your a true hero stay safe on the road 😃
I love that the officer realized that you were in a vulnerable position and stood in the lane so the cars would move over great work by that officer
Yes it was. I was and am very grateful to him. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Brave officer!
Strange that they had the right lane closed when he got there, then opened it up while he was still working, though.
Yeah, suss as. Firies just bailed out.
Unbelievably bravery by the police officer, as for the fire department they only need to be there if they are needed to fight fire or provide paramedic services. Public safety is the responsibility of the Police which is why the officer stayed and helped, however as always ‘slow down and pull over’.
Hi Mr. Pratt! I'm Mike. I like your videos. I love the fact that you always say God bless and be safe or God protect you 🙏🙏. Health issues that I have accured over time has taken me to the point that I could no longer drive trucks. I used to run a tow truck myself. I miss it and I miss driving trucks. God bless you and keep safe. Keep it between the lines 10-4
It's nice to watch a professional at work. Have a great day!
Completely agreed!
Dennis Duley and polite and respectful. Easier to edit a video if you dont need to bleep out words. :-)
Thanks to all of you. Comments like these help make my job that much more rewarding. God bless.
Very nice yes, that way you know whats correct and whats not
I don't know that Troopers name, but he sure has guts. He planted himself between the truck and traffic the whole time you were underneath the truck. Hands on his hips and stared them down. Bravo!👏
Ron, could you give a detailed explanation of when and why driveshafts are pulled. Most folks dont know and you are the perfect teacher to explain why. Keep up the awsome work.
Ron thanks for explaining the brake chamber procedure for releasing the brakes. I am sure I am not the only one that learned something tonight! Thanks for the videos.
At 29:24 in the video we see some of the finest protecting Ron and the Truck Driver. The Police Officer deserve THUMBS UP for protecting Ron and the Public while the Police Officer stood by slowing traffic for safety of others. Good job Mr. Police Officer. 03-Nov-18 Calais, Maine, USA
There is nothing better than a big truck that can get up and go. Its still amazing to me after 17 years in the fire service how people just ignore a huge truck with flashing lights and siren going.
James Kinkead Drivers everywhere has become very oblivious to all around them these days. Scary!
They don't move over for Ambulances either.
Around here it is crazy. A lot of drivers don't respect ANY emergency service vehicles running code. I can cross over into Illinois, where I'm only allowed to run amber emergency lights, and drivers will slow down and pull over for just the ambers. Southern Illinois is just a few miles, but it is a whole different world. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Give that officer a raise. He's been going above and beyond the call of duty.
I was not only impressed with such a tow truck as I was very impressed of your knowledge and skill of how you use it without fumbling and guessing and how you immediately went straight to the right accessories to do the job properly without incident for a successful clearance of a wreck removal. I don't see many operators as skilled as you and you are a true professional!
A very sincere and humble Thank You. God bless.
Great job Ron,and prayer's to that gentleman's wife in her struggle's with cancer,Thank goodness he wasn't hurt,
Take Care out there,and bless the trooper for assisting in keeping you safe..Have a great week everyone..
Thank you very much, especially for the prayers. God bless.
Ron, I’ll admit, as a man, I got emotional watching the last few minutes of the video. You are so professional, courteous, and thoughtful. I’ve been in tow trucks and not said one word because the driver can’t make conversation or doesn’t like conversation. Big plus for giving that man a hat. God Bless you and your operation.
never thought I would be so interested in watching a tow truck video for an hour, but I am.
can't understand why drivers cannot obey the law to slow down and move over.. you are a nice polite gentleman and I admire your patience and dedication. I really like your videos.. you are a special person for sure. God Bless and keep you safe
28:16 - You gotta love Vise Grips and their versatility, they actually do function well as a makeshift hammer.
I learned about sprung brake chambers by watching this video. Thank you, Ron. Also, I have the same Matco foam pad. What a back saver! Much respect for getting under there and working on the damn thing so you don't damage his equipment further.
Professionalism at its best, Mr. Ron Pratt. Love your videos. Thanks for posting.
Thank you very much. God bless.
Thank you for sharing a bit of your day with use. Really cool to see the things that massive tow truck can do. You serve our road ways well. Keep up the good work.
This is much more entertaining than watching TV in the morning. Thanks for sharing. Hope to see the Bus you're talking about for the fair. Maybe a show on how you lift the bus?
I watched the dual lift. He did and school bus and a car. It was really neat.
I have a video of the double lift where I lift the bus and a car. ruclips.net/video/PXcebjTwFqQ/видео.html
Thanks for watching and God bless.
There was a really great deal of work in order to get this truck to be ready to tow. Unbelievable skills you have Ron!!!
It's all about teamwork and getting it done right the first time. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Nice recovery.. Its cool to see the mutual respect between tow truck operators and local law enforcement..Watching you haul all those air hoses.. Wouldn`t a built in retractable reel of maybe 50ft. air hoses make it better/easier to connect? I`m sure Miler could hide it internally. Or do you have better control as is, today?
Cruisewolf CPD cops are super chill and they respect tow operators. The FD will actually sweep the roadway of debris.
We have built that level of respect by making the effort to train and work with our local emergency services. If we train together we work better together. As for the air hose reel, Miller does have them available as options on certain bed styles. On this particular truck with the rolling carriage boom and the rear drag winch, there is no room for a reel. Thanks for the suggestion. God bless.
I don't understand people passing an emergency vehicle when he's advertising.
As near as I can tell that driver is both skilled and lucky, and I agree that the man upstairs does look after us.
God bless Ron.
Really hope he had a dash cam to save him self from any issues that might come up
Thanks for sharing your videos
You are not just have towing skills but also you’re knowing well about trucks and heavy duty 👍👍👍
I am surprised they don't shut down one lane while you work at recovering the vehicle. Here in england the police, for safety reasons will often either fully close a road or if possible just close one lane which allows traffic to continue and for the recovery team to work in safety.
I'm sure if he asked them to they would do so, but closing even just a lane, much less an entire highway has far reaching repercussions. Traffic jams cost companies millions of dollars and a closed highway would be a traffic jam of the worst kind. As a tow truck driver myself I can say it is a point of pride and even a goal to keep the highway flowing as much as possible while we work.
It is the responsibility of the people driving by the scene to do so in a safe manner and follow the Slow Down, Move Over law. Unfortunately this is a often misunderstood and frequently ignored law.
Here in the UK, the police WILL close the entire carriageway if they deem necessary
Yes, and the result of the nannying here in the UK, a Major motorway, the second busiest in the entire country, was recently shut for 9, yes that's 9 hours in both directons because of a bomb scare which turned out to be "corrosive chemical" After 9 hours, trapped traffic was finally allowed to proceed past, and in one direction the motorway remained closed overnight for "repairs". Here no-one "[takes] pride and even a goal to keep the highway flowing as much as possible while we work."
Ya in uk still have to drive within the law, abiding by the road rules.... Can't be driving through red light's or overtaking viechles or sirens for a recovery. Only the main police viechles, fire viechles, ambulance can
Here in the USA the roads must stay open. The other night we had a huge wreck that blocked all 4 lanes of traffic for several hours. The police had to send traffic down the 2 lane roads in the middle of nowhere just to get traffic rerouted and back on the Interstate. Where I live, 151 is the only Interstate. I've only seen my end of the Interstate closed completely once, because the snow was too high for the plows.
I see there are still a lot of people that do not want to give you the right away. It is always good to watch your professional at work. Take care and Work Safe
Thank you for your concern and kind words. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Need to put an old Q siren on that truck.. They'll hear you then!
I am retitred from truckin, Have aways wodered whit size motot and tranny tou run in the rorator ( top speed)
Was about to comment the same thing.
Since when do tow trucks have sirens?
YES! A Q will let anyone know you're coming. I accidentally hit the switch on the one in our squad when I was a n00b... at 4am in a populated area. Didn't know where the kill switch was either....
Would recommend a rumbler over a Q siren. It catches attention without all the sheer noise.
Another great recovery Ron. Looked like the poor guy ran over 1/2 mile of cable barrier. Glad nobody got hurt. Lots of damage under the truck will add up for a costly repair. I remember once when I was flat bedding, I blew a tire on a 45 foot spread axle aluminum flat bed, out in IA. The boss told me to turn around at next exit & drive back 40 miles to a truck stop as he didn't want to pay for a service call. By the time I got back to the truck stop, now it's 2 tires, an airbag, some aluminum welding, & a couple of rear lights. Damn alligators. LOL. God Bless & keep up the great work.
SO your boss insteadd of paying for a service call would up paying more than what the call would have cost. HHaaa
You really are equipped with some fancy gizmo
Love how well you and the local law enforcement work together, just makes me all warm and fuzzy
We've worked hard to build a relationship of trust by training and working with our emergency services. It has been earned, not given. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Ron you have the patience of a saint, I would've ripped the grill off as soon as I got there lol
Me Too!
Dang Ron I sure like the way you do things when you'r working, I really like how you are vary Organized every thing has it's place and you know exactly where things are and where they belong, you are sooo vary nice to everybody you talk to.
I would give anything to be you'r little co-pilot. Excellent job Ron Pratt. Thank You for you'r service!!!
Thank you for your kind comments. I am organized with my trucks.....now my office is another story entirely. LOL God bless
This was surprisingly interesting to watch, very well done! It makes me serious mad to see people ignoring Emergency Vehicles like that - greetings from Germany
Amazing how so many people just don't move over!! Please stay safe out there Ron and thanks for the videos.
Thanks for your concern. God bless.
Wow.. a Weapon of Mass Destruction should have been the title for this one. What a mess!!! Man.. those people driving around and not yielding to your siren got me a bit mad. I read the comments, and some of the ideas are worth looking into. Wig wag lights, rumbler and some wicked speakers for your sirens. I love these installments of A Day In the Life of Ron Pratt: Tow Truck Driver. :) You showed us how to work safely, quickly, and how to have your wits about you. OOH!! A frog??? I LOVE frogs :D
The frog came from a trip to the Miller factory near Chattanooga with my son. They were doing some warranty work on the rotator and my son and I went to an Aquarium. Together we picked out the blue and yellow frog as this truck's mascot. The blue and yellow matches our color scheme and my son has picked out mascots for all our trucks. Thanks for watching and God bless.
I collect whimsical frogs made from fabric, resin, plastic, and metal. :) I had to hide them from my cats. lol
They're probably people who don't know that a truck like this can actually run sirens and lights like an emergency vehicle. Given how people sometimes throw lights and sirens on their cars and pretend to be cops or have amber flashers they probably thought it was something like that.
BlackHawkBallistic lol have you seen ems and cops running code on public roads in the US. It could be 10 cop cars with landing lights for an airport flashing and they still would not move. Most Americans don't give a rats ass about anyone and when they do it to start a confrontation.
There are so many little details to every one of these recoveries. Things I'd never heard of before. Like "caging" the brakes. Very educational.
Nice recovery,Ron
Thanks for watching and God bless.
That officer has some .... standing in the lane of traffic to make them move over while you lay under the trailer. Mad respect for that officer for keeping you safe. Nice job again Ron!
Most definitely. I was and am very grateful to him. Thanks for watching and God bless.
You know that the simple solution is to get people to actually move out of the way a heavy duty push bumper.
What a great video, learned a lot. I feel for the driver, he did a good job keeping her on her wheels. And what a wrecker! Absolutely beautiful!! Great job, and looking forward to seeing more!
Ron, another fantastic video as always, but don't be afraid to use the air horn!!! You might find people respond to that a bit better than the siren! God Bless!
Oh yes, they notice the air horn. My last truck had a set of train horns on it and they REALLY got people's attention. Thanks for watching and God bless.
It's a pleasure, Ron, to see your professionalism in action, your driving prowess with siren and red/blues going but it's really sad seeing how many drivers ignore same. Perhaps some bigger, brighter red and blue lights would help? And, as always, it's so wonderful that nobody got hurt. Thank you for making this all visible to us lay-people. (my profession was teaching flying for 30 years).
Thank you for your kind words and thank you for watching. God bless.
As always Ron great job.Stay safe sir.
Thank you very much. God bless.
Ron Thank You for working to help keep our roads open , I know it can be a tireless thankless job , So I Say Thank You to you and the many others who work so hard .
You have a lot more patience than me Ron. I would be giving the air horns all they had while on the interstate. Numbskulls don't know how to behave around emergency vehicles.
Edit: Ever thought about getting a wig wag for your high beams? Would really give you more push in the front to move people out of the way.
I was thinking the same thing with the Wig Wags! It think it helps to draw attention to a moving vehicle.
mrgeraldbrent Sirens aren’t common on tow trucks where he’s at. People don’t know how to react when they see something like that. When they hear sirens they are looking for police/fire/emt.
My apologies for the delay in answering. Yes, we have actually had wig-wags on some of our vehicles in the past. Thanks for the suggestion and thanks for watching. God bless.
Marley
Extra footage at the end is a nice bonus. Thank you. Wish we could have seen you pull that tractor and trailer up through the field. Have a good one and stay safe out there!
I'm am very sad concerning the lack of people not getting out of the way of your truck
Carl, like you, I am amazed and blown away how inconsiderate other drivers are about not yielding to Red & Blue lights, and siren. Granted, there are and will be times with no place to go, but give the guy a break.
As am I. It is a constant battle. Thanks for watching and God bless.
They probably just don't connect a big wrecker truck like that to being an emergency vehicle, probably not as common to see at a fire truck or police.
That guys at the light in the 4x4 doesn't have to move. There is no law to say that u have to move it usually out of respect
@@alexthompson2289 Actually most state do have a law requiring that vehicles "Yield/move for oncoming emergency vehicles" . Most states includes this as part of their Slow Down Move Over law which now includes most services that work roadside, whether it is Police, Fire, road construction crews, towing/recovery units, road service trucks, etc. It IS the law in most all states and all it take is a couple seconds out of someone's day. It's not too much to ask so that we can ALL go home at the end of the day. Thanks and God bless.
My 6yr old son a Michael LOVES your channel!! It’s been on repeat for that last week now. I sure appreciate the family friendly content!! Thank you
Thanks for another post Ron. We were going into WITHDRAWALS MAN! LOL.
I'm trying.....LOL. I've gotten behind due to the fair. I'm still playing "catch up". Glad you all enjoy my videos. Thanks for watching and God bless.
It's always nice when the officer will stay with you to offer protection while you're getting hooked up. Rather than staying in his car, this fellow was especially helpful by standing in the traffic lane while you were under the truck caging the brakes.
your video may not be in chronological order but your subscriber still growing :)
As always a learning experience given by a real professor and professional.
Please keep that FLAG flying. We need it now more then ever before.
you were making me crazy until you secured that front grill
I like how you go right to the point of what matters. No wandering around and looking at the problem. YOU JUST DO IT!!!!
Why in the hell aren't the cops making the traffic get over into the far lane? This 80 year old lady would!
I'm still grateful the officer stayed with me and actually stood in the active lane of traffic to help. It would have been nice to have the lane closed, but that creates more issues and has extreme liabilities. Thanks for watching and God bless.
In missouri, You close a lane traffic is like new york lol
I would’ve to. Make em get over
Nice video. A buddy of mine has a wrecker business like yours and a few years ago on Thanksgiving day he had a truck that was cut off by a car and the trucks full load of hams shifted forward ripping the front of the trailer apart. He asked the company what to do with the load and they said to donate it so they found a mission a few miles away that was able to take them. Took him over 5hrs because he didn't have a pallet jack and the mission didn't have a dock so he had to pull out and transport each pallet with rollbacks.
That guy seems lucky he kept it up right or didn't lose a wheel or two
Those were my thoughts as well. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Any video with the rotator in it is pure Bliss. Love hearing you run thru the gears in that beast!
He's got to know what he is doing.He is using Vise Grips for a hammer! 28:15 lol
Good on you for being kind to the other driver there after he had a day like that.
Thank you, kindness doesn't cost a thing. God bless.
I look at those cables and think" hitting that is going to be like a cheese cutter..." :-)
The cables themselves are under a lot of tension, but they are designed to give your car a nice gentle hug. As nice and gentle as the men in the nice white coats that take you to the padded room. ;) They are designed to ensnare and stop a car. And belive me, I've seen enough of Ron's videos to know that no transportation agency wants you to cut those cables. The posts are inexpensive to replace. But if you cut the cable, you have to replace the entire thing. The cable itself probably isn't that expensive. But the equipment to move onsite to tension it, install it, combined with having to shut the road down to re-install, gets very expensive. GOd Bless!
Mercmad As a motorcyclist we look at those cables and think that they may as well be razor sharp.
Most vehicles and some people don't survive encounters with the barrier cables. They do their job well, but they destroy anything that they ensnare. I was very surprised that this truck took out so much cable and came back on the road. Normally the cables wrap up the vehicle. Thanks for watching and God bless.
gorillaau At the first accident I worked after the cable system was installed, I clearly remember the Trooper stating that he was not looking forward to any motorcycle encounters with the cables. Be safe. Keep both wheels on the pavement... God bless.
Raina Selone Once again, you have helped me in my time of need. Time has not been friendly to me recently and I have been delayed in my responses. Thanks for helping me out. God bless.
Annnndd another fine production of The Ron Pratt show! Brought to you by RON PRATT!!
Excellent work, Sir!! Once again, you show that you have to show up at every recovery with everything one could imagine!! Including biscuits and cornbread!!
Stay safe! Love your videos.
Agreed - Ron's videos are fantastic! If I am ever lucky enough to visit the US, I would make a special trip to Ron's place, if even only to shake his hand. A true gentleman, a true professional, and a credit to humanity.
Thank you very much. God bless.
fulwell1 A very humble, thank you. God bless.
Turned out to be one of the more difficult ones! Great job!
A little Turtle Wax and that hood will buff out.
I just love watching these vids to see all the equipment and attachments these guys use now days. Back when I did towing recovery, we didn't have half that stuff! Very cool!
I've been in the business for 30 years and things have come a long way. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Neat seeing a wrecker run code
We are fortunate that Missouri recognizes us as Emergency Vehicles. Thanks for watching and God bless.
It seems like you get the Rotator "up on the step" real quick! A lot of the people driving cars seem very confused when they see you in the tow-truck, with the red and blues flashing and the siren wailing. Another fine video Ron!
People aren't accustomed to seeing a tow/recovery truck run code. When you get around St. Louis it is much more common on tow trucks so people are more attentive. We are one of only a handful in our area that run red/blue lights and sirens. Thanks and God bless.
I held my breath the entire time you was working. Praying nothing would happen. Thank God for the officer staying with you.
If it were my rotator and I was responding code, i would add more lights all the way around the truck. Also, dual speakers for the siren and a rumbler
deereman260 what and stop people from playing on their phones
It’s hard to hear one speaker at highway speeds. And people don’t care about amber lights anymore so more red and blue would help with traffic clearing and some on the back would keep people from passing him
deereman260 It wouldn’t make much difference.
He has red and blues and runs them when the sirens are on in combination with the ambers.. even though in his state tow trucks are considered emergency vehicles, people thing, "Oh it's just a tow truck" but more so with the rotator, he could be called out to help with an extraction as he has the directional lifting abilities.
From what I've been told, anything over 65 mph and you are "over-driving" the sirens. We've tried different combinations of lights, sirens, train horns, etc., and some people simply will need give way. Sad but true. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Another fine recovery. Again thank you for all that you do sir
Ron Pratt Nice messy job before the fair. How long does it normally take to do an job like this with and with out police safety buffer?
I still have to follow all the same steps to prepare the truck and trailer for tow. Without the police/fire buffer I have to deploy road cones and take extra safety steps as well as constantly watching my own back....called "keeping your head on a swivel". So it would take a little longer without their assistance. As always, thank you. God bless.
Ron Pratt your police are better than our police and highways agency yours would come out and do safety buffer ours won't that's why an recovery agent got killed here a couple of weeks ago.
Bet tow trucks and recovery vehicles aren't considered emergency vehicles in your state either, are they? Here in WI they're not, and I think even though you can get one heck of a fine and license suspension for not slowing down/moving over, them not being considered emergency vehicles just creates more safety issues. Cops usually aren't around to buffer unless it's on an interstate, and even at that I think I've only seen one standing in the lane like that in my whole life, and I believe it makes people disregard the move over/slow down law even more, because there's nobody there to enforce it the vast majority of the time.
@@MrFredboy your right here in WI if you're on the side of the road your on your own. And most of the time no one will stop to check on you.
wow man. i never knew that much was involved in towing a truck. and you have all this stuff to do it with! must have cost a fortune. amazing! thank you for uploading 👍👌🙂
Those cable barriers have almost been completely removed here in the UK, Too many fatal accidents involving motorcycles.
All Armco Barriers now with square impact ends as they found the rounded down end launched vehicles into the air if hit with speed.
Ron you are the brain in your company. God blessed you and your family..
2:00 its the semi police
ZachTheWolf not funny
A state of the art tow truck and an equally trained expert operator who knows how to use it!!
Thank you very much.
God bless.
Those drivers have no respect, none of them moved over to let you through. Selfish people.
Vax Buster Radio back to base for another wrecker.... Ramming speed!!! Too bad you can't do it.
Unfortunately, a lot of people disregard Emergency Vehicles. Thanks for watching and God bless.
I'm learning so much from watching your videos. I had no idea as to all the little details that occur when doing this work.
Sir Ron !! Another good recovery !!! Thanks to the Officer who stayed with you till the end !!! People still don't have a clue as to what the Law is when coming upon a wreck or breakdown on the side of the road !! The Court says ignorance of the Law is no excuse !! Have seen this 1st hand in the Court Room !! I wasn't the problem.. Just a witness to the case !! Stay Safe and have a good day !!
If only more people understood the way you do. Thank you and God bless.
Cage bolts are handy, but sometimes when you are in a jam it's a lot easier to just pull out the clevis pins where the rod connects to the actuator arm on the slack adjuster. Nice job as always Ron, you and your company are a first class operation.
I've had to do that before....like when the e-brake spring is off to one side and you can't lock the t-bolt in. Thanks for watching and God bless.
Good job well done. There's a lot to do before you think about towing it but you considered everything and worked methodically and sorted all the snags, very well done.
The time you spend under trucks and trallers you must know them inside out it is a pleasure to watch you
Love your show, love your Rotator truck, I watch all that I can. I can't believe the gull of some people not getting out of the way for you, keep up the great work. God Bless
You did not have to catch all the breaks you could have disconnected all the airbag hose and Benedum off
I hope this guy kept his job. As a commercial driver myself, he made the exact call that I would have as well. Its better to tear up your own rig (imo) than to risk the life and limbs of others. A truck can be replaced, a life can never be replaced.
I hate how the other drivers on the road are not yielding to your lights and siren. When you see or hear an emergency vehicle responding you get the hell out of the way its that simple. They are trained professionals doing their job. Great job Ron stay safe out there!
MICHELLE madson i was gald to see the video of you helping your malter my son was in the army and i will always love him i just find out today that he what back in to the army and i will always love watching what you do every day and night
First time watching. Very impressed that is one hell of a truck you have. I liked how you were explaining what and why you were doing things. Very informational. My wife drives a tractor trailer and we appreciate what you do out there.
that was one brave cop to stand in a live lane to protect you Ron
I watch a lot of you doing recovery jobs & i think you did this one in a very good time especialy as you were on your own being a fellow heavy recovery man myself here in the uk i congratulate you on a very nice well equiped recovery truck & a skillful job
Thank you so much and that means a great deal coming from a tow brother. God bless and stay safe out there.
Siren blasting and still getting passed by every other vehicle on the road. I would just 86 that nonsense on the freeway! Great video
Every minute counts in any event that can cause traffic! Traffic = accidents! Man your rig is gorgeous!
Awesome video, Ron, your so speedy, professional, polite I'm sure your a blessing to all you provide service to! KUDOS
Love the code 3 videos. That show you using the lights and Sirens they're some of the most unique videos I get to see
Thanks for another great video. I never saw you use service/emergency air before as you did on this one. Also, I learn something new every time I watch a video, especially with your helpful text-comments. Today is odd (9/26/2017), because I just passed my written CDL tests which included an air-brake section, some of which related to this video. Thank you once more for your fine video.
All the best on your Road Exam for the full License when the time comes.
Do you ever not have anything to complete your job? You are so well organized and always stocked. God bless you
man he tore the whole front of his truck. No problem for 1150R tow truck she like those big heavy trucks. Ron and 1150r to the rescue
As always, thank you. God bless
I really enjoyed this video, Thank you for sharing it. I now see what is involved in getting a wrecked semi. And the work involved. WOW. Thumbs up on this video.
nice job Ron it's nice to see a professional at work thank you very much and may God watch over you and your family
Thanks for watching and God bless.