awsome box truck recovery

On a nice Sunday afternoon, there was a family moving some antic furniture to and from storage. The people had rented a small box truck from public storage. They took a ramp too fast and- BOOM- rollover on its side.

What makes this recovery very interesting is the style of truck involved. This is one of those small box trucks that have the removable sides with the straps and ratchets that close the canvas tarp sides. The back of the box is solid and there are no doors. Unloading is not an option, at least not with out being a huge pain in the ass.

This was a big concern, because it is unknown how strong those canvas trap sides are and, even if they are designed to hold a large load, where they damaged in the initial rollover and how much ware and tear have they sustained over their life.

 

The truck was lifted, ever so slightly, in the rear and the front enough to get the brand new straps in place. During the rear lift however, the gas tank started to leak and stopped when the truck was set back down.  

The straps were close enough to each other over the side of the box to provide good support to the load within the canvas.  

 

I have to say, I think this is a great recovery and they did an unbelievably excellent job.

I want to point out some details that make this recovery great, because details really make the difference between a great recovery and a good recovery.

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In this pic you will notice the crew is dawning reflective clothing. Notice that they removed the drive shaft and they used wood to chock the wheels when it comes over.

 

They used shackles between the straps and the winch lines- this is great to see; it seems rare to see this.

This is really the only confusing point and the only thing I can say, they did not use the shackles between the straps and the chains. Maybe they only had 2 shackles, I don’t

 

The point of the shackles is to keep condition of the strap ends in good condition. If you only have 2 shackles, use them on the strap – chain connection. the strap that connects to the winch line side is sitting in a smooth grove in the hook. On the other end, the chain tends to crimp and tighten as the line load increases. This damages the end of the strap, lessening the life of the strap.

 

 This recover was done by O’Hare towing out of Northlake Ill. I have to say, I have more and more respect for these guys every time I see them. They have a regular, very intensive, training program. Safety is of the utmost importance to them. I think the main problem I have with is O’Hare is that I am very jealous. They have so many trucks, I lost count. They have several locations. And one of my good friends, Mike Trikowski, is a senior trainer, manager, and operator. They have some awesome accounts and do some awesome recoveries. They just bought another towing company from a retiring towing veteran. I will take these guys any day over 95% of the towing companies in Chicago. Keep up the good work!