Winter’s nearly here. Get ready for the brisk nights, holiday cheer and – if you’re in the towing business – a big boost in emergency service calls. With some unpredictable weather coming up and a lot of unprepared motorists on the roads, weather events can result in a big spike of emergencies. For a tower, nothing’s worse than having to tell a stranded customer that your tow business is overloaded or (worse yet) unable to navigate the elements.
Now’s the time to get your people and rigs ready and equipped for the additional service calls that are bound to come your way. Take a moment and consider the checklist our business use every year to prepare for the winter months.
Have the Support in Place
First things first: make sure you way the proper support in place going into the winter months. Employees and service technicians should explicitly know what is expected of them during winter storm emergencies. Have everyone submit any vacation time well before the holiday season starts and check to see that all critical weeks are covered. Limit any time off requests.
Regional Weather and Terrain
While we don’t get a ton of snow and the temperature rarely dip below 25 Degrees F , our corner of North Carolina get its fair share of, shall we say, “interesting” weather patterns. Ice storms, slushy snow, hilly terrain and almost NO road salt from the DOT equates to TONS of ditch calls.
This is good for business, but more importantly, it’s something we keep in mind as we consider our strategy for the winter months. Think hard about the scenarios and environment your tow trucks will be in during that next ice storm and start your plan from there.
Traction Considerations
At Durham Towing we feel strongly that in order for our trucks to safely navigate some of the slippery hills in the area we have to have light duty chains. While some competitors think our chains are overkill for the region, it’s an absolute must for our towing friends in the mountains where the grades on many roads can be downright dangerous during a snow storm.
Where continual snow pack is a reality, as is the case with some of our friends in the Midwest, you may want to consider Siping your Tow Truck tires. Siping is the procedure of cutting small slits over a thin surface of your tires to increase grip for navigating snowy, wet or icy conditions. While you can do it yourself, we recommend Siping can be done by Tire Services provides like Discount Tire. For around $20 a tire, they’ll place your tires on a machine that rotates your tires while making small angled cuts in your tread. It’s purported to increase a traction, breaking and tire life, but we really only recommend it if you expect to be driving on snow pack for more than 3 months out of the year. Find out more about the science of siping by clicking here.
Consider a Snow Plow
Adding a snow plow to your rig during the winter is one of those things that you’d WISHED you’d done after the snow storm. Sure it’s an added cost, but if you do it right, the additional business you get from plowing more than offsets the initial investment. By having a snow plow on your tow truck you can secure contracts set up with commercial shopping centers or municipality to plow their lots / roads and tow stranded vehicles that block the flow of traffic.
Bottom line: Get your towing business to get on the right track during these winter months and take concerted, preventative measures so that you don’t miss out on providing your community with the best towing services when it’s REALLY needed.
