Heavy Tow truck

A tow truck (also called a wrecker, a breakdown truck, recovery truck or a breakdown lorry), is a vehicle used to transport disabled motor vehicles to another location (generally a repair garage), or to recover vehicles which are no longer on a drivable surface. A motor Vehicle is a Machine which incorporates a motor (sometimes known as an Engine) and which is used for Transportation An automobile repair shop (also known as a garage) is a place where Automobiles are repaired by Auto mechanics Some Auto parts stores also maintain

Towing services are generally provided by an emergency road service operator. Breakdown cover is a form of insurance policy that provides assistance to motorists whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical failure that is significant enough to leave them stranded at Vehicles are often towed in the case of breakdowns or collisions, or may be impounded for parking violations, driving under the influence, and other offenses. A parking violation, parking citation, notice of illegal parking or parking ticket (depending on the jurisdiction is a notice of monetary penalty Driving under the influence of alcohol ( driving while intoxicated, drunk driving, drinking and driving, drink-driving) or other drugs

Types of Towing Equipment

Five general types are in common usage, usually based on the type or size of vehicle to be towed truck chassis:

A Heavy-Duty Boom Truck

• Boom - not specifically for towing, many trucks are equipped with an adjustable boom winch for recovering vehicles that are in a ditch, culvert, over an embankment, or any place the vehicle cannot be safely backed-up to. This article is about the semi-truck For the North American use of the word see Pickup truck. A chassis (plural "chassis" (ˈʃæːsiː ˈtʃæːsiː consists of a framework that supports an inanimate object analogous to an Animal 's A ditch is usually defined as a small to moderate depression created to channel Water. A culvert is a conduit used to enclose a flowing body of Water. To keep a Road or rail line straight and/or flat and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions (such as diversion is too prohibitive the land over
• Hook and chain (also known as a "sling" or "belt lift") - chains are looped around the vehicle frame or axle, which is drawn aloft by a boom winch to rest against a pair of heavy rubberized mats so the customer's vehicle can be towed on its other axle. A chain is a series of connected links. This article is about the literal physical chain Slings are not used much today because they can scratch the bumpers of cars. But they are sometimes used for towing vehicles that have been in an accident or have one or two of the front or rear wheels missing or for pickup trucks and other vehicles that have steel bumpers
• Wheel-Lift - evolved from the hook and chain technology to produce a large metal yoke that can be fitted under the front or rear wheels to cradle them, drawing the front or rear end of the vehicle clear of the ground by a pneumatic or hydraulic hoist so it can be towed. This apparatus generally picks up the drive wheels of the vehicle (ie the front wheels if it is front wheel drive, the rear wheels if it is rear wheel drive) touching only the tires.
• Flatbed (also called a Rollback or a Slide) - the entire back of the truck is fitted with a bed that can be hydraulically inclined and moved to ground level, allowing the customer's vehicle to be placed on it under its own power or pulled by a winch.
• Integrated (also referred to as a "Self Loader" Snatcher, Quick Pick or Repo Truck) - boom and wheel-lift integrated into one unit. Used in light duty trucks to repossess vehicles or move illegally parked vehicles. Most have controls for the apparatus inside the cab of the tow truck to make quick pickup possible without the inconvenience of exiting the truck to hook up the vehicle. Heavy duty trucks are also manufactured with integrated lift.

These are the most common arrangements, but are by no means exclusive, as there are flatbed units that offer a wheel-lift, boom trucks that can recover but not tow, and wheel-lift units that offer a combination boom with sling.

Operations

Heavy Tow Trucks in action.

Tow trucks are usually operated by private businesses, except for major highways and toll roads, where the road authority may operate the tow trucks for that stretch of road. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Before adding any more images to this * * page please do carefully consider * * whether they would be mere decoration * * or actually improve A toll road, (also known as a tollway, turnpike, pike, or toll highway, especially if it is constructed to Freeway standards The Federal Highway Administration ( FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in Highway transportation Businesses who operate a large fleet of vehicles, such as school bus companies or package delivery services, often own one or several tow trucks for the purposes of towing their own vehicles. This page refers to a collection of vehicles (typically automobiles with a single owner A school bus is a Bus used to transport Children and Adolescents to and from School and school events Government departments with large fleets (such as the police departments, fire departments, transportation authorities and departments of public works of major cities) may similarly own tow truck(s). Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force A fire station (also called stationhouse) is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus (i Police department tow trucks may also be used to impound other vehicles. Confiscation, from the Latin confiscatio 'joining to the fiscus i

In the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria there exists a Tow Truck Act, and tow trucks are identified by number plates ending in "TT".

Dispatching

Requests for service are placed to a dispatching center. Dispatch is a procedure for assigning employees (workers or vehicles to customers Some tow services communicate with drivers using wireless telephone equipment. Wireless communication is the transfer of information over a distance without the use of electrical conductors or " Wires quot Basic principle A traditional landline telephone system also known as "plain old telephone service" (POTS, commonly handles both signaling and audio information In others, the dispatching center contacts an available tow truck driver via mobile radio or by sending a text message using a mobile data terminal. This article is about professional equipment For mobile radios used in Amateur radio, see Amateur radio mobile operation. A mobile data terminal (MDT is a computerized device used in Police cars Taxicabs Courier vehicles service trucks commercial trucking fleets Recent technology includes the use of GPS and on board wireless equipment to dispatch drivers via an LCD screen receiver.

Impounds and storage

1970's style tow truck still in use, Edmonton Alberta (2006)

Many tow companies have the capability to store vehicles that have been wrecked or impounded by police agencies. In these circumstances, police agencies notify a contracted towing provider to secure the vehicle and tow it to a storage lot. The tow company will sometimes prevent access to the vehicle until the law states the owner can claim it (usually after any fines are paid).

Nearly all tow companies charge a fee for storing vehicles.

GPS and AVL

Navigation systems are becoming more commonly used to tell the location (of stranded vehicles) to tow trucks. In Geography, location is a position or point in Physical space that something occupies on Earths' surface Automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems are sometimes used to help the dispatch center staff determine the closest tow truck. Automatic vehicle locating or AVL is a concept for determining the geographic location of a vehicle and transmitting this information to a point from where it was requested AVL may use GPS technology. It may display the location of all tow trucks on a map or may feed data directly to a computer-assisted dispatch system which automatically recommends the closest available units. Computer-assisted dispatch (also called CAD is a method of dispatching Taxicabs Couriers field service technicians or Emergency services assisted by computer

See also

• Automotive navigation system
• Armoured recovery vehicle
• Breakdown (vehicle)
• Car safety
• Emergency road service
• Insurance
• Tow hitch
• Tow (disambiguation)
• Vehicle recovery

Movie characters

• Mater - An animated tow truck from the 2006 movie Cars, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy

External links

• International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum – Located in Chattanooga, Tennessee; birthplace of the tow truck. An automotive navigation system is a satellite navigation system designed for use in Automobiles. An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV is a type of Armoured fighting vehicle used to repair battle- or mine-damaged as well as broken-down armoured vehicles during combat A vehicle breakdown is the mechanical failure of a Motor vehicle in such a way that the underlying problem prevents the vehicle from being operated at all or impedes the vehicle's Breakdown cover is a form of insurance policy that provides assistance to motorists whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical failure that is significant enough to leave them stranded at Insurance, in Law and Economics, is a form of Risk management primarily used to hedge against the Risk of a contingent loss A tow hitch (or tow bar) is a device attached to the Chassis of a vehicle for Towing or a towbar to an Aircraft nose gear or paired main gears In the Composites Industry, a tow is an untwisted Bundle of continuous filaments and it refers to human-made Fibers particularly Vehicle recovery is the recovery of any vehicle to another place generally speaking with a commercial vehicle know as a Recovery or tow Truck This is a list of characters from the 2006 Pixar film Cars. Rust-eze Medicated Bumper Ointment team Lightning McQueen See also The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Cars is a 2006 animated Feature film produced by Pixar and directed by both John Lasseter and Joe Ranft. Larry the Cable Guy (born Daniel Lawrence Whitney, February 17 1963 in Pawnee City Nebraska) is an American Stand-up comedian
• Tips on Tow Trucks and Towing Autos – Tips for safely operating a tow truck and towing an auto.
• Photo Gallery on Transporting and Towing Autos
• Photo Gallery with Towing Autos
• UK Vehicle Recovery History