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A tow truck (also called a wrecker, a breakdown truck or a breakdown lorry), is a vehicle used to take disabled motor vehicles to another location (generally a repair garage) in case of breakdown or collision, or to impound illegally parked vehicles on public or (more commonly) private property.

It is generally provided by an emergency road service operator.

Types of Tow Trucks

Five general types are in common usage, usually based on the type or size of vehicle to be towed truck chassis:

Boom - not specifically for towing, many trucks are equipped with an adjustable boom winch for recovering vehicles that are in a ditch, culvert, over an embankment, or any place the vehicle cannot be safely backed-up to.
Hook and chain (also known as a "sling" or "belt lift") - chains are looped around the vehicle frame or axle, which is drawn aloft by a boom winch to rest against a pair of heavy rubberized mats so the customer's vehicle can be towed on its other axle. Slings are not used much today because they can scratch the bumpers of cars. But they are sometimes used for towing vehicles that have been in an accident or have one or two of the front or rear wheels missing or for pickup trucks and other vehicles that have steel bumpers
Wheel-Lift - evolved from the hook and chain technology to produce a large metal yoke that can be fitted under the front or rear wheels to cradle them, drawing the front or rear end of the vehicle clear of the ground by a pneumatic or hydraulic hoist so it can be towed. This apparatus generally picks up the drive wheels of the vehicle (ie the front wheels if it is front wheel drive, the rear wheels if it is rear wheel drive) touching only the tires.
Flatbed (also called a Rollback or a Slide) - the entire back of the truck is fitted with a bed that can be hydraulically inclined and moved to ground level, allowing the customer's vehicle to be placed on it under its own power or pulled by a winch.
Integrated (also referred to as a Snatcher or Repo Truck) - boom and wheel-lift integrated into one unit. Used predominantly to repossess vehicles or move illegally parked vehicles. Most have controls for the apparatus inside the cab of the tow truck to make quick pickup possible without the inconvenience of exiting the truck to hook up the vehicle.

These are the most common arrangements, but are by no means exclusive, as there are flatbed units that offer a wheel-lift, boom trucks that can recover but not tow, and wheel-lift units that offer a combination boom with sling.

Operations

File:Cts2003.JPG

Heavy Tow Trucks in action.

Tow trucks are usually operated by private businesses, except for major highways and toll roads, where the road authority may operate the tow trucks for that stretch of road. Businesses who operate a large fleet of vehicles, such as school bus companies or package delivery services, often own one or several tow trucks for the purposes of towing their own vehicles. Government departments with large fleets (such as the police departments, fire departments, transportation authorities and departments of public works of major cities) may similarly own tow truck(s). Police department tow trucks may also be used to impound other vehicles.

In the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria there exists a Tow Truck Act, and tow trucks are identified by number plates ending in "TT".

Dispatching

Requests for service are placed to a dispatching center. Some tow services communicate with drivers using wireless telephone equipment. In others, the dispatching center contacts an available tow truck driver via mobile radio or by sending a text message using a mobile data terminal. Recent technology includes the use of GPS and on board wireless equipment to dispatch drivers via a LCD screen receiver.

Impounds and Storage

File:CIMG3475.JPG

1970's style tow truck still in use, Edmonton Alberta (2006)

Many tow companies have the capability to store vehicles that have been wrecked or impounded by police agencies. In these circumstances, police agencies notify a contracted towing provider to secure the vehicle and tow it to a storage lot. The tow company will sometimes prevent access to the vehicle until the law states the owner can claim it (usually after any fines are paid).

Nearly all tow companies charge a fee for storing vehicles.

In one surprising 1980's case, an apartment-house landlord in Campbell, California—a city that took great pride in its high proportion of owner-occupied housing, and thus its low proportion of rentals—issued a single parking sticker for the tenants of each apartment: that is, one sticker per apartment, even if the apartment had multiple tenants. The stickers were issued in the name of a towing service—not the landlord. This sticker gave one driver permission to park one car in one preassigned parking space beneath the apartment. No provision was made for multiple tenants or guests—much less parties. The towing company did not wait for complaints but would send tow trucks cruising the parking garages, looking for business: if the driver found a car without the sticker or outside the prescribed place, the car was immediately towed to a distant, secure storage facility. No parking ticket was issued; no court was involved. A person whose car was towed could call a number and drive to a distant location in a low-rent neighborhood, then pay a hefty towing and storage charge, in cash. No option, no recourse, no appeal. One woman visited her sister's apartment for a few minutes and emerged to find her car missing. She told her sister and then learned the parking policy. She had a friend drive to the remote storage lot, found her car amid a sea of literal wrecks, and paid hundreds of dollars to ransom her car from these ingenious Silicon-Valley entrepreneurs.

GPS and AVL

Navigation systems are becoming more commonly used to tell the location (of stranded vehicles) to tow trucks. Automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems are sometimes used to help the dispatch center staff determine the closest tow truck. AVL may use GPS technology. It may display the location of all tow trucks on a map or may feed data directly to a computer-assisted dispatch system which automatically recommends the closest available units.

Movie characters

Mater - An animated tow truck from the 2006 movie Cars, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy

External links

International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum – Located in Chattanooga, Tennessee; birthplace of the tow truck.
Tips on Tow Trucks and Towing Autos – Tips for safely operating a tow truck and towing an auto.
Photo Gallery on Transporting and Towing Autos
Photo Gallery with Towing Autos

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 Nearly all tow companies charge a fee for storing vehicles.
+In one surprising [[1980's]] case, an [[apartment]]-house landlord in [[Campbell, California]]—a city that took great pride in its high proportion of owner-occupied housing, and thus its ''low'' proportion of rentals—issued a single parking sticker for the tenants of each apartment: that is, one sticker per apartment, even if the apartment had multiple tenants. The stickers were issued in the name of a towing service—not the landlord. This sticker gave one driver permission to park one car in one preassigned parking space beneath the apartment. No provision was made for multiple tenants or guests—much less parties. The towing company did not wait for complaints but would send tow trucks cruising the parking garages, looking for business: if the driver found a car without the sticker or outside the prescribed place, the car was immediately towed to a distant, secure storage facility. No parking ticket was issued; no court was involved. A person whose car was towed could call a number and drive to a distant location in a low-rent neighborhood, then pay a hefty towing and storage charge, in cash. No option, no recourse, no appeal. One woman visited her sister's apartment for a few minutes and emerged to find her car missing. She told her sister and then learned the parking policy. She had a friend drive to the remote storage lot, found her car amid a sea of literal wrecks, and paid hundreds of dollars to ransom her car from these ingenious Silicon-Valley entrepreneurs.
 === GPS and AVL ===