Tow Truck Hauls Up More Than Just A Water-Logged GMC
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When great weather hits, it’s time to get that boat onto the water. Loading ramps are a great way to slowly lower a boat trailer into the water without scraping up the truck or the boat. It just so happens sometimes a truck gets so envious that it decides to go for a dip as well. That’s certainly something any tow truck driver operating in a lakes region has become all too familiar with.
When pulling a vehicle out of the water, there’s a precarious balance between ensuring you’re on proper footing and the winch or tow strap is rated for the additional weight of the full size truck plus water (plus fish). Tow truck operators don’t always have the easiest job in the world – and you can definitely tell the professional tow truck operators right away when you run into a submerged vehicle situation.
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Five Important Steps To Towing A Truck Out Of The Water
Whether it’s a standard sized sedan or a full size GMC truck, there’s a couple guidelines that will keep your towing experience smooth and reliable.
Step 1: Make sure you’re parked on solid ground
Just like you may remember in high school physics class, for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Sometimes, submerged trucks pick up a LOT more weight. Your tow truck is going to be fighting against the decline as well as that added force. Staying on flat ground is important to give your tow truck the best chance to haul that waterlogged vehicle out of the soup.
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Not all tow trucks have the ability to drop pylons but a lot of heavy duty tow truck operators maintain a firm reliance on chock blocks. Chock blocks are triangular wedges that ca
Step 2: Secure your tow truck with chock blocks and pylons
Not all tow trucks have the ability to drop pylons but a lot of heavy duty tow truck operators maintain a firm reliance on chock blocks. Chock blocks are triangular wedges that can brace the rear or front wheels of the truck. It’s an added failsafe against an e-brake failure or similar. For heavy duty tow trucks, sometimes they’re equipped with base plates and braces that they can sink into the ground. This brings the truck’s center of gravity lower to the ground – always a good thing when you’re hauling serious cargo.
Step 3: Give yourself some lead on the tow line
If you notice, the tow truck operator feeds out his tow line almost a hundred yards in length. This may seem counterintuitive but the guy is actually doing this tow operation text book style. When dealing with heavy weights and a decline, a longer tow strap helps give some stand off distance between the flat plane the tow truck is parked on and the dunked truck in the water. Because the grade on the boat ramp can be steep, it’s best to give yourself incremental amounts of room to assess whether you’re getting your cargo out of the lake or fighting against a truck that has its brakes on.
Step 4: Use ground guides
Having another set of eyes working alongside yours is a sure-fire way to spot problems before they become BIG problems. Ground guides can be just a bystander who has a good idea of the mechanics of towing or ideally another tow truck operator. These guys will be able to spot issues as they show up and inform you of them.
Step 5: Have bystanders stand clear of the tow line
Tow straps used by major tow truck companies are rated for a lot of weight. Even though they are rated for it, it’s a good safety precaution to have bystanders at a safe stand-off distance. Safety is very important to both tow truck operators and emergency crews looking to recover a submerged vehicle. You’re the tow truck operator so when you’re operating – you’re the expert. Everyone else can feel free to give their backseat driving recommendations from the sidelines.
Tow Truck Considerations For Recovering Submerged Vehicles
When deciding what type of tow truck to employ for the recovery of a submerged vehicle, definitely consider one that is able to pull from the rear versus a front-fed winch. Rear winches are designed for hauling heavier weights and often employ hydraulic systems that are far more advanced. Tow truck chassis that employ a rear-fed winch are usually more capable of handling the added stress of longer tow winch straps. And whenever possible, always go for a net approach. Using a single tow strap is setting up for a single point of failure. Having multiple attachment points will help distribute the dead weight of the submerged vehicle better than just attaching one cable tow. In the end, tow truck operators are the true heroes of boat landings. No one likes getting the bill afterwards but when anyone’s truck is 20 feet deep in the dunk, it’s a tow truck that’s there for the rescue.
