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USAC

USAC

The power of partnering with USAC/MD gets you the best rates, the most dedicated and responsive management team in the industry, and the on-time payments you’ve come to expect since 1969. Now that USAC/MD and its parent company, Driven Solutions, have been acquired by Innovation Group PLC, the power of partnership just got stronger.

Innovation Group is a global provider of business process and software solutions to the insurance and fleet industries. Innovation Group will now be offering USAC/MD’s world-class towing and recovery services to their insurance and fleet clients in North America. This means growth for USAC/MD and our service provider network.

Contact USAC/MD to learn more about the power of partnership.
www.usacmd.com
888-300-8722

Tow Trucks for Tots

Tow Trucks for Tots

Tow Trucks for Tots

On November 9, more than 300 tow trucks lined up outside of Hollywood Casino in Joliet. These trucks participated in the seventh annual Worldwide Equipment Sales Tow Trucks for Tots parade. Tow Trucks for Tots is a not-for-profit organization created by Worldwide Equipment Sales, LLC, and local towing companies. The mission of Tow Trucks for Tots is to help less fortunate children in the community, which has led to three goals for the program.

The primary goal of the Tow Trucks for Tots parade is to bring a much-needed toy to a deserving child. Last year, the event collected 5,620 pounds of toys. These toys are primarily donated to local charities, shelters, individuals, and food pantries. Some of the toys are also given to two Chicago area charities: the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation and the NFL Alumni Chicago Chapter. The Walter and Connie Payton Foundation helps underprivileged children throughout Illinois through programs designed to boost self-esteem and provide them with the tools to live successful lives. The members of the NFL Alumni Chicago Chapter support the community by giving toys to children who have to be in the hospital during the Christmas season.

The second goal of the event is to enhance the image of the towing industry. The drivers are so enthusiastic about this event that many of them arrive the night before the parade, while others start lining up at 5 am. Towers from all over the state of Illinois as well as the surrounding states make the trip to Joliet to participate in this event. Last year, one tower traveled 796 miles from Atco, New Jersey. Another company from Downers Grove, Illinois, had 14 trucks participating in the parade. There is also a contest held for best decorated truck. All of the drivers enjoy participating in this event, and they feel good about helping their community.

The last goal for the parade is to break the Guinness World Record for largest tow truck parade. The parade accomplished this goal in its first year when 239 trucks participated in the event. The following year, the parade beat the first year’s
record with a total of 309 trucks and to this day holds the Guinness Book of World Records for 324 tow trucks. Each year, the event continues to grow as companies go the extra mile to collect toys and ensure that children in the Joliet area can have a happy holiday.

The parade route is 45 miles long. Staging begins at 5 am at Hollywood Casino, which is located at 777 Hollywood Blvd. in Joliet, Illinois. When the trucks reach the ending location at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, the toys that the drivers have collected are unloaded into semi trucks for distribution. All of the drivers are then given a commemorative Tow Trucks for Tots shirt and are treated to lunch and a ive band.

If you would like to make a toy donation, please remember that all toys must be new and unwrapped. Check the website, www.TowTrucksForTots.com, for more details.

A 3&4 CAR CARRIER THAT CAN GO THE EXTRA MILE

Jerr Dan Logo

Jerr Dan Logo

You always get more than you bargained for with a Jerr-Dan®, like a 3-Car Carrier that can actually haul 4 cars. Multiple key slots combined with an optional Wheel Lift System allow you to transport 3 cars on the bed and tow an additional car in back. And removable aluminum side rails make it easier to load disabled vehicles with a fork-truck. Best of all, it’s a Jerr-Dan—so it’s built to carry more than its fair share, job after job and mile after mile.

VERSATILITY: Removable aluminum side rails (steel bed) make it easier to load and unload disabled vehicles.
And multiple key slots combined with an optional Wheel Lift System allow you to transport up to 4 cars.

EFFICIENCY: Save time and avoid damage with an efficient load/unload angle, upper-deck cut-outs and a threerung step ladder that allows for easy access to upper-deck hold-down straps; so loading the vehicle on the upper
deck will be easier, safer, and more efficient.

DURABILITY strong, lightweight upper deck and high-strength steel lower deck are built for a long working
life, and Jerr-Dan’s exclusive No-Lube™ technology reduces maintenance, saving time and money.

FEATURES

  • Load angles as low as 10.0 degrees
  • Lowest maintenance carrier in the world, including No-Lube™ technology for slide pads and pivot joints
  • Strongest aluminum bed in the industry featuring exclusive and patented Galvanized Steel Beam Technology™
  • On-board hydraulic pressure gauge allows for enhanced troubleshooting
  • Single sheet decking on steel deck reduces weld joints & potential corrosion points
  • Low-profile winch cable/tensioner plate
  • Lower manual and air upper winch free-spool
  • Corrosion-resistant lighted dual control stations
  • Most advanced, high performance hose / wire cable- tracking system in the industry
  • Highest standard DOT reflectivity and lighting levels in the industry
  • Versatile tie-down locations
  • Maximum legal payload capacity in its class (up to 1000 lbs. more than competitors)
  • V-Chain with Cluster Hooks
  • Tie-Down Chain & Strap Package

CHASSIS

  • Minimum RBM (Resisting Bending Moment) – 2,000,000 in-lbs.
    (1,000,000 in.-lbs. per frame rail)
  • Usable CA (Cable to Axle Centerline) – 208” – 214” CA (186”-192” CT) (28’ deck) – 232” – 238” CA (210” – 216” CT) (30’ deck)
  • Optimal Load Angle Frame Height – 34”–41”
  • Minimum GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) – 33,000 lbs. (20,000 rear, 12,000 front)
  • Currently available for: Kenworth, Peterbilt, Ford, Freightliner, Navistar, Hino (contact sales for specific model information)

ACCESSORIES

  • Exclusive R.A.I.L.™ System (Rear Awareness Indicator Lights)*
  • Wireless remote with exclusive ARM™ (Actuated Remote Mechanism) system standard on all winches
  • LED work lights package standard
  • 36”, 48”, 60” & 78” toolboxes, storage trays and baskets
  • Automatic throttle-up on-demand (subject to chassis configuration)
  • Galvanized subframe and wheel lift components
  • Various other towing and storage options

DECK

  • Length – 28’, 30’ Lower – 14’ Upper
  • Capacity – 20,000 lbs. – 15,000 Lower/5,000 Upper
  • Width – 96”
  • Style – Aluminum (Lower & Upper) Extruded 6061-T6 decking Fixed blade side rails – Steel (Lower) 3/16” diamond or smooth decking Removable blade side rails
  • Winch (worm gear) – 8,000 lbs. (all locations)

WHEEL LIFT

  • Lift Capacity – 3,000 lbs. or 5,000 lbs.
  • Tow Capacity – 7,500 lbs. or 12,000 lbs.
  • Maximum Extended Reach – 58”
  • Ground Approach Angle – 4˚

For more information, visit www.jerrdan.com.

Geico Donates $2,500 to Survivor Fund

Geico-Logo-1024x228

The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum has announced that Geico presented a donation of $2,500 to the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum’s Survivor Fund. The funds will provide financial support to families of those lost in the line of service.

The Survivor Fund helps provide immediate financial help to families affected by tragedy in the line of service, and Geico is proud to support the efforts of the Survivor Fund.

“We are very grateful for the continued generosity of Geico in supporting our Survivor Fund,” said Jeffrey Godwin, ITRHFM Board Member and Survivor Fund Committee Chairman. “As we work to provide funds for families when tragedies occur, we are also working to create an investment position to allow our Fund to meet the needs of our industry on a perpetual basis. Corporate donations like the one from Geico are key to our success in reaching our $1,000,000 goal.”

On average, close to 60 road service professionals are killed each year assisting stranded motorists on the side of busy roadways or performing their duties in towing and recovery. The Survivor Fund, founded in 2006 and managed by the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum, was started to offer financial support to the families that have lost a loved one in the line of service within industry. Since its inception, the Survivor Fund has approved and paid out over 150 claims to support families in their time of need due to tragic accidents.

ZACKLIFT FIFTHWHEELER

Zacklift_DriveOff

Inexpensive to buy, Inexpensive to operate, Simple to install

Zacklift FIFTHWHEELER owners report paying for the equipment in 6 months. The FIFTHWHEELER keeps operating costs down with low insurance costs, lighter weight for less fuel consumed and less tire wear. Buyer-friendly finance terms make it possible to make profit, not big payments.

The FIFTHWHEELER arrives ready for hook-up. Loads and drops just like a semi-trailer. Every possible step of installation is factory completed.

STANDARD EQUIPMENT
+ Hydraulic valve with both levers and remote control
+ Quality viper red paint
+ Glad-hands and third pneumatic tool line
+ 5 sets high-tensile cast steel frame forks
+ Multi positional fork receivers
+ Second receivers, 12” reach extenders + LED stop, tail, turn lights
+ Front leveler stands
+ Built-in fork rack
+ Quick disconnects for hydraulic lines, air and electrical
+ Rotomolded valve cover

OPTIONS
+ Industry’s only FIFTHWHEELER STIFFLEGS
+ 20,000 and 30,000 lb Warn planetary winch with roller guide
+ Custom gullwing tool boxes
+ Industrial quality wireless remote control
+ Tire Lift, SUV through 24.5
+Trailer 5th Wheel Hitch, Locking Spring Forks, 5” & 10” Risers, 5” & 8” Steertek Forks +more

SPECIFICATIONS
+ 32,000 or 40,000 lb lift rating
+ 84,000 or 100,000 lb tow rating
+ Reach past tailboard 131” or 147”
+ Retracted distance 60” or 67”
+ Weight 2800 lbs or 4100 lbs
+ 30* Tilt Range, 78” or 101” (Darian, use degree sign)

For information, contact: Zacklift International, Inc.
509.674.4426
Toll-free 844-ZACKLIFT
www.zacklift.com

Yale Cordage

YaleCordage_logo

Looking for a safer, stronger, more maneuverable winch line that can handle all the abuse of coldand wet-weather recovery? Try Ultrex by Yale Cordage. This workhorse rope is 12 easily spliced strands of HMPE – one of the strongest and lightest fibers made – precision-braided for minimal stretch, maximum strength, and optimal sheave cycling. It absorbs zero water, stays flexible in
freezing conditions, and is protected from abrasion by Yale’s tough Maxijacket HP coating. Information at www.yalecordage.com.

Wrecker Rentals, Inc

wrecker rentals

Wrecker Rentals, Inc. provides full-service tow truck rental for the lower 48 states. They provide short-term (three-day minimum) and long-term tow truck rental of late model light duty wreckers and roll back tow trucks. They distribute trucks from Atlanta, Georgia, & Dallas, Texas, and, in most cases, can have a truck to you within 24 hours of approval.

www.rentawrecker.com

(770) 898-1200

Windshield Cam’s 4 Camera Professional Truck Video Security

Side Cam

Side Cam

Windshield Cam is the original and the leader in Multi Camera Truck Video Security for commercial trucks with long 300 hour recording time. The 4 Camera Windshield Cam System records all 4 sides of the truck & trailer, protecting you 24/7 against theft, vandalism, hit & runs, traffic accidents and road rage. The 2 side mirror cameras are very important in providing proof in sideswipes and merging accidents. The Rear Camera records all activity behind. Nobody beats our cameras at night. To view Windshield Cam truck video footage, please visit www.WindshieldCam.com or call Ron at (403) 616-6610.

VTS Systems

MASTR VTS Logo 300 dpi_06.20.2012

For many, it is time to begin 2015 planning strategies. Do you have the right mix of vehicles to service your market, the right employees, and are they well-trained? You should also look at advancing software technology. In plain terms, the market offers two types of software, PC based, and cloud-based, and each offers unique advantages. If you want your drivers to answer customer calls, enter towing and pricing information via a smart phone or tablet, you might consider a cloud based application.

If, however, your business model requires a dispatcher to efficiently manage the process of answering calls, entering data, assigning the correct tow truck, and providing drivers with “what, when, and how,” then a PC/server solution may be a better fit.

Beginning in 2015, VTS Systems will offer both a cloud-based and PC/server based solutions. Remember, do your research, call and ask questions, seek opinions, as to what works and what does not, and bear in mind, you can contact VTS Systems at 281.373.3072 Ext. 2.

Urgent.ly

urgently 2

Urgent.ly — Not your traditional, profit-squeezing road club.

Urgent.ly is America’s new and trusted roadside assistance provider, and we’re changing the way people get roadside help.

Smart on-demand, pay-per-use apps for consumers combined with advanced, real-time dispatch system for service providers is the fastest way to get connected with high margin, quality nearby jobs.

Urgent.ly’s combination of great rates, fast digital payments, and easy-to-use apps makes it easy for roadside businesses to be profitable!

And while we can go on and on about how our technology results in better capacity management and improved resource utilization, the important thing is what we’re hearing from our network of service providers. They love our service.

Offering some of the highest payout rates in the industry, joining the Urgent.ly service provider network is free, with no minimums and no commitments. It’s a no brainer.

www.urgent.ly

United Plastic Fabricating

United Plastic

Does your chassis and boom have a lot more miles left in them? Avoid the expense of regenning and give your dependable wrecker or rotator a new life! Replace your rusted old body with a PolyBody®, Poly-Gen™ series high-impact plastic tow truck body. All body sizes and styles are available from light to heavy duty with optional doors, paint, wiring and trim. Save your hard-earned money and buy factory direct from United Plastic Fabricating, Inc.

Pat Cahill
978-989-0264
pcahill@unitedplastic.com

Tru-Balance

Tru-Balance

When mounting hub-piloted wheels, all the weight of the wheel and tire rests on the top pilots, creating a gap in the bottom pilots, leaving the wheel off center. A small gap the size of a business card can result in an off center wheel and an “egg-shaped” motion upon rotation. This uneven motion results in tire vibration and irregular tire wear. Even if you balance the tires, the wheel is still off center.

The TRU-BALANCE products bypass the hub-pilots and center the wheels back to the wheel studs, which is the true center of the wheel. When the wheels are properly centered, the result is increased tire life, increased fuel mileage and an unbelievably smooth ride.

Contact us at 866-686-9285 or visit us online at www.tru-bal.com.

Triple K Industries

True Tilt 5th Wheel Quick-Tachaq
True Tilt 5th Wheel Quick-Tachaq
True Tilt 5th Wheel Quick-Tachaq
True Tilt 5th Wheel Quick-Tachaq

We at Triple K Industries have been striving to bring you the best and most durable products for the past 21 years. We were the first to come out with the 5th Wheel Quick-Tach. We now have designed a completely new Heavy Duty Truck Lift and named it the “TRUE TILT” obviously because of its tilting capabilities. We have the most features that have ever been put into an under-reach unit.

(800) 624-2892

www.triplekindustries.com

Tracker

Tracker Mangament FP V3i2

Do you want to automate your office and paperwork? Are you not sure what you want or need or you know exactly what you want but need to find the solution?

Tracker Management Systems, Inc. has been in the business of doing just that for over 28 years. Helping progressive thinking business owners discover what their biggest bottleneck, pain in the tail, office activity is and what the best solution for that is.

The area that most affects the mental stress and bottom line of your business will typically be one of the
following:

  • Problem keeping track of the paperwork, leading to lost revenue
  • Dispatchers falling behind with calls and keeping track of where the trucks are
  • Wasting too much time finding vehicles in impound and processing them
  • Statements and Payroll are taking too much time to complete
  • Time-consuming effort to take motor club calls
  • Special needs that might require custom

If any of these issues or ones like them are causing you to want to find a way to make your office run better, if you desire to understand how or what software can do for you, then look at and talk with the Tracker Management team. We have trained well over a thousand users of some of the largest or most advanced tow companies in the country. We work with companies and write custom features to address the needed processes to run exactly the way a customer might want or need. Our processes, customer support and training are second to none. The ease and simplicity makes training your staff a breeze. Employees will grasp how to use Tracker software in a day and will be productive in very short order. If you want software that you can grow into and not out of, if you want to own your software and keep your business information in house where you control it, Tracker offers that. Or if you want a system that is cloud based, Tracker has that, as well. Keeping your system processing fast and without the requirement of high-speed Internet is a great benefit. Having and wanting the ability to log into and use your software from home, your truck or a second location is always available on either system. If your Internet goes down, your in-house enterprise solution will continue to give you uninterrupted service. So, regardless of your size and needs, a call to Tracker will help you determine your best solution.

From Dispatch to phones, tablets or TomTom. From GPS, mapping, billing to QuickBooks. From impound, pictures, lien letters and payroll. From pricing, management reports, job costing and more. It’s all there. Tracker is by far the most complete, flexible and easy to use software in the towing business now for over 28 years. Hope to talk with you soon; we look forward to the opportunity to help you reach these goals.

www.trackermanagement.com

Tow Mart

towmart

Introducing the Fusion Light by SoundOff Signal. Surface mounted light to elevate visibility by mounting to the headache rack or sides of truck. Six strobe flash patterns & available in Amber, Red, White, or Blue. In addition to strobe patterns, this light has a “cruise” mode for a steady on function. The Fusion Light also carries a 5-year warranty.

www.towmart.com

towPartners

In operation since 1997, towPartners is the leading membership organization in the towing industry. The towPartners program supports more than 30 towing associations as well as over 6,000 member companies nationwide.

The program is designed to drive business to our members while providing valuable resource materials, industry statistics and savings to help our members grow their business.

www.towpartners.com