18,000 Pounds Out of Place: A Culvert Recovery on I-40
When the Cargo Hits the Cab Heavy cargo is supposed to stay put on the trailer until it reaches its destination. At mile marker 391 on I-40 in Knoxville, an 18,000-pound culvert came loose from a tractor-trailer and struck the back of the cab. This Knoxville load recovery job involved getting that enormous piece of […]
Trailer Down: The First Decisions Matter
A Heavy Load in an Awkward Position A semi-trailer is built to carry substantial weight, but it depends on the right support. When landing gear collapses or a tractor pulls away from an improperly coupled trailer, the front end can drop to the ground. Suddenly, the kingpin is too low for another truck to connect, […]
Rotators to the Rescue: A 79,000 Lbs Tanker Recovery on Hwy 131
A Tanker Down Near Thorn Hill A bulk tanker hauling burnt lime rolled on Hwy 131 in Thorn Hill, TN, with a total weight of about 79,000 pounds. Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Department of Transportation, and Treadway Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene. Our crew had about a 45-minute drive in, and this call […]
42,000 Pounds of Canned Beans and One Rolled Tractor Trailer
Spilling the Beans on a Loaded Rollover on 11-E A tractor trailer got off the edge of the road on 11-E at Payne Road in Mosheim, TN, then flipped while hauling 42,000 pounds of canned beans. When our first 50-ton wrecker arrived, the trailer damage was obvious. One sidewall had broken out, the roof had separated […]
Getting Tanked Up: Loading a 78,000-Pound Purged Tank
A Tank Load That Needed Rotator Control A 78,000-pound purged tank is not the kind of load anyone wants to rush. This job took place in Greeneville, TN, where the tank needed to be lifted so a truck could back underneath it for transport. The weight, the shape of the tank, and the setup space […]
How Tire Failures Can Turn Into Heavy Towing Calls
The Blowout That Blows Up the Schedule A steer tire lets go at highway speed and the whole cab can jump before the driver has time to think. The sound is sharp, the wheel pulls hard, and traffic keeps moving beside the rig. On US-11E semi towing calls, we have seen drivers do the right thing in […]
Why Highway Work & Local Roads Are Two Separate Towing Jobs
A Tale of Two Tows The area around Tusculum mixes active interstate corridors with smaller county roads and tight local streets. Our Tusculum towing team works this full range every day. What the roadside and recovery job needs shifts depending on which road type the call comes from. Highway calls have a fixed first step. […]
Big Rig Breakdowns: 5 Mistakes We See on Tennessee Interstates
A Stop Without a Plan We can usually tell how a roadside emergency call is going to go within the first few minutes. Where the truck stopped, what the driver tried, and how much room we have to work with. Most I-81 heavy towing jobs across Tennessee come down to a handful of common mistakes that show […]
Taking a Bad Turn: When a Routine Run Turns Into a Rollover
Reaching the Tipping Point Ask any experienced driver what they worry about most, and rollovers usually make the list. We see why. Across the country, thousands of truck rollovers happen every year, and a good number of our I-81 semi towing calls tie back to the same kind of incidents. It doesn’t take extreme conditions […]
A Closer Look at Towing Delivery Vans and Box Trucks
Medium Duty Towing 101 We see all kinds of vehicles on the road, but commercial units bring a different set of challenges. From step vans to fully loaded box trucks, each one carries weight, height, and balance issues that we take seriously. When we handle a Newport delivery truck towing job, we start by assessing size, […]