Tow truck & wrecker charges

Discussion in 'Car Hauler and Auto Carrier Trucking Forum' started by 8x8, Oct 30, 2014.

  1. 8x8

    8x8 Light Load Member

    87
    44
    Jun 3, 2007
    0
    Anybody have any info on charges for towing, winching out stuck trucks on mountain passes / snow banks & ditches to truck crash recovery & clean up in the Rockies area

    initial or minimum charge
    hourly rates above minimum charge
    towing $-mile
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. baha

    baha Road Train Member

    4,137
    2,832
    Jul 25, 2013
    ga
    0
    If the law calls the wrecker you will pay what they charge, if you can call 1st. and ask the what the charges are at diff. co. for hook/up per. mi. charges it will save $.
     
  4. Allow Me.

    Allow Me. Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

    10,354
    11,164
    May 28, 2009
    Rancho Mirage, Ca.
    0
    There's an initial service charge to show up, depending how far the tow company has to come. Next you have an hourly charge while they "service" you. If they call another truck to help, double the initial charge. If needing a tow, mileage charge. I don't know the current charges for big rigs but they ain't cheep. If the law calls for the tow, you pay more, because the tow co. is on standby for law enforcement. Beware of tow co's that call for additional truck when in fact it could have been handled by just one truck. The hourly charge should include anything needed.
     
    8x8 Thanks this.
  5. brian991219

    brian991219 Road Train Member

    2,778
    5,350
    Aug 10, 2013
    Lords Valley, PA
    0
    It depends what county and state you are in, some areas regulate the rates, some don't. For example in New Mexico the PRC regulates non-consent towing, but if you call the wrecker service directly it is consent and there is no rate cap, however you usually get a better deal calling directly rather than letting the highway patrol call for you. Colorado also has regulated rates but I do not know what they are.

    Typical rates vary widely but from my time in heavy duty towing a basic winch out, less than an hour on scene was about $500, more complex recoveries would be much higher, the highest single invoice I have ever personally written was a burned out tractor and refrigerated trailer that went 200 yards off the roadway and was loaded with 40,000 pounds of lettuce. We were on scene for almost 8 hours with three trucks and 4 men and various pieces of support equipment such as front end loader, dumpsters, etc, to clean up that mess, the recovery was $18,000.

    As for regular towing, heavy duty tow trucks should cost about $175 to $250 per hour, port to port (round trip) or about $150 to hookup and $6 or $7 per mile in tow. Consider that a typical new heavy duty wrecker, not a fancy recovery truck but just a basic 50 ton tow truck costs upwards of $475,000 without tools or equipment and a good heavy duty operator makes about $70,000 salary a year and the company has to be ready and staffed 24/7, just waiting on a call to come in.
     
    D.Tibbitt, Hulld, DrDieselUSA and 2 others Thank this.
  6. d281833

    d281833 Heavy Load Member

    880
    918
    May 15, 2012
    0
    Call Jamie Davis, he'll come with the Rotator and just pay for commercial time!
     
    FLHT and D.Tibbitt Thank this.
  7. rev13

    rev13 Bobtail Member

    14
    5
    Dec 26, 2012
    0
    I had a tornado cross the freeway back in 2005, threw me over a hundred yards in a cornfield and 6 wreckers and 40 ppl later picking apples up off the freeway for 8 hrs my tow bill was 78,000.
     
    bzinger Thanks this.
  8. Dorsey

    Dorsey Medium Load Member

    412
    209
    Jan 28, 2012
    Florida
    0
    $78, 000. Can you say price gouging? !?! I hate tow companies.
     
  9. rev13

    rev13 Bobtail Member

    14
    5
    Dec 26, 2012
    0
  10. free spirited1

    free spirited1 Heavy Load Member

    950
    744
    Mar 18, 2012
    USA
    0
    Someone update to 2021 prices
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.