Wings of Strength, Depth of Legacy

By George L. Nitti At first glance, the heavy-duty wrecker from Shroyer Towing turns heads with its bold gold and blue paint with flashes of vivid blue striping. But look closer, and the graphics on this Lansing, Michigan–based unit tell a far more personal story.

Owned by brothers Danny and his sibling, Shroyer Towing has been part of Michigan’s recovery scene since 1935, when Danny’s grandfather first started the business. The truck itself is a rare Diamond Rio, a brand no longer in production, but it’s the personal touches layered onto the unit that set it apart.

The company’s signature colors — gold paired with Grabber Blue — sweep across the body in long, flowing stripes. From a distance, those lines almost resemble wings in motion, a detail even Danny hadn’t considered until others mentioned it.

“Now that you mention it,” he said, “I guess they do look like wings.”

That image feels fitting.

Displayed as a tribute on the truck is the name Jessica, Danny’s niece, who passed away in 2015 due to lifelong physical health problems. As a child, Jessica loved riding along in that very wrecker.

“She used to ride with me all the time,” Danny recalled. “She’d climb up in there and go on calls with me. She really liked that truck.”

The truck’s front end features a powerful image of the Hulk breaking free from chains, a design that has been part of the truck since the 1970s. Originally hand-painted, the artwork was later recreated in vinyl to preserve its original look.

For Danny, the Hulk represents strength — an appropriate emblem for a wrecker built for the toughest recoveries. Mounted above the front grille are authentic Diamond Rio emblems, rare pieces that tie the truck to a nearly forgotten chapter of American heavy-truck manufacturing history.

The lettering and graphic layout were done by a longtime collaborator known simply as Lenni, whose signature appears across Shroyer’s fleet.

Aside from a few sourced toolboxes, Shroyer’s team fabricated nearly the entire wrecker body themselves. Danny estimates its capability at around 50 tons, with a 60,000-pound winch anchoring the recovery system. Though now semi-retired and stored indoors much of the time, the truck remains fully equipped and ready for major recoveries when needed.

When Shroyer brought the Diamond Rio to the 2025 American Towman Exposition in Baltimore, the truck drew steady attention. After attending the show in previous years, Danny noticed something missing.

“There used to be a few shop-built heavy duties there,” he said. “Then over the last few years, I noticed there weren’t any — a lot of smaller trucks and flatbeds, but no heavy duties that are shop-built. So I thought it’d be good to get it out there and let people see it.”

Before the trip, his team gave the truck a thorough cleaning, handled minor paint touch-ups, and replaced the aging original fuel tanks. Otherwise, they left the unit in true working form. Plenty of trucks can boast horsepower and lifting capacity. Few can claim nearly a century of family history and a tribute woven into their very design. For Shroyer Towing, this wrecker is a reminder that legacy is built in the people and memories carried along the way.