S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 2

I n s i d e t h i s I s s u e

Heavy Vehicle Use Tax Form 2290 Return Due by end of August 2

2012 TRPI Scholarship Awarded to Oskam 2

Iowa DOT Moving to Staggered IRP Registration in 2013 3

New TRPI Members 4

Hydraulic Fluid: The Lifeblood of Your Tow Truck Bed 5

Talking to Truckers: Marketing Towing to Guys with Semis 6

How to Quickly Eliminate Dispatching Problems 7

Calendar of Events 8

A d i v i s i o n o f t h e I o w a M o t o r

T r u c k A s s o c i a t i o n

Towing & Recovery Professionals of Iowa

717 East Court Avenue Des Moines, Iowa 50309

Phone: (515) 244-5193 Fax: (515) 244-2204

info@iowamotortruck.com www.iowatowingprofessionals.com

Towing and Recovery Professionals of Iowa kicked off its Move Over Public Awareness Campaign by holding a press conference on June 28 at Hanifen Company in Des Moines. The press conference, which also noted the increase in penalties for violating the move over law that went into effect July 1, was used to explain the significance of moving over and slowing down for vehicles on the side of the road. It's the beginning of an effort TRPI hopes will cause motorists to react properly as normal behavior. “The goal will be to create a connection for motorists that would trigger a natu-ral reaction in their minds to move over and slow down,” said Brenda Neville. “If we can achieve that, we are hopeful that there will be a reduction in secondary accidents and a safer environment for everyone on the road.” Neville was accompanied at the press conference by Dave Lorenzen, chief of the Iowa Department of

TRPI Launches Move Over Campaign with Support of Highway Patrol, DOT

Membership Event in Newton October 13

away from the racetrack. Barney’s is on the left side of the road prior to entering the southeast portion of Newton. More details regarding the TRPI Membership Event will be made available in the near future, including registration opportunities. Any questions can be directed to Phillip Nicolino or Don Egli in the IMTA office at (515) 244-5193.

Towing and Recovery Professionals of Iowa will hold a membership event on Saturday, October 13, in Newton at Barney’s. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. with a networking lunch at approximately 12:00 p.m. A general membership meeting will be conducted with a TRPI board election update included to announce the new steering committee members. A licensing and/or regulations update will also be provided during the meeting.

A recovery demonstration will follow lunch. TRPI members in attendance will have the opportunity to discuss as a group the staged accident for best methods of handling the situation at hand. Individuals will then be given the chance to perform an act of recovery to test their skills and abilities. Barney’s is located at 1301 E. 36th Street South in Newton. The best way to arrive at Barney’s is by taking Interstate 80 to exit 168 (Iowa Speedway Drive). Head north on Iowa Speedway Drive

TRPI NEWSLETTER

TRPI Move Over Campaign continued on page 4

Brenda Neville, of Towing and Recovery Professionals of Iowa, addresses the media during the TRPI Move Over Campaign Press Conference that was held at Hanifen Company in Des Moines on June 28. Neville was being flanked by representatives from TRPI, the Iowa Highway Patrol, the Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Contribute to the TRPI Scholarship FundContribute to the TRPI Scholarship Fund

The TRPI Steering Committee recently established a TRPI scholarship through the Iowa Motor Carriers Foundation. An annual scholar-ship will be awarded to an employee or family member of an employee working for a TRPI member. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the TRPI Scholarship Fund. To offer your donation, please fill out the bottom portion of this donation form and return it to the address listed below. Any amount is accepted and appreciated. If you have questions, please call (515) 244-5193. Company: Name: Address (City, State, Zip): Amount Donating: _____ $50 _____ $100 _____ $150 Other

Return this contribution form with a check to: Iowa Motor Carriers Foundation

c/o TRPI Scholarship Fund 717 East Court Avenue

Des Moines, Iowa 50309

Madison Oskam, a graduate of Newton High School who is currently attending Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, was selected to receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Iowa Mo-tor Carriers Foundation. Oskam is the first-ever recipient of the TRPI Scholarship, which was estab-lished by an endowment in early 2012 from Towing and Recovery Profession-als of Iowa to the Iowa Motor Carriers Foundation. Winners of this award must be a student who is either an em-ployee or a family member of an em-ployee working for a TRPI member. Scholarships through the IMCF are available to anyone who is pursuing advanced education in the state of Iowa. The foundation was created in an effort for the trucking industry to give back to the state of Iowa and to invest in the most important asset Iowa has … the next generation. The Iowa Motor Carriers Foundation is a division of the Iowa Motor Truck Association and has been awarding scholarships since 1986 to Iowans pur-suing an advanced degree at an Iowa college or university.

2012 TRPI Scholarship Awarded to

Madison Oskam

Heavy Vehicle Use Tax Form 2290 Return Due by end of August

Filing online is an efficient and effective way of completing the Form 2290, and IMTA2290.com features the most competi-tive prices available through any e-file provider. Companies with 25 or more trucks are re-quired to electronically file the Form 2290 online through an IRS authorized e-file provider. IMTA2290.com is supported by an authorized provider, making it a premier filing option. Due to IRS facility maintenance taking place over the Labor Day weekend, com-panies required to file the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax will be unable to electronically process their Form 2290 return after 12 p.m. on Friday, August 31. Electronic processing of the form will not begin again until 11 a.m. on September 4. This facility maintenance will not affect any operation’s ability to file a paper return for the HVUT Form 2290. Remember, though, that any company with 25 or more vehicles must file the return electronically. If you have questions or need help filing your Form 2290 return, please visit www.IMTA2290.com or call the IMTA office at (515) 244-5193.

Don’t forget to file your 2012-13 Heavy Vehicle Use Tax Form 2290 return with the Internal Revenue Service no later than August 31. All returns must be electronically filed or postmarked by this date to be considered timely. Late fees and/or penalties will be assessed for missing the deadline. Any company that operates one or more commercial motor vehicle weighing over 55,000 pounds must file this annual return. The Iowa Motor Truck Association has a Web site – IMTA2290.com – specifically designed for filing the return. As a division of the IMTA, TRPI members choosing the file through IMTA2290.com are eligible to receive a discount off the filing fee. Using the code IMTA10 when checking out will deduct 10 percent off the filing fee associated with the return. Other benefits of IMTA2290.com include: Tiered pricing to accommodate op-

erations of all sizes Yearly packages providing unlimited

filings for larger operations Vehicle information securely stored

for future use Free VIN corrections

Save Money, Time Filing Online at IMTA2290.com

3 A D i v i s i o n o f t h e I o w a M o t o r T r u c k A s s o c i a t i o n

1. Iowa IRP staggered registration will begin with the 2013 registration year, as provided in Senate File 2216, signed by Governor Branstad on April 19, 2012.

2. Staggered registration is a method of distributing IRP renewals so credentials expire in different months. Each IRP account will have a month in which all credentials for that account must be renewed.

3. New registrants will be assigned a renewal month of 12 months from the month they first register; how-ever, the Iowa DOT reserves the right to adjust the renewal month based on workload.

4. Once the renewal month has been established, it cannot be changed. All registrants will be notified in writing of their renewal month.

5. Staggered registration will not affect 2012 credentials.

6. Transition period: The renewal process and filing deadlines for 2013 will be the same as prior years. The difference will be the month credentials expire, which affects the amount owed. Registrants will be registered and invoiced from 6 to 17 months depending on the assigned renewal month. See table on the reverse side.

7. Beginning with the 2013 registration there will no longer be a grace period. The renewal notice will be sent 60 days prior to the renewal month. Credentials expire the last day of the renewal month.

8. Registrants who have multiple fleets will all have the same renewal month. The Iowa DOT will not allow fleets to be renewed in different months.

9. The half-year payment option has been eliminated.

10. The three-year trailer registration has been eliminated. All three-year trailers will need to be changed to an annual or permanent plate and a credit of the unexpired years will be given on the 2013 renewal invoice.

IRP Staggered Registration Facts

Beginning with the 2013 registration year, the Iowa Department of Transportation will move to a staggered registration year for all commercial motor vehicles being licensed under the International Registration Plan. Currently, all IRP vehicle registrations renew at the same time each year, which causes a backlog of work for the Iowa DOT and occasional delays in the process for carriers. By staggering (or spreading out) the registrations throughout the 12-month calendar year – much the same as personal vehicle renewals are scheduled – the Iowa DOT can balance its workload as well as minimize the turn-around time for IRP renewals to carriers. Registrants have the opportunity to select their own renewal month by providing the Iowa DOT with first, second and third choice preferences. Assignments of renewal months will be made on a first-come basis, and the Iowa DOT will attempt to accommodate one of the three choices. However, the Iowa DOT reserves the right to assign renewal months based on responses. Registrants who do not submit a response by June 10 will automatically be assigned a renewal month. The new staggered registration format will be implemented over an 18-month period. De-pending upon what renewal month is assigned, a registrant will first be billed anywhere from six months to 17 months. All registrants will be fully integrated into the staggered system by June 2014.

Iowa DOT Moving to Staggered IRP Registration in 2013

IRP Staggered Registration Implementation Schedule

4 T R P I N e w s l e t t e r | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 2

TRPI Move Over Public Awareness Campaign

Transportation; Larry Noble, commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety; and Colonel Patrick Hoye, of the Iowa State Patrol. TRPI members present in-cluded Doyle Kepley, of Dave's Auto and Truck Service, and Julie Hanifen, of Hanifen Company. Iowa first adopted a Move Over Law in 2009. It requires drivers of motor vehicles approaching any stationary emergency, towing or recovery, utility maintenance, municipal maintenance or highway maintenance vehi-cles perform one of the following:

1. Change lanes away from the stationary vehicle(s) 2. If a lane change is not possible, slow to a reason-

able and proper speed under the posted limit On July 1, 2012, new penalties became effective when a motorist is found to be in violation of the Move Over Law:

Accidents resulting in property damage: Sus-pended license for 90 days

Accidents resulting in bodily injury: Sus-pended license for 180 days and a $500 fine

Accidents resulting in a death: Suspended li-cense for 1 year and a $1,000 fine

“The Iowa State Patrol supports the enhancement of this legislation and will remain vigilant to ensure the safety of the motoring public and the service workers providing roadside assistance to those in need,” Colonel Hoye said. In addition to the changes in the law and the persistent efforts of the Iowa State Patrol, Towing and Recovery Professionals of Iowa and the Iowa Motor Truck Association will also be making a considerable investment in ongoing campaigns to remind the general motoring public about the importance of the moving over and slowing down when they see vehicles on the side of the road.

TRPI Move Over Campaign continued from page 1

The press conference held by TRPI to launch its move over public awareness campaign was sup-ported by (from left to right): Colonel Patrick Hoye (Iowa Highway Patrol); Commissioner Larry Noble (Iowa Department of Public Safety); Julie Hanifen (Hanifen Company); Doyle Kepley (Dave’s Auto and Truck Service); Brenda Neville (TRPI and IMTA); Jeff Wangsness (IMTA); and Chief Dave Lorenzen (Iowa Department of Transportation).

Welcome New TRPI Members

Madorin’s Towing & Recovery Vinton, Iowa

Contact: Craig Schwartz

Five Seasons Auto Rebuilders Cedar Rapids, Iowa Contact: David Beer

Mike Campbell’s Body Shop & Towing, Inc. Burlington, Iowa

Contact: Mike Campbell

5 A D i v i s i o n o f t h e I o w a M o t o r T r u c k A s s o c i a t i o n

Hydraulic Fluid: The Lifeblood of Your Tow Truck Bed

Engine oil may be your tow truck’s life-blood, but today’s tow trucks depend upon a number of vital fluids. Modern tow trucks utilize hydraulic power, making hydraulic fluid an essential lifeblood for most modern tow truck beds. Selecting the appropriate hydraulic fluid and properly maintaining your tow truck’s hydraulic system are key to maximizing service life and minimizing operating costs. A wide array of completely different hy-draulic fluids are specified by various manufacturers. Non-foaming engine oils – either straight weight or multi-weight – make up one family of possi-ble hydraulic fluids and may be specified by some bed manufacturers while the re-lated, but distinctly different family of industrial hydraulic oils, might be preferred by other manufacturers. A third group of manufactur-ers may specify Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) as their hydraulic fluid of choice, particularly in electric/hydraulic systems. A myriad of different weights and specifi-cations are offered within each family of fluids, resulting in dozens and dozens of possible fluids appropriate for one hydrau-lic system or another. Optimum perform-ance and service life for your truck de-pends upon selection of the correct fluid type and viscosity for your truck’s hydrau-lic system. Selecting the right fluid for your tow truck’s hydraulic system should begin by consulting your bed manufacturer’s main-tenance instructions and/or talking with your bed installer. Different ambient tem-peratures, environmental conditions and applications may indicate alternative fluid selections, so expert advice is a must. Once the correct family of hydraulic fluids is determined, selecting the appropriate viscosity of hydraulic fluid for your appli-cation is important. High ambient tempera-tures require higher viscosity fluids and

low ambient temperatures demand lower viscosity fluids. Straight 10W; 10W-30 and l5W-40 non-foaming engine oils or ISO grade 46 indus-trial hydraulic oil are most commonly the weights recommended for temperate cli-matic conditions. But always consult with experts on proper viscosity as well as which types of hydraulic fluid are most appropriate for your application. Most towers are familiar with the ASE engine oil grading system – 20W is more

viscous than 10W and 15W-40 has a higher viscosity range than 10W-30 oil. With industrial hydraulic oils, the ISO numbering system is similar. ISO grade 68 is more viscous than ISO grade 46 while ISO grade 32 is lower viscosity than ISO grade 46. The wrong choice may be an expensive mistake, so get good advice. When changing hydraulic fluid, always operate the system long enough to get the fluid warm and to stir up all of the con-taminates before draining it into a clean container. If water, dirt, metal or other con-tamination is visible, or if the hydraulic fluid is dark from overheating, the source of the problem must be corrected and the system flushed. Never use cleaning solvents to flush the system, but use only a recommended low viscosity hydraulic fluid or (if approved) diesel fuel for the necessary flushing. If your bed manufacturer recommends automatic transmission fluid for use as the hydraulic fluid, be sure to use the proper

By A.P. McDonald, Parks Highway Service and Towing (Alaska)

ATF. Obsolete Ford type F fluid is still widely sold, but may be inappropriate, while newer Chrysler ATF Plus® (and oth-ers) are not the same as Dexron III®/Mercon®. Most ATFs offer fairly good cold weather performance down to approximately nega-tive-25 degrees Fahrenheit while synthetic ATFs can extend this range into even colder temperature extremes. Annual hydraulic filter and fluid changes are fairly standard recommendations while

keeping the system scrupu-lously clean and free of con-tamination is definitely some-thing upon which all hydraulic experts agree. Any leaks in the system should be repaired as soon as possible, and it is vital that the hydraulic system never be allowed to run so low on fluid as to cause cavitation in the hydraulic pump. The “chattering” that you hear if a pump is allowed to cavi-

tate due to air in the system or overheating is extremely destructive. The upper end of the operating temperature for most systems is 180 degrees Fahrenheit with higher fluid temperatures drastically reducing pump life as well as shortening fluid life. Hydraulic pump problems, improper pump or line installation and use of an inappro-priate hydraulic fluid for your application are common reasons for overheating.

Don't Worry About Wind Chill

Wind chill temperatures are meaningless to your tow truck. The only temperature that matters to machinery is the actual tempera-ture. For example, negative- 5 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill rating of nega-tive-30 degrees is just negative-5 degrees to your tow truck’s hydraulic system.

Source: Tow Times

Optimum performance and service life for your truck depends

upon selection of the correct fluid type and viscosity for your

truck’s hydraulic system.

6 T R P I N e w s l e t t e r | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 2

Talking to Truckers Marketing Towing to Guys with Semis

By Richard Wolfe, Goodyear Towing Operations Manager (Alabama)

Emphasize that you have trained and certified drivers to show your com-pany’s professionalism.

Use pictures of modern tow trucks if you can. These are great, but it’s okay if you just have older models, which can also be impressive. Even better, include action shots of your trucks at work. [A word of caution: If your photos show commercial vehi-cles being towed, delete the company logos and names from the photos. No one wants their accidents advertised nationwide.]

List road services you provide. Some companies will be looking for tire work or jump starts.

Offer local and, if you do it, long distance towing. Let the truckers know if you can pick up their truck and bring it to a repair shop, or all the way home from afar, if needed.

Offer pickup and storage of aban-doned equipment. This is a good moneymaker for some towing com-panies. Lots of drivers quit and leave trucks in truck stops, at home, or just about anywhere. Give the trucking companies the option of safely hold-ing their property until they can have a driver bring it home.

Promote your air cushions. Complete

accident recovery service can help sell your company to prospective customers. Most trucking companies know what air cushions are and how valuable they are in recovering the vehicles and saving the loads.

Source: Towing and Recovery Footnotes

Direct Mail Advertising There are directories of trucking compa-nies available from the American Trucking Association at www.truckline.com and even U.S. Department of Transportation lists (for one, see www.truckdriver.com). There are several expense factors however. The directories from the American Truck-ing Association start off at several hundred dollars. You also have to add the cost of creating flyers or brochures, postage, enve-lopes, and the people power required to do

this project. Targeting the companies who come through your area will save you some money, but it might be a little time-consuming, i.e., go to the local truck stop or interstate

rest area and see what companies stop in. And do I even need to tell you to…

Create an Eye-Catching Brochure and/or Web site

A Web site, at a minimum, is almost re-quired these days to give a company a higher level of credibility. There are many unattractive brochures and Web sites; con-siderably fewer are outstanding. Find a good local graphic and Web designer and do your brochure and site right to add an-other one-up on the competition. Research and check out towing companies with outstanding brochures and Web sites and you’ll stand a better chance of creating a quality, professional brochure and web-site yourself. Here are some things you should definitely include to attract atten-tion:

Give an assurance of damage-free towing.

In this high-tech age, you may be faced with the difficult challenge of marketing your towing company to national trucking companies. The old-fashioned way, word of mouth, is great locally, but how do you attract companies from outside your terri-tory? Here are four suggestions for getting your company noticed:

Road Service Provider Directories Advertising in the directories is an increas-ingly popular method of reaching trucking

businesses. They are somewhat effective in getting your name out in front of the peo-ple who dispatch for the trucking compa-nies. However, can you afford to advertise in all of them just to make sure you do not miss one customer? Can you pick the one that is the most popular and used the most? Be skeptical of the salespeople from the publishing companies — of course, they’ll tell you that you’re talking on the phone to the best one right now!

Telephone Book Advertising One of the oldest methods, advertising in the Yellow Pages, has been proven to work, although with the rise of mobile cell phones, some question its long-term value. Plus it can be expensive. If you decide to go this route, use photos of your trucks and equipment in the ad. I worked at one Wyo-ming company that got calls from custom-ers who told us that the picture sold us as the service provider because they could see the truck. Fancy drawings or cartoons are great as logos, but they do not sell the im-age you want to project to the customer.

A Web site, at a minimum, is almost required these days to give a company

a higher level of credibility. … Find a good local graphic and Web designer and do

your brochure and site right to add another one-up on the competition.

A D i v i s i o n o f t h e I o w a M o t o r T r u c k A s s o c i a t i o n 7

How to Quickly Eliminate Dispatching Problems

issue between a dispatcher and a driver. This is eliminated as an im-pediment to operations.

8. Eliminating “call envy,” which oc-

curs when a driver thinks the other driver is getting the easier call, or the more profitable call, or the closer call, or just more calls! When drivers are dispatched electronically, they don’t hear or know anything else that’s going on and can’t keep score.

Run Deep

Working each call in electronic form pro-duces substantially more benefits to a tow-ing company than simply improved dis-patching. These include:

1. Accountability for all calls, answer-ing the questions Who took the call? Who dispatched it? Who worked the call? Who priced the call? What hap-pened to the call? Cancelled? Com-pleted?

2. Accurate driver logs, accounting of

payments, billing to accounts, and driver commissions.

3. Eliminating redundancy in paper-

work and reducing paperwork errors. 4. Reducing labor costs. 5. Improving cash flow.

A Winning Plan

Having a plan that improves your opera-tion greatly increases the odds for en-hanced revenue and beating the competi-tion. In today’s environment, conducting dispatch in the “run silent, run deep” mode by utilizing the modern tools of advanced computerized dispatching will give any company a tactical advantage. In the movie Run Silent, Run Deep, the skipper realized that the Japanese had an advantage. His quick thinking enabled the good guys to come out on top. You can, too. Source: Towing and Recovery Footnotes

having to read off the call information. This “running silent” shortcut helps in a number of ways by:

1. Reducing dispatching errors since only necessary information is sent to the driver.

2. Permitting split-second relaying of all

information. 3. Reducing stress on dispatchers, and

an entire dispatch center. 4. Cutting the chit-chat. Every company

has one driver who talks too much, explains too much, or basically just won’t shut up and do his job. Elec-tronic dispatching eliminates this.

5. Enabling a driver to send details of a

call back to dispatch without having to reach dispatch by voice to read off the information. This provides too many benefits to an operation to mention, but would include receiving more accurate information, more timely information, increased per-formance, increased revenue per hour, increased revenue for the driver, and more.

6. Allowing the dispatcher to view each

vehicle to be towed on live mapping via GPS. By having accurate infor-mation at the time a call is taken and linking it to a dispatch screen, a dis-patcher can visually determine the exact location of the vehicle. This helps the dispatcher determine the closest available truck to call (Any GPS can help; however, if a fleet GPS-mapping solution is linked to a dispatching and call-taking solution, it will double or triple the benefits).

7. Reducing issues with drivers, espe-

cially commission drivers, who get more info faster, can finish a call and get on to the next one faster, get proper pricing, and etc. Drivers get frustrated when they feel the need to talk with dispatchers and aren’t able to reach them, or need to repeat infor-mation each way, and more. Also, there’s often there’s an “attitude”

The first time I remember hearing the phrase “run silent, run deep” was in a 1958 movie of the same name. Set during World War II, the movie is about an American submarine out to destroy a Japanese battle-ship that had sunk the American skipper’s first submarine. The phrase refers to a submarine stealth tactic, but it’s actually a very good busi-ness concept for the dispatching aspect of the towing industry. It’s what can and should be done in any towing operation that might be looking for a tactic that would allow better positioning within the industry. You’ll see what I mean when I say that this concept of running silent, running deep offers appropriate tools that can benefit individual dispatchers as well as help an entire crew in a dispatch center excel as a cohesive department. There are several advantages to running silent. In submarining, it prevented the enemy from locating the sub, which al-lowed the sub crew to focus on what was important — their survival — and gave the skipper extra time to work out a strategy and determine the next move. Today, dispatchers have the same opportu-nity to focus on what’s most important — shutting out the outside noise, concentrat-ing on the task at hand, and focusing on the next move. What tools will help implement this strat-egy, and what are the benefits of “running silent” at the dispatch desk?

Run Silent When calls are received electronically — without verbal communication — the dis-patcher can focus on the most important tasks at hand: managing trucks while re-ceiving new calls on the dispatch screen in real time and sorted in the order that’s most helpful, whether by priority, by time, or by location. By communicating in this manner, the dis-patcher is able to work calls without the added, and more cumbersome, step of get-ting a driver on the radio or phone and then

By James Weaver, Tracker Management Systems, Inc.

SEPTEMBER 18-19, 2012 IMTA Management Conference

Embassy Suites on the River

Des Moines, Iowa

OCTOBER 13, 2012

TRPI Membership Meeting and Event

Barney’s, Inc. Newton, Iowa

OCTOBER 30-31, 2012

IMTA Maintenance Professionals Conference

Prairie Meadows Events & Conference Center

Altoona, Iowa

If you have interest in attending any of these events, please contact Phillip Nicolino by e-mailing

phillip@iowamotortruck.com or calling (515) 244-5193 to register or get more details.

TOWING & RECOVERY PROFESSIONALS OF IOWA 717 East Court Avenue Des Moines, Iowa 50309 www.iowatowingprofessionals.com

POSTAGE

Calendar of Events