Tow professional issue 1, 2014

2 Tow Professional | Volume 3 Issue 1 | www.towprofessional.com

IN EVERY ISSUE

4 |Publisher Letter

52|HOOKED UP

56| Dealers Place

57|Market Place

60|Ad Index

6 |Jerr-Dan’s Cab-Over Engine (COE) XLP

8 |Tow Shows: Western States and Midwest Regional Shows

10 |Don't Crush Your Cash: Sell Your Vehicle in Five Easy Steps?

11 |True Tilt 5th Wheel Quick-Tach

11 |NationWide Towing & Recovery Group

30|Wall of the Fallen / Hall of Fame

48| TowMate

50| Flash

50| Whelen

51| Custer

CONTENTSVolume 3 • Issue 1 2014

www.towprofessional.com

T O W P R O F E S S I O N A L

IndustryNEWS

14 |Your Attitude Is Everything

Fuel 4 thought

Lube tAlk

20| Automatic Transmission Fluid

16 | TOP 10 Ways to IMPROVEYOUR BUSINESS

Safety 24 | Know the Lighting Requirements for Your Tow Trucks

Maintenance Software28 | Efficient Fleets Start With

Quality Software

Get Rid of the Grease Board and Scratch Pads

Software Spotlights

Lighting Spotlights

34 | Credit Card Processing: What’s It Costing You?

36 | GPS Solutions Deliver Tangible Benefits

38 | Tow Book 39 | Beacon Software 40 | sureFleet

41 | TOPS 42 | VTS Systems 45 | Agero

46 | Tracker Management Systems

Cover Image Courtesy ofWhelen Engineering Co. Inc.

4 Tow Professional | Volume 3 Issue 1 | www.towprofessional.com

PUBLISHERSDarian Weaver

President & [email protected]

Jack HartsfieldVice President & [email protected]

Steve GoodwinSales Manager

[email protected]__________________________

PRODUCTION

Clint W. CabinessArt Director

Hal K. HuberKattie Spence

Graphic Designers

Jill HastyManaging Editor

__________________________

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSTom Bray

Jeffrey GodwinMatt GunzenhaeuserD.J. HarringtonDan Messina

Dave SunkenbergDan Watson

Executive and Advertising Offices

2007 Old Montgomery Hwy, Suite B1. Birmingham, AL 35244Toll free: 888-802-8544Fax: 205-978-1550


Tow Professional is published nine times a year by OverThe Mountain Media, Inc., P.O. Box 26308, Birmingham, Alabama,35260, USA. Tow Professional is distributed free to qualified sub-scribers. Non-qualified subscription rates are $57.00 per year inthe U.S. and Canada and $84.00 per year for foreign subscribers(surface mail). U.S. Postage paid at Birmingham, Alabama andadditional mailing offices.

Tow Professional is distributed to qualified Towing & Re-covery's Top Decision Makers. Publisher is not liable for all con-tent (including editorial and illustrations provided by advertisers)of advertisements published and does not accept responsibilityfor any claims made against the publisher. It is the advertiser’sor agency’s responsibility to obtain appropriate releases on anyitem or individuals pictured in an advertisement. Reproductionof this magazine in whole or in part is prohibited without priorwritten permission from the publisher.

ProfessionalYour Resource for Towing & Recovery

TMLETTER

For a new free subscription, address changes or corrections,

please visit www.towprofessional.comand click on the “subscribe” tab.

P U B L I S H E R S

Happy New Year!Here we go again; the old year is behind us and New Year is ahead of us. Hope-fully your sights are set high for 2014; I know that ours are. Set lofty goals for your busi-

ness, goals that will take extraordinary effort to reach. With determination, your goal can

be attained and your business will be stronger, which, in turn, makes your spouse, your

children, your employees, you, and your banker much happier people.

As we go into this year (I’ve preached it before), keep your blinders on, go forward

while controlling what you can control. Life is not about what happens to us, but about

how we react to what happens to us. DJ Harrington touches on it this month in his “Fuel

for Thought” article. It’s titled “Your Attitude is Everything” and, as usual, gets you

pointed in the right direction in life. DJ’s material is always a great read, but he doesn’t

just write or speak a good message; the way he lives sets the stage for that great mes-

sage. We can all learn from it.

This issue of Tow Professional also brings you “10 Ways to Improve Your Business” by

Dan Messina, “Lighting Requirements” by Tom Bray, “Automatic Transmission Fluid” by

Dan Watson, “Efficient Fleets Start With Quality Software” by Jeffrey Godwin, “GPS Solu-

tions Deliver Tangible Benefits” by Matt Gunzenhaeuser, and plenty of product informa-

tion from our business partners.

All the Best in 2014!

Darian Weaver and Jack HartsfieldCo-Publishers

Volume 3 • Issue 1 2014


IndustryNEWST O W I N G & R E C O V E R Y

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6 Tow Professional | Volume 3 • Issue 1 | www.towprofessional.com

Jerr-Dan’s Cab-Over Engine (COE) XLP > > >

While speaking with the personnel atJerr-Dan, it’s obvious that they havepassion for putting a quality product onthe streets. We began to discuss certaintrends in the market, which is what led usto discuss their XLP carrier. Here is whatwe learned and would like our audienceto know. --Jack Hartsfield, Publisher

With the increasing popularity of the Cab-Over Engine (COE) chassis’, Jerr-Dan has engi-neered their low profile XLP carrier for theIsuzu NRR and Hino 195 COE chassis to pro-vide a product that can be utilized by thosetowers who are in need of a carrier that pro-vides the lowest load angle in the industry anda chassis that fits into those smaller areas suchas the “tight” city areas.

The COE XLP provides a lower deck heightand better load angle with improved visibilityand maneuverability.

Jerr-Dan provides the most engineeredchassis solutions for the widest variety of chas-sis in the industry, helping to lead the industryin new product innovation.

They are now offering XLP carrier mod-els on all of the following chassis:

• Ford F650, F550• Peterbilt 325, 330• Kenworth 270, 370• Hino 238, 258• Freightliner M2 106• International Durastar• Dodge 5500 • Isuzu NRR *featured• Hino 195 *featured

Standard features provided by theJerr-Dan XLP carrier include:a. Load angle as low as 7.5 degreesb. World’s lowest maintenance carrier, in-

cluding No-Lube™ technology for slidepads and pivot joints

c. Industry’s strongest aluminum beds fea-turing exclusive, patented GalvanizedSteel Beam Technology™

d. On-board hydraulic pressure gauge al-lows for easy troubleshooting

e. Single sheet decking on conventionaland dual angle steel decks reduces weldjoints and potential corrosion points

f. Combination winch cable guide rollerand tensioner plate

g. Manual or air-controlled winch free-spool

h. Corrosion-resistant lighted dual-controlstations

i. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administra-tion DOT 393 compliant crash protec-tion headboard

j. Industry’s most advanced high perform-ance hose and wire cable-tracking sys-tem

k. Industry’s highest standard DOT reflec-tivity and lighting levels

l. 12 key slots standard

Be powerfully present with R.A.I.L.™, Jerr-Dan’s exclusive Rear Awareness IndicatorLights. Bright amber LED strobe technologycommands attention whether you’re work-ing through dark, foggy, rainy, or high-trafficconditions. Random flashing light patternsproject horizontally for increased rear visibility,

especially when the deck is tilted for loadingand unloading allowing you to work in confi-dence. R.A.I.L. is positioned rearward of carrierbed controls to minimize distraction for the op-erator and their robust, corrosion resistantmounting bracket provides unparalleled dura-bility. Get noticed in a flash and have a higherlevel of confidence on the job with R.A.I.L.

“Jerr-Dan will continue to innovate and en-gineer solutions that provide our customersoptions when choosing a product for their par-ticular application,” said Jeff Soldner, Jerr-DanProduct Director. “Expanding the XLP carriersto the Ford F550 and Dodge 5500 earlier thisyear filled a gap that customers were request-ing. The introduction of the Jerr-Dan XLP forthe Isuzu NRR and Hino 195 shows our com-mitment to the customer by designing ourproduct for mounting on two popular Cab-Over chassis.”

For more information, visit Jerr-Danonline at www.jerrdan.com.



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Tow Professional magazine, the Western States Tow Show,and the Midwest Regional Tow Show are proud to announce apartnership to help promote these association tow shows across thenation. The two association operated shows are planned and exe-cuted with the goal of raising money for the associations in order tofurther the industry, provide funds for lobbying, develop ongoing ed-ucation programs, and foster safety in our dangerous profession. It’sexciting to be a part of this marketing program, as both shows al-ready have a regional presence and their associations work to shareinformation and resources with their neighboring states, making allstronger. We feel this will be a great opportunity for all. With the in-creased marketing, the two shows will bring an even larger variety of

vendors to the shows with the latest equipment and knowledge forthe attendees, and continue the outstanding events and social op-portunities that the towing community enjoys. Expanding the atten-dees through the surrounding associations and the readers of TowProfessional will give even greater value to the vendors and helpthem grow stronger also. :

Western States Tow Showwww.westernstatestowshow.com

Midwest Regional Tow Show www.trao.org/tow-show

Tow Shows > > >Western States Tow Show Midwest Regional Tow Show


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Abandoned vehicles take up space ona towing lot and can be a big financialburden for those businesses. As an al-ternative to crushing a car, there areplenty of resources for tow companieslooking to free up space in their lots.

Many customers abandon their vehiclesbecause they often think the process of sell-ing their vehicle can be long and burden-some. According to Ray Rodecker and RonWalters of Insurance Auto Auctions (IAA),this is a common misconception. “We havedeveloped a full-service solution, from titleprocurement to quick and easy paymentoptions,” says Rodecker. Adds Walters, “Thissimplifies the process and helps companiesget their vehicles to auction and turned intocash fast.”

IAA says that customers can quickly turntheir vehicles into cash through a simple process. It starts with towersshowing customers how IAA’s process works and what to expect whenpartnering with IAA. Educating customers on such resources has anadded benefit for towers. Here are five easy steps:

1. Contact IAA: First, contact a local IAA facility to learn moreabout locations and services nearby. IAA has facilities in over160 locations across North America.2.Secure Title: Securing a title can have the biggest impactand IAA’s Title Services division has developed an efficient, sim-plified and flexible suite of solutions, which help to reduce thelength of time it takes to secure a vehicle title and sell the vehi-cle at auctions.3.Process Vehicle: IAA offers marketing and auction servicesto give sellers exposure to hundreds of buyers internationally -this in turn clears their lots fast and increases profits.4.Auction Vehicle: IAA’s model combines on-site and on-linebuyers into one auction, which fosters a healthy, competitivebidding experience designed to give buyers the choice to man-age their bids on the go. Through IAA’s mobile app CSATo-day>, customers can also track the status of their vehicles andaccept bids. 5.Collect Money: Sellers can be assured that IAA is getting thebest value on their sold vehicle and quickly turning it into cash.IAA Selling ServicesSM gives buyers flexible bidding options.Buyers can choose to bid on vehicles live and live-onlinethrough I-Bid LiveSM or purchase direct through IAA BuyFastSM.

IAA provides fullservices solutions tohelp towing compa-nies turn their aban-doned cars into cash.Through its unique hybrid auction model -- including live, Internet andproxy bidding – IAA auctions offer everything from highly repairable highgrade vehicles to pure scrap vehicles, working in partnership with a rangeof sellers including insurance companies, dealerships, rental car compa-nies, and fleet lease companies. IAA also sells directly to recyclers on be-half of those hoping to crush their vehicle and recently expanded itsoperations to include its Tow and Abandonments division, which helpstowing companies’ clear aban-doned vehicles from their lotsquickly without draining theirbank accounts.

As part of IAA’s efforts to assisttow companies in recouping thefinancial losses associated withabandoned vehicles, Rodeckerand Walters have been hosting aseries of free educational semi-nars for towing professionals.Towers learn about the advan-tages of the auction process, navi-gating the title procurement system and calculating the value ofabandoned vehicles sitting on their lots.

For more information about IAA’s services or to learn about upcom-ing "Don't Crush Your Cash" seminars, contact Ray Rodecker andRon Walters at 888.825.2145 or [email protected].

Don't Crush Your Cash: Sell Your Vehicle in Five Easy StepsSalvage Auction Leader IAA Provides Full-Suite of Solutions to Reduce Abandoned Vehicles > > >

The True Tilt 5th Wheel Quick-Tachis a heavy duty under lift that has themost extension, most retraction, morelift and the most lifting capacity of anylift on the market. It has a lift rating of45,000 pounds retracted and24,000 fully extended. It has a clearextension of 140” to the center of theaxle forks and nearly 160” to the cen-ter of the Heavy Duty Wheel forkswhen used. The unit will tilt the fullrated load in the given positions.

The hydraulic hoses are all “hid-den” in the unit, encased in a nylontracking chain to keep them in placefree from wear and tear. Our crossbaris made of a one piece solid steel cast-ing made of 100,000 pound steel. The tongue it rotates in is also onepiece cast steel (100,000 pound steel).

We have standard wirelessradio built into the unit. The radiois a standard feature with a 6function controller, which willcontrol the lift for up-down; in-out;and tilt up-tilt down operation.

Our unit pricing includes ei-ther an electric/hydraulic pumpor a valve pac to tie into yourtrucks PTO pump; the 6 functionwireless radio control plus a 25’hard wired remote control; 4sets of axle frame forks; the park-ing stands; and all necessaryhardware to mount to a roadtractor..

www.triplekindustries.com 800-624-2892

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www.towprofessional.com | Volume 3 • Issue 1 | Tow Professional 11

True Tilt 5th Wheel Quick-Tach > > >

While working as a ClaimsAdjuster, one of my Truck-ing Company clients beganranting that ALL “WreckerService Providers” (WSP’s)were crooks! I disagreed!They were using a “Free Di-rectory,” knowing they re-ceived a small percentage

of the WSP’s Towing & Recovery Invoice, but felt like costs were still toohigh? What a shocker! NTRG is a “DataBase of WSP’s” where the Truck-ing Company pays a fixed monthly Subscription Fee so that the WSPdoesn’t have to mark-up their Invoice to cover any “small percentage.”When our Subscribers need help, they call the WSP direct, and say thatthey found your name on our website. All that means to a WSP is thatthey agree to bill the Trucking Company, using our Invoicing Software,as it already includes their hourly Rates. This was created to simplify thebilling process…at no cost to the WSP, while also providing uniform In-voices for our Subscribers.

NationWide Towing & Recovery Group, LLC. P.O. Box 3058 | Springfield, MO 65808-3058Phone (417) 595-0712 E- Fax (417) 501-4251 E-Mail [email protected]

Loganville Ford has become a Industry leader in Volume Pric-ing, In today's market where getting a Quick accurate price onTowing Equipment has become somewhat of a challenge Lo-ganville Ford is setting a new industry standard! We will alwaysPresent a price on every ad we run so the customer knows be-fore they call what the price and all Fee's will be. We do notcharge a Doc Fee on any of our Towing Customers. The onlyamount above our selling price due is the customers Taxes inthe area they will be registering the truck.We have a distinct ad-vantage in being a Ford Dealer and also the Distributor that al-lows us to not only be the Industry price leader but also havingmultiple financing sources that are not available to much of theindustry.Please call us with any questions.

Chris ChitwoodCommercial Sales Mgr404-569-4723

NationWide Towing and Recovery Group > > > Loganville Ford Supplies Towing

Industry with Volume Pricing > > >. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tow Professional HELPING SUPPORT ASSOCIAT

ION SHOWS “TOW SHOWS FOR TOWERS BY TOWERS”


Fuel 4 thought

Attitude is the way you view your life, your expe-riences in the towing business, and

your experiences outside the towing business. Attitude is how youdeal with your opportunities, your problems and choices, and thenyour responses to the results.

Losers always see thunderstorms. Winners always see rainbows.Losers see all mishaps of icy streets, while winners put on their iceskates. Losers are always putting down, and winners are always liftingup. Losers let life happen to them. Winners make life happen for themand others. Winning and losing are all about attitude. Let me sharewith you a story about a wise little boy who wanted to change his situ-ation.

There was a big bully down the street who was always botheringthis little boy. The little boy was trying to get his nerve up to stand up tothe bully, but he was still too afraid.

Well, one day, his father bought him a new telescope, hoping to di-vert his son’s thoughts. His son was out in the front yard, playing with it,

By D. J . Harr ington

Your Attitude isEVERYTHING


but he was looking through the wrong end.Instead, he was looking through the big side.

His father stepped outside and said, “No,son. You’re doing it backward. Turn it around,and it will make everything bigger like it wasmeant to do.”

The little boy said, “I know that, Dad, butright now I’m looking at this bully. When Ilook at him this way, it makes him so smallthat I’m not afraid of him anymore.”

You may need to turn your telescopearound. You’ve magnified that problem longenough. You’ve thought about how impossi-ble it is, and how it’s never going to work out.But if you’ll turn it around, you will see fromthe right perspective.

It goes back to Dr. Wayne Dwyer’s saying,

“Change the way you look at things and thethings you look at will change.”

Attitude begins as harmless thoughts.Then, with practice, they become layered byhabit into unbroken chains to shackle ORstrengthen our lives. We are scarcely awarethey exist. Just like a comfortable bed, theyare easy to fall into, but difficult to get out of.

First, we make our attitude and then ourattitude makes us. There is little differencebetween common people and those whoare uncommonly successful. Both commonand uncommon people have a passion. Theslight difference is in their attitude. Whatmakes this little difference HUGE is whetherthe attitude is positive or negative. Thingswill always happen to us. We are not respon-

sible for what happens out here or what oth-ers do or think. We are responsible only forhow we choose to feel or behave.

My final thought is some of us in towingneed to turn our telescope backwards andstart seeing some of our challenges in a bet-ter and proper perspective. After that exer-cise, we’ll have a better attitude.

See you next time. TOW

D.J. Harrington is an author, journalist, seminarleader, international trainer, and marketing consultant.He works primarily with customer service personnel,and his clients include such world-class companies asGeneral Motors, DuPont, Caterpillar, AutoData Directand Damon Corporation He can be reached at 800-352-5252 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Losers always see thunderstorms. Winners always see rainbows.Losers see all mishaps of icy streets, while winners put on their iceskates. Losers are always putting down, and winners are alwayslifting up. Losers let life happen to them. Winners make life happenfor them and others. Winning and losing are all about attitude.


It’snot uncommon for towers to get in a comfort zone, espe-cially when things are going good, and they continue to do

the same thing every day. The owners love to take their trucks out andtow. That’s what they are good at and that is what they know best, butin these ever-changing times, it is time for the owners to expand theirhorizons and look for ways to improve their businesses. I have developed a list of things you might want to do to improve yourbusiness.

1. Know your numbers.Cash is the lifeblood of any business. Start improving your business byunderstanding your cash flows. What services generate most of yourprofits and therefore your cash? This does not mean what services

you perform the most. Some towers tow motor clubs more than anyother customer and they are not making a good profit, and in somecases are losing money, yet they continue to provide this service. Youcan make good money with motor clubs if you know how to do it. Youmust develop daily, monthly and yearly accounting forecasts. Ensureyour data is timely and available in real time so you can respond tochanges quickly. Charting your data is one of the seven quality tools.Chart your data to look for trends and then take action on thosetrends.

2. Price your products and services.Pricing is not easy. Books are written on how to price products, butthere are some simple rules of thumb. Raise prices on high quality

10ways toimprove your business

By Dan Messina


services and lower prices on your lower quality services. The idea isto focus on customer value not your cost of service. When I hold semi-nars I would tell the audience that I could come into their area andraise my prices by 10% over their price and win all the contracts. Re-member, we are in a service business and the quality of service willdictate the price of that service. If your service is high quality, then sayit with your price. Don’t be afraid to raise your prices on those servicesthat your customers really like and lower prices on the services theydon’t like. If you are not sure what your customers value, then askthem and they will tell you.

3. Hire the “right” people.Focus your employee hiring process on hiring great attitudes not per-sonalities. Great people are performers that demonstrate results.Don’t be afraid to hire people smarter than you; as a matter of fact, Irecommend it. Look past skills on a resume and look for great accom-plishments. Remember, good is the enemy of great, so hire great peo-ple not people that are good enough. I remember when I hired myfirst sales person. He demanded a lot of money, and I was a startupcompany. I hired him and, once I realized what his functions were, hewas the most valued employee in the company.

4. Fire the “wrong” people.If you have made a mistake, then don’t be afraid to fire someone thatis not working out. Know your people. I took my managers and evalu-

ated every employee I had. It was a great learning process for me be-cause we identified employees that I thought were average and wedetermined they were good, and we identified employees I thoughtwere good and it turned out they were bad for the company. I immedi-ately fired the people that were hurting the company. If it’s not work-ing out, you will know it in the first 90 days, so end it now. Don’t waitfor improvement in your finances or their attitudes. Firing should bedone sooner rather than later. Nobody likes to fire people, but yourbusiness is more important.

5. Develop standards.The services you provide have requirements and so does your busi-ness. Define what “great” is for every job that is critical to your busi-ness. Start with each service you provide and create policies andprocedures for each job and use them. Look at your competition andbenchmark what and how they provide their services. Then, set ahigher standard for yourself.

6. Implement controls.Controls start with clearly defined objectives for every job or processthat link back to your accounting system and the forecast. Good con-trols will tell you when things are going bad and what area needs tobe addressed. Take time to understand what can go wrong and workto prevent it from happening. Develop warning flags to indicate whenthings are going wrong.


7. Focus.I once was in a meeting with Ross Perot, the owner of the largestcomputer service company in the world. He told me to pick one thingand be the best at it than anyone else. My wife and I focused on beingthe biggest private property company in the U.S. When I sold mycompany, I was second to none. A working management strategy re-quires focus. Focus on the one thing that will make you great. Budgetyour resources to grow your best opportunities while eliminating thepoor performers. Basically, get everything out of the way so all youhave are good opportunities.

8. Improve your sales process.Sales is a contact sport, so make sure you are getting out in front ofyour customers often. Teach every employee to be a sales person.Your dispatchers and your drivers talk to your customers every day.Teach them to sell. Build relationships with customers so they con-tinue to use your services. If your revenues are not growing, then youare not selling.

9. Understand your marketplace.The marketplace is not static, so expect it to change. Understandwhat’s changing in your marketplace and either change with it or bechanged by it. As your market changes, it may allow you to add newservices or delete services you no longer need. Pay attention to whatyour marketplace needs and give it to them before your competition

does. Your goal is to offer your customer solutions to their problems.Anytime you have a solution to a problem, you’ll have a new cus-tomer.

10. Build a strong brand.Your brand will identify your business. A failing brand leads to a failingbusiness. Your marketing, vision and strategy are key elements ofbuilding a strong brand. If you don’t have a marketing vision or an ideaof what you want your company to look like, it will be hard to imple-ment the nine other points. Once you have established a vision foryour company, it will be easy to set a brand for your company andmaintain it. It will also make the nine other points easy to implement.Don’t let your brand suffer or else your business will suffer, too.

These are 10 important keys to your business, and none of themrequires a tow truck. When implemented, this list will allow you to bein control of your business and grow your company. I know you arethinking these are things I am not good at. If that’s the case, we canhelp. 2014 will offer new challenges, and you will have to go to out-side resources for help. That’s a good thing; there are plenty of expertsin these areas that you can use and actually make them part of yourcompany.

See our ad in this magazine, give us a call, and we’ll help you im-plement these 10 steps. TOW

Visit www.djanddan.com for more information.

LubetAlk

Automatic Transmission Fluids (ATF) are the most complex fluidsused in today's vehicles. These complexly designed fluids perform multi-ple functions including:

• Lubrication• Wear protection• Heat dissipation• Foam prevention • Shift quality optimization• Hydraulics• Material compatibility

To make ATF formulation even more complex, companies that pro-duce automatic transmission fluid must align their products with allthe different-from-each-other requirements specified by vehicle man-ufacturers. The following list is only a sample of the wide variations inthe market place.

• General Motors: Dexron III to Dexron VI• Chrysler: ATF-plus to ATF-4plus• Ford: Mercon, Mercon V, Mercon SP and Mercon LV• Allison Transmissions: C-4, C-5 and TES-389• Toyota: TO-4 and WS• Honda: Z-1 and CVT• Nissan: Nissan Matic-D, J and K

This is only a fraction of all the manufacturers’ specifications – andthe list grows more and more ever year. As a vehicle owner, you must in-sure that the proper ATF is used in your vehicle by paying attention toyour owner’s manual. Proper ATF in your automatic transmission is thekey to the proper operation and life of your transmission. Simply put,using the wrong ATF may cause it to shift improperly and incompatiblematerial may begin to deteriorate.

Understanding Your Automatic TransmissionIf we take a more in-depth look at the functions listed above and howthese are critical to proper transmission performance and life, it shouldbe clear that using the specified ATF is imperative.

ATF LubricationAutomatic transmissions contain hundreds of moving parts, includingbearings, gears and sliding mechanisms. Multiple lubrication regimes(see "Intro to Lubrication") and a fluid that lubricates over a wide range isrequired. The bearings require light weight oils that are designed for highspeed applications in which the gears require oils capable of protectingthe gears at the gear tooth interface.

ATF WearProper lubrication is the key to reducing wear. Wear protection is estab-lished by the correct anti-wear additives, as well as the strength and sta-bility of the oil used as the base stock. Again, what makes thischallenging is the wide range of lubrication regimes that occur inside anautomatic transmission.

Heat DissipationHeat is the No. 1 factor in transmission failures in modern vehicles. Highpressure fluid and heat produced by the interaction of transmissiongears causes automatic transmissions to build up heat; this is especiallytrue under heavy loads. The ATF fluid is the major medium of heat trans-fer to remove the heat from the transmission. Air flow over the transmis-sion will provide additional heat removal, but the modern aerodynamicsof vehicles limits the airflow and so increases the heat load on the fluid.

HydraulicsAutomatic transmissions use hydraulic actuation to move gears into differ-ent ratios, resulting in different vehicle speeds. Clutches are engaged anddisengaged using hydraulic pressure, as well. Without hydraulics might benearly impossible to construct the modern automatic transmission.

Anti-FoamingIt is always counterproductive for lubricating oils to foam, since foamy oildoes not establish a working oil film for protection. For hydraulic oils, it isfundamental for proper operation; foam is compressible and defeats theprinciple of pressurized oil performing work. Simply, foaming will limit orstop hydraulic actuation.

Material CompatibilityVarious materials are used in automatic transmissions components:


AutomaticTransmission

FLUID

By Dan Watson

The exterior of the 2011 Allison transmission hidesa very complex assembly of various types of gears,O-rings, clutch faces, gaskets, seals and more.

O-rings, clutch faces, gaskets and seals. Automatic transmission fluidsmust be compatible with all of these component materials or damagewill cause operational problems that will lead to transmission failures.

Shift QualityAs if all the specifications required to satisfy the complex lubrication andfunctional aspects of automatic transmission fluid were not enough,each manufacturer requires different shifting characteristics – somemanufacturers require a soft shift and others a hard shift – along withvastly different load bearing requirements. Some transmissions are four-speeds and many now are six-, seven- or eight-speed; each of these con-figurations creates varying geometric arrangements that affect

component size and stress. So, there really is a legitimate reason whythe different manufacturers develop tailored specifications for their trans-missions; the transmissions are different and designed specifically fortheir line of vehicles.

Choosing the Right Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF)So, with all this information on the complexity of automatic transmissionfluid, what should the consumer look for when buying ATF the next timethe transmission needs serviced? The best approach is to systematicallymatch your vehicle's needs to the correct ATF and then find the bestquality ATF for your application. Here are some steps to follow:

Step One:Check your owner’s manual to see what is specified for yourvehicle. This is the most critical step in the selection process. Get thiswrong and you could damage your transmission and incur expensivetransmission repairs. Be especially attentive to the manufacturers’ speci-fications (eg: Dexron VI, Mercon V, Chrysler ATF+4 etc.). If you are havingthe service done at a service center, ask questions about the ATF. Somechange centers seem to think ATF is ATF and they put the same fluid inevery car.

Step Two: Acquire the necessary gaskets and filters required tochange the transmission oil. If you are having the service done at aservice center, ask questions about the changing of filters; somechange centers do not change filters unless you direct them to do so.


A look inside the GM Six-Speed Hydramatic Transmission

LubetAlk


Internal transmission filters should bechanged at least at 100,000 miles (I person-ally recommend every time the transmissionfluid is changed).

Step Three:Choose between a completetransmission exchange or the traditional drop-the-pan and method. I do not like the idea ofleaving used fluid in the transmission and mix-ing new, clean fluid with the old, dirty fluid. Cer-tainly, it costs more for the exchange, but

transmission repairs are the most expensive re-pair that will be done in the life of the vehicleand doing anything that will extend the life ofthe transmission just makes good sense.

Synthetic Vs Petroleum ATFShould you use synthetic or petroleum auto-matic transmission fluid? This really is astraightforward analysis and the facts will leadto a correct decision. The easiest and most sen-sible approach is to compare the use of syn-

thetic vs. petroleum for each of the stated func-tions of ATF.

Lubrication: Proper lubrication depends onboth the base stock and additives to provide lu-brication throughout the complete operatingrange of the transmission. Transmissions oper-ate from cold to very hot, and the thermal prop-erties of synthetics vs. petroleum results in aclear advantage for synthetics. Synthetic basestocks offer very wide temperature ranges withlittle effect on viscosity, while petroleum basestocks are not thermally stable, thinning at hightemperature and thickening at low temperature. Advantage: Synthetic

Wear Protection:Wear is directly related toadditives and oil viscosity. As previously ex-plained, synthetic oils maintain viscosity overwide temperature ranges, where petroleumoils change viscosity significantly over thesame temperature range. Assuming the anti-wear additives are equal, the superior thermalstability of synthetic oils results in a far superioranti-wear performance for synthetic automatictransmission fluids. Advantage: Synthetic

Heat Dissipation: In liquid state, the heattransfer quality for the synthetic ATF and thepetroleum ATF is nearly equal. Synthetic oilswill remain liquid at very high temperatures,where petroleum oils will thin and begin toflash to vapor at high temperatures. When thepetroleum oils reach the point of flashing tovapor or being a mixed vapor liquid combina-tion, heat dissipation is severely reduced. Advantage: Synthetic

Foam Prevention: When lubricants foam,their ability to lubricate properly and preventwear is significantly reduced. Additionally,foaming of fluids used in hydraulics preventsproper hydraulic action. Air is compressibleand oil is not, so any amount of air in the hy-draulic system will cause erratic operation.With proper additives, antifoaming of syntheticand petroleum based is virtually equal. Pooranti-foaming additives will allow for foaming re-gardless of the base stocks employed. Advantage: None

Hydraulics: The movement of gears and en-gagement of clutches in the transmission is ac-complished by hydraulics. Hydraulic systems

use compressed oil to move pistons, and this,in turn, moves components to establish vari-ous gear ratios. When oil is operating at veryhigh temperatures, flashing to vapor occurs.Vapor is compressible, and, for hydraulics towork, the medium (oil) cannot be compressi-ble. Synthetic oils will tolerate much highertemperatures than petroleum oils before losingviscosity and flashing to vapor. The higher tem-perature range gives synthetic oils a superiorhydraulic function at high temperatures. Atvery low temperatures, petroleum oils are simi-lar to pudding, where synthetics are less vis-cous. Advantage: Synthetic

Shift Quality: The engagement of the

clutches and the gears in the automatic

transmission is dependent on design and

friction additives in the oil. Original equip-

ment manufacturers will design the trans-

mission for the shift of their choice, from

very soft to very hard. Friction modifiers are

the main elements controlling the shift qual-

ity. Synthetic or petroleum, the shift is a

function of design and additives.

Advantage: None

Material Compatibility: Gaskets, O-Rings

and clutch material must be compatible

with the automatic transmission fluid in-

cluding the additives. Modern materials are

compatible with both petroleum and syn-

thetic fluids with little difference.

Advantage: None

And the Winner is...Looking at the functions established for au-

tomatic transmission fluids, synthetic fluids

are superior in four of the seven functions,

while petroleum fluids are superior in none.

For three of the seven functions, there is no

advantage of one fluid type over the other.

This analysis results in a clear advantage for

synthetic automatic transmission fluid.

When purchasing ATF for your vehicle,

be sure to meet the specific requirements

stipulated by your vehicle's manufacturer.

Today's transmissions are incredibly com-

plex mechanisms and, correspondingly,

the automatic transmission fluid that they

require can be very specific. Misapplica-

tion can cause expensive repairs. Syn-

thetic transmission fluids will provide

superior performance over a wide range of

applications and extend the life of your

transmission. TOW

For questions and/or comments,

contact me via my website,

www.TheLubepage.com,

or by email at

[email protected].


GM Vortex Transmission Flex Gear


Know the

Lighting Requirementsfor Your Tow Trucks

Before we get into the discussion of the lighting re-quirements that are specific to tow trucks, let’s look

at the general lighting requirements in the federal regula-tions. These requirements are found in two places:

1. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s(NHTSA) Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)108, also known as FMVSS 108 or Section 571.108 (sinceit is located in Part 571), and

2. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration(FMCSA) regulations at Section 393.11.The NHTSA regulations apply to new vehicles and the

FMCSA regulations apply to vehicles that are presently in serv-ice. The two are tied together more closely than one might think.The FMCSA regulations (and most states) require that the vehi-cle, for the entire time it is in service, continues to meet theFMVSS requirements that were in place when the vehicle wasbuilt.

The basic light package that is required includes:• Headlights• Taillights• Brake lights• Front and rear turn signals• Front and rear side markers (lights that are visible fromthe side to indicate the length of the vehicle)• Front and rear clearance lights (lights that indicate theoverall width of the vehicle)• Backup lights (activated when the vehicle is in reverse)

The vehicle must also have reflectors at the “corners,” visiblefrom the side and rear.

Lights are allowed to serve multiple purposes, such as the ve-hicle’s “front parking lights” serving as both the front side markerlight and the front clearance light, and having a reflective lenscover so it can serve as the front side reflector as well.

S A F E T Y

By Tom Bray


Extra lights may be requiredIf the vehicle is over certain dimensions, then additional lights will berequired. If the vehicle is over 30 feet long, it must have an intermedi-ate side marker light (and reflector) mounted at roughly the middle ofthe vehicle’s length. If the vehicle is over 80 inches wide, it musthave a set of “identification markers” on the front and rear. The “IDmarkers” are the set of three lights mounted on top of the vehicle.They are there to identify the vehicle to other traffic as a wider-than-normal vehicle.

Light color is closely regulatedThe regulations specify what color and what candlepower all of theserequired lights must be. In general, headlights and backup lights needto be white, rear-facing lights and the side marker lights at the rear cor-ner of the vehicle need to be red, and all other markers and clearancelights need to be yellow. The only required lights on the vehicle thatcan be either red or yellow are the rear turn signals, provided they arenot combined with a brake light. If the rear signal is combined with abrake light, the light must be red and the signal light must be the onethat is active if the brakes and signals are active at the same time.

Be careful when making modificationsMost vehicle and body manufacturers know these rules quite welland build their vehicles to comply. Doing aftermarket modificationsto the vehicle or the body is what gets vehicle owners or operators introuble when it comes to the required lights.

Tow truck specific requirementsAt the federal level, mounting “lights other than those required”and/or “auxiliary lights” are allowed, as long as they do not reducethe effectiveness of the required lights or create confusion, and aslong as the type or color of light is not prohibited. Additional lightsmust also comply with the state’s rules related to color and place-ment. For example, some states restrict the use of certain color auxil-iary lights to specific vehicles — such as reserving blue for lawenforcement or white strobes for school buses. Also, the driver mustcomply with any use restrictions the state may have in place on theuse of additional or auxiliary lights.

States also place additional lighting requirements on certain vehi-cles, such as tow trucks. To operate as a tow truck in many states, thevehicle must be equipped with oscillating, rotating, or strobe lights ofa specific color. Several states require two colors, one to be usedwhen stopped on the side of the road (such as when hooking up atan accident scene) and another for use when actually towing an-other vehicle.

Most states also require that, if the lights on the rear of the towtruck are not readily visible to traffic following the tow truck, basiclights be placed at the rear of the vehicle being towed. There is a lia-bility issue here as well. If the taillights, brake lights, and rear turn sig-nals of the tow truck are not visible to traffic following the tow truckand it leads to an accident, the operator and company could both beheld liable.

How do you find out about the tow-truck specific lighting rules? If

you are on the city or county “rotation,” or have a “contract” withthe city or county to do towing, the tow-truck lighting requirementsmay be included in the paperwork. If you cannot locate the infor-mation and you are not sure what the requirements are, you maycontact your state or local towing association, or a local, county, orstate police officer with thorough knowledge of the state vehicleregulations. TOW

Thomas Bray is Sr. Editor – Transportation Management for J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

Contact him at [email protected]. Also be sure to check out J. J. Keller’s website atwww.jjkeller.com.

Copyright 2014 J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.; PO Box 3683003 Breezewood LaneNeenah WI 54957-0368


S A F E T Y


Inthe towing industry, we often overlook the fundamentals ofoperating a solid fleet. Though it is true we are typically

more mechanically skilled and rarely cannot haul our own equip-ment when it is down, there is no reason to settle for reactivemaintenance where we just fix what breaks. With simple fleetmaintenance solutions, we can gather information in realtimefrom the drivers in our vehicles and then make decisions that canreduce downtime and repair costs. This is not a hypotheticalcase; fleet maintenance software saves companies money by re-ducing downtime, providing insight into expenses and throughinteractive preventative maintenance and vehicle inspection.

It seems many companies with small fleets often ignore trackingof fleet maintenance. This may be common practice and may evenbe acceptable in industries where the vehicle is not actually perform-ing the work, but, in towing, we have too much at stake to not knowwhat is happening in our fleets. Simple fleet maintenance software

packages are available that can track all of yourfleet costs and report back to you with real infor-mation to validate your gut feelings. Most pack-ages are capable of managing and monitoringeverything in your fleet from the heaviest rotatordown to your personal truck, skid steers, trailers,or even generators and compressors. If it needsmaintenance, many packages can track it. If it haswheels, fleet maintenance software is a must.

The benefits of quality software in this area of your business aresignificant. Using these tools, a company can expect to track its vehi-cles, manage parts inventory, identify over or underutilized fleet com-ponents, schedule maintenance, track costs, monitor warranties,receive alerts such as upcoming needs forecasting, and capture datafrom the field including fuel, inspections, accidents and more. Thereare dozens of high quality, meaningful reports available from mostsystems, and these will help in your continuing efforts to understandyour fleet costs, predict your needs, and reduce labor costs anddowntime. There is no worse event in a fleet based operation than tohave a vehicle down for an extended period of time due to un-planned maintenance. The vehicle is not earning for the company,and its driver is not earning either. Fleet maintenance software canhelp.

It is really a simple process. The system is set up with your trucksand drivers. You set when you want things to occur like oil changes

By Jeffrey Godwin

Efficient Fleets Start With

Quality�SoftwareGet Rid of the Grease Board and Scratch Pads


or checking tire pressures. Yourdrivers use mobile apps or paperinspection forms to check with ve-hicles either before or after theirshifts. Any issues are automaticallyreported to the person responsiblefor maintenance, and you have fullvisibility to items being reported,what is being addressed, what isbeing ignored, what you arespending and what you can expectto spend in the future. The systemwill make sure you do not forget to renew li-cense plates, change the spark plugs, or sim-ply inspect the appearance of your fleet.Mobile tools allow your drivers to record allfuel purchases, all inspection activity, specialtire reports, appearance inspections com-plete with photos, guided accident reportingand more. Back in the office, the shop toolsallow for work order management to dealwith shop tickets for repairs and other issues.The office system allows for reporting on allof the costs and downtimes, as well as manyother valuable tools such as fuel reconcilia-

tion, state mileage and/or fuel reports, andforecasts related to potential upcomingmaintenance needs and their associatedcosts.

The fleet related software packages avail-able today are easy to use, low cost and in-clude significant functionality to help acrossall of your fleet maintenance and manage-ment needs. One of the most basic featuresis the ability for you to setup PM thresholdsfor a variety of maintenance work you per-form on your vehicles. Using simple mileageor time related triggers, these software pack-

ages can track when serv-ices are due and notify youin advance so you can planand forecast downtime (oravoid it altogether). Thesesystems allow you to setthese thresholds by vehicletype or even specific toeach vehicle in your fleet.They don’t just track PMs;they track every aspect ofyour vehicles and things

that need to be monitored, inspected, re-placed, renewed, etc. From tire wear andpressure to greasing bed rails, and from PMservice to simple truck washes, these soft-ware systems can tell you what to expectsoon, what is needed now and what is over-due.

When coupled with mobile tools for pre-trip inspection, or at least regular odometerreporting from mobile apps or GPS systems,the fleet software can accurately predict the

Continued on page 32

needs for fleet maintenance, as well as alertyou to other reported issues across yourfleet, including safety hazards or simple re-pairs. The systems can track the work per-formed and then start all over again atmonitoring to ensure you know when serv-ices are due. These are the most simple ofthe features available today, and with full fea-tured fleet management packages availablefor a yearly cost of less than a single oilchange, there is no reason not to use thesepowerful systems to improve fleet perform-ance and your knowledge about the statusof all items in your fleet. Let the softwarekeep track of the fleet needs. One moreheadache solved.

Fleet maintenance software can be usedto manage maintenance in your own shopor the maintenance you outsource to otherfacilities. It can even be used in an externalfleet management capacity as another busi-ness for your shop. Good systems will allowyou to track maintenance for your cus-tomer’s vehicles as well as to perform or

manage the performance of the actual main-tenance work. The customer gets visibilityinto their fleet, while you manage the workand the associated information and providethe customer wise direction supported byquality data built over the course of a varietyof inspections and maintenance events.

Quality packages will provide you with alist of upcoming service needs based onyour own custom criteria. This prediction ofnecessary maintenance needs is then cou-pled with the data being provided by driversacross the fleet who are entering pre- andpost-trip inspection data, submitting vehicleappearance information, fuel purchase data,GPS driving data, accident reports, andmore. From the day a vehicle is put into serv-ice until it is sold or otherwise disposed of, acomplete day-to-day history is being builtand the details of a fleet can be reportedquickly and easily. This continuing stream ofinformation allows for greater insight intothe needs of the fleet or a specific vehicleand is combined with high end features like

driver qualification file tracking and systemsthat support monitoring of licensing, permitsand certifications for both vehicles and thosewho operate the vehicles.

Most fleet maintenance software can beintegrated with dispatching systems to pro-vide even greater efficiencies where appro-priate. These external interactions can bewith dispatch or load building software thatmay need to take vehicle status into accountor may need to pair trucks with trailers orother asset groupings. Reports handle someof the external interactions as well when sys-tems can submit accident reports, completewith photos and audio or video details, gath-ered on the scene and submitted in a stan-dardized manner acceptable to theinsurance industry.

There are fleet maintenance softwarepackages that can be installed on your officePC for simple tracking or even in your shopfor detailed maintenance and repair tracking.The best systems are operated as Softwareas a Service (SaaS) systems and allow ac-


Efficient Fleets Start With

Quality�SoftwareGet Rid of the Grease Board and Scratch Pads

cess from anywhere with an In-ternet connection. Maybe youuse a computer in your office torun reports, but the shop tech-nician uses a rugged tablet sodata can be entered whileworking on the vehicle. Driversuse a combination of iPhonesand Android devices to enter in-spection data daily and athome you check in on yourdashboard with your iPad. From the field, amanager can find the nearest vehicles or runmobile apps that can be customized to allowfor everything from simple fuel or odometerentry for drivers to complex management re-porting from these portable devices.

It always seems difficult to make achange, and the move to fleet maintenancesoftware can be a scary one where concernsabout making the process more of a burdenare warranted. The key is to not get toobogged down in the heavy details but to in-stead begin by getting your vehicles into a

system and then allowing your employees tointeract with that system. Simple daily trip in-spections, recording of fuel usage, and docu-mentation of all work performed on a vehiclewill yield incredible dividends over time asyou build the data. You can provide bettertime management to your employees andbetter record keeping with fleet mainte-nance and management software. The effi-ciencies you create will be rewarding foreveryone. There are hundreds of reasons touse fleet maintenance software, but resist-ance to change prevents many companies

from taking the time to imple-ment a quality solution. Takesome time and research sys-tems. Pick one that you wantto try and then put the effortinto getting it solidly in place inyour operation. Users will bemore productive, and yourfleet will have reduced operat-ing costs and downtime. Thatis a win-win. TOW

Jeffrey Godwin has 20 years of experi-ence in the towing industry with mostof those years in Information Technol-ogy. He currently serves as Chief Oper-ating Officer of FTI Groups(towPartners, sureFleet) and as VicePresident of TXI Systems (TOPS, Bud-getGPS). He can be reached [email protected].



Creditcard processing isconvenient, but it

may be costing you more than youthink. Most merchants these dayshave some form of mobile or in-field

credit processing options. You caneven get some store-bought units with

little effort. All you need is a smartphone, but whopays for the convenience? What interest rate are

you getting? Are you paying a monthly fee? Do youhave a minimum monthly amount to preserve your in-terest rate? Here are a few points to keep in mind whendeciding what’s right for you.

Your major “store-bought” swipe brands like Square,Paypal Here Reader, or Intuit GoPayment Reader are verysimilar. You get your swipes for free, but are paying 2.7 to2.75 per swipe. A per-transaction fee is also common.Some processors will have options for interest-free trans-actions for a larger monthly fee and a high monthly mini-mum for total transactions.

Most of your standard merchant services will alsooffer mobile swipes in addition to the common “Point OfSale” swipes you may have at your counter. Unlike thestore-bought processers, you apply for services withthese companies. Interest rates will be based on manyfactors. One factor is your processing method. Are you

Credit Card Processing:

What’s ITCO$TING You?


getting a “card present rate?”The average processing cost for aretail business where cards are pres-ent is 1.3% - 2%. The average cost forcard-not-present businesses is 2.30% -2.75%. Average ticket size is another factor.This relates to the total amount of the sale. The ben-efit here is a lower swipe rate per charge with no pertransaction fee. Monthly fees are usually lower, as well. Bea-con uses Card Present processing, so you get the best rate!

At the end of the day, you really need to think about whatbenefits you the most. Over-the-counter swipes are easy toacquire, but have a higher per transaction cost. If your vol-ume is low, the ease of use may be worthwhile. If your creditcard payments are in the thousands, tens of thousands, or

higher, you may want to steer clear of the store-boughtswipes. It’s probably time to seek out a better option,

and keep your money in your pocket. TOW

Mike HaneyNational Sales Director

Beacon Software Company(440) 237-6653 – Direct(866) 437-6653 – Sales www.beaconsoftco.com


Labor and fuel are the two biggest line items on a tow operator’s op-erating budget. If you could cut fuel costs by 15 percent or more, itwould have a major impact on your business. What about mainte-nance costs? Insurance? Liability?

Technology has undoubtedly changed the tow industry – in somecases, making things more challenging, but, in many cases, making iteasier than ever before to get a handle on your business, save costs,and improve performance. One development that is delivering valueto towers is the integration of GPS/fleet management systems withtraditional dispatch and management software. The right commer-cial GPS solution can help you determine which is the best vehicle todispatch to a given job, and give your drivers the best tools to per-form their job safely and effectively.

Reducing Mileage and IdlingIntegrating GPS into your dispatching and back office operations canhave a measurable impact on your business. Smart dispatching andtraffic avoidance do much more than simply provide turn-by-turn di-rections. They can actually reduce time and mileage driven for thecurrent workload. With the average tower spending close to$2,000 per month per truck on fuel, saving 15 percent can reallyadd up.

We all know that reducing miles driven and minimizing idling arethe best ways to reduce fuel consumption. Idling continues to be aproblem across the industry. After deploying a GPS solution with en-gine idle monitoring, one tower found that some of his trucks were

idling as much as four or five hours a day. With this information, hewas able to set a company standard – and ensure that his driverswere following the rules.

And GPS solutions can clearly impact miles driven by providingsmart route planning and turn-by-turn directions that get vehicles tothe job in the most efficient fashion.

Route planning, smart dispatch and traffic avoidance can also in-crease revenue opportunities. What if you gained 30 minutes of timeper driver per day? That’s two and a half hours per week per truck.For a small operator running 10 trucks, that represents 25 additionalwork hours per week freed up for more jobs and more revenue.

Improving Driver Performance Imagine sitting in the passenger seat next to every driver, every day.Can you imagine what their driving habits would look like? If theyknew you were watching, you’d suddenly have a fleet of vehicles thatnever sped, where hard braking and hard steering were unheard of,and idling was just not an option.

Today, technology allows you to virtually ride along with everydriver. With active visibility into how your drivers behave, you canmove to a model where each employee treats your vehicles as wellas they treat their own, and that leads directly to significant reduc-tions in maintenance costs. In addition, the ability to monitor PTOand after-hours driving can eliminate side jobs and non-revenue gen-erating driving.

Having the latest technology is important – but combining that

By Matt Gunzenhaeuser, TomTom Business Solutions

Deliver Tangible Benefits


with the right business prac-tices is what really makes thedifference. Setting policies,and then deploying the righttechnology to help measurecompliance is the best way tomake a real impact. After all,you can’t manage what youcan’t measure.

Maintenance can also rep-resent a significant cost. In thiscase, prevention is better thanthe cure. GPS solutions thatoffer “active driver feedback”engage drivers by providingthem with data about their behavior while they drive, making themmore invested in better driving habits, while also helping the tow op-erator to monitor what they are doing. Towers who manage per-formance and bonuses through driver scores have seen significantchanges driving habits, resulting in lower maintenance costs.

Liability is also a larger concern than ever before. State and fed-eral authorities can hold you responsible if a driver is in an accidentwhile using a mobile device. Still, the use of cellphones is still way toocommon in the tow industry. GPS solutions deliver all of the dispatchand driving information a driver needs to the vehicle, can be voice-

enabled, and allows one-touchand hands-free calling if thedriver does need to call the of-fice. Demonstrating thatyou’ve deployed the right tech-nology is your best defense ina liability situation.

Increasing Visibility By monitoring who’s doing theright thing, tow operators havegreater visibility into their busi-nesses than ever before. Withreal data, they can focus on im-proving performance by tack-

ling some of their biggest problems – like idling and drivingbehaviors. For any business owner, it is impossible to be everywhere.But with the right in-vehicle technology, towers can provide driverswith powerful tools and then monitor and manage their perform-ance. TOW

Matt Gunzenhaeuser is Director of Sales & Marketing atTomTom Business Solutions. Learn more athttp://business.tomtom.com.


Towbook is 100% web-based, so you can use Towbook from any devicewith Internet service, including PCs, tablets and smart phones. Plus,there’s no software to install, so you’re always running the latest version.Towbook’s mobile apps for iPhone and Android make it easy to updatecall information, take pictures, decode VINs, send invoices to customersand much more.

Towbook can synch with your QuickBooks account, too, so you don’thave to double enter invoices and you can avoid costly billing mistakes.Towbook runs great on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.

Built for TowingDispatching. Towbook’s real-time dispatching makes all call informationinstantly visible to all your employees - nobody has to refresh screens orwait for updates.

Motor Club Calls. Motor club calls go directly into Towbook, auto-matically creating a new dispatch and alerting everyone on your teamthat a motor club call came in.

Impounds & Private Prop-erty. It’s easy to manage im-pounds with Towbook,including calculating daily stor-age fees, tracking police holdsand releasing vehicles. Plus,Towbook will automatically no-tify private properties whenyou tow a vehicle, includingsending photos.

Reporting. Use Towbook to report on business performance, trackdaily call volume, manage accounts receivable, calculate commissionsand much more.

License Plate to VIN. Towbook’s new license plate to VIN feature al-lows you to enter a plate # and the system will return the full VIN plus themake, model and year of the vehicle – saving time and reducing thechance for mistakes.

Why Owners use Towbook.With Towbook, owners and managers have access to real-time dataabout their business. Call activity, income, driver status and much moreare always just a few clicks away.

Eliminating hand-written tow tickets and managing transactionswithin the system reduces operating costs and prevents lost income byeliminating inaccurate or misplaced tickets.

Towbook’s simple reporting gives you access to dispatching, ac-counting, AR aging, driver performance, and much more in standard re-port or graphic views for easy understanding and comparison.

For owners and managers, having access to your company's infor-mation 24/7/365 is a powerful advantage.

Drivers love Towbook.Drivers can receive detailed call information on their smartphone so they

can view and update call data when they’re on the move. They can alsosee pending calls assigned to them and accept calls once they’re clearedfrom their current run, reducing downtime between calls.

The Towbook mobile app “plate to VIN” feature allows drivers to sim-ply key in a plate number to obtain the full VIN and other vehicle data,which is automatically added to the call – saving time and preventingerrors.

Drivers can take photos of vehicles and add them to a call and theycan capture customer signatures and email invoices, all right from theiriPhone or Android.

Saving time for drivers and re-ducing the chance for errors is criti-cal for any towing operation.

Towbook helps Dispatchers.With Towbook, calls from MotorClubs go directly into the system,automatically creating a new dis-patch. This saves time for dispatch-ers and eliminates the chance formistakes.

Towbook automatically calculates pricing for each call, including spe-cific account pricing, mileage charges and daily storage, so you canquickly and accurately release vehicles.

Dispatchers can quickly locate a call record in Towbook, update thecall and email call records to customers, insurance companies and police.

Towbook will help you organize your operation and give your dis-patchers a set of tools that will help grow your business.

Why Towbook?With no contracts and no up-front setup or training fees, we make it easyto get rolling with Towbook. Plus, Towbook is priced right with lowmonthly fees starting at just $49. Plus, you can add as many users asyou want because we have no per-user fees.

Our simple setup process is so easy you’ll be entering calls the dayyou sign up. Plus we provide free training and support.

Your business is all about customer service, and so is ours. You cancount on us to be there when you need us. We provide free support24/7/365. TOW

Towbook Management Softwarewww.towbook.com(888) 884-9598

Towbook –Towing Software Made Simple

What’smessing up your day?” This is a question I ask folkswho inquire about our products. Do you feel like

you’re losing money? Are you spending too much time at work? Are youspending hours and hours on your billing? I’m sure many of you can re-late to this. You work hard, sometimes so hard it’s difficult to make sureyou’re covering all the bases. You can’t be everywhere at once. This is acommon issue, and there are tools out there for you!

Dispatch Anywhere is made for you…specifically for owners of tow-ing companies, and no one else! We help you manage your businesseven when you’re not there.

It starts with a call from a customer. All of your accounts and motorclubs are set up in the software. This makes you efficient. Services, pric-ing, required information fields, default services, and mileage calcula-tions are all preloaded. This means when you select an account for anew call request, this information is there for you. Calls can be manuallycreated in a matter of seconds. Your motor club calls arrive digitallythrough TowMagic. Imagine a digital request from a club that you ac-cept on your computer and all your call information populates in the callscreen. You select a driver/truck on your computer and drag them ontop of the call. Confirm it and the request goes out to the driver. Yourdriver received the call and instantly confirms it. You know this becausethe call status on your dispatch screen has changed to “confirmed.” Thisis the first timestamp on the call. Your driver uses a free App on his smart-phone to receive call information. He can let you know when en route,arrived, loaded, dropped, and finished. All of these time stamps will ap-pear as the current call status back at dispatch. You can also select yourmap tool from the dispatch screen to view the location of all the jobs youhave on the board in relation to your drivers. We can use the GPS loca-tion of their smartphone to track them. This map can detach if you usemultiple monitors in the office. We can also track the black boxes frommany third party GPS solutions if you desire.

Your driver’s mobile app offers accountability and accuracy. Driverscan touch addresses and phone numbers in the job information for autodialing or GPS routing to locations. They can select the vehicle type to

link to Towspecs for recommended methods and tips. They have theability to add photos that get stored with the call and can be viewed fromdispatch. Drivers can take payments and print or email receipts and tick-ets from the field. When a driver finishes a call, they are prompted toenter Items that you set as required like VIN and odometer for specificaccounts. This gives you all the info you need for billing as soon as thejob is completed. Storage calculations for impounded vehicles begin ac-cruing as soon as the job is completed. Dispatch Anywhere allows youto produce invoices and take payment when vehicles are released. Anyinvoice, statement, or report can be faxed or emailed directly from thesame screen.

Billing your accounts and motor clubs is less painful. First, you postyour calls. This allows you to view all unbilled calls and will highlight anycall that needs information before billing. This allows you to focus only onthe calls that need attention rather than looking through everything.Once calls are posted, you can print your statements for all your ac-counts. Billing your motor clubs is just as easy. Simply select a group ofcalls to send by checking a box next to each one. Then you click the sendbutton. We will digitally push calls out to most of your clubs’ web sites.It’s about 15 calls per minute! This reduces the manual entry that is con-suming your time.

Everything you do on a daily basis is creating data about your busi-ness. All of this data can now be filtered into multiple reports. Our reportswill allow you to look at driver performance and commissions. Daily logs,ETAs, calls by the hour ETC. Sales reports allow you look at sales bydriver, by service, by truck, or payment method. Impound reports thatcan be created by account for your police calls. You can run release re-ports with or without amounts. The list goes on and on.

Here’s the bottom line! You know your business better than anyone.You can tell when something is not right. Maybe you feel like you’re get-ting behind. Are you making as much as you think? Being able to find anissue as fast as possible is the key. Beacon Software gives you the righttools with Dispatch Anywhere and TowMagic. TOW

Beacon Softwarewww.dispatchanywhere.com | (866) 437-6653


Dispatch Anywhere from Beacon Software


Using sureFleet, companies can enter all main-tenance performed on their fleet, store all data,and maintain vehicle, and equipment lists.sureFleet is specifically designed to help busi-ness operations with better tracking and re-porting on fleet preventative maintenanceneeds, repair costs, fuel purchases, and more.sureFleet pro-vides notificationwhen services aredue, plates are ex-piring, state or in-ternal safetyinspections aredue, etc. It pro-vides data cap-ture and reportingassociated withfleet maintenanceto record every-thing from oilchanges and fuel-ing information toengine overhauls and tire positions. sureFleetincorporates detailed reporting and advancedtracking methods with the capability of track-ing the maintenance for an unlimited num-ber of vehicles. The system also managesinsurance policies, accident reporting, imagestorage, and even vehicle depreciation. Thereis also a sureFleet mobile app available for bothAndroid phones and tablets, as well as iPhone

and iPad devices. The mobile application al-lows drivers to update odometer and fuel pur-chase information, complete standard orcustomized pre- and post-trip inspections, re-port accidents, as well as perform appearanceinspections with photos and more. sureFleet isspecifically designed to help your business op-

erations by providingbetter tracking andreporting on fleet re-pair costs, downtime,fuel mileages, andother daily mainte-nance costs. Thistype of valuable infor-mation allows usersto control the cost ofmanaging their fleetof vehicles. sureFleetis integrated withBudgetGPS for fleettracking and offersfurther integration to

other GPS systems as well as inventory controltools. With a price point of less than $2 perweek, per vehicle, the sureFleet return on in-vestment is significant. TOW

Contact: Kami RogersPhone: 877-401-2345, ext 204e-mail: [email protected]


TOPS towing manage-

ment software is designed

to manage all aspects of a

tow operation from the ini-

tial tow request to the vehi-

cle’s final disposition. The

TOPS system provides a uni-

fied and sophisticated plat-

form for call-taking,

dispatching, inventory man-

agement, lien processing,

and auction administration.

TOPS supports single and

multi-company operations, and provides individual company and roll-up accounting and

management reports. TOPS will enable your staff to work smarter with advanced tools that

include powerful mobile applications for drivers and lot managers designed for the iPhone,

iPad and Android mobile phones and tablets. Update call status times, upload and store call-

related photos and email call

receipts to customers di-

rectly from your mobile de-

vice in the field. Enjoy

enhanced data accuracy and

improved employee produc-

tivity through drop-down

menus, short code or type

ahead field entry, pre-popula-

tion of call information and

integrated swipe devices

(where applicable) for quick

data entry. Improve workflow

and ensure employee ac-

countability with features such as automated pricing, tow ticket management, driver and re-

lease clerk payment management systems, and sophisticated security. TOPS protects your

interests by offering process, screen and field level security via user access roles. These ac-

cess roles keep employees focused on their specific tasks, limiting their visibility into systems

outside of their area of responsibility. TOPS allows you to gain a better understanding of the

big picture of your business with detailed management, customer activity, and driver and

truck productivity reports. TOPS integrates with GPS, motor club, police and municipality sys-

tems, and imports directly to QuickBooks. TOW

TOPSContact: Nathan Barker Phone: 866-800-8677, opt. 2Email: [email protected]


It is a year since Tow Professional reviewed the industry softwaremarket and much has changed. New towing software vendors areentering the market, providing competition for the more establishedsoftware companies who have a long-standing national presence.These prominent software brands (Beacon, Tracker, and VTS Sys-tems) have continued to add new features, and there is a growingtrend, initially started by VTS Systems, toward collaborating withother technology leaders, Auto Data Direct and TomTom, providingexpanded features at a lower cost. Over the past 12 months, Telem-atics or integrated GPS has become the fastest growing segmentand a “must have” for competitive, cost conscience owners. Inte-grated Telematics link with your management software, providing“intelligent dispatch” and interactive driver/dispatcher input, alongwith real time vehicle performance data. TomTom’s “Traffic” standsout as a major advance, providing real-time updated traffic flow andcongestion status, continually updating the quickest route from callinception to incident location. When used to optimal driver/truck effi-ciency, TomTom claims a 15 to 20 percent saving in fuel and mainte-nance costs.

For many towing companies, paper ledgers, paper invoices, man-

ual lien letters, and visits to the Post Office are just memories. Yetmany in the industry are struggling to accommodate the never-end-ing advances in office automation. Not everyone caught the com-puter bug, and, to many, the black box in the office is something youdo not mess with. Therefor it is important for the software develop-ers, while providing additional cost saving benefits, to keep the pro-grams intuitive and easy to operate. New operating platforms fromGoogle and others are challenging the dominance of Microsoft andApple by offering cloud friendly operating systems. However, Mi-crosoft will not give up its global dominance of the OS market with-out a fight. Launched in August 2012, Microsoft’s Windows 8operating system has successfully moved Microsoft firmly into cloudOS territory. However, for those tow companies who are firmly en-trenched in the traditional Windows 7 or previous versions of Mi-crosoft OS, Windows 8 is a steep learning curve.

There is little doubt that web or cloud based technology, alongwith smartphones, tablets and a host of new apps, will dominate ourindustry within five years.If your business is located in a rural community or a city that hasbelow standard Internet service, then cloud technology may not be

CLOUD BASED TECHNOLOGY will dominate within five years, but is it right for you NOW?

for you. Before you throw caution to the wind and give up your solid,reliable PC/server based application, and jump into a cloud solution,there are preparations to make and questions to ask.

• How reliable is your Internet connection (WAN), and do youhave a back-up solution? “It is not if your Internet will FAIL, it iswhen.”• Check your bandwidth capacity and the time it takes yourscreen to refresh or change (latency); a slow Internet not onlyadds frustration, it is operationally inefficient and a strong in-dicator of underlying problems. To conduct a simple test ofyour Internet speed, go to http://speedtest.comcast.net Tooperate an effective cloud base tow management program,

you should have a minimum latency or “PING” rate of lessthan 30 ms (milliseconds), a download speed of not less than20 mbps (megabits per second) and an upload speed of notless than 5 mbps. An efficient cable Internet service will pro-vide 10 ms PING, 80 mbps download, and 15 mbps upload.• Invest in a professional networking company to evaluate orbuild-out your office network (LAN). Build for the future; de-mand and Internet speeds will only get faster. Insist on100/1000 or Giga switches, and if your budget will run to it,CAT 6 rather than CAT 5 Ethernet cabling.



• The reliable office network of the fu-ture will be a tiered system both hardwired, and Wi-Fi wireless. There simplyis not enough wireless bandwidth toservice a busy office. Multiple wirelessusers will cause data collisions, datacorruption, slowness of screen re-freshes and eventually crashes. Hard

wire your desk PC’s All-in-One’s, semi-permanent laptops and network print-ers. Leave the wireless bandwidth forsmartphones and tablets.

Without Internet, a PC/server-based sys-tem can enter and release vehicles, print state-ments and operate normally. Without theInternet, a cloud-based business is dead! Turn

out the lights, close the door, and go home.However, this should not be a showstop-

per, but it does need you to rethink your net-work priorities. Reliable, high bandwidthInternet and VoIP telephone services are es-sential to tomorrow’s towing and VSF busi-nesses. It is usual to find three optionalbroadband providers in the larger cities,cable, DSL, and wireless; most areas willhave two services available from which tochoose. It is important that you have a pri-mary and a back-up solution, one that youcan switch to when the primary goes down.Notice I said when, not if! High-speed 4Gwireless, although slower, makes an excel-lent secondary plug and play solution.

Do your research; do not go cheap, go fora business package; reliability and band-width are most important. Ask about out-ages and repair history; get it in writing.Cable offers the most bandwidth for thebuck; up and down speed packages vary, soget the details. Some national cableproviders have earned a poor reputation forreturn to service times, so ask around. DSL isthe next best offering for bandwidth, as longas the phone lines are solid. In addition,check out bundling packages; TV, phone,and Internet bundling can offer great saving.Remember reliability and bandwidth is para-mount! TOW

Nigel PestellManaging Partner, Business Development

VTS Systems(A Division of Collision ManagementUSA LP)14935 Dunwoody Bend, Suite 100Cypress, Texas 77429281.373.3072 US & CDN Sales, Ext. 104 /101281.373.3072 Business Dev., Texas Statutes/TDLRRules, Ext. 101281.373.3072 Tech Support Center, Ext. 103

281.746.7816 US Faxwww.vts-systems.com

CLOUD BASED TECHNOLOGY will dominate within five years, but is it right for you NOW?


As of September 2013, it is reported that74% of smartphone users are taking ad-vantage of location-based services. Appssuch as Foursquare, Uber and Yelp aredesigned to use your location to recom-mend places to go, find a local coffeeshop, and get you a taxi. The use of theselocation-based apps is growing ex-tremely fast, with over 130 million Amer-icans utilizing them every day.

So, why are location-based servicesimportant for tow providers like you?They enable you to become more effi-cient, save money and time, and offer thecustomer a better experience. Nearly40% of tow trucks have installed a hard-wired GPS device, and morethan 60% of tow truck drivers carry a smartphone, making it easy forthose drivers to transition to a location-aware application, such asAgero’s Roadside Connect, or a mobility-enabled dispatch managementsystem, such as Progressive Platform’s “Tow Aces” or Beacon Software’s“Dispatch Anywhere.” With location-aware capabilities, you can more ef-fectively manage your fleet and your communications with your cus-

tomers. Agero’s Roadside Connect mobile appis completely free to download. With thenewest version of the app (available on An-droid now; coming to iPhone in March), dis-patchers can see where their trucks arelocated on a live map; they can assign thedriver closest and best equipped to serve thecustomer, and lower their ETA’s and operatemore efficiently.

Customers also benefit from tow providersbeing location-aware. Agero’s system will alertthe customer of how long it will take for yourdriver to arrive, keeping them informed of hisor her progress.

“Location-based services are the future ofroadside,” says Mark Fensome of Progressive Platforms. “The technol-ogy makes it so much easier for providers to manage fleets – it’s morecost effective and fuel efficient.” TOW

AgeroOne Cabot Road, Medford, MA 02155www.agerosupport.com

Are You Using Location-Based Services?By Dave Sunkenberg, VP Network Services, Agero


The development of Tracker Management Systems, Inc. from day onewas based on building a solution for the many needs within the office oftowing companies. Providing customer support and training on how toutilize the software to maximize profits became a comer stone. Trackerhas been extremely successful at achieving these goals. Tracker is practi-cally a household name within the industry for nearly three decades andnow second generation family. If you do not use Tracker to manage yourbusiness, most likely a successful company that you admire does.

Tracker continues to offer leading edge solutions, such as the onlycomplete management suite that includes the needed functions to beable to maintain a complete picture of your business. Tracker goes waybeyond a simple dispatch system that sends calls to phones or TomTomdash GPS. Look under the hood and you will discover for yourself whatall it does. Notice the detailed functions that you would want after youget the basic dispatch and impound storage features working. Most

other software perhaps go a little deeper adding the ability to do yourstatements. Linking to QuickBooks or Peachtree accounting is a greattime saver, but after these few features, there are dozens of processesand variables to your business that should and could be automated. Uti-lizing Tracker will give you faster, quicker more accurate information infraction of the time.

Lastly, your software selection needs to be a very easy to use andeasy to understand solution. Easy, simple and complete are Tracker'score values. As just one example, look at our Tracker Touch product,which links the GPS in truck communications with a visual picture ofyour city. Add all your calls to the same screen, then give your dispatcherthe ability to assign a call to the nearest truck within 3 seconds by simplytouching the screen. Then be able to see the actual ETA of any assignedtruck without talking to the drivers. Stop wishing there was a productlike this. Stop wishing your company was up to speed. Tracker has prod-ucts built for the way you run your business. These products are availabletoday from Tracker. Call today to set up a live demo and get your ques-tions answered. TOW

1-800-445-2438.



There is one name that issynonymous with wireless

tow light systems, and it is byno accident either. TowMate was founded when owner, Bryan An-derson, invented the world’s first wireless tow light in 1985 and hasgrown from offering just one product to now offering over 100 vari-eties of LED lighting solutions over their 25+ years of production.There are now wireless lights for virtually any application from lightduty to heavy duty hauling and everything in between.Much of TowMate’s success can be attributed to their maintaining

what can now be viewed as “old fashioned” business tactics. That isbuilding a quality product, offering it at a fair price, and standing be-hind it. Since day one, TowMate has built everything in the USA andbacked their products with a lifetime warranty on the electronics andLED’s. The products are now built in-house from concept to comple-tion with robotic machines that populate their circuit boards being thefirst step. They then make their way through the flow of the operationto end up as finished goods where they are checked for quality beforebeing packaged and shipped. The family owned and operated busi-ness has always prided itself on having friendly staff available to an-swer questions and offer assistance without ever having to first dealwith an automated telephone system. You call, they answer. And ofcourse, feedback is always welcome. Most of TowMate’s existing

LIGHTING SPOTLIGHT

products and features are the direct result of listening to feedbackfrom users in the field and adapting appropriately. More recently, TowMate’s new Power-Link product line has be-

come as revolutionary to emergency lighting as their wireless lightswere to tow lights all those years ago. This series of lighting is ‘essen-tially wireless’ as it does not require wires to be run from the lights tothe control pad. Instead, simply tap into 12V+ and ground and in-stantly have complete control over the Power-Link lighting on a givenvehicle. To take it one step further, they have developed a smart phoneapplication that allows the user to control the lighting on their truck oreven monitor their wireless tow light. Talk about innovation!

A testament to their pioneer-ing efforts and hard work payingoff, TowMate will be moving intoa new building early this yearwith construction set to be fin-ished by mid-February 2014.The 11,000+ square foot facilitywill be located in close proximityto their current facility on BeaverLake in Rogers, Arkansas, andwill provide state-of-the-art pro-duction space for the 40+ work-

ers that make up the TowMate family. Among these are two full timeelectronics engineers, five tech support staff, two production man-agers, and over 30 various assemblers and fabrication specialists. Allare a part of the team and even more so the family. Customers are en-couraged to call and schedule a visit if they are in the area and are wel-come to stay at the ‘TowMate Inn’ with enough notice. TOW

Follow TowMate on Facebook or Twitter to keep up to datewith the latest. You can also visit their website,www.TowMate.com, or call them at (800) 680-4455 formore information or to find a dealer near you.


LIGHTING SPOTLIGHT


Whelen Engineering designs, manufactures and builds emergencywarning lights and siren systems for Police, Fire, EMS & DOT vehi-cles, as well as Aviation lighting and Public Warning siren systems.For more than 60 years, Whelen Engineering has researched,

designed and developed warning and signaling devices. Our lightand siren products set the standards for Police, Fire and Rescue,Emergency, DOT, as well as Maintenance and Construction equip-ment. We’ve built state-of-the-art aviation lighting since 1952 andour high power voice and siren systems are heard around the globe.Whelen is the only U.S. company to still manufacture its productsentirely in the United States. TOW

WHELEN51 Winthrop RoadChester, CT 06412PH: 860-526-9504www.whelen.com

LIGHTING SPOTLIGHT

HowFlash Can Help You?Flash Equipment Incwasestablished in 1996 by entrepreneursRobert Kohn and Lloyd Roland. Whobelieved in a basic philosophy “How canwe help you?” keeping that in mind andwith many years in the Vehicle Lightingindustry they knew they had a special“niche” when it came to giving thecustomer what they want!Customer Service is there

main priority! “We enjoy our cus-tomers and care about theirneeds. Our goal is to please thecustomer by keeping them in-formed, giving them options onproduct and actually enjoyingthe order process!” “Why notmake the experience a goodone?” With that philosophy, trained staff and there

diversified inventory Flash Equipment has be-come the leader in the Towing and Vehiclelighting industry.Flash Equipment’s focus is to keep your fleet

operating safely & efficient. They do this by

stocking one of the largest inventory of replace-ment parts for all your strobes, rotators LED’s,lightbars and more. They have parts replace-ment professionals who will work with you tofigure out what you need even if you don’t havea part number whether it is old or new. When constructing a new lighting package

for a vehicle just call and they have light pack-age specialist to help you in putting together

the best package to fit your budget while keep-ing safety in mind (the best bang for your buck).Our inventory of new products is extensive. Wecarry all your major light lines including truck &trailer lights as well. It also consists of back – up

cameras, truck mirrors, electrical connectorsand more. They believe technology is progress, while

keeping yesterday in mind. By integrating a hi-tech computer network system and peoplewho care. Our customers are greeted with agood old fashion “Hello” Not an automatedcomputer asking you to push buttons! You willbe speaking to someone with years of experi-

ence to assure your order is beingprocessed promptly and efficiently. We ship worldwide and are

happy to build those relationships.But if you ever head down

south, our warehouse offices andshow room are located in BeautifulSarasota Florida. Stop in for a cupof coffee or just to say “hi!” We al-ways enjoy meeting our customersreaching out and saying “How can

we help you?” TOW

Flash Equipment800-570-8866www.flashequipment.com


Custer Products has introduced several new high poweredwork lights to their LITE*IT. The new lights range from an 8Watt PAR36replacement light to a 9000 lumen 120Watt LED light. “We now have aLED work light to fit almost any need, helping to make the work environ-ment safer and more productive,” said Brad Custer, president. “We’ve hada tremendous response in a short period of time on our new LED worklights.”Custer Products Ltd has been supplying quality products to the tow-

ing, agricultural, trucking, trailer and safety industries since 1993 andnow manufactures wireless towing and agricultural lights. We currentlysell to a network of Distributors throughout the US, Canada, Mexico,

South America and Europe. Custer Products strives to provide first classcustomer service, quick order fulfillment and innovative solutions fulfillingour customers' needs. TOW

Custer Products4101 Shuffel Street NWNorth Canton,OH 44720Office 330-490-3158 Toll Free 800-490-3158Fax 330-497-9736Website: www.custerproducts.com

LIGHTING SPOTLIGHT


TM


HOOKEDUPProfessionalYour Resource for Towing & Recovery

TM

TowMate’s new 4.5” flushmount LED markers/flashersoffer an intense burst of light in-creasing your visibility to mo-torists. Cycle through 8 flashpatterns with the wave of amagnet over the light (no needto remove it to change settingsat any point)! Each unit featuresfour high-intensity LED’s and isavailable in amber, red, white,blue, or green. An optionalchrome bezel is available to give it that finished look. Made in the USA. Lifetimewarranty.

Go to www.TowMate.comor call (800) 680-4455 for more details or to finda dealer near you.

TM50S Series Multi-SettingMarker/Flasher Combination Light

The TPM-2XLEDP3W-3 is a telescoping lightpole that can be mounted to any flat surfaceto allow operators to elevate a pair of in-cluded high intensity LED lights and adjusttheir height from 3 to 9 feet. Designed to bemounted via a 4 hole mounting plate, thistelescoping light pole can be adjusted to vari-ous heights and locked into position as wellas collapsed and removed from the mount-ing bracket for stowing. This design is ideal forwreckers where the convenience of easily de-ployed and stowed high power lighting is de-sired.

Larson Electronics, [email protected]

Larson ElectronicsOffers WreckerLighting Solutions

MobileTRAQ Vue is the first highly integrated and field upgradeable,commercial-grade monitoring and maintenance system, designed togrow with fleets and changing industry demands. It is a rugged, flexibleasset- based monitoring system for both connected and stand-alonetruck & trailer monitoring. Featuring an intuitive, programmable color

touch-screen display that al-lows the driver to see and hearwarnings, the MobileTRAQplatform was developed toreadily connect with MobileAwareness wired and wirelesssensors, the first of which isTireStat TPMS. TireStat TPMSis an innovative flow-thru tiresensor mountable inside thetire or externally on the valvestem. These unique TPMSsensors transmit data every60 seconds to the Mobile-

TRAQ monitor, with pressure and temperature events triggering thesystem to alarm in real-time. This rapid reporting is as much as 5 timesmore frequent than most other TPMS systems. With a battery life of upto 10 years and an operating temperature of - 40°F to 257°F (-40°C to125°C), TireStat is the ruggedized sensor choice for commercial tiremaintenance and monitoring.

www.mobileawareness.com 866-653-5036

MobileTRAQ Vue


SIDE RAIL TIEDOWN - One of the most popular Auto Tiedown's for Flat Bed trucks &

trailers

S & J Manufacturing, Inc. | 203 Commerce Drive | Cuba, MO 65453Phone: 573-885-4460 | Fax: [email protected]

E –Z Out StrapE – Z OUT STRAPS are used to get automobiles out of the ditch and clear thehighway quickly. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.STEP #1 – RUN THE STRAP THROUGH THE WHEEL.STEP #2 – WRAP THE LOOP END OF THE STRAP BACK TO THE HOOK.STEP #3 – HOOK THE WINCH LINK TO THE RING IN THE END OF THESTRAP TO WINCH OUT.

S & J Manufacturing, Inc. | 203 Commerce Drive | Cuba, MO 65453Phone: 573-885-4460 | Fax: [email protected]

Side Rail Tiedown

HOOKEDUPProfessionalYour Resource for Towing & Recovery

TM


With the BallDog Plus, you have options! There are multiple ways toconnect and multiple applications for use with just one item, savingyou both time and money. Made with Exclusive Twist Lock™ tech-nology available exclusively through B/A Products distributorsworldwide.

B/A Products Co.8925 McGaw Court Columbia, MD 21045-4725(800) 327-3301(410) 381-1700 | www.baprod.com

Balldog Multiple Use Hitch Attachment Device Patent# 7967353 (Additional Patents Pending)


Towbook recently announced the addition of a “license plate to VIN”feature in their web-based towing software. This new feature allowsyou to simply key in a license plate number and Towbook automaticallyreturns the full VIN plus the make, model and year for the vehicle. The plate to VIN feature is also available in Towbook’s mobile apps

for iPhone and Android, so it’s a big time saver for drivers, too.Towbook is

the leader in web-based towingsoftware. With nosoftware to in-stall, you can ac-cess Towbookfrom anywhere

with Internet service, including iPads, tablets and smartphones.With the lowest price in the market, no setup fees, free training and

no contracts or cancellation fees, Towbook is hard to beat. You also getfree support 24/7/365.

(888) 884-9598www.towbook.com

Towbook Adds“Plate to VIN” Feature A tow truck operator's duties typically involve the use of a service jack

for tire changes, repositioning broken ball joints and tie rods to pre-pare a tow, just to name a few. WorkSafe USA, Inc. is proud to present

the NO-JACK vehicle lift system for self loading wheel lift wreckers.The JO-JACK system allows a self loading wheel lift wrecker to be uti-lized as an on-site automotive service jack, eliminating the need tocarry service jacks and jack stands on the wrecker.

WorkSafe USA, Inc. www.dump-lok.com | (217) 487-7045

WorkSafe USA, Inc. NO-JACK


DealerPlace


DealerPlace

MarketPlace


MarketPlace


MarketPlace



TM

Agero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Alexander Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Amsoil Synthetic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Atlanta Wrecker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Austin Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Auto Data Direct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

AW Direct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

B/A Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18, 58

Beacon Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17, 58

Boxes 4 U/ Crashfilm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Clore Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Collins Dollies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

COMEUP Winch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Custer Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

CW Mill Equipment Company . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Dan Messina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Detroit Wrecker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Direct Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Dynamic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Eartec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

ECM Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Flash Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

FlowStop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Gaither Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Glenn's Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Holly's Message Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Hubcaps Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

IAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Industrial Netting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame &

Museum / Wall of the Fallen . . . . . . . . . . . .30, 31

Jerr-Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC

Keystone Tape and Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Larson Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

LDC Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Lift and Tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Lodar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Loganville Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Marking Pen Depot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Mfr. Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27, 37

Midwest Regional Tow Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Miti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Mobile Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

NASCO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

NationWide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Nussbaum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Ohio Power Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Pillow Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Powerbilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Ram Mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Recovery Billing Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Recovery Consulting Services . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Rick’s Auto Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Robert Young's Wrecker Sales & Service . . . .56

Rugged Tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

RV Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

S&J Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Slick Top Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Steck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

sureFleet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

TomTom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

TowBook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BC

Towmart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Towmate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Tracker Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC

Triple K Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

VTS Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Western States Tow Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Whelen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Worksafe USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Worldwide Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Zacklift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

COMPANY PG COMPANY PG COMPANY PGADVERTISERINDEX

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Documents

Tow professional issue 1, 2014