Director of Melbourne’s Allcar Towing Group, Mile (Milo) Atanasov, recruits tow truck drivers who are both experienced at driving and at calmly handling stressful situations.
“Accidents and breakdowns – these things unfortunately do happen, but we’re here to make it a little bit easier and get the road cleared,” said Milo.
“The staff work in shifts to ensure that a driver is available for a callout, no matter the time of day or the circumstances.
“Experienced drivers are invaluable to our business and customers, not only on the road but as they pass on their knowledge and skills to our younger drivers.”
The morning rush between 6 am and 10 am is the most active period for Allcar Towing. However, with Melbourne highways almost always congested outside of the usual morning rush, there’s enough work to keep them busy seven days a week, 365 days a year, and on-call at all hours.
Planning for an expansion of the business as road numbers continue to rise, Milo has invested in an Isuzu F Series fleet, featuring 40 long-wheelbase FRD 110-260 Auto tilt-slide tray trucks.
Milo’s decision to upgrade to an Isuzu-only fleet was based on some considerable experience as a driver himself, having started as a yard hand at Allcar Towing in the early 2000s under the previous owner, John Ficarra, before working his way up the ranks until he was in the position to purchase the business outright in 2011.
Regularly updated with new models, the smartly presented fleet is spread across five locations: a head office at Dandenong and sites at Berwick, Somerville, Keysborough, and Springvale.
While the majority of Allcar Towing’s business is related to accidents and breakdowns, the fleet handles a range of work, including delivering new vehicles for car dealerships, transporting luxury cars, towing boats, and tackling heavier items such as shipping containers and machinery.
A GVM of 11,000 kg and GCM of 20,000 kg allows the FRD 110-260 with Allcar Towing’s body installed to carry up to 4.5 tonnes on board.
This is paired with an Isuzu 6HK1-TCC six-cylinder engine which provides plenty of grunt for towing, offering 191 kW of power @ 2,400 rpm and torque of 761 Nm @ 1450 rpm – 2400 rpm.
The seven-metre-long tilt-slide tray from Australian Trailer Manufacturers (ATM) allows the deck to be lowered flush to the ground, allowing for direct drive-on and a smoother loading of broken-down vehicles.
“Every truck is built the same so that there are no differences between our Isuzu fleet—I want all our drivers to have the same experience across the board,” Milo explained.
“The FRD 110-260 is a good-sized truck that allows us to service our customers for what they need, during the most stressful of times.
“Aside from handling accidents, our trucks can perform other work for our customers; this versatility is important as the economy moves and shifts, and we’re adapting our business to these changes.”
Isuzu’s FRD 110-260 is specified with a 6-speed Allison LCT 2500 fully automatic transmission, which Milo says decreases distractions for drivers and removes the potential for excessive wear and tear on a truck’s clutch.