The Week's Features

CHP is Grateful for Towman’s Heroic Effort

California towman comes to rescue of trooper under attack

Extra-thick low-clearance roadside mat is 2' wide by 4' long

7M Owners Behind on Car Notes

Delinquency on payments highest since 2010

Superman with Marketing Powers

Man of Steel graphics are a company’s moving billboard

Bagged Peanuts in Ohio

Some 32,000-pounds of peanuts makes a mess

Digital Edition

Events

Las Vegas, NV.
May 8-11, 2019

Tow Expo Dallas

Dallas, TX.
August 15-17, 2019

AT Exposition

Atlantic City, NJ.
Dec. 4-8, 2019

Don't Miss It!

Tired of losing cash calls because of price? Learn how to sell value over price and how to get over the price objection. Mike Porter of Speed’s Towing will also show tow business owners how to train your dispatch team to make the sale. Join Mike for his informative session titled, “Selling Your Value to Callers,” during Tow Industry Week taking place at the American Towman ShowPlace, May 8-11 at the South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

atshowplace.com

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American Towman Magazine Presents the Week in TowingFebruary 20 - February 26, 2019

'Tooned' and Ready

By George L. Nitti

Cartoon characters frequently form the basis of tow-truck design themes.

Road Manager Steve Brunet of Robbins Towing in St. Catharines, Ontario, credits his nine-year-old grandson Joseph for inspiring him to use a couple of main characters from the animated movie "Cars" on their 2018 Dodge Ram 5500/Vulcan 994 unit.

"From three years old," Brunet said, "my grandson has been riding in the truck with me and knows how to operate everything. He loved the movie 'Cars.' He said, 'You are towing cars like Tow Mater.' "

With his grandson as a catalyst and using the characters of Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen, Brunet turned to a local graphics company, Auto FX, to help him with the design.

Tow Mater sits center stage on the hood of the unit showing a winch cable extending to the back of the unit, where it is hooked into the red race car, Lightning McQueen.

"Tow Mater is pulling him out of the mud," Brunet said.

The swirling black and orange on the side of the truck draws the eye to the company's logo in a blue-yellow gradient.

One of the biggest challenges in putting the unit together was ensuring that there was plenty of space for Brunet's tools.

"First I needed to find a cabinet that would fit in the back of the truck," he said. "We then created a custom toolbox so that nothing would float around. All of my tools are in there, which I use every day. I do a lot of the crank tows. I do a lot of construction trailers. In the past the tools were put on the floor."

On the back of the truck, just below the lights, lettering clearly states "Slow Down" and "Move Over."

"I find more commercial vehicles slowing down and moving over," Brunet said, "but on average, the motoring public still needs more education. Everyone is in a hurry. Occasionally when I see a tower at work, to help out I'll sit back and block the oncoming traffic."

"I have had a couple of close calls but I wouldn't do anything else," said Brunet, who's been towing for two decades. "It's in your blood. It's in your DNA."

Brag @ TIW!
Should your truck be featured here? Send a few pics and your contact information to the editor at bdooley@towman.com . You might even be selected to go in print, too, in American Towman magazine!

No Pictures, Just All Decals

By George L. Nitti

With tornados slicing through South Carolina this past week, SDR Towing in West Columbia and its newly acquired 2018 Kenworth W900 Twin Steer/Century 1075S rotator has been busy in the recovery effort.

David McGee, who founded the company in 2009, said the truck recently arrived from Zip's in Iowa.

SDR stands for Southern Diesel Repair, and was a service that McGee specialized in until he entered the towing business. Seeing an opportunity, McGee and his wife started a towing business that has grown significantly to some two dozen trucks.

"Often I would provide road service to diesel trucks that had broken down and found that there were tow trucks not available to come out. ... I don't like customers sitting on the side of the road," McGee said.

For about a month and a half, McGee worked with Dendy Hill Graphics of Tennessee until he was satisfied with the design. It's strikingly bold for its original colors. The design is done in all decals and is set atop a black background.

"I wanted it where people could memorize the name," McGee said. "I wanted it to stand out. Everybody talks about our trucks."

The SDR logo stands out clearly on the side of the unit. It's written in a chrome color against a deep blue background, with a metal cut-out design accentuating the perimeter of the graphic.

The vibrant Kawasaki green and deep blue striping are especially appealing, and a couple of eye-popping yellow stripes add further contrast.

The chromeplating found on the boom, with the company name embossed, is also a special touch.

"I didn't want a lot of pictures on it," McGee said. "I wanted people to be able to read our letters and phone number. The truck really stands out at night, as it is all reflective. People are always videoing our truck when we're driving down the road."

Brag @ TIW!
Should your truck be featured here? Send a few pics and your contact information to the editor at bdooley@towman.com . You might even be selected to go in print, too, in American Towman magazine!

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