[MUSIC PLAYING]
STAN: Today is one of those busy days.
We are hustling from job to job, trying to slam them
all, get them all done.
I'm working with Nick.
NICK: We got the call on the dispatch phone,
and it was just a bunch of random [BLEEP]
that the guy wanted moved.
So we're going up to this guy's place.
I'm going to grab a fuel tank, and grab a riding lawnmower,
and Stan's going to get an older box truck.
STAN: In this line of work, when we get sent on a call,
we don't know what we're actually getting into until we
actually get on scene.
Sometimes you can have fun with it.
Sometimes it'll actually piss you off.
[CHUCKLES]
NICK (ON RADIO): You'll see that box fan when you
first pull into the driveway.
I'm going to grab this fuel tank.
[TRUCK BEEPING]
Aw, it looks like it's going to be a pain in my butt
right now, to tell you right off the bat.
This is an estate sale, and they've
been selling a lot of stuff.
This fellow who died, he's sort of a figure up here in Alaska.
This was actually his first truck,
and he built a fleet of like 30.
My buddy called me up and said, hey, we
need to get a bunch of this stuff off the property,
so I got a place for it.
I'm He-Manning it.
You need a wrecker up there to lift it up for you?
NICK: I do.
I need somebody to steer while I load it too.
[TOW HUMMING]
STAN: There we go.
[SIGHS] This is a Tommy Gate.
Oh, yeah.
This is a Tommy Gate right here.
I can't put pressure on that.
Otherwise, we're going to put it right through the floor.
So I'm going to have to pick it up from the front end
and tow it.
A Tommy Gate is a old version of a lift.
They're real thin.
They're not sturdy.
So I have to tow it from the front.
I have to drop the driveline.
That's the only way I can move this big beast.
Now it's hooked up, and I can disconnect the driveline.
Why you disconnect the driveline?
If we don't do it, we're basically forcing
the transmission to turn.
It's not going to turn the engine.
It's forcing the transmission to turn.
Yep.
And if the oil is not going to be lubricating
and the pump is not working inside,
because it works under pressure, we're burning up that oil.
When it gets to a certain temperature,
you explode the whole gearbox.
I need to do it my way because it's safer.
We have to have safety.
Safety is our main priority.
You never heard of that?
No.
I've-- I can show you pictures of what will happen.
This is a manual school bus.
That's what will happen to it if we
don't disconnect the driveline.
I have a strong opinion, and I disagree.
STAN: If we don't disconnect the driveline,
we're forcing the gearbox to turn.
But I mean, I've never heard of a gearbox
burning up this way.
Yeah, you know, you show up on scene with all this background,
and then to have somebody that doesn't
understand start questioning why you're doing it.
Why can't you do it the other way?
Nothing in the engine is burning.
Yeah, but from turning the rear axle,
you're forcing the gearbox to turn.
Get it?
Not really.
STAN: The customer wants it done cheap.
He wants to save a dime, but I know my job.
I've been doing this for a long time.
If I could go to his job, tell him to do his job my way,
I would like to see his reaction.
Nick, I need to talk to you.
What's up?
So I'm doing [BLEEP] what that customer thinks.
If I don't disconnect the driveline from the rear end,
the vehicle that I'm towing will catch on fire.
We're not doing it-- period.
I've been doing this for a long time,
and it just pisses me off when the customer
thinks they know better.
[TOOLS CLATTERING]
He's just trying to save that dime,
but it's going to put me at risk, or killing me,
and I don't want that happening.
I don't care what their opinion is.
I'm going with the safer route.
In that kind of situation that I'm in,
best thing is not to listen to the customers.
I've never heard on a manual transmission
that will burn up the gearbox.
Every truck, you drop the driveline.
It frustrates Stan.
Like, he's out there to do a job,
and he's out there to do it safely.
Him, with all that experience, and having somebody that
doesn't have it second guess or start
questioning what he's doing, it can be frustrating.
If we're just going to listen to the customer
and do the cheaper way out, we might
as well just hang up the keys and not worry about anything.
Just let the customers do it.
You know, that would be like me telling a cab driver
how to drive a cab, and I'm running a tow truck.
So I explained it to him again.
But there's different--
I've never heard the reasoning that it's the gearbox--
Your fluid's not flowing through.
I don't understand.
NICK: There's a lot of variables to it.
ROBERT: Yeah.
But I mean, he has to drop the driveline, and so--
Yeah, I got that, and I'm not like, you know--
Yeah.
If Nick wasn't there, I was about to knock his ass out.
OK, however it works best for you guys.
Taking the customer away from the situation,
I think he was more curious on why we did it
versus him in the beginning, trying
to tell us how to do our job.
I mean, I hate working on the cars, and I'm-- you know,
I'm not a mechanic.
I'm a driver, so--
This is where I get to go playing in the snow.
[GRUNTS]
[TOOL CLATTERS]
NICK: How you doing, big boy?
There we go.
Total bill is $472.
OK.
It's all yours.
Yeah, hey, thank you.
This is what I do for a living.
If something goes wrong, I'm responsible for that.
It's kind of hard to explain something to a customer
when they have their own theory.
Everybody has their own theories,
and it's just one of those things
that we deal with all the time.
All in all, a successful tow, a job well done.
Don't argue with my heavy guy when he
says he's got to do something.
[LAUGHS]