Wreckmaster Blog

5 Tips for Towing in the Fall

Posted by Team WreckMaster on September 13, 2019

Keep a light jacket with your gear

WreckMaster Challenge

Posted by Team WreckMaster on August 12, 2019

While traveling down the interstate a driver of a full size dually 4x4 pick up pulling an enclosed 24-foot cargo trailer hit a piece of debris in the road, causing their right front steer tire to blow out and pull the pickup and trailer into the right-side ditch.

Boosting with a portable jump starter

Posted by Team WreckMaster on August 7, 2019

You'd be hard pressed to find a towing operator that doesn't know how to jump a dead battery or has never jumped on for a job.

TAKE CARE OF THE CUSTOMER FIRST

Posted by Team WreckMaster on June 14, 2019

As towers, it can sometimes be hard to remember that the casualty isn’t the most important thing on scene. Yes, what you are there to do is tow a vehicle. But why you are there is to help someone in need.

3 reasons why we cross our chains

Posted by Team WreckMaster on April 8, 2019

Whenever something is being towed, additional securements should always be attached. This doesn’t just apply to wreckers - secondary attachment chains should be attached even hauling a trailer, boat trailer or camper. These chains are there for an obvious reason: to prevent an accident in the event of an attachment failure while towing. But why does WreckMaster insist that the secondary attachments are always crossed?

How to Check the Date Code on Tires

Posted by Team WreckMaster on January 14, 2019

The US Department of Transportation and most manufactures recommend investing in new tires every five to six years with the maximum useful service lifetime of a tire being no more than 10 years.

5 PPE Accessories you should have before you even leave your vehicle

Posted by Team WreckMaster on December 1, 2018

When performing any sort of service, safety is of the utmost importance. Working in a dangerous location such as a highway or busy roadway can often become even more unsafe due to weather conditions or lack of assistance from first responders such as police or firefighters. And while most states and provinces have some sort of Slow Down, Move Over law in place, drivers often don’t provide the space required for operators to conduct recoveries in as safe of a setting as possible.

Be safe out there Part 5: What about Murphy's Law?

Posted by Justin Cruse on July 18, 2018

It's show time. Before you give the green light on your recovery, transport, tow, repositioning or relocation, remember that once things are in motion, it's wise to expect the unexpected. Known the world over as Murphy's Law, a tow operator who has followed the previous four steps of the Wreckmaster Discipline is as prepared as possible. Here are our last pieces of advice.

How to control the load when uprighting a tractor-trailer

Posted by Justin Cruse on July 18, 2018

Let's say a tractor trailer has flipped on its side on the shoulder of a busy interstate. The crowd is gathering around and all eyes are on you and your crew. Are you in control? I don't mean just psychologically. I mean, are you in control of the entire process, from initial lift to the tractor-trailer being set (gently) on the ground? If you can't say with absolute confidence, "Yes, Justin, I'm in control," this post is for you.

Be safe out there Part 4: Checklists for avoiding problems

Posted by Justin Cruse on June 11, 2018

Here we are, at part four of Wreckmaster's five-step protocol for staying safe and working efficiently: checking the "no"s. In this article, we quickly review the steps to this point, then offer two checklists to help identify anything that could compromise the tow or recovery.