starting a wrecker sevice...imput

I looked into this a while back, it's not a bad idea, but good connections help. He can call some insurance companies and try to hook up with them, most will require that he has an office with someone manning the phone full time. He will also have to decide if he wants to tow 24 hrs. a day. Most counties only use one towing service, and it's usually someone connected to the county sheriff. There are also towing associations that he can check out on line in the area he will be towing. It usually consists of the bigger companies, the ones that lobby the state for towing regulations and such. It will be tough getting started unless he has a few connections. My uncle was a city manager of a medium sized town, he told me that if a guy could hook up with the local sheriff he would be able to gross around $500,000 a year just off the county. It's definitely worth looking into.

 

You better know what you are doing. Remember...all those knuckleheads we share the road with are zipping by at 70 mph as you are walking around hooking up.

I used to drive light duty wreckers & roll backs before I got my CDL, and had my permit being trained into the heavy duty wrecker when the company got bought out.

There is a LOT going on...especially with police calls. I got rear ended one time by a drunk as I was slowing to pick up an abandoned vehicle on the highway...luckily, there were 2 state troopers behind the abandoned (steering column pulled...investigating it as possible stolen) and you couldn't ask for better witnesses to a wreck. Luckily, the lady hit me while I was in the truck instead of while I was trying to hook up the car.

There are shortcuts that 99% of the time you can get by with...but eventually it'll bite you and when it does, you'll be lucky if nobody gets hurt or worse. Safety chains are there for a reason. Use 'em.

Damage claims will happen...whether or not you actually caused the damage to the vehicle. I had 2 during the time I was driving...luckily, BOTH were able to be proved that I was not at fault. One due to the fact that I took pictures of the damage before I ever touched the car...and the second because there was nothing on my truck that could have put 4 curved dents in a perfect 4" circle in the oil pan of a car I had towed. The neighbor the guy had work on the car for him had jacked it up with a floor jack you know where. If you can't provide enough proof to satisfy the angry "customer", you'll likely end up paying for the damage.

If you are towing for the police, you will need a secure (fenced) yard to store impounds/wrecks/etc. You will also need office hours and someone location to release cars and open the gate for insurance adjusters, police investigators, etc. You'll have to make sure cars aren't leaking oil/antifreeze/other fluids onto the ground and contaminating the soil and water, too...otherwise the EPA will be after you.

...and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

 

I'm assuming you're referring to heavy duty and not light/medium duty? I've done it all in the past, but currently only do light/medium stuff.

If you are looking at light duty- from my experience stay away from the motor clubs, such as AAA, Cross Country, Allstate, etc. In a prior gig I worked for a AAA contractor, granted you can make some decent money, but that entails 100+ hr weeks, running dirty, and dealing with customers who expect something for nothing. (oh wait, that's almost anyone anymore! LOL)

In the mid 90s I had a '79 Ford 1ton rollback that was strictly for hauling my vintage cars around(no advertising or phone number). I got plenty of the 'hey I have this junk car at home, load it up you can have it" types, and being an entrepreneur, I'm not gonna turn it down!

My boss told me this "Stick with one or two trucks and you'll make some decent money", he had 12 at one time, but is down to 4 now.

 

I believe the profits come from the storage fees. I watch that towing show on the speed channel and they mentioned it there.

 

Members,

Please keep the information coming in. Can the law enforcement give out who is their designated towing provider??? If one had to start up a towing business, what region would be the best?????

KH

 

You're on a rotation list.... and the rotation list is normally called out alphabetically, at least here it is.

The number of companies on the list can vary from 5 to 100- depending on if the towing company meets the regs setup by the agencies, SO, State Patrol, etc...

The State & County also sets the rates for rotation calls. For light duty stuff it's $85/hook $3/mi plus $40 day storage.(these may have changed recently- I don't do many rotation calls)

After 37 days you can file for a storage lien in FL, But I'm sure states vary on this rule also.