Rotator Fishing

by adkerbero

Sometimes your GPS can get you into big trouble. Case in point, a lady driver discovered that when her GPS told her to take a right in her 2019 Chevy Silverado, it led her to veer off a rampway and break through a small fence. She ended up landing into a pond about the size of a football field, just outside an Auto Owner’s Insurance Company.

Fortunately, she had insurance on her totaled vehicle and swam away unscathed.

The dispatch came in early morning to P.J.s Towing of Lansing, Michigan. They were called by the Sheriff’s County Office to meet up with a two-man dive team and initiate a water recovery. Led by 20-year veteran heavy duty tow operator Jeff West, P.J.’s brought their 2022 Kenworth W900 with a Century 1150.

“Jeff met the dive team there. They came up with a plan on how they were going to get it out. Jeff instructed the divers to hook an endless loop around the rear wheels, shackle them, and join them together with a unity ring, wherein a winchline was sent from the rotator,” said owner P.J.

He continued, “From there, we were able to winch the truck from 12 ft. under water all the way back up to land. Then we picked it up with the rotator and set it down on one of our rollbacks and transported it back to the shop.”

According to P.J. it was a smooth recovery, in large part thanks to the operating ease of the rotator, which made light work of what might be classified as a medium duty tow, taking into account the water resistance and weight of the Silverado.

P.J. said, “The rotator is great. It’s versatile, you have 35 feet or so of reach and 50 thousand pound winches. With smaller trucks, the boom goes out one stage, so you may only have an extra 8 feet and the winch lines are not nearly as heavy-duty.”

Although a fairly standard recovery, PJ advised, “Figure out the safest way to recover the vehicle without doing further damage to it and work with your police department.”