The Week's Features

“If it’s not old, it’s not any good!”

Texas towman assists two troopers, then collapses

Uniforms, Professionalism and Appearance

There’s something very calming about a crisp uniform

Miller Releases 5” HD Forks

Forks come in three versions: short, medium, tall

Man Steals Repo’d Car

Drives off from tow yard in repossessed Hyundai Elantra

Digital Edition

Events

Las Vegas, NV.
May 8-11, 2019

Tow Expo Dallas

Dallas, TX.
August 15-17, 2019

AT Exposition

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

Don't Miss It!

The American Towman Academy at the 2019 American Towman ShowPlace will feature six conferences that will cover the gamut of running a towing business from soup to nuts. Conference topics include: Working With Legislators, Police Towers, Towing & Recovery, Tow Management, Sales & Marketing and Business Image. Watch this space in coming weeks for specific seminars that will take place within each conference. The 2019 American Towman ShowPlace will take place at the South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 8-11. Registration will begin soon at atshowplace.com.

atshowplace.com

Translate Language

American Towman Magazine Presents the Week in TowingJanuary 16 - January 22, 2019

The 'Johnny Cash Rotator'

By George Nitti

"Long. I get up at five every morning and don't get home until around 6 or 7 p.m."

That's what Mark Robbins, owner of I-44 Truck Center in St. Claire, Mo., will tell you what his typical days are like.

And that's on a good day, when no extreme recovery situation beckons him late at night like it did last week when he was called to action on a multiple tractor-trailer recovery that took him into the wee hours of the morning.

Robbins, who has been in business 26 years, changed the name of the company to I-44 Wrecker in 1999 when he added other business locations, which now include the cities of Pacific, Sullivan and Rolla. Ninety percent of their work is heavy-duty, and one of the units often employed is their Powerbilt 70SR 70-ton sliding rotator. Fronted with a Peterbilt 379 chassis, it's a customized wrecker that Robbins builds in addition to operating a truck and trailer repair business.

Robbins calls it his "Johnny Cash Rotator," referring to Cash's song, "One Piece at a Time." In the song, a guy working at GM harbors a dream of custom-building his own car by sneaking out pieces one at a time: "I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired/I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand/I'd get it one piece at a time and it wouldn't cost me a dime."

Robbins said that this rotator has been on display at the American Towman Exposition a couple of times, as they built it to sell—but then decided to keep it for his recovery business.

The distinguishing graphics on this unit center on its customized paint job in purple, orange and yellow.

"We have our own in-house painting team," he said. "Vinyl fades out. You can tell when it's vinyl. The paint is airbrushed."

The chain link graphic that sits just under the jagged purple portion of the truck's design is an enduring symbol in the industry that Robbins felt perfectly suited the truck's overall design while helping to accentuate each color.

The writing on the boom promotes the company business name and phone number. Its orange hydraulic cylinder with yellow lettering aptly states "Xtreme Recovery."

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

Hooked on a Bold Design

By George L. Nitti

"Help's here."

That catchy expression on this truck and good graphic design melds together a number of elements that work well together on P.J.'s Towing's 2015 Ford F550 Ext Cab Lariat/B&B 12-Ton Signature Series twin-line self-loader.

The graphics on this tow truck comes together to produce what P.J. Daly, owner of the Lansing, Michigan, company, feels make his trucks "really cool" looking.

Blending a variety of elements, the unit stands out not only as "cool" but also well-composed. Several images come into focus visually, defining what has been seen around much of the towing industry.

Most pronounced are the wild, red flames that run across the hood and the front sides of the F550, serving to enhance the background while complementing other images found on the truck.

"I have always been into hot rods and think flames are cool," Daly said.

Then there is the signature tow chain that sprawls across the side and back of the unit.

"The guy who did the wrap came up with the tow chains," Daly elaborated. "It was done by a company called 180 Designs, which is in Carson City, Michigan. They do really great work. This wrap is bright and colorful and really good. So clean with no lines. Everything lines up."
Another visual element cartoons. On this truck one will find Tow Mater, who was one of the main characters from the movie Cars.

"We were trying to do something fun for kids," Daly stated. "Our trucks are often in parades and the kids like the cartoon."

The final visual is a flag theme on the backside of the unit. The stars are wrapped on the lightbar adjacent to a waving flag along the top and interior of the wrecker.

These images do not overshadow the company name, which stands out in large, bold, bright contrasting colors of blue and green. It's written in a font that asserts itself alongside all of the other imagery.

The slogan, "Get hooked on P.J.'s," written on top of a flag covered boom, says it all.
Brag @ TIW!
Should your truck be featured here? Send a few pics and your contact information to the editor at bdooley@towman.com. You might even be selected to go in print, too, in American Towman magazine!

Translate Page