Off-roading cost man $48,835 in towing fees

Misfit

Misfit

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http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/30354823/local-man-stuck-with-48000-towing-bill

WALPOLE, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A local man says when he got his Jeep stuck in the mud, a Walpole tow company charged him nearly $50,000 to tow it out.

Joel Ramer said he and his girlfriend took the Jeep off-roading in Walpole last week, and they landed in a mud pit.

Walpole police responded, along with Assured Collision towing company to tow it out.

It took 12 hours to pull the SUV out of the mud pit, but now Ramer doesn’t know if he will be able to afford to get his vehicle back.

"When I went to pick up the vehicle from Assured Collision, he'd informed me there was some damage done to the vehicle, but didn't get into details. He also informed me the bill was $48,000," Ramer said. “I thought they made a mistake."

In addition to getting the vehicle stuck, he also got arrested and cited for trespassing and disturbing the peace. Ramer says he was unknowingly off-roading on private property that belongs to a utility company.

Ramer also claims that his Jeep is now totaled after the mud pit and the tow.

"Frame is broken, leaf spring is broken, drive shaft is broken," Ramer said.

Ramer obtained the itemized bill submitted to his insurance. Assured Collision billed him $16,000 for an on-scene supervisor at $1,250 an hour. He is being charged more than $10,000 for an off-road recovery incident response unit. There is also a $5,000 fee for dangerous condition liability insurance. All the equipment and manpower totaled $48,835 for the 12 hour job.
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b23hqb

b23hqb

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:killingme

I liked the name of his insurance company. He really got a great deal through them.
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
I wasn't charging near enough!! Back maybe 15 years ago, I would get calls to fetch very badly stuck vehicles on some of the powerline "trails" that existed throughout the county. Some of those retrievals took a 1/2-day to complete.
 
b23hqb

b23hqb

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Freefaller said:
If you're referring to "Assured Collision", that is the name of the tow company, not his insurance company. Just sayin'
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OK, gotcha, but either way his insurance didn't pay much of the cost, if any was even covered.. Dude should have read the fine print, like we all do, right?:sarcasm:

He also shoulda known that jeeps are for girls. Doesn't he read the bumper stickers?
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
Looks like this place has a good deal with the police, good enough that the owner drives a Lamborghini. The "hazardous condition" charge was because according to the owner, "there was poison ivy there" .
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

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Chris0nllyn said:
Sounds like he needs more friends.
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Perhaps. But many of the retrievals I was called to do were only after many "friends" had attempted to recover the stuck vehicle and had failed. Often making a bad stuck worse in the process. Lots of people have 4x4 vehicles. Surprisingly few have seriously capable 4x4 vehicles that can perform a "deep woods/deep mud" recovery.
 
GWguy

GWguy

*
Gilligan said:
Surprisingly few have seriously capable 4x4 vehicles that can perform a "deep woods/deep mud" recovery.
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I had to do that once. I was beaching in a desolate area with a '64 Wagoneer. I didn't know that a creek dredge operation was pumping mud onto the beach. I hit it and it was like tar. Over the axles in no time. Hiked to a phone, called a 4x4 friend. We decided to jack the vehicle up and pull it out. Used flat boards for jack platforms, jacked one wheel at a time, moving from wheel to wheel until the axles were clear. Took forever and I looked like swamp monster. Seriously ugly. Hooked up the tow rope, both nailed it and miraculously, it popped out.

:whew:
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
Gilligan said:
Perhaps. But many of the retrievals I was called to do were only after many "friends" had attempted to recover the stuck vehicle and had failed. Often making a bad stuck worse in the process. Lots of people have 4x4 vehicles. Surprisingly few have seriously capable 4x4 vehicles that can perform a "deep woods/deep mud" recovery.
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I think even more rare is the intuitive grasp of the physics of a stuck. "MONGO PULL!!!!" is about as much though as most people put into it.

blacklabman said:
Solution: If you need to go into 4-wheel drive, it's time to turn around.
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There are a couple trains of thought on that. There's the "Drive in 2wd until stuck, then engage 4wd and continue til stuck, then engage Low Range" with the option to engage lockers anywhere along that line. then theres the "Engage things before you think you need them, I don't got no stuck fetish".

Me, I'm of the second opinion.
 
Gilligan

Gilligan

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bulldog said:
Very clever. Nicely thought out and executed.
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Thanks! Desperate times...desperate measures. That's actually the second tree..slap wore out the first one. It was a long trip down from the mountain ridge...with a lot of rocks along the way. Big rocks...like these...

normal trail.jpg
 
GURPS

GURPS

INGSOC
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Gilligan said:
Perhaps. But many of the retrievals I was called to do were only after many "friends" had attempted to recover the stuck vehicle and had failed. Often making a bad stuck worse in the process. Lots of people have 4x4 vehicles. Surprisingly few have seriously capable 4x4 vehicles that can perform a "deep woods/deep mud" recovery.
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Hi-Lift Jack, PSP, Come-a-long ....... 5/16's chains of various lengths

[wimps now use rope]
 
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