When Plan 'A' Didn’t Work

By George L. Nitti

On a remote stretch of interstate outside Elko, Nevada, a young recovery crew proved that adaptability can be as essential to a recovery as equipment and experience.

When a loaded mining dump truck blew a steer tire, the driver lost control and the truck overturned, coming to rest on its roof. The load spilled out, and much of the cab was crushed beneath the truck.

The call went to Atlas Towing & Recovery, where 22-year-old operator Blake Taylor responded in a 2018 Peterbilt 389 equipped with a Jerr-Dan 35-ton wrecker.

"There was really no traffic control when we got there," Taylor recalled. "I wasn't going to put my guys out on the interstate, so I had to find another way."

Rather than position the wrecker alongside the wreck, Taylor backed into a roadside ditch, clearing sagebrush and rocks to create a workable position. Even then, the wrecker could not get close to the overturned truck. Taylor had to run nearly 50 feet of wire rope to reach it, making both the rigging and the recovery more challenging.

His initial plan was to rotate the dump truck onto its side and then upright it. But with the available attachment points limited to the upper frame rails, the truck wanted to roll rather than rotate.

"If it had come over where I had it rigged, it would have landed on my winch line," Taylor said. "That could have shock-loaded the cable, and things could have gone wrong really fast."

Taylor made a second attempt using a synthetic sling beneath the wreck, but quickly abandoned that approach.

"There was too much torn metal hanging underneath. I knew I was going to cut the sling."

After nearly an hour of re-rigging and reassessing the situation, Taylor changed tactics. Rather than trying to rotate the truck first, he placed two winch lines on the backside and attempted to roll the dump truck directly where it lay.

The move worked better than expected.

"It flipped once, flipped again in the same motion, and landed right back on its wheels. It was pretty mind-blowing how smoothly it happened."

With the dump truck upright, Taylor repositioned his wrecker onto the interstate, winched the truck onto the roadway and hooked it for the tow back to Atlas Towing & Recovery's yard in downtown Elko.

The cab had sustained extensive damage, particularly on the passenger side, but the dump body and frame remained intact. The truck also retained air pressure, allowing Taylor to tow it without having to deal with additional complications.

Recoveries involving mining equipment are common for work for Atlas Towing & Recovery, which operates in one of Nevada's major gold-producing regions.

Owner Jeremy Muth purchased the company with his wife, Christy, in 2020. Since then, the operation has grown into a full-service heavy-duty fleet with three heavy wreckers, four medium-duty trucks and four equipment-hauling power units. The company also maintains loaders, skid steers, forklifts, slide axles, dry vans and its own traffic-control equipment.

"When we go to a wreck scene, we want everything we need with us," Muth said. "We don't want to depend on anybody else."

That self-sufficiency is particularly valuable in the rugged country surrounding Elko. Atlas regularly handles loaded ore-hauling combinations weighing more than 200,000 pounds over mountain passes. Elko sits at approximately 5,000 feet in elevation, and the high-desert climate can bring temperatures above 100 degrees in summer and well below zero in winter.

"Our recoveries are rarely simple," Muth said. "The terrain, the weather, and the weights make every job different."

Taylor knows that firsthand. He was introduced to towing at 16 and earned his CDL after graduating high school. Now, at 22, he is part of a young Atlas crew that Muth says routinely handles work well beyond what might be expected of operators their age.

For Taylor, the overturned dump truck demonstrated that even a relatively straightforward recovery can change quickly. The key, he said, is knowing when to stop forcing a \plan that isn't working.

"Sometimes you have to stop, rethink the rigging, and find the safest way to get the job done."