July 21, 2025 • 55 mins
Imagine a towing world where recovery equipment is 85% lighter yet stronger than traditional steel cables, and where safety hazards like deadly cable recoil become a thing of the past. That future is already here, as this eye-opening conversation with Johnny Sun and Adam Osterloo from Tow Tools reveals.
Johnny's journey into the towing equipment industry began with a story straight out of a thriller novel—being monitored by the US Embassy while unknowingly meeting with Japanese mafia members who operated towing companies. This unexpected introduction ultimately led to his founding of Tow Tools, now a leading manufacturer of synthetic recovery equipment that's revolutionizing the industry.
At the heart of Tow Tools' offerings are their Super Slings and soft shackles made from Honeywell Spectra—the same ultra-strong material used in bulletproof vests and high-performance marine applications. The technical advantages are substantial: these synthetic alternatives provide equal or greater breaking strength than steel while dramatically reducing weight and eliminating the dangerous recoil effect that has caused countless injuries when steel cables fail under tension.
The conversation takes a fascinating turn when exploring the practical applications of these synthetic solutions. Their soft shackles are thoughtfully designed with longer-than-standard lengths to make real-world hookups easier, while their synthetic winch lines offer profound safety improvements. As Adam notes, "The big push that should exist to go to synthetic rope is really based on the safety of the operator and safety of anybody else on scene."
For those hesitant to make a complete transition from traditional equipment, Tow Tools offers synthetic winch line extensions as an entry point—allowing operators to experience the benefits firsthand before committing to a full conversion. The consensus among experienced users is clear: once you've worked with these synthetic alternatives, you'll recognize their value extends far beyond the initial price tag.
Ready to explore how synthetic recovery equipment could transform your operations? Visit TowingEquipmentDirect.com to see their full range of Tow Tools products, or call 910-747-9000 to speak with April Wilburn and her team about finding the right solutions for your specific needs.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
you're on the train to success with april and wes
wilburn.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I'm dj harrington, the co-host, better known as the
toe doctor.
We're all on our way to thetown of proper towing and
recovery, along with ourproducer, chuck camp, in the
studio.
Don't go to the town of woulda,coulda, shoulda, you coulda had
done this.
You should have done that.
(00:30):
Listen every week tothought-provoking wisdom from
great guests.
So if you have Spotify, itunes,pandora, stitcher, iheartmedia
or the number one podcast ormaybe Amazon or wherever you get
your podcasts, turn in onWednesday and be turned on all
(00:55):
week long.
If you are a state associationand want your announcements or
upcoming state association news,announcements or upcoming state
association news or maybe a toeshow that's coming up, let us
know.
Our podcast studio phone numberis 706-409-5603 I'm proud to be
(01:16):
part of a great team at theamerican dorm recovery institute
.
Let's make 2025 our best yearever.
I will turn it to April Loomis.
Well, dj, as always, I thankyou for your kind words and your
partnership on this podcast.
You've been an integral part ofmaking this successful.
We thank you, thank the wholeteam here at ATI For helping us
(01:41):
bring this thing along.
Of course, april does a bigpart and she's doing even more.
April, how are you doing today?
I'm doing pretty good and I'mvery amazed at how we've all
kind of grown together with thispodcast too, and how big it's
gotten.
It's kind of humbling andimpressive at all at the same
time to think of where westarted off at to us being up to
(02:05):
about 20,000 people listeningto this literally all the time.
now, you know, it's just amazingto me that we were able to
achieve this together.
So, dj and Chuck, reallyappreciate you guys sticking
with us and hanging in with uswhile we have been able to do
this together.
And, wes, I got to tell you itis- my honor that you and April
(02:31):
have grown your podcast.
I want to tell our listeners Ido a podcast for the auto
recycling industry and they'restruggling to get 8,000
listeners.
And here's Wes and April with8,000 listeners.
And here's Wes and April with a20,000 listeners all across the
world.
We have people in Australialistening to us, people in the
(02:54):
UK are listening and I thinkit's one of the best things that
Wes and April.
When I asked Wes what heconsidered doing a podcast I'd
like to be his co-host he waslike well, what do you think,
doc?
I mean I'm with you, so it'sbeen a real pleasure.
And think about all thecharities that we've helped and
(03:15):
the state associations thatwe've helped, tunnels and towers
that we've helped.
I mean there are so many goodthings, wes, that you have
contributed to the industry, soyou really I should tip my hat
to you in April.
Well, thanks, cj.
Right back at you, buddy, youmade a whole lot of this
possible, a whole lot of itpossible.
(03:38):
Yeah, with the tunnels, withHarrison, we need to get that
young man back on.
We need to make arrangementsfor that.
He got promoted to a differentdivision and there's another
gentleman.
Believe it or not, we did sowell.
I want to tell our listeners wedid so well that the man who
(03:59):
heads up the eradicatinghomeless veterans is now our
answer guy Paul Myers.
And Paul Myers is the head ofthe villages for the eradicating
homelessness for veterans.
So what they do is they buy ahotel and I want to tell all the
(04:21):
listeners, they buy anabandoned hotel or a hotel that
went out of business two orthree years ago, like in Atlanta
here.
They bought the Western Hotelnext to Six Flags, literally
next to Six Flags.
They redid it, so the firstfloor is for all administration,
and then the second, third andfourth floor of the hotel are
(04:43):
all living residences, and thenthe second, third and fourth
floor of the hotel are allliving residences.
And they took veterans off thestreet and moved them into this
beautiful location, and thegrand opening is going to be in
August sometime, so I keepeverybody posted of when the
grand opening is.
And then the van we donated,they wrapped it and they're
(05:03):
going to present it that day inAtlanta.
Ina was a big part of gettingAtlanta in care, of course,
wasn't it?
Well, yes, yes.
I want you to know, ina wasinvolved in putting the ramp we
bought and it was so good.
They explained it to me.
(05:25):
This is a scissor lift, whereit lifts the wheelchair and
rolls right into the vehicle, soit's really really nice.
It went with it.
It was brand new from mobility,so it was nice and so this will
be good.
this will take them west.
This will take them to you knowdoctor appointments or their
(05:46):
weekly trip to Walmart or Targetor wherever to get their
shaving equipment and you knowmouthwash and that kind of stuff
.
But it's going to be a job.
Employment place is on thefirst floor.
Counseling is on the firstfloor, so it's pretty good.
Counseling is on the firstfloor, so it's it's pretty good.
(06:07):
I know a movement made a veryimpressive how well thought that
out.
That is as far as like theconveniences that it gives them.
The thing that we take forgranted every day being able to
go get the toiletries and thegroceries and the doctors visit
and getting a job those thingsthat we take for granted that we
can just do so easily is thatit can be an obstacle to
overcome and they justmainstream that for them.
(06:29):
Yeah, and April, I want all ourlisteners to know that every
one of the villages is builtvery close to the veteran
hospital, so there's a veteranhospital right there and all the
locations, like the one theyhave up in Nashville that
they're working on now, is rightnext door but about four or
(06:53):
five blocks away from theveterans hospital.
So that's what they do they tieinto a veteran hospital area
and then they take the veteransthat are living on the street
and then move them into theirown, their own space, so they
have their dishwasher and theyhave a refrigerator and a
bedroom and a living room and atelevision and an ironing board,
(07:17):
all that stuff and they havebj just interrupts for, once
again, just a a safe place to betoo, just some place where you
can go close the door and justhave your own yes, your own
privacy, and it builds up yourown self-worth.
So you get off the streets andout and handling and you know,
(07:40):
it's set up for wheelchairs,it's set up for rollators, it's
set up for everything to get theperson around.
And then the ones that can workthey're actually getting them
back to work again.
And, being so close to SixFlags, I cheesed and I said they
literally, because when the guytold me to go to Six Flags, I'd
(08:03):
go to Six Flags and the parkinglot.
I joined the parking lot of theWestern Hotel that they took
over and it's a beautiful sign.
The villages for Donald's house.
It's gorgeous.
They could walk to work if theygot jobs.
It's a great project.
(08:23):
We can't thank you enough forgetting us involved with that,
dj, and we want to thank INA fortheir sponsorship of us and
also this project.
Great, great folks.
We really appreciate them.
Ina Day, rochester we're justgoing to say her name because
she's spectacular and all thethings that she's done and all
the people that she's helped too.
She really has done a lot ofbehind the scenes things that
(08:47):
she doesn't want to take creditfor.
She doesn't want theacknowledgement or the attention
for it, but I'm going to takecredit for her a little bit
right now.
She's an amazing person.
She absolutely is.
Yeah, I agree with you.
You know she does Reefs ofAmerica and she does all that
stuff and then up at theBaltimore Toe Show she does
(09:10):
fundraising for up there.
She's done all the fundraisingfor TRAA, for Hills Days, and
she's just a very gifted ladyand she was the one Wes when I
was feeding the homeless.
It was Gay.
When I was feeding the homeless, it was Gay Rochester who gave
me the idea.
So I was looking for empty cansand she said, well, dj, just
(09:31):
buy the cans at the store and goand donate the soup.
So I donated the soup and theygave me back the empty cans with
the labels off so I could makeeye cans.
It's got colleges and schoolsand that kind of thing, so it
worked out good.
Kay, rochester is a very giftedlady and she's done a lot.
(09:52):
She, too, has done a lot for ourindustry.
Yes, she has, absolutely so.
Speaking of great ladies, aprilWilburn's another great lady,
as people know, she's prettymuch runs things here, and her
and a group of females aretaking over Tony Quidman Direct,
the minority-owned business,and so we're going to put a
(10:14):
little bit of a spotlight onthat today, and that also will
lead us to our guest, april,talk to us about Tony Quidman
Direct.
Tony Quidman Direct is thewebsite that we've had and
that's, I guess, the umbrella ofwhich we're going to go under.
I am taking on the equipmentsales, which I've been
indirectly involved with to someextent anyway, so I've already
(10:36):
got kind of that leg into it,but I'm taking more of a
leadership and ownership role inthat we are a what's always
said I say this wrong.
We are a majority minorityowned.
It's going to be female owned.
I'm probably the principal ofit, but we have a couple other
(10:58):
ladies that's going to come onboard with us.
Kim Holcomb has already beenintricate in everything that
we've done anyway up until thispoint, so she obviously is one
of them.
And then many of you guys havemet Margaret, but a lot more of
you are going to meet herbecause I'm going to take her on
the road with me and we'regoing to do road trips and we're
going to go visit people andwe're going to go door to door
(11:19):
and if you haven't met us,you're going to meet us.
Um and reintroduce yourself asfar as it leading into this what
we're going to do with thispodcast.
Here we are, um featuring umtoadstools, which, which has the
um super slings and thesynthetic slings.
We are distributing theirproduct.
We're distributor.
(11:39):
We're a huge believer in it.
It is a phenomenal.
It is a phenomenal product at avery good price point and it is
a West approved product as well.
It's a high standard.
We are honored to have Johnnyand Adam from Tow Tools on this
podcast with us.
We'll have them right after thebreak.
(12:00):
I just do want to point outsomething.
Towing equipment direct is nota new thing.
As many of you know, we've beenin the towing equipment sales
for 20 years now and I did it acouple other times before that.
It's a website that we boughtfrom Todd Chase that he had set
up back.
We had it for seven yearsbecause we got it before the
(12:21):
pandemic and we went with itbecause it was a working website
and whatnot.
So that name,tonyequipmentdirectcom.
It's been around for a minuteand it's not a new thing.
The website's been around foryears, like I say, and we're
very thankful that April isgoing to carry on with it and
(12:43):
take it to a whole new level,which, again, she basically ran
the thing anyway.
So, with Margaret and Kimtaking everything to another
level, we're really excitedabout that and we'll always have
Wes here in our back pocket.
He's got the technicalknowledge of this stuff and I'll
(13:07):
always have him at a.
If he's not right here besideme, I've got him at, you know,
at the tip of my fingers with aphone call and if he doesn't
know, he knows somebody who doesknow.
And that's gonna be ourphilosophy if we don't know, we
know somebody who does know wedon't know everything so but we
do know people who do in generaluh can get us answers for
things too.
So we're excited.
(13:27):
We absolutely are.
We got a couple training datescoming up.
Let me tell you about those.
September 6th and 7th we'regoing to be in Indianapolis for
a two-day heavy duty.
October 3rd to the 5th we'regoing to be in Buffalo, new York
(13:47):
.
Myself and JT will be therewith a surprise instructor for
an extreme heavy duty class.
We're going to do some heavywinching.
Then we'll be at the TennesseeToe Show the 9th and the 10th
for a two-day heavy duty tonerecovery class.
Going to do some heavy winching.
Then we'll be at the TennesseeToe Show the 9th and the 10th
for a two day heavy duty towingrecovery class Weekend.
After that we'll off go towingLake Station, indiana, october
(14:12):
17th and 18th and then we'll befirst weekend of November.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
We're going to be down in Enterprise, alabama.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
One day light duty on November 7th.
Two day heavy duty on November8th and 9th.
Then we'll be in Lake Charles,louisiana, working with the Tony
Recovery Professional ofLouisiana.
We'll be there November 15thfor a one day light duty,
november 15th for a one dayheavy duty, and then we'll be
(14:44):
rounding out the year.
It looks like in Florida AprilFlorida, and that'll be the
first weekend of December.
Yeah, december's probably on abad time of the year to go to
Florida.
Yeah, schedule's working outpretty good this year.
We're following the weather, soof course we're appreciative of
(15:06):
all the different folks that arehosting some of these classes
and putting in the hard work tomake them come together.
We have some more stuff.
We'll confirm and we'll get onthe schedule as well.
I hope you see us in our newtraining classes.
Let's take a quick break.
After the break we'll be backwith Johnny and Adam.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
T-R-A-A, the Injured Drivers Fund, and legislation
that makes all of us safer arewhat makes this industry special
.
Ina Towing supports all of thisand more.
When there is a need, gayRochester is always one of the
first to come forward and askhow can I help?
The American Towing andRecovery Institute is honored to
(15:48):
have the support of the INATowing Network.
Together, we all make adifference.
Ina Towing Network SimplifiedSolutions, superior Service
Welcome back listeners.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
You know you're listening to Towing Network.
Simplified Solutions SuperiorService.
Welcome back listeners.
You know you're listening toTowing News Channel.
It's great, it's growing and Ican't thank you enough.
Remember that we are availableevery week Wes Wilburn, April
Wilburn, DJ Harrington, the TowDoctor.
We're available on Spotify,iTunes, Pandora, Stitcher,
(16:23):
iHeartMedia, Amazon or whereveryou get your podcasts, and we
can't thank you enough forhelping us get up to 20,000
listeners, and I can't thank youenough.
So, without further ado, let mepass it right over to the main
man, Wes Wilburn.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Well, DJ, thank you and I appreciate all of your
efforts and the entire team'sefforts to hit that milestone of
listeners.
We definitely appreciate youfolks telling your friends to
hit that subscribe button.
So all that subscribing and,like DJ said, we're available in
all different places to getpodcasts.
So we try to make this podcastinformational and I've talked
(17:03):
about it loosely here but we'llput it a little bit more in high
gear.
April is totally taking overoperations at Towing Equipment
Direct, which is our partsbusiness.
It's towingequipmentdirectcomand she's going to talk more
about that.
And today we have a realspecial guest for you.
We have two of the fellows fromCoTools, johnny and.
(17:25):
Adam.
They're one of our mainsuppliers for synthetics and
we're doing a fair amount withthem.
We're going to be doing somemore, but today we're going to
focus on some of the superslings and soft shackles and
whatnot that we're working withthem now.
So, april, you want tointroduce them practically, I
guess.
Oh, yeah, and also, yeah, I amtaking over Towing Equipment
(17:48):
Direct, and a big feature ofTowing Equipment Direct is tow
tools.
We have an excellent product.
It is much more attainable toget as far as pipe points go
compared to maybe theircompetition.
And they're wonderful that draftship and place place.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
They're amazing amazing.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
And I think I'm going to have Adam and Donnie talk to
us about the Spectra and someof the quality that goes into
their product that we are soproud to feature.
Donnie, welcome to the show andtell us a little bit about
yourself.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Hi, thanks for inviting.
This is Johnny with Toe Toolsand of course, we have Adam with
us.
I have been in this industryfor I mean starting from going
to toe show and the stuff.
I have been here for over 20years and I know DJ from my
(18:47):
first show and Wes, of course,follow and many others, so I've
been knowing you guys for years.
And Toad Tools it used to be adivision of Savatech and we
break the Savatech towingdivision and became Toe Tools
(19:12):
back in 2015.
So that's where Toe Tools start, but you know the history is
over 10 years now.
So our main product right nowis Super Sling, synthetic
(19:34):
recovery rope, soft shackle andwinch rope, soft shock hole and
winch rope pretty mucheverything that synthetic, we,
we, we make them, you know.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
So that's one of the reasons we like geology.
You guys are manufactured.
That is a process on look outat I'm telling you get you,
tells us DJ pressure, but let'sget out of the division so
number.
Let me ask a question, johnnywhat is your involvement with
Total?
I know that you are there now,but what is your involvement
with them?
Speaker 3 (20:08):
I'm the owner of Total.
Total is one of the divisionsof Tissot Enterprise and we are
the manufacturer for many majorauto parts company and Total
Division is specially designedfor rescue, search and rigging
(20:32):
and so my involvement I meanbasically I run day-to-day along
with the team in California nowand pretty much taking care of
all the production schedule andthe material selecting with the
team.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Wow, that's a lot going on.
Yeah, adam, introduce yourself.
Well, hey, everybody, thanksfor having me.
Yeah, I am Adam Osterloo.
I've been with Tow Tools acouple years now as the regional
sales manager, and I got mystart in the towing industry
back in the mid-'90s and juststayed connected to it all those
(21:15):
years, even though I did otherthings along the way, and about
2013, towards the end of 2013, Istarted selling tow trucks and
Landall trailers out of LasVegas for a company that used to
be called Twin State Equipment,and somewhere along that line,
johnny and I met at a tow show Idon't remember exactly which
(21:38):
one it was, but I was alwaysmore on the truck sales side and
and I really got startedselling Johnny's stuff with my
own business here in Alabamaabout four or five years ago now
and and then became a salesmanager with him just a couple
(22:00):
years ago.
So, oh, wow, you've got quite arange of experience there.
Yeah, I'll just say that.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Definitely he's got the experience.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
I see that.
That's awesome.
That sounds like a good teamworking together.
I also see that music is one ofyour passions.
What instrument do you play?
I'm a multi-instrumentalist,but piano is my main instrument.
I started playing when I wasthree years old.
I'm the worship director at mychurch here in Madison, Alabama.
(22:34):
That's my full-time gig.
I keep all the volunteers goingthere and run all the music and
all the technical stuff for thechurch.
That's awesome.
He did really well with hischurch as well.
Yep, very good.
I enjoy it, cal.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, wes, I have to tell you this.
When I met Johnny, I had brownhair and I had hair.
That's how long Johnny and I,we crashed a party together.
Oh, my God, that's where wewere.
(23:17):
We were in the hallway andthere was a great party going on
and I had my doctor jacket onand, adam, I wear this doctor
jacket all the time, so I'veseen you at shows, but, yeah, I
have to tell you.
I went in and they said, oh,come on, in, doc, let me get you
a slice of pizza, let me getyou some cake, let me get you a
(23:38):
drink, let me, let me get yousome cake, let me get you a
drink.
And I said, well, I got myfriend Johnny with me.
So, oh, yeah, bring Johnny in.
And Johnny took over the wholeparty.
Oh I bet he did.
Yeah, he has a greatpersonality.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
I tried to do that.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Yes, yeah, I can see that you have a great
personality and you've done alot for the industry, and that's
part of this.
You know, when you bring onpeople like Adam, who has the
right culture, and then, all ofa sudden, people buy you, first,
your company, second, yourproduct and service, third, and
that's why Adam's done so wellin life.
(24:14):
So, adam, I was very glad thatApril talked you and Johnny into
the podcast, so I'll shut upWes and let you carry on this
conversation.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Well and you bring up a good point, dj Every auction,
every show that Johnny or ColdFoods has done, they've
contributed something like that.
What else can they do to help?
Yes, it's an outstandingcompany and we've got to take a
quick break, but after the breakwe'll come back to talk about
how we work with them so welland telling them something
direct.
That's Donnie Adams.
(24:48):
You can hang around until afterthe break, Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (24:56):
For electric and other alternative fuel vehicles.
We have developed an app thatgives you all the manufacturers
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police, we got you covered.
To find the EV Clever app, goto your Apple or Google Play
store for a 30-day free trial.
The National Tow OperatorCertification, an independently
(25:22):
sourced virtual testing programcovering light duty, heavy duty,
electric and alternative fuelvehicle.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Welcome back listeners.
Of course you know you'relistening to the number one
podcast in the towing andrecovery industry Towing News
Channel and I can't tell you howmuch these guys they're good
people and I want you to know.
If you ever get a chance, yougo by their booth, stop, visit
them and learn a little bitabout their product.
(25:48):
I want to remind all ourlisteners please remember to
like, review and shareeverywhere.
If you'd like to hear anotherindustry expert like Adam Sonny,
by all means yes, sonny's son.
If you want to see anotherindustry expert on the podcast
(26:10):
with us, just dial the hotlinenumber right here in the podcast
center 706 409 5603.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
We are so honored to have Johnny and Adam with Toe
Toes on with us and they are amain feature in our
TowingEquipmentDirectcom website.
We fill them up on our Facebookpages.
Their products are excellent.
Wes is very leery to promote aproduct at all whatsoever.
He needs to make sure it works,that it's a quality product.
(26:40):
He will not take on anythingthat he does not feel is worthy
of.
Number one is it's alife-and-death situation.
If the, if the equipment is notgood and um, he needs to make
sure that part is good and it'sJohnny Sun.
Total synthetic equipment hasheld up to that very high
standard, unless has a very highstandard as far as having
(27:03):
another guest join, likeJohnny's son.
I don't think so.
I think we got a unicorn righthere.
I have heard stories aboutJohnny and DJ at a post show and
something about a Japanesemafia.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
Maybe I'm not sure I don't know at a tow show and
something about a.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Japanese mafia?
Maybe I'm not sure.
I don't know, but I'm sure it'sa great story.
And how many drinks in were you?
Speaker 3 (27:29):
All right, this is a long, long, long story, but I
will make everything short.
Well, when I got into theindustry, it was a few of the
Japanese tow company contact ourJapan Osaka branch and they say
(27:50):
they had a problem with certainproduct in America.
And of course they bring thisto me because I'm the one
running everything in the state.
And so I went to the Toshio andI'm actually translating for
some of the which I think is atow company but tow box.
(28:15):
But later on I found out theyare actually Japanese mafia
roster whole company over there.
So everything interesting isafter the meeting and the
meeting, dj Dave and many othershere, of course also Jordan.
(28:35):
Then I went back to Japan tohave a meeting, went back to
Japan to have a meeting.
As soon as I landed in Japan Ichecked in my hotel, put down
everything.
My phone rang in the hotel roomand I'm like huh, I was just
getting ready for the meetingand so I pick up this phone call
(28:58):
.
So this guy on the other endspeak English, which you know I
was over in Japan, right?
So I'm like hi.
He said hi, mr Sun, this isso-and-so from the US Embassy,
and I'm like huh, yes, he saidwell, we know you are meeting
(29:20):
with so-and-so this afternoon.
What's your intention with him?
I'm like, well, I'm selling theproduct, and they asked me to
get in contact with some of theUS manufacturers.
And so he said well, you knowthat he is a very dangerous man
(29:41):
in Japan.
I said, well, I didn't knowthat, but now I know what should
I do.
He said, well, you just go toyour meeting, we are watching
you, just stay calm and be safe.
I'm like okay, if anythingdangerous, are you going?
Are you coming to save me?
(30:02):
Well, of course they are notright.
So, but they just, you know,they just want to know why I'm
meeting those people, you know.
But they do know who I am andknow where I check in.
That's where I was surprised.
So, but anyway, after the years, you know, I had a good talk
(30:24):
with the big boss and then Istarted bringing more of the
Japanese team together.
Then that's how I got involvedwith Savatek, then became Dojo's
, so that's how the whole storywas.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
So the mafia helped you get into the Savatek, or no?
I don't think that's true.
No.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
No, they won Savatek.
They won exclusive with Savatek, with Airbag at that time, and
I know that's not the way to go.
And okay, they actually startwith.
They want $200,000 as aninvestment into their group,
which I say no.
And I do remember the employeeI have in Japan.
(31:11):
He was so nervous when I say noand I say that I just don't
want to pay the money and havethem just do that for me.
But they were saying that, hey,if you pay us, we will promote
your product.
But I said no, I want people tolike the product and know the
(31:34):
quality.
Is there not like you guysdominate them to buy our stuff?
And I had to pay you, which Iknow that later on I probably
have to pay every year, right?
Speaker 2 (31:46):
so once they had you paying, that amount of money was
always going to be an out forit yeah and I know, at that
meeting table I think it's over18 of them.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
They all wear masks.
I mean you have to imagine thatI walk in.
About 18 people sit in the roomwearing masks and this is way
before COVID.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Okay, what year was this, I was going to ask.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
This is back in 2010.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
Oh yeah, they're a little bit premature in the
mouth 2010.
Oh yeah, they're a little bitpremature, they're in the mouth.
This is why everybody inside ofToe Tools refers to Johnny as
the Don we got the godfather ofthe Toe Tools podcast and DJ
Harrington, and we have the Donof the Japanese mafia, I guess.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
But they are all good men.
I mean.
In some way I say, hey, theyrun, the good Japanese do run a
good pulling company.
I mean, but just, they are allrelated to the mafia group
somehow.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
I will say this last time that I got to meet them,
they did bring some of the bestwhiskey we've ever had, it was
fantastic, that's a strong point.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Yes, For sure.
Well, we got you from.
How long have you been, Johnny?
How long have you been inAmerica?
Speaker 3 (33:21):
I've been here since 92, so what?
It's over 30, 40 years now.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Two generations, that's awesome.
Yeah, yeah, so you're superslangs.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
One of the things I like about them is they have
that black to dark cover, whichis negotiable how effective it
is.
They have that rubber hose inthe middle.
Isn't that what makes them sodurable?
Speaker 3 (33:47):
Yes, super Swing is using the Honeywell Spectra US
made material for the roll.
We specially select thatmaterial because it is the
strongest material.
(34:07):
That is also used on thebulletproof vest, and so when we
and the engineer reviewing therope, we know we need something
really, really strong, andthat's what we pick at that time
(34:29):
.
So and it's Honeywell SpectraSuper Swing.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
So that's Kevlar, you use Kevlar?
No, it's a type of Kevlar, is abrand name.
Yeah, Kleenex is a brand namefor tissue.
Yeah, kleenex is a brand namefor a tissue.
What I know about Spectra waswhen Kevlar was first tried in
the early 90s in round slingsand was effective for strength
but would fail because of heatbuildup, spectra was one of the
(34:56):
products they turned to and,like you say, it's made by
Honeywell, which is a verytrusted American-made firm, and
Spectre is another type of brandname of high-performance fiber
that's been around forgenerations and it's a seed for
Kevlar in some areas.
Would you say that's accurate,johnny or Adam?
(35:18):
Well, you've got differentapplications.
So Kevlar is more of a whatwould you say?
Maybe more of like a wovenfiber that you're going to put
in a sheet, whereas the Spectrais what you're going to make a
rope out of.
It's used in Bulletproof Vest.
(35:40):
It's also used in biomedicalapplications.
It's used, you know, when yougo, when you talk to like
professional climbers andriggers that are doing for, like
, high mountain rescue and stufflike that Spectre is often the
preferred rope compound to use.
(36:01):
It's used in all othersynthetic rope applications, say
marine and uh lifting militarymilitary.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So it's a well-known, improvingproduct.
There's no doubt about it.
Right, and one of the things Isay to people when they get
those, they're not bulletproofyou can't just put them in any
(36:25):
chain, but they do have thatextra layer of protection, and
that helps a lot, doesn't it?
Speaker 3 (36:31):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Yeah, anytime you add something between what you're
hooking to, whether it's thatCordura sleeve, or sometimes you
have to use more than a cordurasleeve if you've got more of a
sharp edge or a hard corner.
Sometimes you need an old floormat or mud flap or something,
(36:56):
but anytime you put something inbetween it, you're just saving,
you're extending the life ofthat rope.
Sure, one of the things I liketo use to protect straps whether
they're the high-performancefibers like what we're talking
about, just regular polyesterrecovery straps A great tool is
a mat that's made for a horse'sstall.
(37:19):
Buy it down at a tractor supplycompany, et cetera.
It's like a waffle, almost, andit's a great protection for
straps.
It really is.
Yep, those are.
I've seen you, I've been withyou when you've got those and
I've seen when we cut.
What you do is cut strips withit, right, wes.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
You cut strips and you use it like that Excellent
protection.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
And it's cost efficient too.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
Yeah, that's right you cut strips and you use it
like that.
Excellent protection and it'scost efficient too.
I mean, they don't cost thatmuch and you could use that mat
in four or five different pieces.
Sure, absolutely.
Yeah, we love the SuperSplint.
We've been using them for yearsnow.
We really believe in theproduct.
Come to a training class,you'll see us use them often.
Talk to us about the softshackles.
(38:06):
Can you explain?
a little bit about that, Welllet's go to a break and then,
when we come back, I would loveto talk about these soft
shackles, because that's a veryoften asked question of me now.
So everybody, come back with abreak with us and we will
discuss these soft shackles.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
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(38:49):
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Savvy consumers can quicklytell which towing companies
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In many cases, the quality ofyour equipment and supplies can
(39:11):
make a huge difference.
Our representatives areknowledgeable in the towing
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Browse our catalog online attowingequipmentdirectcom or give
usa call at 910-747-9000.
That's 910-747-9000.
(39:31):
We look forward to serving you.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
Welcome back listeners.
You know you're listening tothe Towing News Now channel.
This has been a great interviewwith with Tow Tools and I think
it's great to have Johnny andAdam on here.
So, April, let me pass it onback over to you and Wes.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
As we were going through this break, we started
talking about the soft shackles,and that has been a question a
lot of people have asked meabout Anybody who's used it.
People are reluctant to use newthings, and especially when it
comes like a shackle but,anybody who's used it has raged,
raged about it, and I wouldlove to hear your guys's input
(40:13):
on these and and how they workin speech.
Make it away.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
Johnny, okay, um, soft shackle.
I mean this, this productactually come right out after we
have success in the super slingand of course that we also
using Honeywell Spectra as amaterial for the soft shackle
and we actually specially defineour shackle with certain links.
(40:44):
If you have seen our softshackle, you will notice that we
are longer than the normalshackles.
The reason of that is we haveespecially choice the links to
choice the links to for youreveryday work, because some of
(41:06):
the shuffles are just way tooshort and difficult to hook on
and our extreme soft shufflesare all specially designed in
different size and the links foryou to easily to hook on and,
of course, is just as strong asa super flowing that's a great
(41:32):
time.
Speaker 2 (41:32):
So taking the end user actually using the product
into a town, a lot of really manpractice in the set point,
that's excellent yes, I see thatyou have.
The range in your sizes arethree, eight, up to one inch.
And then, for example, I'mlooking at a 7, 16 and it says
extreme on it.
That's the extremely that Ithink, and that is a 20
(41:52):
millimeter soft shackle, or 20,20 inches.
Yes.
What is the difference in theextreme versions and the rig,
the other type of soft shacklethat you have?
Speaker 3 (42:06):
Well, the extreme.
So what happened is there onthe 3a and the 716?
We have them in the off-roadmarket so that is why for a
while we we've been calling themextreme, uh, soft charcoal and
(42:26):
um.
So 3a and 716 pretty much aregood for, you know, day-to-day
(42:48):
work and the 1-inch they areusing by the Navy.
I know that they have been onthe underwater mission to pick
up some of the submarine UAV, topick up some of the submarine
UAV, that type of equipment.
(43:09):
So we know they are working onthe extreme condition.
So it's perfect to the name andalso the product.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
And so this works well underwater as well for any
underwater rescues or recoverythat need to be done, and it's
very versatile, it's easier,it's a lot lighter to carry.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
And much easier to dive with that.
Also, in the water it's slow,so the diver can much easier to
carry them.
Speaker 2 (43:45):
Definitely a good tool in the modern age that
makes a lot of sense.
So one of the things we've doneat Towing Equipment Direct is
we've actually created packages.
We've got a package on there ofus running a heavy duty with
the super slings.
I'd want on with the shackles.
So that's something new thatwe're carrying on our
TowingEquipmentDirectcom website.
(44:06):
And the last thing I want totalk about today is the
synthetic rope, which we're justgoing to get ready to start
adding to the website.
Tell us about the syntheticwinch lines.
That especially folks will add.
Well, synthetic winch lines arestill I would say, they're still
(44:29):
being still being introduced,or not necessarily introduced.
They're still being adopted bea better word um by the towing
recovery uh industry and and tosome, to some degree, you've got
um.
The reason that is it's becauseyou still got manufacturers
that are still learning thebenefits of synthetic rope and
(44:52):
you need to set up your truckjust a little bit different to
run synthetic rope on it ratherthan your typical steel winch
lines, and also there are somestates that really mandate that
(45:16):
it be an OEM-equipped thing.
So if the truck didn'toriginally come with synthetics,
then switching it over mightexclude you from a towing
contract in certainjurisdictions, in certain states
.
So it's still being adopted.
However, it's a much safer wayto go because we all know that
these things break and typicallywhat ends up causing human harm
(45:44):
is the recoil effect caused bythe memory of steel.
So as you bend steel over a drumit creates a memory and once
that is loaded with, you know,pulled under load, pulled
tension under load, you've gotalready kinetic energy built up
(46:05):
from that load, but then you'vegot that multiplied by the
recoil effect and that canreally be a killer.
So the big draw and the bigpush that really should exist to
go to synthetic rope is reallybased on the safety of the
operator and safety of anybodyelse on scene.
Beyond that, you run a higherminimum break strength on
(46:30):
synthetics across the board andso you wind up with a product
that's lighter, a product that'ssafer and a product that's just
as strong, if not stronger,than your steel rope.
I knew the minimum brake stress.
What was the working loadcompared to the comparable chain
(46:52):
?
Well, the working load limit isa little different calculation
that's based on an engineeringspec.
It's an engineering safety spec.
A lot of our Super Slings are a1-3 or a 1-5 engineering spec
and you'll see that on ourwebsite, different product pages
(47:17):
.
And, johnny, I think it's a 1-3on the winch lines.
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (47:23):
Yes, we have a oh no, no, we have a full size, we
have a 3A now and the workthough the, the engineering spec
for the working load.
Speaker 2 (47:33):
So it's a one-third of the of the minimum brake
strength as you're working loadon them on the winch lines, is
that correct?
Speaker 3 (47:40):
Correct, that's correct.
Yeah and yeah they are 85%lighter than the steel cable.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
Right now he's the pound to pound equivalent, so I
got confused by the questionhere same size rope versus steel
cable, three-quarter inch, on abig heavy-duty fiber, the
synthetic.
You guys are talking slightlystronger.
Speaker 4 (48:06):
There's a higher.
Speaker 2 (48:08):
It has a higher break strength, but the working load
is going to be Usually the same,if not just a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (48:20):
Well, the I know our winch line actually come out
from some of our Super Sling andSoft Shocker customers and
they've been asking about it.
Ron Meyer at Ohio.
(48:41):
He helped us develop this prowinch line and they have been
using a lot of customers in OhioPennsylvania area.
They have been using our winchline for years and I understand
(49:04):
why they need that in that areabecause the cold winter the
synthetic winch line are waybetter to handle within the cold
and the raining weather.
Speaker 2 (49:19):
I see that.
Speaker 3 (49:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (49:21):
I got a couple comments tonight.
First of all, somebody that I'mtalking to is thinking about
switching to synthetic winchline.
I suggest you'll never, ever doit unless it's a brand new
truck.
It's never had steel cable onany of the pulleys, any of the
winch drums, etc.
That way you can get, you cango let me up, you can go over
(49:44):
those wind strums and thosepulleys with a file, all you
want.
You're going to miss some littlespot and have a burr in that
pulley.
That's going to cause thebeginning of the failure of the
rope.
And when the rope fails, though, it can be tied in a knot to be
repaired, etc.
You can't do that with a steeltable.
There's actual splicing methodsas well, isn't it Not with
(50:08):
synthetic ropes?
Let me take that back.
You can weave it back together,and you can splice it back
together, and you can use thedifferent splicing tools and the
needles and that to weave itback together.
You take upon yourself the riskof you know when that breaks,
(50:30):
right, when that breaks it's,it's on you, it's not so.
I'm not a big boy, but thatwould be a temporary emergency
in the field repair only.
Yeah, I was going with that is.
I recommend to folks that whenthey're going to try to do it on
a brand new truck, never seensteel cable.
The other thing, when I lookedover the years at the price
(50:53):
versus a steel cable, versussynthetic cost of something is
one thing.
The value of something is awhole other subject of something
is a whole other subject.
The value that steel table doesnot have to go out of a big
wind shop, come back to the shop, unwind it, rewind it.
The value of that time has tohave a value.
The value of your shouldersdealing with that steel table,
(51:17):
pulling out 200 foot of it topull something that has to have
a value.
You calculate, calculate.
All that in the synthetic winchline is a much better deal in
the long run in my opinion yes,so anyway, that's my two cents
worth.
Speaker 3 (51:35):
Well, I know that a lot of times people will use our
winch line extension first.
So we have a line of theextension that you can use as an
add-on.
If you still want to run yoursteel cable as a base but you
(51:56):
want the reach out to besynthetic, our winch line
extension.
It is actually one of ourpopular items for people who
still want to run both.
You can run on both steel andsynthetic all together.
The benefit of the extensionwinch line in synthetic is way
(52:21):
easy to handle.
Lighter, 85% lighter than thesteel cable.
So that's that's one of thechoice for the 716, 3a, 3
quarter and the 5a.
Well, a while ago, as in theolder, but you know, that's
(52:44):
that's the size of the extensionline we have the one thing to a
lot of people start with thatextension line.
Speaker 2 (52:52):
We, over the years, introduce the people to the
synthetic winch lines.
They start with the extensionto use them a couple times and
try one on a new truck.
That's great information.
Now I was just going to saythat extension line you know.
Another great thing about it is, if you've done work with wire
rope extensions, you know howmuch of a pain they are to put
(53:14):
back in the toolbox once youdeploy them the first time.
With a synthetic winch lineit's much easier to pack up and
deploy every time than a steelextension will ever be.
You'll save so much timedealing with a synthetic winch
line extension than you willworking with a steel one.
(53:36):
Absolutely agree.
So yeah, winch extension lines,we're adding them to
towingequipmentdirectcom rightnow along with the winch lines.
Like I said, we've got somepretty exciting packages with
the different slings what Iwould use on a heavy, what I
would use on a medium.
So we encourage everybody to goto our website and check that
(53:57):
out.
Guys, I don't want to rush youoff, but we're right out of
studio time.
So yeah, both of you can giveus some parting words please.
Speaker 3 (54:05):
Well, thanks for the time and it was good to talk to
you guys in the air, and weshould do this sometimes again.
Speaker 2 (54:17):
We definitely will.
Absolutely, we will, Adam.
Hey, yeah, thank you very muchfor having us on.
It's been a pleasure and welook forward to doing this again
in the future.
Awesome April, close us down.
If you guys would love to learnmore about Toll Tools and Total
Equipment Direct, visit us atTotalEquipmentDirectcom or call
(54:40):
me at 910-747-9000.
Dj, I think this one's going tobe a good one.
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (54:47):
I think it would be a fantastic one, and a lot of
people will listen to it.
All of these, johnny and Adam,we archive them.
So, months later, if someonewants to learn more about toe
tools, all they have to do isdial up the podcast, hook it
onto their phone, and's it.
That's why we've been blessedwith so many good listeners, and
(55:08):
I can't thank the the peopleout there telling their friends
about the, the new towingchannel.
Speaker 2 (55:14):
So it's excellent we thank you for everything you do.
Dj, thank chuck, thank theentire atri team until Until
next time.
We love you, America.
Peace, faith and love.
you're on the train to success with april and wes
wilburn.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
I'm dj harrington, the co-host, better known as the
toe doctor.
We're all on our way to thetown of proper towing and
recovery, along with ourproducer, chuck camp, in the
studio.
Don't go to the town of woulda,coulda, shoulda, you coulda had
done this.
You should have done that.
(00:30):
Listen every week tothought-provoking wisdom from
great guests.
So if you have Spotify, itunes,pandora, stitcher, iheartmedia
or the number one podcast ormaybe Amazon or wherever you get
your podcasts, turn in onWednesday and be turned on all
(00:55):
week long.
If you are a state associationand want your announcements or
upcoming state association news,announcements or upcoming state
association news or maybe a toeshow that's coming up, let us
know.
Our podcast studio phone numberis 706-409-5603 I'm proud to be
(01:16):
part of a great team at theamerican dorm recovery institute
.
Let's make 2025 our best yearever.
I will turn it to April Loomis.
Well, dj, as always, I thankyou for your kind words and your
partnership on this podcast.
You've been an integral part ofmaking this successful.
We thank you, thank the wholeteam here at ATI For helping us
(01:41):
bring this thing along.
Of course, april does a bigpart and she's doing even more.
April, how are you doing today?
I'm doing pretty good and I'mvery amazed at how we've all
kind of grown together with thispodcast too, and how big it's
gotten.
It's kind of humbling andimpressive at all at the same
time to think of where westarted off at to us being up to
(02:05):
about 20,000 people listeningto this literally all the time.
now, you know, it's just amazingto me that we were able to
achieve this together.
So, dj and Chuck, reallyappreciate you guys sticking
with us and hanging in with uswhile we have been able to do
this together.
And, wes, I got to tell you itis- my honor that you and April
(02:31):
have grown your podcast.
I want to tell our listeners Ido a podcast for the auto
recycling industry and they'restruggling to get 8,000
listeners.
And here's Wes and April with8,000 listeners.
And here's Wes and April with a20,000 listeners all across the
world.
We have people in Australialistening to us, people in the
(02:54):
UK are listening and I thinkit's one of the best things that
Wes and April.
When I asked Wes what heconsidered doing a podcast I'd
like to be his co-host he waslike well, what do you think,
doc?
I mean I'm with you, so it'sbeen a real pleasure.
And think about all thecharities that we've helped and
(03:15):
the state associations thatwe've helped, tunnels and towers
that we've helped.
I mean there are so many goodthings, wes, that you have
contributed to the industry, soyou really I should tip my hat
to you in April.
Well, thanks, cj.
Right back at you, buddy, youmade a whole lot of this
possible, a whole lot of itpossible.
(03:38):
Yeah, with the tunnels, withHarrison, we need to get that
young man back on.
We need to make arrangementsfor that.
He got promoted to a differentdivision and there's another
gentleman.
Believe it or not, we did sowell.
I want to tell our listeners wedid so well that the man who
(03:59):
heads up the eradicatinghomeless veterans is now our
answer guy Paul Myers.
And Paul Myers is the head ofthe villages for the eradicating
homelessness for veterans.
So what they do is they buy ahotel and I want to tell all the
(04:21):
listeners, they buy anabandoned hotel or a hotel that
went out of business two orthree years ago, like in Atlanta
here.
They bought the Western Hotelnext to Six Flags, literally
next to Six Flags.
They redid it, so the firstfloor is for all administration,
and then the second, third andfourth floor of the hotel are
(04:43):
all living residences, and thenthe second, third and fourth
floor of the hotel are allliving residences.
And they took veterans off thestreet and moved them into this
beautiful location, and thegrand opening is going to be in
August sometime, so I keepeverybody posted of when the
grand opening is.
And then the van we donated,they wrapped it and they're
(05:03):
going to present it that day inAtlanta.
Ina was a big part of gettingAtlanta in care, of course,
wasn't it?
Well, yes, yes.
I want you to know, ina wasinvolved in putting the ramp we
bought and it was so good.
They explained it to me.
(05:25):
This is a scissor lift, whereit lifts the wheelchair and
rolls right into the vehicle, soit's really really nice.
It went with it.
It was brand new from mobility,so it was nice and so this will
be good.
this will take them west.
This will take them to you knowdoctor appointments or their
(05:46):
weekly trip to Walmart or Targetor wherever to get their
shaving equipment and you knowmouthwash and that kind of stuff
.
But it's going to be a job.
Employment place is on thefirst floor.
Counseling is on the firstfloor, so it's pretty good.
Counseling is on the firstfloor, so it's it's pretty good.
(06:07):
I know a movement made a veryimpressive how well thought that
out.
That is as far as like theconveniences that it gives them.
The thing that we take forgranted every day being able to
go get the toiletries and thegroceries and the doctors visit
and getting a job those thingsthat we take for granted that we
can just do so easily is thatit can be an obstacle to
overcome and they justmainstream that for them.
(06:29):
Yeah, and April, I want all ourlisteners to know that every
one of the villages is builtvery close to the veteran
hospital, so there's a veteranhospital right there and all the
locations, like the one theyhave up in Nashville that
they're working on now, is rightnext door but about four or
(06:53):
five blocks away from theveterans hospital.
So that's what they do they tieinto a veteran hospital area
and then they take the veteransthat are living on the street
and then move them into theirown, their own space, so they
have their dishwasher and theyhave a refrigerator and a
bedroom and a living room and atelevision and an ironing board,
(07:17):
all that stuff and they havebj just interrupts for, once
again, just a a safe place to betoo, just some place where you
can go close the door and justhave your own yes, your own
privacy, and it builds up yourown self-worth.
So you get off the streets andout and handling and you know,
(07:40):
it's set up for wheelchairs,it's set up for rollators, it's
set up for everything to get theperson around.
And then the ones that can workthey're actually getting them
back to work again.
And, being so close to SixFlags, I cheesed and I said they
literally, because when the guytold me to go to Six Flags, I'd
(08:03):
go to Six Flags and the parkinglot.
I joined the parking lot of theWestern Hotel that they took
over and it's a beautiful sign.
The villages for Donald's house.
It's gorgeous.
They could walk to work if theygot jobs.
It's a great project.
(08:23):
We can't thank you enough forgetting us involved with that,
dj, and we want to thank INA fortheir sponsorship of us and
also this project.
Great, great folks.
We really appreciate them.
Ina Day, rochester we're justgoing to say her name because
she's spectacular and all thethings that she's done and all
the people that she's helped too.
She really has done a lot ofbehind the scenes things that
(08:47):
she doesn't want to take creditfor.
She doesn't want theacknowledgement or the attention
for it, but I'm going to takecredit for her a little bit
right now.
She's an amazing person.
She absolutely is.
Yeah, I agree with you.
You know she does Reefs ofAmerica and she does all that
stuff and then up at theBaltimore Toe Show she does
(09:10):
fundraising for up there.
She's done all the fundraisingfor TRAA, for Hills Days, and
she's just a very gifted ladyand she was the one Wes when I
was feeding the homeless.
It was Gay.
When I was feeding the homeless, it was Gay Rochester who gave
me the idea.
So I was looking for empty cansand she said, well, dj, just
(09:31):
buy the cans at the store and goand donate the soup.
So I donated the soup and theygave me back the empty cans with
the labels off so I could makeeye cans.
It's got colleges and schoolsand that kind of thing, so it
worked out good.
Kay, rochester is a very giftedlady and she's done a lot.
(09:52):
She, too, has done a lot for ourindustry.
Yes, she has, absolutely so.
Speaking of great ladies, aprilWilburn's another great lady,
as people know, she's prettymuch runs things here, and her
and a group of females aretaking over Tony Quidman Direct,
the minority-owned business,and so we're going to put a
(10:14):
little bit of a spotlight onthat today, and that also will
lead us to our guest, april,talk to us about Tony Quidman
Direct.
Tony Quidman Direct is thewebsite that we've had and
that's, I guess, the umbrella ofwhich we're going to go under.
I am taking on the equipmentsales, which I've been
indirectly involved with to someextent anyway, so I've already
(10:36):
got kind of that leg into it,but I'm taking more of a
leadership and ownership role inthat we are a what's always
said I say this wrong.
We are a majority minorityowned.
It's going to be female owned.
I'm probably the principal ofit, but we have a couple other
(10:58):
ladies that's going to come onboard with us.
Kim Holcomb has already beenintricate in everything that
we've done anyway up until thispoint, so she obviously is one
of them.
And then many of you guys havemet Margaret, but a lot more of
you are going to meet herbecause I'm going to take her on
the road with me and we'regoing to do road trips and we're
going to go visit people andwe're going to go door to door
(11:19):
and if you haven't met us,you're going to meet us.
Um and reintroduce yourself asfar as it leading into this what
we're going to do with thispodcast.
Here we are, um featuring umtoadstools, which, which has the
um super slings and thesynthetic slings.
We are distributing theirproduct.
We're distributor.
(11:39):
We're a huge believer in it.
It is a phenomenal.
It is a phenomenal product at avery good price point and it is
a West approved product as well.
It's a high standard.
We are honored to have Johnnyand Adam from Tow Tools on this
podcast with us.
We'll have them right after thebreak.
(12:00):
I just do want to point outsomething.
Towing equipment direct is nota new thing.
As many of you know, we've beenin the towing equipment sales
for 20 years now and I did it acouple other times before that.
It's a website that we boughtfrom Todd Chase that he had set
up back.
We had it for seven yearsbecause we got it before the
(12:21):
pandemic and we went with itbecause it was a working website
and whatnot.
So that name,tonyequipmentdirectcom.
It's been around for a minuteand it's not a new thing.
The website's been around foryears, like I say, and we're
very thankful that April isgoing to carry on with it and
(12:43):
take it to a whole new level,which, again, she basically ran
the thing anyway.
So, with Margaret and Kimtaking everything to another
level, we're really excitedabout that and we'll always have
Wes here in our back pocket.
He's got the technicalknowledge of this stuff and I'll
(13:07):
always have him at a.
If he's not right here besideme, I've got him at, you know,
at the tip of my fingers with aphone call and if he doesn't
know, he knows somebody who doesknow.
And that's gonna be ourphilosophy if we don't know, we
know somebody who does know wedon't know everything so but we
do know people who do in generaluh can get us answers for
things too.
So we're excited.
(13:27):
We absolutely are.
We got a couple training datescoming up.
Let me tell you about those.
September 6th and 7th we'regoing to be in Indianapolis for
a two-day heavy duty.
October 3rd to the 5th we'regoing to be in Buffalo, new York
(13:47):
.
Myself and JT will be therewith a surprise instructor for
an extreme heavy duty class.
We're going to do some heavywinching.
Then we'll be at the TennesseeToe Show the 9th and the 10th
for a two-day heavy duty tonerecovery class.
Going to do some heavy winching.
Then we'll be at the TennesseeToe Show the 9th and the 10th
for a two day heavy duty towingrecovery class Weekend.
After that we'll off go towingLake Station, indiana, october
(14:12):
17th and 18th and then we'll befirst weekend of November.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
We're going to be down in Enterprise, alabama.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
One day light duty on November 7th.
Two day heavy duty on November8th and 9th.
Then we'll be in Lake Charles,louisiana, working with the Tony
Recovery Professional ofLouisiana.
We'll be there November 15thfor a one day light duty,
november 15th for a one dayheavy duty, and then we'll be
(14:44):
rounding out the year.
It looks like in Florida AprilFlorida, and that'll be the
first weekend of December.
Yeah, december's probably on abad time of the year to go to
Florida.
Yeah, schedule's working outpretty good this year.
We're following the weather, soof course we're appreciative of
(15:06):
all the different folks that arehosting some of these classes
and putting in the hard work tomake them come together.
We have some more stuff.
We'll confirm and we'll get onthe schedule as well.
I hope you see us in our newtraining classes.
Let's take a quick break.
After the break we'll be backwith Johnny and Adam.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
T-R-A-A, the Injured Drivers Fund, and legislation
that makes all of us safer arewhat makes this industry special
.
Ina Towing supports all of thisand more.
When there is a need, gayRochester is always one of the
first to come forward and askhow can I help?
The American Towing andRecovery Institute is honored to
(15:48):
have the support of the INATowing Network.
Together, we all make adifference.
Ina Towing Network SimplifiedSolutions, superior Service
Welcome back listeners.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
You know you're listening to Towing Network.
Simplified Solutions SuperiorService.
Welcome back listeners.
You know you're listening toTowing News Channel.
It's great, it's growing and Ican't thank you enough.
Remember that we are availableevery week Wes Wilburn, April
Wilburn, DJ Harrington, the TowDoctor.
We're available on Spotify,iTunes, Pandora, Stitcher,
(16:23):
iHeartMedia, Amazon or whereveryou get your podcasts, and we
can't thank you enough forhelping us get up to 20,000
listeners, and I can't thank youenough.
So, without further ado, let mepass it right over to the main
man, Wes Wilburn.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Well, DJ, thank you and I appreciate all of your
efforts and the entire team'sefforts to hit that milestone of
listeners.
We definitely appreciate youfolks telling your friends to
hit that subscribe button.
So all that subscribing and,like DJ said, we're available in
all different places to getpodcasts.
So we try to make this podcastinformational and I've talked
(17:03):
about it loosely here but we'llput it a little bit more in high
gear.
April is totally taking overoperations at Towing Equipment
Direct, which is our partsbusiness.
It's towingequipmentdirectcomand she's going to talk more
about that.
And today we have a realspecial guest for you.
We have two of the fellows fromCoTools, johnny and.
(17:25):
Adam.
They're one of our mainsuppliers for synthetics and
we're doing a fair amount withthem.
We're going to be doing somemore, but today we're going to
focus on some of the superslings and soft shackles and
whatnot that we're working withthem now.
So, april, you want tointroduce them practically, I
guess.
Oh, yeah, and also, yeah, I amtaking over Towing Equipment
(17:48):
Direct, and a big feature ofTowing Equipment Direct is tow
tools.
We have an excellent product.
It is much more attainable toget as far as pipe points go
compared to maybe theircompetition.
And they're wonderful that draftship and place place.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
They're amazing amazing.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
And I think I'm going to have Adam and Donnie talk to
us about the Spectra and someof the quality that goes into
their product that we are soproud to feature.
Donnie, welcome to the show andtell us a little bit about
yourself.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Hi, thanks for inviting.
This is Johnny with Toe Toolsand of course, we have Adam with
us.
I have been in this industryfor I mean starting from going
to toe show and the stuff.
I have been here for over 20years and I know DJ from my
(18:47):
first show and Wes, of course,follow and many others, so I've
been knowing you guys for years.
And Toad Tools it used to be adivision of Savatech and we
break the Savatech towingdivision and became Toe Tools
(19:12):
back in 2015.
So that's where Toe Tools start, but you know the history is
over 10 years now.
So our main product right nowis Super Sling, synthetic
(19:34):
recovery rope, soft shackle andwinch rope, soft shock hole and
winch rope pretty mucheverything that synthetic, we,
we, we make them, you know.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
So that's one of the reasons we like geology.
You guys are manufactured.
That is a process on look outat I'm telling you get you,
tells us DJ pressure, but let'sget out of the division so
number.
Let me ask a question, johnnywhat is your involvement with
Total?
I know that you are there now,but what is your involvement
with them?
Speaker 3 (20:08):
I'm the owner of Total.
Total is one of the divisionsof Tissot Enterprise and we are
the manufacturer for many majorauto parts company and Total
Division is specially designedfor rescue, search and rigging
(20:32):
and so my involvement I meanbasically I run day-to-day along
with the team in California nowand pretty much taking care of
all the production schedule andthe material selecting with the
team.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
Wow, that's a lot going on.
Yeah, adam, introduce yourself.
Well, hey, everybody, thanksfor having me.
Yeah, I am Adam Osterloo.
I've been with Tow Tools acouple years now as the regional
sales manager, and I got mystart in the towing industry
back in the mid-'90s and juststayed connected to it all those
(21:15):
years, even though I did otherthings along the way, and about
2013, towards the end of 2013, Istarted selling tow trucks and
Landall trailers out of LasVegas for a company that used to
be called Twin State Equipment,and somewhere along that line,
johnny and I met at a tow show Idon't remember exactly which
(21:38):
one it was, but I was alwaysmore on the truck sales side and
and I really got startedselling Johnny's stuff with my
own business here in Alabamaabout four or five years ago now
and and then became a salesmanager with him just a couple
(22:00):
years ago.
So, oh, wow, you've got quite arange of experience there.
Yeah, I'll just say that.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Definitely he's got the experience.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
I see that.
That's awesome.
That sounds like a good teamworking together.
I also see that music is one ofyour passions.
What instrument do you play?
I'm a multi-instrumentalist,but piano is my main instrument.
I started playing when I wasthree years old.
I'm the worship director at mychurch here in Madison, Alabama.
(22:34):
That's my full-time gig.
I keep all the volunteers goingthere and run all the music and
all the technical stuff for thechurch.
That's awesome.
He did really well with hischurch as well.
Yep, very good.
I enjoy it, cal.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, wes, I have to tell you this.
When I met Johnny, I had brownhair and I had hair.
That's how long Johnny and I,we crashed a party together.
Oh, my God, that's where wewere.
(23:17):
We were in the hallway andthere was a great party going on
and I had my doctor jacket onand, adam, I wear this doctor
jacket all the time, so I'veseen you at shows, but, yeah, I
have to tell you.
I went in and they said, oh,come on, in, doc, let me get you
a slice of pizza, let me getyou some cake, let me get you a
(23:38):
drink, let me, let me get yousome cake, let me get you a
drink.
And I said, well, I got myfriend Johnny with me.
So, oh, yeah, bring Johnny in.
And Johnny took over the wholeparty.
Oh I bet he did.
Yeah, he has a greatpersonality.
Speaker 3 (23:52):
I tried to do that.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Yes, yeah, I can see that you have a great
personality and you've done alot for the industry, and that's
part of this.
You know, when you bring onpeople like Adam, who has the
right culture, and then, all ofa sudden, people buy you, first,
your company, second, yourproduct and service, third, and
that's why Adam's done so wellin life.
(24:14):
So, adam, I was very glad thatApril talked you and Johnny into
the podcast, so I'll shut upWes and let you carry on this
conversation.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Well and you bring up a good point, dj Every auction,
every show that Johnny or ColdFoods has done, they've
contributed something like that.
What else can they do to help?
Yes, it's an outstandingcompany and we've got to take a
quick break, but after the breakwe'll come back to talk about
how we work with them so welland telling them something
direct.
That's Donnie Adams.
(24:48):
You can hang around until afterthe break, Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (24:56):
For electric and other alternative fuel vehicles.
We have developed an app thatgives you all the manufacturers
411 for when that 911 happens,whether you are a fire tow or
police, we got you covered.
To find the EV Clever app, goto your Apple or Google Play
store for a 30-day free trial.
The National Tow OperatorCertification, an independently
(25:22):
sourced virtual testing programcovering light duty, heavy duty,
electric and alternative fuelvehicle.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Welcome back listeners.
Of course you know you'relistening to the number one
podcast in the towing andrecovery industry Towing News
Channel and I can't tell you howmuch these guys they're good
people and I want you to know.
If you ever get a chance, yougo by their booth, stop, visit
them and learn a little bitabout their product.
(25:48):
I want to remind all ourlisteners please remember to
like, review and shareeverywhere.
If you'd like to hear anotherindustry expert like Adam Sonny,
by all means yes, sonny's son.
If you want to see anotherindustry expert on the podcast
(26:10):
with us, just dial the hotlinenumber right here in the podcast
center 706 409 5603.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
We are so honored to have Johnny and Adam with Toe
Toes on with us and they are amain feature in our
TowingEquipmentDirectcom website.
We fill them up on our Facebookpages.
Their products are excellent.
Wes is very leery to promote aproduct at all whatsoever.
He needs to make sure it works,that it's a quality product.
(26:40):
He will not take on anythingthat he does not feel is worthy
of.
Number one is it's alife-and-death situation.
If the, if the equipment is notgood and um, he needs to make
sure that part is good and it'sJohnny Sun.
Total synthetic equipment hasheld up to that very high
standard, unless has a very highstandard as far as having
(27:03):
another guest join, likeJohnny's son.
I don't think so.
I think we got a unicorn righthere.
I have heard stories aboutJohnny and DJ at a post show and
something about a Japanesemafia.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
Maybe I'm not sure I don't know at a tow show and
something about a.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Japanese mafia?
Maybe I'm not sure.
I don't know, but I'm sure it'sa great story.
And how many drinks in were you?
Speaker 3 (27:29):
All right, this is a long, long, long story, but I
will make everything short.
Well, when I got into theindustry, it was a few of the
Japanese tow company contact ourJapan Osaka branch and they say
(27:50):
they had a problem with certainproduct in America.
And of course they bring thisto me because I'm the one
running everything in the state.
And so I went to the Toshio andI'm actually translating for
some of the which I think is atow company but tow box.
(28:15):
But later on I found out theyare actually Japanese mafia
roster whole company over there.
So everything interesting isafter the meeting and the
meeting, dj Dave and many othershere, of course also Jordan.
(28:35):
Then I went back to Japan tohave a meeting, went back to
Japan to have a meeting.
As soon as I landed in Japan Ichecked in my hotel, put down
everything.
My phone rang in the hotel roomand I'm like huh, I was just
getting ready for the meetingand so I pick up this phone call
(28:58):
.
So this guy on the other endspeak English, which you know I
was over in Japan, right?
So I'm like hi.
He said hi, mr Sun, this isso-and-so from the US Embassy,
and I'm like huh, yes, he saidwell, we know you are meeting
(29:20):
with so-and-so this afternoon.
What's your intention with him?
I'm like, well, I'm selling theproduct, and they asked me to
get in contact with some of theUS manufacturers.
And so he said well, you knowthat he is a very dangerous man
(29:41):
in Japan.
I said, well, I didn't knowthat, but now I know what should
I do.
He said, well, you just go toyour meeting, we are watching
you, just stay calm and be safe.
I'm like okay, if anythingdangerous, are you going?
Are you coming to save me?
(30:02):
Well, of course they are notright.
So, but they just, you know,they just want to know why I'm
meeting those people, you know.
But they do know who I am andknow where I check in.
That's where I was surprised.
So, but anyway, after the years, you know, I had a good talk
(30:24):
with the big boss and then Istarted bringing more of the
Japanese team together.
Then that's how I got involvedwith Savatek, then became Dojo's
, so that's how the whole storywas.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
So the mafia helped you get into the Savatek, or no?
I don't think that's true.
No.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
No, they won Savatek.
They won exclusive with Savatek, with Airbag at that time, and
I know that's not the way to go.
And okay, they actually startwith.
They want $200,000 as aninvestment into their group,
which I say no.
And I do remember the employeeI have in Japan.
(31:11):
He was so nervous when I say noand I say that I just don't
want to pay the money and havethem just do that for me.
But they were saying that, hey,if you pay us, we will promote
your product.
But I said no, I want people tolike the product and know the
(31:34):
quality.
Is there not like you guysdominate them to buy our stuff?
And I had to pay you, which Iknow that later on I probably
have to pay every year, right?
Speaker 2 (31:46):
so once they had you paying, that amount of money was
always going to be an out forit yeah and I know, at that
meeting table I think it's over18 of them.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
They all wear masks.
I mean you have to imagine thatI walk in.
About 18 people sit in the roomwearing masks and this is way
before COVID.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
Okay, what year was this, I was going to ask.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
This is back in 2010.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
Oh yeah, they're a little bit premature in the
mouth 2010.
Oh yeah, they're a little bitpremature, they're in the mouth.
This is why everybody inside ofToe Tools refers to Johnny as
the Don we got the godfather ofthe Toe Tools podcast and DJ
Harrington, and we have the Donof the Japanese mafia, I guess.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
But they are all good men.
I mean.
In some way I say, hey, theyrun, the good Japanese do run a
good pulling company.
I mean, but just, they are allrelated to the mafia group
somehow.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
I will say this last time that I got to meet them,
they did bring some of the bestwhiskey we've ever had, it was
fantastic, that's a strong point.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Yes, For sure.
Well, we got you from.
How long have you been, Johnny?
How long have you been inAmerica?
Speaker 3 (33:21):
I've been here since 92, so what?
It's over 30, 40 years now.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Two generations, that's awesome.
Yeah, yeah, so you're superslangs.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
One of the things I like about them is they have
that black to dark cover, whichis negotiable how effective it
is.
They have that rubber hose inthe middle.
Isn't that what makes them sodurable?
Speaker 3 (33:47):
Yes, super Swing is using the Honeywell Spectra US
made material for the roll.
We specially select thatmaterial because it is the
strongest material.
(34:07):
That is also used on thebulletproof vest, and so when we
and the engineer reviewing therope, we know we need something
really, really strong, andthat's what we pick at that time
(34:29):
.
So and it's Honeywell SpectraSuper Swing.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
So that's Kevlar, you use Kevlar?
No, it's a type of Kevlar, is abrand name.
Yeah, Kleenex is a brand namefor tissue.
Yeah, kleenex is a brand namefor a tissue.
What I know about Spectra waswhen Kevlar was first tried in
the early 90s in round slingsand was effective for strength
but would fail because of heatbuildup, spectra was one of the
(34:56):
products they turned to and,like you say, it's made by
Honeywell, which is a verytrusted American-made firm, and
Spectre is another type of brandname of high-performance fiber
that's been around forgenerations and it's a seed for
Kevlar in some areas.
Would you say that's accurate,johnny or Adam?
(35:18):
Well, you've got differentapplications.
So Kevlar is more of a whatwould you say?
Maybe more of like a wovenfiber that you're going to put
in a sheet, whereas the Spectrais what you're going to make a
rope out of.
It's used in Bulletproof Vest.
(35:40):
It's also used in biomedicalapplications.
It's used, you know, when yougo, when you talk to like
professional climbers andriggers that are doing for, like
, high mountain rescue and stufflike that Spectre is often the
preferred rope compound to use.
(36:01):
It's used in all othersynthetic rope applications, say
marine and uh lifting militarymilitary.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So it's a well-known, improvingproduct.
There's no doubt about it.
Right, and one of the things Isay to people when they get
those, they're not bulletproofyou can't just put them in any
(36:25):
chain, but they do have thatextra layer of protection, and
that helps a lot, doesn't it?
Speaker 3 (36:31):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
Yeah, anytime you add something between what you're
hooking to, whether it's thatCordura sleeve, or sometimes you
have to use more than a cordurasleeve if you've got more of a
sharp edge or a hard corner.
Sometimes you need an old floormat or mud flap or something,
(36:56):
but anytime you put something inbetween it, you're just saving,
you're extending the life ofthat rope.
Sure, one of the things I liketo use to protect straps whether
they're the high-performancefibers like what we're talking
about, just regular polyesterrecovery straps A great tool is
a mat that's made for a horse'sstall.
(37:19):
Buy it down at a tractor supplycompany, et cetera.
It's like a waffle, almost, andit's a great protection for
straps.
It really is.
Yep, those are.
I've seen you, I've been withyou when you've got those and
I've seen when we cut.
What you do is cut strips withit, right, wes.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
You cut strips and you use it like that Excellent
protection.
Speaker 4 (37:44):
And it's cost efficient too.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
Yeah, that's right you cut strips and you use it
like that.
Excellent protection and it'scost efficient too.
I mean, they don't cost thatmuch and you could use that mat
in four or five different pieces.
Sure, absolutely.
Yeah, we love the SuperSplint.
We've been using them for yearsnow.
We really believe in theproduct.
Come to a training class,you'll see us use them often.
Talk to us about the softshackles.
(38:06):
Can you explain?
a little bit about that, Welllet's go to a break and then,
when we come back, I would loveto talk about these soft
shackles, because that's a veryoften asked question of me now.
So everybody, come back with abreak with us and we will
discuss these soft shackles.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
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That's 910-747-9000.
(39:31):
We look forward to serving you.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
Welcome back listeners.
You know you're listening tothe Towing News Now channel.
This has been a great interviewwith with Tow Tools and I think
it's great to have Johnny andAdam on here.
So, April, let me pass it onback over to you and Wes.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
As we were going through this break, we started
talking about the soft shackles,and that has been a question a
lot of people have asked meabout Anybody who's used it.
People are reluctant to use newthings, and especially when it
comes like a shackle but,anybody who's used it has raged,
raged about it, and I wouldlove to hear your guys's input
(40:13):
on these and and how they workin speech.
Make it away.
Speaker 3 (40:16):
Johnny, okay, um, soft shackle.
I mean this, this productactually come right out after we
have success in the super slingand of course that we also
using Honeywell Spectra as amaterial for the soft shackle
and we actually specially defineour shackle with certain links.
(40:44):
If you have seen our softshackle, you will notice that we
are longer than the normalshackles.
The reason of that is we haveespecially choice the links to
choice the links to for youreveryday work, because some of
(41:06):
the shuffles are just way tooshort and difficult to hook on
and our extreme soft shufflesare all specially designed in
different size and the links foryou to easily to hook on and,
of course, is just as strong asa super flowing that's a great
(41:32):
time.
Speaker 2 (41:32):
So taking the end user actually using the product
into a town, a lot of really manpractice in the set point,
that's excellent yes, I see thatyou have.
The range in your sizes arethree, eight, up to one inch.
And then, for example, I'mlooking at a 7, 16 and it says
extreme on it.
That's the extremely that Ithink, and that is a 20
(41:52):
millimeter soft shackle, or 20,20 inches.
Yes.
What is the difference in theextreme versions and the rig,
the other type of soft shacklethat you have?
Speaker 3 (42:06):
Well, the extreme.
So what happened is there onthe 3a and the 716?
We have them in the off-roadmarket so that is why for a
while we we've been calling themextreme, uh, soft charcoal and
(42:26):
um.
So 3a and 716 pretty much aregood for, you know, day-to-day
(42:48):
work and the 1-inch they areusing by the Navy.
I know that they have been onthe underwater mission to pick
up some of the submarine UAV, topick up some of the submarine
UAV, that type of equipment.
(43:09):
So we know they are working onthe extreme condition.
So it's perfect to the name andalso the product.
Speaker 2 (43:17):
And so this works well underwater as well for any
underwater rescues or recoverythat need to be done, and it's
very versatile, it's easier,it's a lot lighter to carry.
Speaker 3 (43:31):
And much easier to dive with that.
Also, in the water it's slow,so the diver can much easier to
carry them.
Speaker 2 (43:45):
Definitely a good tool in the modern age that
makes a lot of sense.
So one of the things we've doneat Towing Equipment Direct is
we've actually created packages.
We've got a package on there ofus running a heavy duty with
the super slings.
I'd want on with the shackles.
So that's something new thatwe're carrying on our
TowingEquipmentDirectcom website.
(44:06):
And the last thing I want totalk about today is the
synthetic rope, which we're justgoing to get ready to start
adding to the website.
Tell us about the syntheticwinch lines.
That especially folks will add.
Well, synthetic winch lines arestill I would say, they're still
(44:29):
being still being introduced,or not necessarily introduced.
They're still being adopted bea better word um by the towing
recovery uh industry and and tosome, to some degree, you've got
um.
The reason that is it's becauseyou still got manufacturers
that are still learning thebenefits of synthetic rope and
(44:52):
you need to set up your truckjust a little bit different to
run synthetic rope on it ratherthan your typical steel winch
lines, and also there are somestates that really mandate that
(45:16):
it be an OEM-equipped thing.
So if the truck didn'toriginally come with synthetics,
then switching it over mightexclude you from a towing
contract in certainjurisdictions, in certain states
.
So it's still being adopted.
However, it's a much safer wayto go because we all know that
these things break and typicallywhat ends up causing human harm
(45:44):
is the recoil effect caused bythe memory of steel.
So as you bend steel over a drumit creates a memory and once
that is loaded with, you know,pulled under load, pulled
tension under load, you've gotalready kinetic energy built up
(46:05):
from that load, but then you'vegot that multiplied by the
recoil effect and that canreally be a killer.
So the big draw and the bigpush that really should exist to
go to synthetic rope is reallybased on the safety of the
operator and safety of anybodyelse on scene.
Beyond that, you run a higherminimum break strength on
(46:30):
synthetics across the board andso you wind up with a product
that's lighter, a product that'ssafer and a product that's just
as strong, if not stronger,than your steel rope.
I knew the minimum brake stress.
What was the working loadcompared to the comparable chain
(46:52):
?
Well, the working load limit isa little different calculation
that's based on an engineeringspec.
It's an engineering safety spec.
A lot of our Super Slings are a1-3 or a 1-5 engineering spec
and you'll see that on ourwebsite, different product pages
(47:17):
.
And, johnny, I think it's a 1-3on the winch lines.
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (47:23):
Yes, we have a oh no, no, we have a full size, we
have a 3A now and the workthough the, the engineering spec
for the working load.
Speaker 2 (47:33):
So it's a one-third of the of the minimum brake
strength as you're working loadon them on the winch lines, is
that correct?
Speaker 3 (47:40):
Correct, that's correct.
Yeah and yeah they are 85%lighter than the steel cable.
Speaker 2 (47:48):
Right now he's the pound to pound equivalent, so I
got confused by the questionhere same size rope versus steel
cable, three-quarter inch, on abig heavy-duty fiber, the
synthetic.
You guys are talking slightlystronger.
Speaker 4 (48:06):
There's a higher.
Speaker 2 (48:08):
It has a higher break strength, but the working load
is going to be Usually the same,if not just a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (48:20):
Well, the I know our winch line actually come out
from some of our Super Sling andSoft Shocker customers and
they've been asking about it.
Ron Meyer at Ohio.
(48:41):
He helped us develop this prowinch line and they have been
using a lot of customers in OhioPennsylvania area.
They have been using our winchline for years and I understand
(49:04):
why they need that in that areabecause the cold winter the
synthetic winch line are waybetter to handle within the cold
and the raining weather.
Speaker 2 (49:19):
I see that.
Speaker 3 (49:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (49:21):
I got a couple comments tonight.
First of all, somebody that I'mtalking to is thinking about
switching to synthetic winchline.
I suggest you'll never, ever doit unless it's a brand new
truck.
It's never had steel cable onany of the pulleys, any of the
winch drums, etc.
That way you can get, you cango let me up, you can go over
(49:44):
those wind strums and thosepulleys with a file, all you
want.
You're going to miss some littlespot and have a burr in that
pulley.
That's going to cause thebeginning of the failure of the
rope.
And when the rope fails, though, it can be tied in a knot to be
repaired, etc.
You can't do that with a steeltable.
There's actual splicing methodsas well, isn't it Not with
(50:08):
synthetic ropes?
Let me take that back.
You can weave it back together,and you can splice it back
together, and you can use thedifferent splicing tools and the
needles and that to weave itback together.
You take upon yourself the riskof you know when that breaks,
(50:30):
right, when that breaks it's,it's on you, it's not so.
I'm not a big boy, but thatwould be a temporary emergency
in the field repair only.
Yeah, I was going with that is.
I recommend to folks that whenthey're going to try to do it on
a brand new truck, never seensteel cable.
The other thing, when I lookedover the years at the price
(50:53):
versus a steel cable, versussynthetic cost of something is
one thing.
The value of something is awhole other subject of something
is a whole other subject.
The value that steel table doesnot have to go out of a big
wind shop, come back to the shop, unwind it, rewind it.
The value of that time has tohave a value.
The value of your shouldersdealing with that steel table,
(51:17):
pulling out 200 foot of it topull something that has to have
a value.
You calculate, calculate.
All that in the synthetic winchline is a much better deal in
the long run in my opinion yes,so anyway, that's my two cents
worth.
Speaker 3 (51:35):
Well, I know that a lot of times people will use our
winch line extension first.
So we have a line of theextension that you can use as an
add-on.
If you still want to run yoursteel cable as a base but you
(51:56):
want the reach out to besynthetic, our winch line
extension.
It is actually one of ourpopular items for people who
still want to run both.
You can run on both steel andsynthetic all together.
The benefit of the extensionwinch line in synthetic is way
(52:21):
easy to handle.
Lighter, 85% lighter than thesteel cable.
So that's that's one of thechoice for the 716, 3a, 3
quarter and the 5a.
Well, a while ago, as in theolder, but you know, that's
(52:44):
that's the size of the extensionline we have the one thing to a
lot of people start with thatextension line.
Speaker 2 (52:52):
We, over the years, introduce the people to the
synthetic winch lines.
They start with the extensionto use them a couple times and
try one on a new truck.
That's great information.
Now I was just going to saythat extension line you know.
Another great thing about it is, if you've done work with wire
rope extensions, you know howmuch of a pain they are to put
(53:14):
back in the toolbox once youdeploy them the first time.
With a synthetic winch lineit's much easier to pack up and
deploy every time than a steelextension will ever be.
You'll save so much timedealing with a synthetic winch
line extension than you willworking with a steel one.
(53:36):
Absolutely agree.
So yeah, winch extension lines,we're adding them to
towingequipmentdirectcom rightnow along with the winch lines.
Like I said, we've got somepretty exciting packages with
the different slings what Iwould use on a heavy, what I
would use on a medium.
So we encourage everybody to goto our website and check that
(53:57):
out.
Guys, I don't want to rush youoff, but we're right out of
studio time.
So yeah, both of you can giveus some parting words please.
Speaker 3 (54:05):
Well, thanks for the time and it was good to talk to
you guys in the air, and weshould do this sometimes again.
Speaker 2 (54:17):
We definitely will.
Absolutely, we will, Adam.
Hey, yeah, thank you very muchfor having us on.
It's been a pleasure and welook forward to doing this again
in the future.
Awesome April, close us down.
If you guys would love to learnmore about Toll Tools and Total
Equipment Direct, visit us atTotalEquipmentDirectcom or call
(54:40):
me at 910-747-9000.
Dj, I think this one's going tobe a good one.
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (54:47):
I think it would be a fantastic one, and a lot of
people will listen to it.
All of these, johnny and Adam,we archive them.
So, months later, if someonewants to learn more about toe
tools, all they have to do isdial up the podcast, hook it
onto their phone, and's it.
That's why we've been blessedwith so many good listeners, and
(55:08):
I can't thank the the peopleout there telling their friends
about the, the new towingchannel.
Speaker 2 (55:14):
So it's excellent we thank you for everything you do.
Dj, thank chuck, thank theentire atri team until Until
next time.
We love you, America.
Peace, faith and love.
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