Rotator Service in Gary, IN

Rotator service in Gary is the call you make when a heavy unit is on its side, down an embankment or lying across lanes, and a standard wrecker cannot safely lift it. A rotator is a large wrecker with a boom that swings in a full circle. It can lift, turn and set a truck upright while the carrier stays in a safer position. Call (219) 529-2610 and tell dispatch what is on the ground.

What a rotator does

A rotator carries a heavy boom on a turntable and can lift from the side, rear or front without moving the carrier. That lets it reach a rolled tractor-trailer in a lane, a bus on an embankment or a dump truck in a ditch. It can lift a unit at an angle, set it back on its wheels and place it where a standard wrecker can finish the tow. Rotator time is billed separately because the equipment is heavier than a regular wrecker.

Why Gary calls for planning

The Borman Expressway is eight lanes wide in places, with collector-distributor lanes between interchanges, and the stretch from Kennedy Avenue to Cline Avenue carried about 163,912 vehicles per day in a 2010 count. A rolled unit there can stop a long line of traffic. A rotator job needs room to set up, traffic control, and a clear plan for where the unit goes after it is upright. That planning starts on the phone.

Soft ground, drainage and water

Gary and nearby towns sit on a flat lake plain with ditches, ramps and drainage structures along the interstates. The Little Calumet River has flooded the Borman before: in September 2008, a levee breach put nearly five feet of water across the lanes under the Kennedy Avenue overpass in Hammond, and the expressway was closed in both directions until September 17. When ground is soft or water is present, a rotator may need matting, extra rigging or a different approach.

Call (219) 529-2610

Rigging and load

Before a lift, the operator checks the unit's condition, where the weight sits and what is inside. Fuel tanks, tanks of liquid, steel coils and loose cargo can shift during an upright. Hazmat calls need a different plan and the right agencies on scene. Tell dispatch about the cargo before the call ends. If a load must be transferred first, we can arrange that as well.

Police, fire and traffic control

Rollovers on interstates often involve police, fire and sometimes the road operator. On the Indiana Toll Road, the Indiana Toll Road Concession Company runs and maintains the road under a 75-year lease signed in 2006, so calls there can involve its staff. We work with the agencies on scene. An officer may direct us to a staging area or require a quick clear. Dispatch will ask whether police are already there.

Cost and time

Published rate schedules show rotator time from about $790 to $1,500 per hour, and one county sets a 3-hour minimum. Rotator jobs can run long, since rigging, lifting, cleanup and positioning each take time. We give the estimate in writing and tell you what is likely to extend it.