Towing News Now
Each week Wes Wilburn talks about the towing industry. In every episode Wes talks about the important events and latest information. Keep up to date with the latest newws stories in the towing industry.
Towing News Now
A Tow Operator Shows Us How TikTok And AI Can Work
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One phone call can decide whether a tow job gets finished safely or turns into a long, expensive wait. We talk about what fast fulfillment really looks like at Towing Equipment Direct, including how we process orders, ship same-day when we can, and choose shipping options based on when the box will actually hit your doorstep. If you’ve ever needed a strap, cable, or recovery gear yesterday, you’ll recognize why we obsess over speed, accuracy, and straight answers.
Then we jump into the modern side of the towing industry with our guest David Kidwell, a tow company veteran from Northern Virginia who’s been creating TikTok content for years. He shares how he builds short videos, how he’s been experimenting with AI tools to get more creative faster, and what makes social media marketing feel doable even if you’re not “a content person.” We also talk about what it’s like working the front counter at a tow lot, where you hear more problems than a bartender and still have to keep your cool.
We close with Towing News Now: Baltimore’s push to tighten private property towing rules and fee enforcement, Louisville’s infamous low-clearance “can opener” chewing up detouring semis, and a hard reminder to slow down and move over when first responders and tow operators are roadside. We also cover a $160,000 settlement tied to the Service Members Civil Relief Act, and why towing compliance matters even more near military bases. Subscribe, share this with a driver who needs it, and leave us a review so more towers can find the show.
Welcome And Meet The Hosts
SPEAKER_02Welcome one and all to the Towing News Now Podcast. A podcast dedicated to insightful interviews, news stories that affect the towing industry, and a weekly spotlight on towing supplies and equipment. We have two hosts. One of them has been in the business for 40 years. The other's his charming wife of many years, who also is the general manager of product supply. No other than Wes and April Wilburn. Wes and April, I turn it over to you.
SPEAKER_07All right, DJ, thank you very much. As always, I appreciate your kind words. I appreciate all the listeners. We keep the podcast numbers keep growing. We're really appreciative of that. So out we got DJ and April on board, and a special guest we'll introduce in a moment. DJ, how are you doing this fine summer's day?
SPEAKER_02Oh we sure did. And as warm as can be. But everything good here, Wes.
SPEAKER_07Good to hear you're doing well. April, how are you doing?
SPEAKER_04I'm doing pretty good. You know, we're uh can complain about the heat, but everybody's got it. I think it's I think that this heat wave has kind of hit the whole country pretty much, you know, even areas that are not traditionally as hot as we are are getting or are really suffering too, but we're sitting here sitting in here in the air conditioning and I'm ramping everything up as far as like um trying to be in the 21st century. I'm trying to get there. So I'm working towards that too.
How Fast Orders Ship Out
SPEAKER_02April, let me ask this question of you. You know, we tell people that we're coming from the sewing equipment direct.com studios, and the next segment, of course, is called Towing News Now. But what I wanted to ask, when people call in, call in the 918 what 910747-9000 number, and they place an order. Normally, how long does an order take to place with you and then for it to go out?
SPEAKER_07It's pretty straightforward. If we have it in in fact, it goes back that day, that day and the next day.
SPEAKER_18Oh wow.
SPEAKER_07Um we uh had a fairly good size order. Somebody bought a couple rollbacks, needed some stuff for heavy record, they gave us that order yesterday.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_07About this time of the day, and most of it was sitting out there ready to go about noon today. They um matter of fact, uh I guess there's just two line items on the on the ticket that were straps that need to be made um that will drop ship in. So uh w it's basically a same-day service. We pride ourselves on uh if we get the c we we get the phone call by noon most days if we got it, we can get it out. And uh we pride ourselves on that. And April's been an ace on uh understanding the ship to three three different major shipping options and which one's the best to do. And like sometimes she'll ship something that's gonna go over the weekend and she'll ship it UP USPS Postal Service because that extra day of shipping gets it there that day quicker. So Gotcha. I d and I didn't mean to cut you off, April. Anything you want to add?
SPEAKER_04I I just yeah, one thing we understand and West more than I do, but we understand um that these are impulse by us when these when these guys call or they place an order with us online, it is something they essentially need to do what they have to do on that side of the road. Wes was intelligent before he was an instructor. I I worked as a dispatcher for a new company for six years. Um I didn't run the truck or or or drive the truck, but I understood what they were going through on a day-to-day basis. So from that perspective, which I feel blessed to have, um, that gave me the that that gave me that more of a like a passion that like I know that they they need this stuff. So it gives me it gives me that drive and that purpose.
SPEAKER_07I got it's been a minute, but I I've taken a rollback cable and driven twenty, thirty miles and met somebody halfway in the middle of the night.
SPEAKER_04Oh I know they needed it when they need it on the side of the road. They're on the side of the road and they they need that cable in them if we could service them like that.
SPEAKER_07Um it was a good customer and they s snow was coming. And I and I'm not saying I just did it because it was a good customer, but that was more the motivation.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but you guys are really the customer service driven company. You re you have that can I you want to always do better every day on on customer service. And you do, and people tell me about it when I see them at shows.
SPEAKER_04Our best service is customer service, it's our best product that we have.
SPEAKER_02Well, you guys are good. Well, I'm glad you answered that question.
SPEAKER_07Well, thanks for asking me, DJ. We what point we've got to take a quick break, so we're gonna ask our listeners to hang around until after the break, and we'll come right back with them.
SPEAKER_12The
Why Customer Service Wins
SPEAKER_12best towing companies offer a combination of great training, efficient operations along with quality supplies. Towing Equipment Direct is committed to help your towing companies stay ahead of the competition by providing the best quality of towing equipment and supplies. Here's why you institute towing equipment direct for all of your toing supply needs. We provide affordable towing supplies and equipment. All towing supplies and equipment are made from the latest technologies and we supply products from the most respected brands in the towing industry. If you're not using the latest towing equipment, there's a good chance your company has fallen behind. In many cases, the quality of your equipment and supplies can make a huge difference. Our representatives are knowledgeable in the toin industry still for the best toin equipment and supplies count on the team at CoinEquipment Direct.com. We look forward to serving you.
SPEAKER_03For electric and other alternative vehicles, we have developed an app that gives you all the manufacturers 401 for when that 911 happens. Whether you are a fire, tower, or plate, we've got you covered. To find the EV Clover app, go to your Apple or Google Play store for a 30-day free trial.
SPEAKER_13We also offer the National Tow Operator Certification, an independently sourced virtual testing program covering light duty, heavy duty, electric, and alternative fuel vehicles.
SPEAKER_02Welcome back, listeners. You know you're listening to TowingEquipmentDirect.com, and this is a great podcast for everyone. We have Wes Wilburn, April Wilburn, TJ Harrington, the Tow Doctor, and every week we do our best to bring you informative episodes. Make sure you download and listen. Remember, we're available on Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, Sketcher, iArtMedia, or wherever you get your podcast. So without further ado, let me pass that on over to April, who will take it from here.
SPEAKER_04Thank
TikTok Fear And Getting Started
SPEAKER_04you, DJ. And the uh first part of this podcast, I talked about entering into the 21st century finally, because I'm kicking the stream and going into it, but I'm going into it. And part of that is uh um not just social media, but TikTok has been something that I've watched, but it's kind of scared me to enter into it. And uh with the help of a former coworker of mine and in the true spirit of the telling industry, also related to, um, David Kidwell, uh sent me some videos that he made for us. Uh he told me how to to get an onto TikTok. It was amazing how easy it was to do, so I can't thank him enough for that. But we are so happy to have David Kidwell here as a guest with us.
SPEAKER_07And David Kidwell is you know David Al.
SPEAKER_04Oh yeah, by the way, he is my cousin. David Kidwell is my cousin. So it's the towing industry. We work together, we're related, you know. That's that's how the towing industry pretty much works. David Kidwell, welcome to the podcast.
Meet David Kidwell And His AI
SPEAKER_06Thank you.
SPEAKER_07So you did um help how David, why don't you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background and whatnot?
SPEAKER_06Hello, hello, I'm David Kidwell. I work for uh towing company in the Northern Virginia area for twenty years and I've been playing around with AI and trying to learn how to do it better.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and we've been um a little bit of a guinea pig for you in that where you were just kind of descending the um some of the stuff that you would made for Tony Equipment Direct.com and um from from that that kind of like pushed me a little bit more forward. How long have you been doing how long have you been creating? I know you've been creating content for a little while on your own um TikTok page, and go ahead and give them your your TikTok handle. Um, but how long have you been creating content for TikTok?
SPEAKER_06Uh since 2017, I wanna say.
SPEAKER_07Whoa. Okay. And to file you on TikTok, how do they file you?
SPEAKER_06Uh they can look me up as uh David Kidwell or Big Man David. Yeah, and I got it.
SPEAKER_04I'll just I think it's David Kidwell 71 and your handle.
SPEAKER_06You're correct. I just had to look at it. Yes, it is big man uh David Big Man Big Man, yeah. Well, it's David Kidwell 71, sorry.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and your handle is big man.
SPEAKER_06My handle is big man, yes.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Uh can you spell Kidwell the last name?
SPEAKER_06K I D W E L L Okay, so I spelled the right.
SPEAKER_05So it's David Kidwell 71. That's how they find that's how they find you on TikTok, right? Yes.
SPEAKER_07And that's the main social media that you interact with, is that correct?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, that's the main one I put, you know, pictures, videos, stuff I make on there.
SPEAKER_04You do some stuff on Facebook too though. Is that correct?
SPEAKER_06Well, I mean I I may put one or two on there, but not really on Facebook.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's the one thing I've been trying to do is take what I've posted on TikTok and also post it on Facebook and um there's a little bit of a running card with that, so um, but but yeah, thanks to you showing me how easy it was to do. Um I'm I'm not as good at creating the TikTok videos as you are yet. But I'm able to create some of it to some extent. And um with what you are giving us and what little bit that I'm doing, um it's really amped it up.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I'm just trying to like like I said, trying to learn more of the AI stuff so I can make more videos and things to be more creative.
SPEAKER_04And what are you doing to learn um more AI except for just going on experimenting with it, which is a good learning method.
SPEAKER_06That's pretty much all I'm doing is going on different air uh AIs and trying to experiment and learn more, you know, you know what to be what I can make, what I can't make. And you know, the making the videos and trying to create 'em and doing the music part for you know, y'all little commercials for y'all for your TikTok. That's pretty much all I'm doing.
SPEAKER_04And
Making Ads With Music And Clips
SPEAKER_04uh we're talking about um social media doing TikToks. He's gave us a lot of great content and we're gonna play one now for everybody to listen to.
SPEAKER_15Call at text April O West at 917479000 for all the equipment you need.
SPEAKER_04So Dave, so that's one, David, that you you gave us. You probably have given us, I don't know how many, David. Did you think about 15 or 18 of them now?
SPEAKER_06I assume I don't I'm not a team to attract it with how many I've sent you.
SPEAKER_04Uh we should though. We should, because you've given us a bunch of them. Um, yeah, when David sent these to me, I thought, oh, how hard could it be? You know, my cousin David is doing it, so I can do it too. I'm have there's a lot of girls. There's a lot of people. That's a relative. So we definitely appreciate them doing it and um and uh helping us with that.
SPEAKER_07David definitely has a little thing that I struggle with when I try to work on commercial advertising. One of them is a map free. I end up going on very free. One or two things that I'm putting in an advertisement. And willingness to take this on and just do this and hand call to us.
SPEAKER_05We really appreciate that.
SPEAKER_06It's been no problem. You know, it's been a learning experience for me and it's been kind of fun and I'll I'm gonna keep making them and keep sending them to y'all.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, we get about one or two of them a day now. For a while we were getting six or seven of them, but um they've definitely accumulated in our uh TikTok library now. The one other thing that I one of the other things that I like, not the one other thing, but one of the one of the other things that I like is that um it's not specific to a genre. There's just different really any kind of music you like, there's a TikTok that has that that type of music to it. And um that that's our tone world too. It's made up with just different people with different tastes. So I like not just being stuck in the the same same genre of music. So David, what do you see in the future for you with um developing and doing more of this as far as like the AI stuff goes?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, you know, just getting more learning experience and trying to create more more videos and and content or Facebook I mean TikTok and just seeing where it goes from there.
SPEAKER_04So
Working The Front Desk At A Tow Lot
SPEAKER_04we talked earlier about both of me being your former co-worker and you working at a tow company. Um give us a little bit of a rundown for what you do for that company and maybe one little quick funny story.
SPEAKER_06Well, I used to be in dispatch, so I dispatch for a number of years, well, give dispatch, I call take for a number of years. And I have done some dispatching, but I work up front for uh where I release cars to the customers that are from uh private properties, police tows, and accidents, and been doing that for like I said, twenty years.
SPEAKER_04So you've seen the you've seen the the best and the worst of people when they walk in that door.
SPEAKER_05The good, bad, and the ugly.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, well, doing that position, you hear more problems than a bartender, so Oh yes.
SPEAKER_04I will have to say this. David is David's lost about 90 pounds, but big man is his name. That's not one of those where you call Slim, Slim and he's not slim. Big man is a big man. I I think that probably helps a little bit when people walk up. If they're really irked when they walk in that door, they might back up a little bit when they see David's about six foot four and he's he's he's an opposing person.
SPEAKER_06Well, I get yelled at more by ladies than I do other guys. Guys are really tough on the phone, but ladies in person they just they don't care. They just you sit there and yell and I can't yell back at them because it's females.
SPEAKER_04In my family, you're used to that, so you should be okay with that.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_04We we we yell, so we're we're yellers. Well, David, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and we're gonna have you back on on the f in the future. Um and and um we'll be making some more TikTok content together.
SPEAKER_05All right, thank you for having me on.
SPEAKER_04I our pleasure, our pleasure. We're gonna go to break right now and we'll come back. We're gonna um go over the news of the day.
SPEAKER_12INA towing supports all of us. The American Towing and Recovery Institute is honored to have the support of the INA Towing Network. Together, we all make a difference. INA Towing Network Simplified Solutions, Superior Service.
SPEAKER_02Welcome
Sponsor Thanks And Training Resources
SPEAKER_02back, listeners. This is really the Towing Equipment Direct.com podcast coming from the studios, and this segment is called Towing News Now. But we want to mention a couple of people first before we go into that segment. So, April, I'll turn it over to you and then you can go from there.
SPEAKER_04Well, first of all, if for any of your training needs, Cardinal Legacy Group in St. Louis are the ones to contact. Your phone number is 636-800-28704, or you can hit them up via email, ampow signup.org.
SPEAKER_07Terry Beatty with Hazmat Responder Network and WebStop Products. Terry Beatty, Hazmat Responder Network.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and we also have a great sponsor, INA, Gay Rochester. They have sponsors so much in T RAA. Please, by all means, uh, they're a great company. And when you see gay, say thank you. And we appreciate INA being a sponsor of TowingEquipment Direct dot com. So by all means, thank you, Gay Rochester.
SPEAKER_07Yeah, we certainly do appreciate it, and I appreciate gay and her personal attention to people. We went it's been over a year and a half, but went to an event she invited us to at a trade show. And I was amazed how she A was trying to be personal and talk with everybody as much as possible. But B, there was a couple people there that were under the weather, and she spent extra time with those folks, extra, extra time, making sure that every you know the their food and drink was okay. Someone was talking to them, et cetera, really shows their her true heart.
SPEAKER_05So yeah, we appreciate them. Our first
Baltimore Targets Private Lot Towing
SPEAKER_05news stories come to us out of Baltimore.
SPEAKER_07Apparently, they uh are looking at the issue of private property selling.
SPEAKER_10Yeah, I did it's councilman line doors. He says that the mechanism boy practices and private lines and garages. Type of patrol telling where a tow truck circles or monitors a private lot without an explicit request from the property owner. It also requires telling companies to accept credit cards instead of just cash and establishes a cash for telling services and storage feats.
SPEAKER_09We see people charging $300, $350, upwards of $400 every single week, week after week in that city. When the legal uh limit is $280 right now, and this will make it even clearer that there is a limit and that there are penalties for um. So it also penalty, what this bill will allow is for the Department of Consumer Protections to suspend the license, especially for uh repeat offenders of this, that they can have this license suspended immediately, even pending a hearing. I really think it could go a long way.
SPEAKER_10Again, that bill was introduced this evening. It's been assigned to the Land Use and Transportation Committee. Reporting live here downtown, Kyrie Stewart, WBAL TV 11 News.
SPEAKER_07Well, a couple quick things I would I have a question. One of them talked about the rate being charged. My question was does he not understand in the other individual charge? Is that the rate higher? The other question I would have is how old is that rate when the last time it was updated? The other time I don't think it's not because anywhere that you property is a variety of another thing that he said was that you had the right to your property because of your property.
SPEAKER_04Like they went on a property that has fine that has no party. So it kind of a little bit hypocritical on my part. And the second part of that is the the the the fairness thing I hate when I hear somebody talk about fairness because it's objective most of the time. You can tell if somebody's never ran their own business or had yet um take on their talk of a business before. That that is um a walking example of that reading.
Louisville’s Can Opener Overpass Chaos
SPEAKER_07I don't know. So if I was living in Louisville, I would consider myself lucky that you have that professional company there cleaning up the the ones that hit the can over it.
SPEAKER_11And apparently it happened quite often for the You probably know the notorious low clearance Louisville overpass. It's also become an unexpected star in the story of the I-65 summer shutdown. Semi-drivers detouring around the closure. They've been colliding with the can opener. More than forty trucks damaged since the shutdown started. And these feedings, as they've been referred to, have been keeping a Louisville towing company quite busy. Wave News Reporter Kirsten Foot has the latest live look for us from Third Street and Eastern Parkway. Kirsten.
SPEAKER_01Traffic is moving slowly. We see some of the SMR trailers making their detours, and I spoke with the Rubber Towing Company, and they tell me that they are the ones that are used to down here. We see some of those videos pulling the trucks out of the can opener. They've been staying busy. Now Jai is their operations manager. He tells me that his company went from responding to about four or five can operate incidents each month to more than 30 in the last month alone. At one point, the city of Louisville had asked them to have a record standing by in the area to be ready for another incident. And while some of the initial craziness when the I-65's door shutdown has calmed, the can opener still continues to claim victims, and suburban towing remains ready.
SPEAKER_14Some of them just collide with it and they break, and then we could just move them and get them out of there. Some of them are doing 30 miles an hour and they get 30 feet inside it. So at that point, everything, the landing gear that's normally a foot or two off the ground, is now dug into the ground. Trailer's broken at the fifth wheel, and we have to get that out without destroying the roadway.
SPEAKER_01A very tedious process there. And after an incident with the underpastic company will haul the trailer to their lot. They may throw away the product the truck was hauling if it's perishable, or it'll transfer the product onto another container and send it on its way. Regardless, it's been keeping them very busy. But some release should come soon as that five-mile stretch between the Waterston Expressway and downtown Louisville is expected to reopen on Saturday, August 1st. We'll keep you updated with all that. But for now, of course, all those truck drivers should avoid going under the low clearance uh as far as the can opener goes and really well.
SPEAKER_07I w I wonder to myself is being able to read English part of the equation. But we've already had that conversation.
SPEAKER_05The next story comes to us out of South Carolina. Another story been told so many different times.
SPEAKER_07We'll hear it again now.
Move Over Law And Roadside Danger
SPEAKER_16Well, new tonight at 11. A Greenville County deputy who was hit by a vehicle on I-85 last week is reminding drivers of the state's move overlaw. On the Greenville County Sheriff's Podcast, Deputy Theo King recalled the shocking moments of the crash and got a first look at the body cam video of the crash. We do want to warn you that this video may be hard to watch for some people. Well, King says he was assisting an officer who had finished conducting a traffic stop. He was waiting for a tow tuck to load up a car when he was struck in the rear end by another vehicle. Everyone involved in this crash was taken to the hospital. The deputy says under South Carolina's move overlaw when a driver is required to move over to the adjacent lane when a protein first responders vehicles are flashing lights. He says the common reason for a crash is like these are sleepy drivers, destructive driving, and driving under the influence.
SPEAKER_00Here we are.
SPEAKER_16Deputies say citations can exceed several hundred dollars. The sheriff's office says if you are unable to move over, you are required to still slow down. The host of the podcast said, don't get these people that are out here just trying to do their job and then get back home to their families. The Greenville County Sheriff's Office hopes King's story serves as a reminder that a few extra seconds of calling can save lives. You can see the full podcast right now on WIFF4.com.
SPEAKER_07So hopefully people with one more person freaking slowdown move over. Hopefully people pay attention to that. It's a super unfair situation, and I'm not sure what the industry can react to other than if you're near a military base of any course. You should be aware of the situation. That would include getting a car account. How is the television supposed to know the person in the military? That's the unfair part. I think some strides are being made to try to deal with that. But here apparently was a company that must have had known they were violating this to get such a judgment against them. And again, I don't think this is fair, and we're just reporting the news.
SPEAKER_17Prosecutors
Military Protections And A $160K Settlement
SPEAKER_17say SK towing will pay $160,000 to settle allegations it violated the Service Members Civil Relief Act. That law protects active duty military members by temporarily postponing certain financial and legal obligations, including repossessions, evictions, and lawsuits. They say the company illegally sold or auctioned 148 vehicles of active duty service members at Camp Pendleton over a five-year period. SK Towing has not commented on the settlement. It denied the allegations in its response to the lawsuit, saying its contract with Camp Pendleton did not make any reference to federal law. It also said it hired a third-party company to verify vehicles owners.
SPEAKER_07Again, I don't think this situation is fair, but sometimes life's not fair. But I'm telling you, if you're near an army base, you need to be aware of that.
SPEAKER_05Um and keep your eyes to the news as they progress with that.
Final Thanks And Stay Safe
SPEAKER_07Want to thank our guests today, thank the production team. Uh appreciate everybody staying with us. I know we ran a little long today. We'll be back next week with a great episode. Thank you and have a great week and be safe out there.