Cold weather and your tires

A good friend of mine would always call me on cold mornings and tell me "my light is on again".  And few days ago my brother came to me with an idea, "Hey you should write your next blog on cars TPMS system". he is also in the automotive industry and deals first hand with auto repair shops and the private sector on a day to day basis .
  What is a TPMS?? you may ask, well translated to plain English it stands for "tire pressure monitoring system" these are sensors that come standard with most vehicles manufactured after 2002. when these sensors detect a tire is low in air it will trigger a warning light on your instrument panel.           

Experts say that air pressure in a tire typically goes down 1-2 pounds for every 10 degrees of temperature change. Chances are that you haven’t checked their tire pressure in the past month. If the last time you checked your tire pressure was during the heat of summer you could be riding on severely under inflated tires without realizing it.

 Maintaining proper air pressure is the most important thing you can do for your tires. Under inflation is the worst enemy a tire can have, it causes increased wear on the shoulder area (outside edges) of the tire. It also generates excessive heat, and it can reduce fuel economy because soft tires make the vehicle work harder.
Tire manufacturers recommend checking tire inflation at least once per month with a reliable gauge. To find the proper air pressure for your vehicles tires, look in the vehicle owner’s manual, in the glove box or on the driver’s side door jamb.

 Even though it takes a few minutes to check your tire pressure it sometimes is something we all neglect. .
At least once a month, take a few minutes and check your tire pressure with an accurate tire gauge. You can’t tell if a tire needs air just by looking. It could be under inflated by 10 pounds and still look fine. and if you simply add air every time your warning light comes on you can also be causing harm to your tires, why you ask. As you drive your car the heat from friction between your tires and the road will cause an increase in tire pressure. As the temperature of your tires rises, so will the pressure levels. This increase can cause overinflated tires to blow or under inflated tires to appear acceptable. To avoid improper air pressure a air pressure gauge available at any auto parts store can guarantee your air pressure will always be at the correct level. When checking your tire pressure make sure its never on a cold morning always do it after your tires have had a chance to warm up. 

Hybrid technology is it for you

Have you pulled your car up to the gas pump lately and been shocked by the price of gas?? As the pump passed the $30 $50 or even the $100 mark, maybe you thought about trading in your car for something that gets better mileage. A friend recently asked me what my thoughts on hybrids was. Not knowing much on the technology involved in these cars i had to do a little research on them. There are a lot of hybrid cars on the market these days, but is a hybrid really the car for you?
  Many people have probably owned a hybrid vehicle at some point if you're old enough like me you can remember mopeds. A moped is a type of hybrid because it combines the power of a gas engine and the pedal power of its rider. In fact, hybrid vehicles are all around us. Most of the trains we see are diesel electric powered, Cities have diesel-electric buses. but most hybrid's on the road today are gasoline electric. In simple terms a hybrid is a cross between a gasoline-powered car and an electric car.
   To be useful to you or me, a cars must meet certain minimum requirements. The car should be able to
     (1)Drive at least 300 miles before re-fueling
      (2) Be refueled quickly and easily
       (3)Keep up with the other traffic on the road
A gasoline car meets these requirements but produces a large amount of pollution and gets poor gas mileage. An electric car produces no pollution, but it can only go 50 to 100 miles between charges. And the problem is that the electric car is very slow and a pain in the rear to recharge.
A hybrid combines these two into one system that harnesses both gas power and electric power to make the car efficient for today's consumer.
    Why are more and more auto manufacturers producing hybrid vehicles?? The reason is they are required by law to meet CAFE standards (Corporate average fuel economy). The current standards require that the average mileage of all new cars sold by a manufacturer should be 27.5 mpg. This means that if a manufacturer sells one hybrid car that gets 60 mpg it can then sell four big, expensive suv's that only get 20 mpg or less. Basically the more hybrids they sell the more gas guzzler's they can sell, not because they care about pollution or the environment.
    Will it cost you more to maintain a hybrid car?? The answer is no  unless it breaks down, of course.  Maintenance and minor repairs are no higher on a hybrid than on a regular car. But if something goes wrong with the hybrid system after its warranty has run out you could be paying major money out of pocket.  In the early days of hybrids, many repair shops were refused to work on them, so hybrid owners had no choice but to go to the dealer which are sometimes more expensive. Today more and more mechanics have some kind of training on these cars and most shops will gladly preform routine maintenance on hybrids.
   If you're thinking of buying a used hybrid most usually have warranty on the hybrid system for eight years/100,000 miles. But keep in mind the average lifespan of a hybrid battery is about 150,000 miles and average replacement of the battery is anywhere from $3000 - $5000 depending on the model. There are companies out there such as Re-involt technologies that will rebuild your battery starting at $1875.00 not including installation.
   Is a hybrid car for you?? That depends on your driving habits and if the initial cost of buying one is in your budget, a new Toyota prius will set you back about $27,000.00 compared to a Infinity G37 coupe window sticker of $31,000.00, just a little something to think about gas mileage or luxury the choice is yours.                               
      

Reality TV and our industry.

      The last couple of years the big thing on TV has been reality TV shows just about every industry and topic has been covered or had a show on the subject. One industry that has become quite popular has been towing and repossession  related shows. I'll apologize to all my people that work in the entertainment industry that come up with these shows, but I think we can all agree that all these shows are anything but real.

     The towing and repossession are 2 very different industries that are sometimes combined in some of these shows. We use the same equipment but that's about the only similarity between the 2. Some companies do offer both services but they are handled as two separate divisions of the same company. 
     Lets look at the repo shows first, most of these shows air mostly confrontations on every one of their episodes. As a licenced repossessor in the state of California I can tell you 99.9% of all the things they claim are reenactments of true events would have me in a courtroom getting sued.  All repo agents have to be licenced by the Dept. of consumer affairs, and abide by a strict business and professional code. Not everyone that wants to be a repossessor will qualify. Prior to becoming one, you have to go through a extensive background check which includes running your name, social and all 10 fingerprints through the Dept. of justice, FBI and local law enforcement.  
     On more than one occasion I've had people interrupt me in the middle of a repo and ask me "where are the cameras??" In my opinion its made this line of work more dangerous because the debtor might think of us as the guys on TV that will do whatever it takes to take the collateral. When I first started in this business i was told "the best repo is when they don't even know you were there". 

     There's a show out there that's produced by Jeniffer Lopez that follows the day to day activities of a tow company. I don't know what experience J-Lo has in the towing business but I'm sure its very little or none at all. This show shows tow truck drivers towing illegally parked vehicles and almost on every episode there is a confrontation or some kind of drama. Never will you see a professional tow truck operator pick up a vehicle owner and put them in a dumpster or getting into a physical confrontation over a $100 tow. Reality TV is really giving customers the wrong idea of our industry. What it's doing is bringing us backwards and making us look like a bunch of ignorant idiots that think we're above the law.
     The majority of towing companies in this country are owner operator companies from the smallest company to the company with a fleet of 100 trucks chances are you'll find the owner in a tow truck. As owners we have a very high level of pride in what we do and that's reflected in the appearance of our equipment and our employees. For most of us this industry isn't just a career or a business its a lifestyle and we're here to serve you, the motoring public.

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move over law

  Recently in the state of California there have been numerous highway workers seriously injured and even killed while on the job. As a person that makes a living working on California's highways it's something that's always in the back of my mind.  In 2007 a new law came into effect in the state of California known as the move over law. According to the National Safety Commission only 71% of Americans have heard of said law. Currently all states except Hawaii have a move over law on their books.

   California Vehicle Code 21809 reads as follows: 

(a) A person driving a vehicle on a freeway approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle that is displaying emergency lights, a stationary tow truck that is displaying flashing amber warning lights, or a stationary marked Department of Transportation (cal-trans) vehicle that is displaying flashing amber warning lights, shall approach with due caution and, before passing in a lane immediately adjacent to the authorized emergency vehicle, tow truck, or Department of Transportation vehicle, absent other direction by a peace officer, proceed to do one of the following:

(1) Make a lane change into an available lane not immediately adjacent to the authorized emergency vehicle, tow truck, or Department of Transportation vehicle, with due regard for safety and traffic conditions, if practicable and not prohibited by law.

(2) If the maneuver described in paragraph (1) would be unsafe or impracticable, slow to a reasonable and prudent speed that is safe for existing weather, road, and vehicular or pedestrian traffic conditions.

  What does all this mean?? First lets take a look at what is considered a emergency vehicle. What first comes to mind is the common ones such as Police, Ambulance, and Fire Truck. Then we have a couple others such as Cal-Trans and Tow Trucks. Cal-Trans trucks are orange in color and are the workers you see making repairs on our freeways. Cal-Trans also sub contracts out work to private businesses you'll see those workers wearing reflective vests and their trucks equipped with amber flashing lights. More than 178 Cal-Trans workers have lost their lives while on the job that number doesn't include the numerous other independent sub contractors that have also lost their lives on California's highways.
  
   In today's busy freeways tow trucks are so common most people don't notice them or consider them to be first responders. Tow truck drivers have a dangerous job clearing wrecks from our roads most of the time only a couple feet from traffic lanes. Talk to any tow truck driver and many of them can recall a close call or incident while on the job. According to the International Towing Museum about 40 tow truck drivers a year loose their life on Americas highways. In September 9th 2006 the museum unveiled the Wall of the Fallen to honor all the tow truck drivers that have lost their lives in the line of duty. 
  
  When you're driving down the highway and see flashing lights please give highway workers space and move over one lane if you can safely do it, show them the same respect you would a fire truck or a police car.  

"In honor and remembrance" of all our fallen brothers





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Mechanical Wrecker's

I was looking at a new tow truck the other day and I started thinking of the truck I used to operate when I first started. It was a holmes 480 with a electric over hydraulic wheel lift on a 1977 chevy c-30 chassis. it wasn't pretty but she could pull anything you hooked up to it. Now very few mechanical wreckers are out on the road.
 What set these old wreckers apart from the hydraulic wreckers of today?? It was their ability to keep working way past the overload limit, the would literally work until something broke. And what would break wasn't always what you were uprighting.

stick boom & holmes 750
operator Pablo Contreras(double M towing)

 Two examples come to mind when I think of old mechanical wreckers one is the Holmes 750 and the other is Don Heins stick boom. The holmes 750 was rated at 25 tons but was a very versatile wrecker with the ability to do side pulls off the mast and having booms that swung open. The Don Heins stick boom was rated at 35 tons and had the capability of bringing the boom out, and was very user friendly.
 Both Holmes and Don Heins wrecker's were common sight on the Southern California freeway's in the 60's 70's and even in the 80's picking up everything from wreck's to disabled trucks.

 25 and 35 tons seem's like a low rating compared to the 50 ton rating of most hydraulic wreckers on the road today, but with the right operator and proper rigging these old wreckers can out work a hydraulic wrecker. It wasn't uncommon for only one truck to work a wreck you had to work with what you had, now the same wreck would require 2 or 3 trucks. A few companies out in the southern california area still run these old wreckers on newer chassis adding a underlift for everyday towing. Some have even converted them to hydraulic boom's giving them more versatility. I've had the privilege of working side by side with some of these giants of the past and have seen them do things that seemed impossible.
 Towing and Recovery has come a long way in the past years. We the newer generation in the industry really have it easy with all the new equipment. Not only is the equipment easier to operate but our trucks have all the comforts a passenger car. When you see one of these truck's on the road not only are you driving next to a piece of towing history but also a real tow truck operator who has more stories than he can tell you in a day about their equipment and experience.
  Here's a few picture's of wreckers still in service still going strong today after many years of service.

Pico pete around 1977 sitting in front of Engs motor truck co. in pico rivera ca

Pico pete 2012 still working presently owned by J&M towing Brawley Ca.

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"Blackie" owned by Riverside Towing 

hydraulic stick boom lifting 44k lbs.

Holmes on a military truck owned by Statewide Towing




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Is your car ready for the summer

With summer moving in on us is your car ready?? These past few days I've seen numerous cars with problem's on the side of the road. Im going to give you a few tips's on how to prevent costly repairs or a breakdown in this summer heat.
     The # 1 cause for a breakdown in the summer is your tires. The Rubber mfg. Association did a survey and surprisingly only 1 in 10 american drivers check their tires. Proper tire pressure is important especially in the summer, a under inflated tire will affect your gas milage and is also at risk for a blowout. A over inflated tire will wear prematurely and have to be replaced sooner costing you money. Most tires need 35-45 psi. of air but check the manufacturers tag on the sidewall for proper specification's.

Worn tires are a safety hazard not only to you but to all other motorist on the road. A simple test you can do to see if your tires need replacing is known as "the penny test". What you do is hold a penny upside down in the tread of your tires if you can see the top of Lincoln's it's time to replace it.

   Oil changes are more important than you think, why you ask the oil is the life blood of your vehicles engine. Changing your oil regularly will extend the life of your engine and maximize its efficiency. A oil change will normally cost you under $50 which is a small price to pay VS the thousands it will cost you if your engine suffers catastrophic failure due to poor lubrication from oil that's lost it's viscosity.
      Check your hoses and belts as those are important in the cooling of your engine. Look for crack's on your belt's, cracks are a sign of wear and should be replaced immediately.  Your hoses should be firm be firm never soft to the touch. Make sure your engine is cool as it normally operates at 200°+. Worn belts and hoses are a ticking time bomb that can cause you problems when you least expect it.
    Your air filter is important in keeping impurities from entering your engine. S dirty air filter can be compared to you running a marathon without breathing. The average air filter should be replaced every 12k miles or as per your vehicles manufacturer and can be replaced with simple hand tools or no tool's at all depending on your vehicle
      Wiper blades, who cares about wiper blades in the summer? ? I would hope everyone did. Imagine this scenario a sudden summer storm or as you drive through a construction zone where they're spraying water to keep the dust down. You don't want to smear all that mess on your windshield or do you?? Wipers are the easiest to to check and fairly cheap to replace. Most auto parts stores will help you replace them when you purchase them at their store. Also remember to top off your windshield washer fluid at the same time.
       Brakes. Listen for any grinding noise's if you hear grinding you might be a little to late and will need to replace more than just your brake pad's. Most repair shop's will do a multi point inspection of your vehicle when you take it in for a oil change. However you might have to request it check with your shop more details. Watch for soft or mushy pedal as thats a sign of your brake system needing immediate attention.
       Coolant most commonly known as antifreeze, when was the last time you had it replaced?? Coolant should be replaced at least every 2 years or 24k- 36k miles. Coolant is important in the summer as it raises the boiling point of water. With your average gasoline engine operating at 205° and the boiling point of water being 212° you can see the importance of coolant.  Coolant also helps with rust prevention inside your engine and radiator thus making your cooling system more efficient.
      Battery, heat kills your car battery look for signs of corrosion on your battery terminals. Corrosion is a white powdery build up on your battery terminals.  A easy way to clean corrosion is found under your kitchen sink Windex. While cleaning the corrosion make sure you wear safety glasses and rubber gloves are recommended. Spray the corrosion with Windex and let it sit for a few seconds and then hose it off with your garden hose. This will help with ensuring your battery will charge properly and extend the life of your battery and alternator.

corrosion advanced stage 

   


  A/C, you might not need it yet but it never hurts to check it. Turn on your A/C and make sure all vents are blowing cold air. Nothing is worst than reaching to turn on the A/C only to find out its not working.
   One of the things I highly recommend and personally have in all my vehicles is a emergency kit consisting of jumper cables, a can of fix of flat, a pair of gloves, flashlight, a few small bottles of water, small blanket, and a couple dollars wort of quarters. Gloves will keep your hands clean in the event you need to change a tire. Water will keep you hydrated if you have to wait for a extended period of time for help. The blanket can also double as a sun shade to keep your car cool while you wait for help. In this modern technology era everyone has a cell phone but suppose your battery dies how will you call for help?? Believe it or not pay phones still exist and that's when the quarters will save the day. Amazon has several ready to go emergency kits for under $60 and come in a small compact case that will take up minimal space in your trunk.
    Following these few tips will minimize the chances of you having a break down on the road. Be safe and ill see you out on the road. If there is any topic you would like to see covered let me know and ill do my best to address it.

Private property impound

As many of you know i've been in the towing and recovery business for a while. In this line a work you play many roles to different people. Some see you as the good guy, others hate you. Recently I was asked why I don't do as many P.P.I's (private property impound ) as in years past. As many companies have given our industry a really bad reputation and left a bad taste in many motorists mouths. I will try to clarify some of the misunderstanding you may have.

In 2006, AB2210 moved through the legislative process and was signed into law. That bill made a number of changes to statutes governing the towing of vehicles including setting a number of criteria before a vehicle could be removed. AB2210 became cvc 22953 which conflicted with cvc 22658 that remained in the law books.

Many tow companies have ignored cvc 22953 and have taken advantage of the unaware motorist. Cvc 22953 has also caused many headaches to business owners, why you ask?? Cvc 22953 reads,

(a) An owner or person in lawful possession of private property that is held open to the public, or a discernible portion thereof, for parking of vehicles at no fee, or an employee or agent thereof, shall not tow or remove, or cause the towing or removal, of a vehicle within one hour of the vehicle being parked".

What does that mean, you ask? Anybody can park on your parking lot for an hour and not have to come in your store or business at all and you, the property owner, can do nothing about it until their car has been sitting for an hour on your lot. In the meantime your customers have to find parking elsewhere.

Im not taking the side of the tow companies or the motorist here, im informing both sides of something they may not know.  San Diego district attorneys have started pressing criminal charges against tow companies, their drivers, and property owners who violate cvc 22953. Now let me ask you, do you think its fair for you to park in someones lot without you even setting foot in their business while they get prosecuted criminally for having your vehicle towed?? Section 22658 is more detailed and outlines specific rules for tow companies.

Its still a sticky situation as everybody's interpretation is different even my police officer friends will not give me their interpretation of that law. Section 22658 and 22953 still allow for immediate removal of vehicles within 15 feet of a fire hydrant in a handicap space without appropriate placard fire lanes or blocking entrance or exit of a property.

So please be careful where you park and show consideration for business owners. Stay tuned for more information relating to the towing and automotive industry I will try to address any questions and concerns the public might have.