4 Interesting Facts about Tow Trucks from Our Wichita Towing Company
At TowAll, we don’t just drive tow trucks for work, we’re industry enthusiasts who enjoy learning more about our craft. We have a great appreciation for our fleet of top-quality tow trucks, which enable us to provide fast 24/7 towing in the greater Wichita area. Here are four fun facts about tow trucks.
Up in Canada, where there is a massive trucking industry and extreme winter weather, they put to use some humongous tow trucks. Some Canadian tow trucks are so large that they use multiple highway lanes. In standard towing fleets, the biggest vehicles are heavy duty trucks, which are built with chassis based on semi trucks and have a tow capacity of 25-50 tons, or up to 75 tons for trucks with rotators. The smallest trucks are light duty, which can tow 5-10 tons, and are used for smaller commuter vehicles and situations that deal with low overhead clearance.
The first tow “truck” was a 1913 Cadillac, which was modified by its owner, Ernest Holmes, to have towing capabilities. In 1918, he launched the modern towing industry when he filed his patent for the pulley-and-crane attachment that he’d fitted to his Cadillac. In the decades to come, Holmes’ split-boom design would be used during WWII on military wreckers. IndyCar and NASCAR would also later use Holmes’ design.
In Ernest Holmes’ hometown of Chattanooga, TN, you can pay a visit to the International Towing Museum. Within the museum, there are a number of interesting towing-industry artifacts. Also, members of the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame have their portraits on display.
Tow truck drivers often prefer to operate flatbed trucks. This is because flatbeds are simpler to operate and they are highly unlikely to result in any damage to the vehicles that they’re hauling.
When you need
towing in Wichita and the surrounding area, contact TowAll at
(316) 247-1780. Our nearby towing company will show up quickly to get you out of harm’s way. Give us a call and we’ll arrive ASAP!
Areas Serviced
Wichita, Park City, Haysville, Goddard, Bel Aire, Maize, Derby & Valley Center
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