too dangerous to change a flat tire?

[schmelpboy]

Originally Posted by Kyle86

It was most likely the towing company contracted with aaa that woulr not change the tire. Aaa just dispatches out to their contracted tow providers and act sort of as a middleman. My guess is that the tow provoder wanted to tow you instead of changing the tire so that they could make more money. He may only get $50 for a tire change but towing an rv could cost 400+ with all the other bullshit fees involved so he used not being safe as an excuse and they know aaa will pay up for it.

I take offense to the term "bullshit fees involved." You obviously have no towing business ownership experience. Like anyone else, you want the cheapest price. No one cares if a tow truck driver gets run over on the interstate if it saves them money, we'll just dispatch another warm body to replace the other one. Or, if everyone took as good of care of their own equipment as we do ours, we would just know that that tire would be an easy change. But in most cases, they don't. I'm not sitting on the freeway for 2 hours to save you money. Sorry. Find someone else then.
As for our "bullshit fees," we get medium duty or HD rates for tire changes on motorhomes. Our rates are also proportional. We don't get 50 for a tire change and 400+ for a tow. If a tow is "400+" then you can expect that the tire change is 300-350 (not in reality, but based on your assumptions of what we charge). You know what our "bullshit fees" pay for? A massive building that houses every bit of equipment you will ever need for anything. We keep all of our stuff in PERFECT condition. Our cheapest flatbed costs 80,000 dollars. Our HD's and Landoll cost more than most people's houses. Our employees have 401k's, health, dental, and vision paid for. Every person that works for us is clean, respectful, has all of their teeth, and never utter a swear word. No one here has a criminal record of any kind. When you walk into our main office, it looks like a doctor's office. So the next time you say we charge "bullshit fees," enjoy the hillbilly that drops your car off of their truck going down the interstate...

[Ryf]

Originally Posted by schmelpboy

I take offense to the term "bullshit fees involved." You obviously have no towing business ownership experience. Like anyone else, you want the cheapest price. No one cares if a tow truck driver gets run over on the interstate if it saves them money, we'll just dispatch another warm body to replace the other one. Or, if everyone took as good of care of their own equipment as we do ours, we would just know that that tire would be an easy change. But in most cases, they don't. I'm not sitting on the freeway for 2 hours to save you money. Sorry. Find someone else then.
As for our "bullshit fees," we get medium duty or HD rates for tire changes on motorhomes. Our rates are also proportional. We don't get 50 for a tire change and 400+ for a tow. If a tow is "400+" then you can expect that the tire change is 300-350 (not in reality, but based on your assumptions of what we charge). You know what our "bullshit fees" pay for? A massive building that houses every bit of equipment you will ever need for anything. We keep all of our stuff in PERFECT condition. Our cheapest flatbed costs 80,000 dollars. Our HD's and Landoll cost more than most people's houses. Our employees have 401k's, health, dental, and vision paid for. Every person that works for us is clean, respectful, has all of their teeth, and never utter a swear word. No one here has a criminal record of any kind. When you walk into our main office, it looks like a doctor's office. So the next time you say we charge "bullshit fees," enjoy the hillbilly that drops your car off of their truck going down the interstate...

calm down there schmelpboy, not all businesses are good and honest, and you dont know what your getting from a phone book if your travelling. and there are some bs fees depending on who you deal with. if you quote me $50 to tow my car, thats what it should be, if its not it is bs fees IMO. tacking on fees after a quote isn't unheard of in any business, not saying your life is of value or your business isn't honest, but people on the side of the road are calling from a listing on a yellowpage app or from 411, they dont know you from the rest, locally I have businesses that I use when i am home, they do the job well and charge an honest rate, no after quote fees. if your out on the highway, you dont have that luxury, and knowing this, people DO take advantage, being towed somewhere to get it fixed turns into huge issues, if they were called out to change a tire, and have no intent on doing it, why did they take the job? if theres a safety issue with motorhomes and dual tires, then if a company is called to change a tire, they should say no, we tow, don't show up and add to someones bad day.

I would call a road side service for tractor trailers, they routinely fix things where they are, and have the equipment to do so. yes it costs more, but less bs and usually they aren't as busy, so less waiting. easiest way to find one is call tire stores and see if they offer road side for big trucks, explain your deal and the few times I've done this, had no issue and waay shorter wait times, under 30 mins if they are close. average cost was under $200 unless you had to buy a tire.

AAA doesn't pay crap to the guys they use, sometimes they even put them over a barrel, they will give them a business loan to get equipped then they will have the trucks working basically for free. this means that the guy who is helping you may not make anything for helping you, which is why most dont want to. not saying dont use AAA, just saying eyes wide open, your not getting top notch service if he's working for almost free.

[schmelpboy]

Sorry, Ryf, but I take it as an offense when someone complains about an industry that is underrated already. Our family has put blood, sweat, and tears into our company for a generation, and we are the most stand-up, honest, hard working people anyone will ever meet. Even though most people seem to believe that there are more crooks than honest guys in this industry, in my personal experience, it's really the other way around. We give a quote before we even go out on a call; if it is exactly as the customer described, we will NEVER change a price for any reason. There have been so many calls that the customer has lied about that I STILL end up charging the lesser rate. I just hate the idea that everyone thinks we are a bunch of swindlers, and that's what gets my blood boiling!

[Kyle86]

Hello Schmelpboy, I am sorry that I offended you. I have never owned a towing business, however I do work for an auto insurance company who pays for many of these sorts of things. Since I deal with over 100 different tow providers across the nation, I think I do know more about them then the average person.

True there are many towers who would do anything for us and provide top notch service, there are quite a few scammers who give the business a bad name. As for BS fees, I have seen it all. Once towed a customer is rssponsible for all fees to be paid before the vehicle can be released from the yard. I've seen $400 to tow a vehicle literally right down the street, $100+ fees for unlocking the gate, $200+ per day storage fees for just sitting in the tow yard, etc. I have had a tow company who when asked "the tow was $500? What is the rate per mile?" and they reply "it cost whatever I say it cost!" I've also heard a few "because I wanna" fees. Of course we pay it for our customers because we are a reputable company and our customers rely on us. The towing companies know this and that is why we try to contract with them. Not only does it keep their business volume up, but it protects both companies.

I am not shure if AAA operates this way though but I think they most likely do. Again most tow companies are not like this, but there are quite a few who are.
You sound like a resonable and honest guy who owns a good company, but I'm shure you know of some others who will take advantage of the company paying for the tow.

Originally Posted by schmelpboy

I take offense to the term "bullshit fees involved." You obviously have no towing business ownership experience. Like anyone else, you want the cheapest price. No one cares if a tow truck driver gets run over on the interstate if it saves them money, we'll just dispatch another warm body to replace the other one. Or, if everyone took as good of care of their own equipment as we do ours, we would just know that that tire would be an easy change. But in most cases, they don't. I'm not sitting on the freeway for 2 hours to save you money. Sorry. Find someone else then.
As for our "bullshit fees," we get medium duty or HD rates for tire changes on motorhomes. Our rates are also proportional. We don't get 50 for a tire change and 400+ for a tow. If a tow is "400+" then you can expect that the tire change is 300-350 (not in reality, but based on your assumptions of what we charge). You know what our "bullshit fees" pay for? A massive building that houses every bit of equipment you will ever need for anything. We keep all of our stuff in PERFECT condition. Our cheapest flatbed costs 80,000 dollars. Our HD's and Landoll cost more than most people's houses. Our employees have 401k's, health, dental, and vision paid for. Every person that works for us is clean, respectful, has all of their teeth, and never utter a swear word. No one here has a criminal record of any kind. When you walk into our main office, it looks like a doctor's office. So the next time you say we charge "bullshit fees," enjoy the hillbilly that drops your car off of their truck going down the interstate...

[cj7365]

Can you drive a MH on one tire, slow of course, to a rest stop or parking area, just wondering for my info, or do you risk of blowing out the other tire?

[STClurker]

Originally Posted by NJHandyGuy

i get calls like this all summer and i asways trun them down if it"s not on a side street or driveway not changing drw"s ever
1 to much whizzing by me

2 r"vs create a bitch of a blind spot to traffic

3 i have to go further under the vehicle

4 it"s 3 times as time consuming and

5 most rv owners are huge pains in the ass why lift there your hands are grasy don"t do that lady shut the fuck up you called me

if it"s an inside hammer down call me when your safe

yup (sending you a virtual beer, enjoy

Originally Posted by schmelpboy

Just my .02 from someone that has been in the towing business for a decade now...

First, most motorclubs pay HORRIBLY. They are cheapskates, and even call to ask us to lower our rates because "the economy is bad." Yet, that same "price drop" they request doesn't get to the end user. I live in Iowa, and AAA is such a terrible company, we won't even service their customers. They call us every few years to become a service provider and we decline. I believe a few years back they wanted to pay 25 bucks for a tow. Seriously. 25. We don't have a truck older than 07, do you think we are going to even turn the key for 25 bucks? Get real, AAA. Since we know people all over the US, a company similar to ours gets paid 125 per tow in California. AAA told us, (and laughed) that "we are in Iowa, we won't get California pricing." So, apparently cars tow differently here than there. That was news to me! So guess what kind of a company you get to service you in our area? The one tooth jokers with light duty flatbeds or light duty 2 wheel drive trucks that take 2 hours to get to you, as long as nothing falls off of their truck and the wheel lift works that day. There are plenty of guys out there that can easily do that job; IE, see...us. But companies like us will not service low paying providers, it's not worth our time, energy, or wear on our equipment. I'm not saying any of this to make it sound like we are too good to service AAA customers, I'm saying they need to pay their providers based on equipment and professionalism. We even fly our guys down to Florida every year to take training courses in Orlando. I'm willing to bet the AAA guys in our area wouldn't even know how to change that tire even if they wanted to.

My own personal experience: I won't change an inner dual either. However, in our area, you don't have to worry about the impound argument. We take your vehicle where you want it taken. If you take it to someone you trust, you shouldn't have to worry about them holding it hostage. We'll take it to your driveway if you want. I also won't change them because, again, motor clubs pay horribly for tire changes. For example, if you were driving a brand new Chevy Malibu, it would take literally 5-10 minutes to change that tire. For a motor home, much longer. All motor clubs pay the same rate for a tire change, it doesn't matter the vehicle, size, conditions, or if it's an inner dual. It's just not worth our time to do it. If you want the very best service, and you have a motor home, call the best company and pay out of pocket. It's more expensive, but you get the very best. THEN, you can actually send your bill into AAA and they usually pay you back (something not many people know). And finally, I agree with something someone else said; 90% of tire changes we do are on cars the driver has never taken care of. "Where's your lug wrench?" "What's that?" "Oh, I threw that out it was taking up too much space." "I have a lug wrench, but I got rid of my jack..." "Lug lock? You mean that round thing that was in my glove compartment? I never used it so I threw it away." In Iowa, you can just expect that most wheels are rusted onto the hub. Even the "aluminum" wheels are rusted on. If that were a motorhome, that would be a big deal. Finally, being in the business as long as I have, a huge amount of people lie to their motorclub in order to get service. We get at least one call a day where someone says they "just need a regular tow, my car is sitting on a side street." We get there, the wheel has fallen off, the car is sideways in the road, the bumper is digging into the pavement, traffic is backed up, police are angry, and the driver is oblivious. All of this stuff works against the honest drivers out there who have a legitimate, easy problem to fix.

My opinion? Call around next time and offer to pay out of pocket. Around here, mentioning AAA will have any tow service kindly declining to service you. You are better off getting a different motor club (I'm not sure what area you are in). One of our very best is All State. They'll pay for anything and for any reason. I hate to sell services for another company, but they never give us problems. You can even buy their road service without having their insurance.

Sorry for the long rant, just giving my opinion from someone who has been doing this longer than they have ever wanted to!

I hate quoting long posts, but that needs to be read several times by alot of people

Originally Posted by schmelpboy

I take offense to the term "bullshit fees involved." You obviously have no towing business ownership experience.

ditto

Originally Posted by schmelpboy

Sorry, Ryf, but I take it as an offense when someone complains about an industry that is underrated already.

ditto

Originally Posted by Kyle86

I do work for an auto insurance company who pays for many of these sorts of things.

schmelpboy, if I read correctly, you are in IA...where at? if you are in the Des Moines area we need to get a beer or something next time I'm around there. like Jay, I'm loving your posts. people just don't realize what it takes to have a tow company (I don't own one, but I've been in a wrecker for about 5yrs).

Kyle, what I quoted from you says it all... ins companies always want it cheaper and could care less about overhead. do you think diesel is free? how much do you think a decently equipped truck costs? (see schmelpboy's posts for a rough guess).

just in general for everyone that doesn't know, a tow truck OPERATOR needs to be ready to do WHATEVER, WHENEVER at a moments notice. just tonight, I was all set to get off early because it was slow...got a big crash and I worked a 13 hour day today.

[STClurker]

Originally Posted by cj7365

Can you drive a MH on one tire, slow of course, to a rest stop or parking area, just wondering for my info, or do you risk of blowing out the other tire?

generally yes, you can limp it a ways, just go slow. there is a risk of blowing the other one, but its worth taking for the safety of all concerned.