Article of American Towman magazine

This article appeared in the July 2005 American Towman magazine.
[ Posted into the internet in October 1, 2005 ]

SIDEPULLER AT WORK
By Chuck Ceccarelli

This is the 2nd picture that was unpublished in the magazine.

Here is a brief history of the research and development of how the SP8000 came to be and how it works in real life situations.

Idaho Wrecker Sales started out in Bruneau, Idaho pop 300. I had a small farm repair shop consisting of myself and one employee. Our claim to fame was metal fabrication. People would come from around the state to have custom projects done at our shop. A towing company in Boise was having frame problems and brought it’s truck in to us to have the frame fixed. They had been having quite a bit of trouble in the past with parts breakage – problems that we felt should not have happened. One thing led to another and pretty soon it seemed that all we were doing was fixing tow trucks. People were driving a hundred miles or more to have us fix their tow trucks. Business was so good that we decided to become a distributor of Chevron Wreckers, and started Idaho Wrecker Sales. At Idaho Wrecker Sales we are wrecker and towing equipment specialists.
You need to understand that in Bruneau Idaho, we were 25 miles from the nearest place to receive overnight UPS. Every phone call was long distance. Several towers talked me into getting a tow truck, as there was not one for 25 miles. I bought a ‘73 Chevy with a Holmes 440 wrecker and started towing as well as building and selling tow trucks. As my towing company grew we found ourselves covering a large area of police rotation, over 10,000 square miles. Can you imagine getting a police call at 3 a.m. and having to drive 90 miles one way to an accident? Both Idaho Wrecker Sales and my towing company grew and so did our need for training.

In 1997 I hosted my first WreckMaster Class and became infected with the recovery bug. In 1999 I was voted WreckMaster of the year and in 2001 I became a Lead Instructor. One of the many problems that our towing company faced was that the police would send us to an accident 30 miles away and tell us the vehicle was slightly off the road, so we would send a rollback. Could you imagine this, they gave us the wrong information!

We would dispatch a wrecker to assist and tie up two drivers. This became the norm and it seemed to happen over and over. I’m not sure if you can believe this, but as I traveled around the country I found that most towing companies experienced the same thing. I also found that times were changing. Quick clearance and keeping one lane of traffic open was becoming a requirement. As a business owner it made no sense to keep extra wreckers in my fleet just to be able to satisfy police calls. After all, they don’t let us charge enough to have trucks laying around just in case we need them.

Fleet Size Dilemma

This was a tough issue for me as I wanted to provide great service and stay on rotation but our car carriers were running all the time towing and my wreckers hardly ever moved except for a recovery. As a business owner I had to ask myself why would I make payments and insure a wrecker that just sits and waits for a recovery or police call. This made no sense. The other issue is that we can no longer park across the highway and recover off the back of our truck. Almost all of our work is done off the side of our trucks in order to keep one lane of traffic flowing. I had a meeting with our crew about this problem and we set down to design a solution.

Designing The SP8000™

The first question was if you could have only one truck, what would you want? The obvious choice would be a car carrier with recovery abilities. The other question was how to more effectively recover off the side of a wrecker without tipping the truck.

We started designing what would become the SP8000. We installed it on a customer’s carrier in Idaho and a wrecker in Montana. The results were so fantastic that we decided to apply for a patent. The US patent office gave us a patent pending. Both customers loved them, and in fact each one has now had their second one installed. The SP8000™ has proven itself as a way to eliminate that second payment and insurance on that spare truck. I think too many of us were caught up in trying to have the most trucks instead of being the most profitable.

The SP8000™ (sidepuller) is a problem-solver. For example, you’re dispatched to a vehicle, and upon arrival, the vehicle is 20 feet down an embankment requiring a wrecker. Installing an SP8000™ on your carrier enables you to solve any problem that comes along, from towing to recovery. With today’s law enforcement requirement to keep one lane of traffic open, the SP8000™ allows you to do recoveries off the side of the truck without blocking the roadway.

This unit allows you to turn your new or used carrier into a recovery truck and decrease your fleet expense. Use one truck for towing and recovery. The SP8000™ can be installed on existing carriers or wreckers. You will need a minimum of 7 inches between the cab and body to install. Also offered is a wireless remote control system for the winch. The total unit weighs 700 lbs., adding more front axle weight to your tow truck.

The orders for the SP8000™ keep coming in. Customers are still calling us every day with a success story. Several customers have installed the SP8000™ on wreckers and absolutely love it. They now have unbelievable side pulling abilities; they can do recoveries off the side with little or no lane blockage, so law enforcement just loves to see them.

Many people have said since owning a SP8000™ they were able to sell that extra truck that was just sitting as a spare. The insurance savings alone will almost cover the initial purchase price of the SP8000™. Many states that require a wrecker show up on all police calls are now accepting the SP8000™ on a carrier as a wrecker substitute. Some leaders in the industries have said the SP8000 is as significant a contribution to the towing industries as the wheel lift was.

A New Model In The Works

We have already received orders for our next model, the SP25000™ our new model with a 25,000 lb winch. One of the big problems we faced was being able to install and service the amount of towers that were calling in. We made a decision to sell through distribution and we now have 10 distributors throughout the U.S. They can be found at www.sidepuller.com. We are also looking to add a few more dealers in select locations. We have been so busy designing new products for the Sidepuller that I have sold my towing company to concentrate on new product development. We now offer the SP8000™ with either hydraulics or mechanical stiff legs. We are introducing pavement pads and a new flipper foot design. We are also working on a new lightbar mount, as well as more new models.

Chuck Ceccarelli has been in the towing business since 1990. He owns Rimco, Inc., the parent company of Idaho Wrecker Sales and operates light-, medium-, and heavy-duty tow trucks as well as air cushions.

Chuck also owns Aircraft Recovery Solutions and is a leading authority on airplane recovery. He was recently invited to go to New Guinea and Brazil to perform recoveries on airplanes. Chuck was the president of the Idaho Towing and Recovery Professionals for five years, was also on the State of Idaho T.I.M. committee and in 1999 Chuck was voted WreckMaster of the year and in 2001 he became a Lead Instructor.

He is a member at large for the TRAA training board. He is the sole inventor of the power hitch fifth wheel adapter and the co-inventor of the Drop Down Dollie Box. Chuck has done recoveries in 10 different states.

Chuck Ceccarrelli demonstrating the SP8000 at a recent AT Expo.

Working the SP8000™ off of the side of a wrecker in a tight space.

The SP8000™ installed on this carrier enables it to be used as a recovery vehicle. Without blocking the roadway, here the SP8000™ is working off the side of this carrier to recover a vehicle that had slid off an iced-over road into a ditch.

Previous Best Of A.T.

SIDEPULLER AT WORK By Chuck Ceccarelli This is the 2nd picture that was unpublished in the magazine. Here is a brief history of the research and development of how the SP8000 came to be and how it works in real life situations. Idaho Wrecker Sales started out in Bruneau, Idaho pop 300. I had a small farm repair shop consisting of myself and one employee. Our claim to fame was metal fabrication. People would come from around the state to have custom projects done at our shop. A towing company in Boise was having frame problems and brought it’s truck in to us to have the frame fixed. They had been having quite a bit of trouble in the past with parts breakage – problems that we felt should not have happened. One thing led to another and pretty soon it seemed that all we were doing was fixing tow trucks. People were driving a hundred miles or more to have us fix their tow trucks. Business was so good that we decided to become a distributor of Chevron Wreckers, and started Idaho Wrecker Sales. At Idaho Wrecker Sales we are wrecker and towing equipment specialists. You need to understand that in Bruneau Idaho, we were 25 miles from the nearest place to receive overnight UPS. Every phone call was long distance. Several towers talked me into getting a tow truck, as there was not one for 25 miles. I bought a ‘73 Chevy with a Holmes 440 wrecker and started towing as well as building and selling tow trucks. As my towing company grew we found ourselves covering a large area of police rotation, over 10,000 square miles. Can you imagine getting a police call at 3 a.m. and having to drive 90 miles one way to an accident? Both Idaho Wrecker Sales and my towing company grew and so did our need for training. In 1997 I hosted my first WreckMaster Class and became infected with the recovery bug. In 1999 I was voted WreckMaster of the year and in 2001 I became a Lead Instructor. One of the many problems that our towing company faced was that the police would send us to an accident 30 miles away and tell us the vehicle was slightly off the road, so we would send a rollback. Could you imagine this, they gave us the wrong information! We would dispatch a wrecker to assist and tie up two drivers. This became the norm and it seemed to happen over and over. I’m not sure if you can believe this, but as I traveled around the country I found that most towing companies experienced the same thing. I also found that times were changing. Quick clearance and keeping one lane of traffic open was becoming a requirement. As a business owner it made no sense to keep extra wreckers in my fleet just to be able to satisfy police calls. After all, they don’t let us charge enough to have trucks laying around just in case we need them. Fleet Size Dilemma This was a tough issue for me as I wanted to provide great service and stay on rotation but our car carriers were running all the time towing and my wreckers hardly ever moved except for a recovery. As a business owner I had to ask myself why would I make payments and insure a wrecker that just sits and waits for a recovery or police call. This made no sense. The other issue is that we can no longer park across the highway and recover off the back of our truck. Almost all of our work is done off the side of our trucks in order to keep one lane of traffic flowing. I had a meeting with our crew about this problem and we set down to design a solution. Designing The SP8000™ The first question was if you could have only one truck, what would you want? The obvious choice would be a car carrier with recovery abilities. The other question was how to more effectively recover off the side of a wrecker without tipping the truck. We started designing what would become the SP8000. We installed it on a customer’s carrier in Idaho and a wrecker in Montana. The results were so fantastic that we decided to apply for a patent. The US patent office gave us a patent pending. Both customers loved them, and in fact each one has now had their second one installed. The SP8000™ has proven itself as a way to eliminate that second payment and insurance on that spare truck. I think too many of us were caught up in trying to have the most trucks instead of being the most profitable. The SP8000™ (sidepuller) is a problem-solver. For example, you’re dispatched to a vehicle, and upon arrival, the vehicle is 20 feet down an embankment requiring a wrecker. Installing an SP8000™ on your carrier enables you to solve any problem that comes along, from towing to recovery. With today’s law enforcement requirement to keep one lane of traffic open, the SP8000™ allows you to do recoveries off the side of the truck without blocking the roadway. This unit allows you to turn your new or used carrier into a recovery truck and decrease your fleet expense. Use one truck for towing and recovery. The SP8000™ can be installed on existing carriers or wreckers. You will need a minimum of 7 inches between the cab and body to install. Also offered is a wireless remote control system for the winch. The total unit weighs 700 lbs., adding more front axle weight to your tow truck. The orders for the SP8000™ keep coming in. Customers are still calling us every day with a success story. Several customers have installed the SP8000™ on wreckers and absolutely love it. They now have unbelievable side pulling abilities; they can do recoveries off the side with little or no lane blockage, so law enforcement just loves to see them. Many people have said since owning a SP8000™ they were able to sell that extra truck that was just sitting as a spare. The insurance savings alone will almost cover the initial purchase price of the SP8000™. Many states that require a wrecker show up on all police calls are now accepting the SP8000™ on a carrier as a wrecker substitute. Some leaders in the industries have said the SP8000 is as significant a contribution to the towing industries as the wheel lift was. A New Model In The Works We have already received orders for our next model, the SP25000™ our new model with a 25,000 lb winch. One of the big problems we faced was being able to install and service the amount of towers that were calling in. We made a decision to sell through distribution and we now have 10 distributors throughout the U.S. They can be found at www.sidepuller.com. We are also looking to add a few more dealers in select locations. We have been so busy designing new products for the Sidepuller that I have sold my towing company to concentrate on new product development. We now offer the SP8000™ with either hydraulics or mechanical stiff legs. We are introducing pavement pads and a new flipper foot design. We are also working on a new lightbar mount, as well as more new models. Chuck Ceccarelli has been in the towing business since 1990. He owns Rimco, Inc., the parent company of Idaho Wrecker Sales and operates light-, medium-, and heavy-duty tow trucks as well as air cushions. Chuck also owns Aircraft Recovery Solutions and is a leading authority on airplane recovery. He was recently invited to go to New Guinea and Brazil to perform recoveries on airplanes. Chuck was the president of the Idaho Towing and Recovery Professionals for five years, was also on the State of Idaho T.I.M. committee and in 1999 Chuck was voted WreckMaster of the year and in 2001 he became a Lead Instructor. He is a member at large for the TRAA training board. He is the sole inventor of the power hitch fifth wheel adapter and the co-inventor of the Drop Down Dollie Box. Chuck has done recoveries in 10 different states.		Chuck Ceccarrelli demonstrating the SP8000 at a recent AT Expo.
		Working the SP8000™ off of the side of a wrecker in a tight space.
		The SP8000™ installed on this carrier enables it to be used as a recovery vehicle. Without blocking the roadway, here the SP8000™ is working off the side of this carrier to recover a vehicle that had slid off an iced-over road into a ditch.