Heavy Duty Towing NJ | Box Truck & Commercial Tow 24/7

Commercial towing

What medium and heavy duty towing covers and why a Linden yard is the right place to dispatch it from

Medium duty towing covers box trucks, cutaways, sprinter and step vans, small buses and contractor rigs up to about 26,000 pounds; heavy duty covers loaded straight trucks, tractors bobtail or with a trailer, dump trucks, roll-offs and coaches; both are dispatched from Linden, minutes from Port Newark, Turnpike Exits 12 and 13 and the Carteret to Edison warehouse corridor.

Linden is a few minutes from the busiest freight corridor in New Jersey. Port Newark and Port Elizabeth, the Turnpike's Exits 12, 13 and 13A, the Bayway and Tremley Point industrial areas, the Routes 1 & 9 truck strip and the warehouse belt that runs through Carteret, Avenel, Port Reading, Woodbridge and Edison all sit inside our fastest zone. Commercial vehicles break down there constantly. A fleet van with a dead starter in a Carteret yard, a box truck with a blown steer tire that the Turnpike Authority's garage brought down the Exit 12 ramp and that now has to reach your shop, a tractor that lost air pressure at a loading dock in Avenel. Our medium and heavy-duty response is dispatched from the middle of that traffic rather than from the other side of the state.

The dispatcher who answers (908) 444-0129 asks the questions a fleet manager expects: GVWR, loaded or empty, does it roll and steer, does the air system hold, where does it need to go and by when. That is how the right truck is sent the first time and how the quote you get before we roll is the number on the invoice.

Medium duty: box trucks, cutaways, sprinter vans and contractor rigs

Cutaway and box trucks on Ford E-series, Chevy 3500 and 4500, Isuzu NPR and Hino chassis. Sprinter, Transit and ProMaster fleet vans. Step vans. Landscaping and contractor trucks, with or without the trailer. Small shuttle buses. Anything roughly 10,000 to 26,000 pounds rides on our medium-duty truck with the right wheel-lift or on a heavy flatbed.

Heavy duty: straight trucks, tractors, trailers, dump trucks and coaches

Loaded straight trucks above 26,000 pounds. Tractors bobtail or with a loaded trailer. Dump trucks, roll-offs and concrete mixers. School buses and coaches. These need a heavy wrecker with an underlift and air-line connections so the towed unit's brakes release and its lights work. We tell you on the call exactly which truck is coming and what it is rated for.

Why the GVWR and the load decide everything

A truck rated for 20,000 pounds cannot safely lift a loaded 33,000-pound straight truck, and a heavy wrecker sent to a sprinter van is money wasted. Tell the dispatcher the GVWR from the door sticker and whether the vehicle is loaded, and if loaded, roughly with what. If a trailer is attached, say whether it is loaded and whether it needs to come along or be dropped.

Quoted before the truck rolls, with no surprises at the dock

Commercial tows are hook fee plus mileage like every other tow, sized to the truck the job needs. Recovery work, meaning a winch pull from a ditch or a soft shoulder, is quoted separately and said up front. There is no fuel surcharge, no after-hours surcharge and no storage, because the unit goes to your yard or your shop, not ours. Fleet accounts get net terms and one monthly invoice itemized by unit number.

Truck down at the dock, in the yard or on Routes 1 & 9? Say the GVWR and whether it is loaded. The right truck is dispatched and quoted. On the Turnpike shoulder, book with us and we take the unit from the exit.

Call (908) 444-0129 Set up a fleet account

Port Newark towing

Heavy duty tow truck response around Port Newark, Port Elizabeth, the Turnpike and the Route 1 & 9 truck corridor

From Linden, heavy-duty trucks reach Port Newark and Port Elizabeth, Turnpike Exits 12 through 14, the Bayway and Tremley Point industrial areas and the Routes 1 & 9 truck strip in minutes, and the Carteret, Avenel, Port Reading, Woodbridge and Edison warehouse belt inside twenty.

This is the territory the heavy-duty side of the business was built for. Every road below carries trucks all day, and every one has its own way of stopping them.

Port Newark, Port Elizabeth and the container roads

Corbin Street, Port Street, McLester Street, North Avenue and the terminal gates. Tractors waiting in line with a dead battery, chassis with a blown tire, a bobtail that lost air on the way out. The port roads are congested and the terminals have rules about where a wrecker can stage; our drivers know the gates and the turnaround points. Tell the dispatcher which terminal and which gate, and whether the unit is inside the fence or on the public road.

NJ Turnpike Exits 12, 13 and 13A: the truck lanes and the hand-off at the exit

The truck lanes between Exits 11 and 14 are where a blown steer tire or a lost air line strands a rig with nowhere to go. Turnpike and Parkway shoulders are served by the Authority's authorized garages. Book with us and we take the car from the exit or the garage's lot. State Police respond first and reach the Authority's garage for you; tell our dispatcher which exit the unit is coming off at, and the heavy wrecker is waiting there or at the garage's lot when it arrives. From Linden, Exit 13 is our exit and 12 and 13A are minutes either side. A loaded trailer coming off the ramp is a heavy wrecker with air lines; an empty bobtail may be an underlift alone.

Broke down on the Turnpike or the Parkway? Book with us, and we take it from the exit

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority allows only its authorized garages to tow or work on the shoulder of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, and we are not one of them yet. Call us anyway. The dispatcher tells you how to reach the Authority's roadside help, and you book the rest of the job with us: the moment the authorized truck has the car off the highway, at the nearest exit or in the garage's lot, our truck takes over and moves it to the shop, the dealer or the driveway you choose, at our normal flat quoted price.

Coming soon: a booking assist that connects you to the right authorized garage for your stretch of the Turnpike or Parkway through us, so the highway leg and our leg are arranged in one call. Every other road we serve, including Routes 1 & 9, Route 22, I-78, I-287, I-280, Route 3, Route 46 and every local street, is a direct dispatch from Linden.

Routes 1 & 9 through Linden, Elizabeth and Newark

The truck strip. Narrow shoulders, low bridges near the airport, jughandles that a 53-foot trailer cannot make. Rear-end collisions at the lights between Linden and the Newark Airport interchange are constant, and a truck with a caved-in bumper and a bent frame rail is a recovery, not a hook. Say the nearest cross street or business.

Bayway, Tremley Point and the Linden and Elizabeth industrial areas

Refinery traffic, tank trucks, flatbeds and the fleets that serve them. Loading docks where a truck died with the trailer still backed in. We work around dock schedules and can drop a trailer with a converter dolly or move it as a unit. This is the yard's own neighborhood and the response is the fastest we have.

The Carteret, Avenel, Port Reading, Woodbridge and Edison warehouse belt

Middlesex Avenue, Blair Road, Industrial Highway, the Raritan Center roads in Edison and the distribution centers along Route 1 and the Turnpike between 11 and 12. Fleet vans with dead starters, box trucks that will not shift, tractors with a locked brake. Most of these are inside twenty minutes of the yard, and the Middlesex County page lists every town in the belt.

Kearny Point, the Meadowlands and Newark Airport cargo

North of the yard: the Kearny and Harrison industrial parks, the Secaucus and Meadowlands distribution centers off Route 3 and the Turnpike's western spur, and the airport cargo roads. Twenty to thirty-five minutes by the Turnpike, longer at rush hour, and the dispatcher says so. Fleet accounts based there get the same direct line.

Say the road, the direction, the exit and the GVWR. A heavy truck is dispatched from the middle of the corridor.

Call commercial dispatch Middlesex County towing

Trucks we tow

Box trucks, sprinter vans, buses, dump trucks and tractors: how each commercial vehicle is towed

Box trucks and vans ride on a medium-duty wheel-lift or heavy flatbed; buses and straight trucks are lifted by the front axle on an underlift with the driveshaft pulled or the axle caps removed; tractors are lifted bobtail or with the trailer connected and air-braked through the wrecker.

Box trucks and cutaways

The most common commercial call. A 16 to 26 foot box on a cutaway chassis is lifted from the front axle on a medium-duty wheel-lift or, if the rear axle is the problem, from the rear with the front wheels on dollies. A loaded box changes the truck we send; tell the dispatcher the cargo weight if you know it. If the box is refrigerated, say so, and we will tell you whether the reefer can stay running on the tow.

Sprinter, Transit and ProMaster fleet vans

High-roof vans are tall, not heavy, and most ride on a heavy flatbed or a medium wheel-lift. AWD Sprinters and Transits go on the flatbed only, the same rule as any all-wheel-drive vehicle. A van with a dead starter in a delivery lot is often a jump start rather than a tow; our packs are rated for diesel vans.

Landscaping and contractor trucks with trailers

A dump-bed F-450 with a loaded equipment trailer is two problems. We can tow the truck and pull the trailer behind the wrecker if its brakes and lights work, or bring a second unit for the trailer. Tell the dispatcher what is on the trailer; a skid steer changes the weight.

School buses, shuttle buses and coaches

Buses are lifted from the front on an underlift with the driveshaft pulled so the transmission is not spun. Air brakes are released through the wrecker's air lines. A coach with passengers waiting is a priority call and we say the arrival window honestly.

Dump trucks, roll-offs and mixers

Heavy, tall and often loaded. A loaded dump or a mixer with a drum full of concrete is a heavy wrecker with the axle rating to match, and sometimes it is cheaper to have the load taken off first. The dispatcher will tell you which.

Tractors, bobtail or with the trailer

A bobtail tractor is lifted from the front on an underlift with the driveshaft pulled. A tractor with a loaded trailer is towed as a unit with the wrecker's air supplying the trailer brakes, or the trailer is dropped and moved separately. Say whether the fifth wheel can be released and whether the trailer is loaded and sealed.

Tell the dispatcher what the unit is, what it weighs and whether it is loaded. That is the whole quote.

Call (908) 444-0129 All services

Truck roadside

Commercial roadside assistance that gets a truck rolling without a tow: jump starts, tires, air leaks and fuel

Many commercial calls end without a tow: a heavy-duty jump start, a tire change with the unit's spare, a minor air-system fix, a fuel delivery for a diesel that ran dry, or a lockout on a cab, each at a flat price and dispatched from Linden.

A tow is the expensive outcome. If the unit can be made to move under its own power, a technician is cheaper and faster, and the dispatcher will say so when you describe the problem. When it turns out to need the wrecker after all, the wrecker is dispatched from the same call and you do not pay twice.

Heavy duty jump starts for diesels and dual-battery trucks

Our jump packs are rated for full-size diesels and dual and quad battery banks. The tech connects, starts the engine, and load-tests the batteries so you know whether the unit will start again at the next stop. Sprinters, box trucks, tractors, buses and equipment on a trailer. See the jump start page.

Tire changes with your spare, and tows to the tire shop when there is none

A blown steer or drive tire on a box truck or a bobtail is changed roadside if the unit carries a spare and the tech can lift it safely on the shoulder. Many fleet units do not carry one, and a tow to a commercial tire shop on Routes 1 & 9 or Route 22 is quoted on the same call. The flat tire change page covers the equipment.

Air leaks, brake cans and the tricks that get a truck to the shop

A leaking gladhand seal, a cracked air line, a brake chamber that will not release. Sometimes a five-minute fix caps the leak long enough to reach the shop under its own power. Sometimes the wrecker's air is the only answer. The tech looks first and tells you straight.

Diesel delivery and priming after running dry

A diesel that ran empty pulls air into the injection system and may not restart on fuel alone. The tech brings diesel and knows the priming procedure on most trucks and vans. If it will not bleed roadside, the wrecker is dispatched from the same call. See the fuel delivery page.

Cab lockouts on trucks and vans

Keys locked in a box-truck cab with the engine running at a dock is a daily call. The car lockout page covers the tools; commercial cabs need different ones and the tech carries them.

Winch-outs for trucks off the pavement

A box truck that slid off a snowy warehouse apron or a tractor with a drive axle in a soft shoulder is a winch out with the heavy wrecker's winch, rigged to a proper recovery point. Usually the truck drives away.

Truck will not start or will not build air? Describe it. A tech might have it rolling for less than a tow.

Call (908) 444-0129 Roadside assistance

Fleet accounts

Fleet and commercial accounts for businesses in Union, Middlesex, Essex and Hudson County

A fleet account gives your dispatcher a direct line, keeps your yard addresses and preferred shops on file, and produces one monthly invoice itemized by unit number with net terms for established accounts.

If you run vehicles out of Linden, Elizabeth, Newark, Kearny, Carteret, Avenel, Edison, Woodbridge or anywhere in the corridor, an account is how a breakdown becomes a two-minute phone call instead of a twenty-minute one. We already know your units, your yards and your shops. You already know the price.

What is on file

Your yard addresses. Your preferred repair shops and tire shops. Your unit list with GVWRs, so the dispatcher does not have to ask. The names of the people authorized to call. Any after-hours contact for a driver who cannot reach the office.

How the call goes for an account

Your driver or your dispatcher calls the direct line, gives the unit number and the location, and says whether it is loaded. The right truck rolls. The driver on scene calls your office if the destination is in question. The job lands on the monthly statement with the unit number, the driver, the pickup, the drop and the service.

Net terms and one invoice

Established accounts get net terms and one itemized invoice a month. New accounts pay per job by card until history is built. Tell the dispatcher you want an account or use the contact page and dispatch calls you back to set it up.

Scheduled moves and yard shuffles

Not everything is a breakdown. Moving a dead unit from one yard to another, taking a truck to the shop before a DOT inspection, bringing a new unit home from a dealer on Route 1. These are scheduled local tows with a window you choose, and accounts get them at the same rate.

Run a fleet in the corridor? A direct line and one invoice a month. Ask dispatch to set it up.

Call about an account Contact page

Highway towing

Heavy duty towing on Routes 1 & 9, Route 22, I-78, I-287, Route 3 and the port roads, and the hand-off from the Turnpike

Heavy-duty trucks from Linden work Routes 1 & 9 from Edison to Newark, Route 22 to Bridgewater, I-78 to the Watchungs, I-287 to Piscataway and Morristown, and Route 3 into the Meadowlands, inside 45 minutes; on the Turnpike from Exit 9 to the Hudson extension the Authority's authorized garages handle the shoulder, and we take the unit from the exit or their lot.

NJ Turnpike, Exits 9 to 16: authorized garage on the shoulder, our wrecker at the exit

The Turnpike Authority's authorized garages handle the shoulder and the truck lanes, and State Police close lanes for those recoveries. Book with us anyway: say car lanes or truck lanes and the exit the unit will come off at, and our heavy wrecker takes it from the exit or the garage's lot. Exit 13 is ours; 12 and 13A are minutes away; 11 and 14 are close behind.

Routes 1 & 9 heavy truck towing

The truck strip through Linden, Elizabeth and Newark and south to Avenel and Woodbridge. Low bridges near the airport, jughandles a trailer cannot make, rear-end collisions at every light. Name the cross street.

Route 22 and I-78 heavy truck towing

Route 22's hills from Union to Watchung overheat loaded trucks and cook brakes on the way down. I-78's climb through the reservation does the same. Say eastbound or westbound and the nearest exit.

I-287 and the Piscataway and Bridgewater distribution centers

Warehouses off I-287 from Piscataway to Bridgewater and up toward Morristown. Thirty to forty-five minutes from the yard, and the dispatcher says so.

Route 3, the Turnpike spur and the Meadowlands

Secaucus, Lyndhurst, East Rutherford and the Meadowlands distribution parks. Twenty-five to forty minutes by the western spur, longer at rush hour. See the Bergen County page.

Port Newark, Port Elizabeth and the airport cargo roads

Corbin Street, Port Street, McLester Street, North Avenue, the terminal gates and the airport cargo area. Inside the fence or on the public road matters; say which, and which gate.

On a shoulder with a loaded unit? Triangles out, hazards on. Then call with the road, the direction and the exit.

Call from the shoulder Every town we cover

Heavy tow cost

How much heavy duty towing costs in New Jersey and how the quote is built for a commercial unit

Heavy-duty towing is a hook fee sized to the truck the job needs plus a per-mile rate to your destination, with recovery work quoted separately up front, no fuel or after-hours surcharge, no storage, and net terms for fleet accounts.

Hook fee by truck class

A medium-duty hook is more than a car hook and less than a heavy wrecker hook, because the truck and the rigging are different. The dispatcher tells you which class your unit needs and what that hook is before the truck rolls.

Mileage to the destination you choose

Pickup to drop-off at a per-mile rate. Your yard, your shop, a dealer, a tire shop. Never our yard, so never storage. A long run to a dealer out of the area is quoted as long distance towing with one number including tolls.

Recovery, dollies and a second unit

A winch pull from a ditch, dollies under a locked axle, or a second truck for a trailer are quoted separately and said on the call. Nothing is added on scene that was not agreed on the phone, and if the situation on scene is different from what was described, the driver calls dispatch and dispatch calls you before proceeding.

Paying and invoicing

Per-job by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or cash for non-account customers, with an itemized receipt. Monthly invoice with net terms for established fleet accounts. Every receipt shows the unit, pickup, destination, mileage and service, which is what your insurer, your leasing company and your accountant want.

Get the exact price for your unit in one call. Say the GVWR, the load and the destination.

Call for a quote Long distance towing

Truck driver safety

What a commercial driver should do while waiting for a heavy tow on a New Jersey highway

Set your triangles, keep the hazards on, stay in the cab unless the unit is in danger, keep your dispatcher and ours informed, have the registration, insurance and any hazmat papers ready, and do not let an unsolicited wrecker touch the unit.

Triangles, hazards and the shoulder

Triangles at the distances the regulations require, hazards on, and the unit as far right as it will go. On the Turnpike truck lanes there is often no shoulder; State Police will close the lane and the Authority's authorized garage does the work on the roadway, so ask the trooper for that call and give our dispatcher the exit the unit will come off at. On every other highway, our driver coordinates with the responding officers on the approach.

Hours of service and the clock

Tell our dispatcher if you are near your hours limit. We can arrange for the unit to go to a yard where you can rest and for your company to send a relief driver, rather than towing you to a shop that is closed.

Paperwork and the load

Registration, insurance, the bill of lading, and hazmat papers if any. If the load is sealed, tell us; we do not break seals. If the load is refrigerated, tell us whether the reefer can run on the tow.

Unsolicited wreckers

On Routes 1 & 9 and the port roads, wreckers stop at breakdowns uninvited and quote whatever they like; on the Turnpike only the Authority's authorized garage may work the shoulder, so anyone else who pulls up is not supposed to be there. Ours says The NJ Towing Service on the door and the driver knows your unit number.

Triangles out, hazards on, paperwork ready. Now call, and tell your own dispatcher we are on the way.

Call from the shoulder Contact page

Service area

Heavy duty towing coverage by county within 45 minutes of Linden

Heavy-duty towing is dispatched from Linden to every town in Union, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson, Somerset, Morris, Monmouth, Bergen and Passaic counties, with the port and warehouse corridor from Newark to Edison in the fastest zone.

Zone 1: the port and warehouse corridor

Linden, Elizabeth, Newark, Carteret, Avenel, Port Reading, Sewaren, Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, Rahway, Union and the rest of Union County. The trucks are here, and so are the docks.

Zone 2: Edison, New Brunswick, Kearny, Secaucus, the Meadowlands

Raritan Center, the Route 1 distribution centers, Kearny Point, the Secaucus and Meadowlands parks, Bayonne and Jersey City. Twenty to thirty-five minutes.

Zone 3: Piscataway, Bridgewater, Parsippany, Hackensack, Paterson

I-287 and I-80 distribution centers and the Bergen and Passaic industrial towns. Thirty-five to forty-five minutes, longer at rush hour, and the dispatcher says so.

Inside the map? A heavy truck is one call away. Fleet accounts anywhere in it get the direct line.

Call (908) 444-0129 Full service area

Wrecker classes

Which wrecker your box truck, bus, dump truck or tractor-trailer needs, decided by weight class and by what is actually broken

A Class 3 to 5 van or cutaway rides a medium-duty wheel-lift or a heavy flatbed, a Class 6 or 7 straight truck or bus needs an underlift with air lines, and a Class 8 tractor, loaded trailer or mixer needs a heavy wrecker rated above the unit's gross weight; the dispatcher matches the class to the GVWR on the door sticker and the lift to the failure you describe.

Truck weight classes are not trivia. They are the reason the dispatcher asks for the GVWR before anything else, because the class decides which of our trucks can lift the unit legally and safely, and the failure decides how it has to be lifted. A box truck with a dead engine and a box truck with a locked rear axle are the same class and two different jobs. The blocks below walk through the classes we see most between Elizabeth, Newark and the Middlesex warehouse belt, and what each one rides on.

Class 3 to 5: Sprinters, cutaways, F-350 to F-550 and small box trucks up to about 19,500 pounds

Ford Transit and Sprinter cargo vans, E-350 and E-450 cutaways with 12 to 16 foot boxes, F-350 through F-550 service bodies, Ram 4500 and 5500 landscaping trucks, Isuzu NPR and Chevy 4500 XD. These are the vans and small trucks that fill the delivery lots in Avenel, Carteret and Edison. Most ride on a medium-duty wheel-lift from the front axle, and the ones with all-wheel drive, a dead rear axle or a body too long for the lift go on a heavy flatbed. A cutaway with a loaded box is heavier than the empty chassis weight suggests, and the dispatcher asks about the load for that reason. The hook fee for this class is the smallest on the commercial side, and a lot of these calls end as a jump start or a tire change rather than a tow at all.

Class 6 and 7: 26-foot box trucks, school buses, single-axle dumps and beverage trucks

This is the 26-foot rental box truck, the beverage truck on Route 22, the school bus in a Union County depot, the single-axle dump running to a Rahway job site and the refrigerated straight truck leaving Port Newark. Between roughly 19,500 and 33,000 pounds gross, these units are lifted from the front on an underlift, with the driveshaft pulled or the rear axle caps removed so the transmission is not driven backwards by the road. Air brakes on the towed unit are released through the wrecker's air lines. A loaded Class 7 sits near the top of a medium-duty wrecker's rating, so a loaded unit often gets the heavy wrecker even when an empty one would not. Say loaded or empty and the dispatcher makes that call before the truck rolls.

Class 8: tractors, loaded trailers, tri-axle dumps, mixers and coaches

Above 33,000 pounds gross the choice is made for you. A bobtail tractor, a tractor with a trailer, a tri-axle dump, a mixer with a drum full of concrete, a tanker out of the Bayway area, a coach with luggage below. These need the heavy wrecker with an underlift rated for the front axle weight, air lines to the towed unit, and a boom for recovery if the unit is off the pavement. A tractor with a loaded trailer is towed as a unit if the trailer's brakes and lights can be supplied through the wrecker, and dropped and moved separately if they cannot. A loaded mixer is the heaviest single unit we see and sometimes the honest advice is to have the drum emptied before the tow; the dispatcher says so.

How the failure changes the lift: engine, transmission, axle, brakes or steering

Engine or fuel failure on any class is the simplest lift: the unit rolls and steers, so it is lifted from the front and the rear rolls. A transmission failure changes nothing on a bus or a straight truck once the driveshaft is pulled. A rear axle that is locked or broken means the unit cannot roll on its own wheels, so it is lifted from the rear with the steer axle on dollies, or the bad axle is dollied and the front is lifted. A loss of air pressure means the brakes are locked on, and the wrecker supplies air or the brakes are caged. A steering failure on a unit that has to be lifted from the rear is the hardest case and sometimes calls for a second truck. Describe the failure in plain words and the dispatcher translates it into the lift.

Low clearances, weight-restricted bridges and the route the wrecker takes home

A heavy wrecker with a tractor on the hook is a long, tall, heavy combination, and the route back to your yard is planned, not improvised. Low bridges on Routes 1 & 9 near the airport, the weight-restricted spans on some county roads in Union County, the Turnpike's rule that a towed combination stays in the truck lanes, and the Pulaski Skyway's ban on trucks all shape the path. Our drivers run this corridor every day and know which Newark and Elizabeth streets a 53-foot trailer cannot turn onto. If your shop sits on a street with a low span or a weight limit, tell the dispatcher, and the combination is routed around it or the trailer is dropped before the wrecker sets out.

Read the GVWR off the door sticker, say what failed and whether it is loaded. The class, the truck and the price follow from that.

Call commercial dispatch Heavy duty towing in Elizabeth

Truck recovery

Drop-and-hook trailer moves, load transfers, DOT paperwork and the line between a heavy tow and a heavy recovery in New Jersey

A heavy tow moves a truck that is upright on its wheels on pavement; a heavy recovery uses the wrecker's boom and winch to right or retrieve a unit that is on its side, off the shoulder or jackknifed, and is quoted separately, while trailer drops, load transfers and the paperwork a DOT out-of-service order generates are arranged on the same call.

Two words fleet managers hear from wrecker companies and rarely get explained are tow and recovery. They are different jobs with different equipment and different prices, and a company that blurs them is a company whose invoice you will argue about. This section draws the line, and then covers the three things that most often need arranging around a disabled unit in the port and warehouse corridor: what happens to the trailer, what happens to the load, and what happens to the paperwork.

Tow versus recovery: what each word means on the invoice

A tow is a unit that is upright, on its wheels, on a surface the wrecker can reach, lifted and moved to a destination. It is a hook fee sized to the truck plus mileage, the same structure as every other tow we do. A recovery is everything that has to happen before the unit is towable: a tractor on its side on an I-78 ramp in Union, a box truck that slid off a snowy warehouse apron in Avenel and sits with two wheels in the drainage swale, a trailer jackknifed across two lanes of Routes 1 & 9. Recovery uses the boom, the winch, rigging and sometimes a second wrecker, and it is quoted separately and said up front. When the recovery is done, the tow that follows is quoted the way it always is. A rolled or damaged unit is accident towing with the same rules about the storage yard; a unit simply off the pavement and undamaged is a winch out.

Drop-and-hook: what happens to the trailer when the tractor is done

Most of the tractors we tow out of the terminals at Port Newark and Port Elizabeth and the distribution centers along the Turnpike are hooked to a trailer that is not broken. The trailer has three futures. It stays with the tractor and is towed as a unit with the wrecker supplying its air and lights. It is dropped on its landing gear where it sits, if the location allows it and the terminal or the property owner agrees, for a relief tractor to collect. Or it is moved separately by a second unit to a yard, which is a scheduled local tow rather than an emergency. The dispatcher asks whether the fifth wheel releases, whether the trailer is loaded and sealed and whether your company has a relief tractor coming. A trailer left on a highway shoulder is not an option; State Police will not allow it and the whole combination moves, and on the Turnpike itself that first move is the Authority's authorized garage's job until the unit is off the ramp, where we take over.

Load transfers when the trailer is the problem or the load has to come off

A trailer with a broken axle or a load that has shifted cannot be towed as it sits. A loaded dump or mixer may be too heavy for a safe lift until the load is off. In those cases the load is transferred to another trailer or lightened before the move, and that is your people and your equipment, not ours. What we do is arrange the sequence: hold the unit safely where it is, coordinate with the relief trailer arriving at the shoulder or the dock, and move the empty or lightened unit once the transfer is done. Sealed loads are never broken by our drivers; the seal is your customer's and your carrier's responsibility. Refrigerated loads get a straight answer about whether the reefer can run on the tow. The Hudson County and Newark terminal calls are where this comes up most.

DOT inspections, out-of-service orders and the paperwork the tow generates

A unit placed out of service at the weigh station on Routes 1 & 9 or at a roadside inspection on any road we serve directly cannot be driven, and the inspector wants to see it leave on a wrecker. A unit shut down at a Turnpike service area is on Authority property: the authorized garage brings it off, and we take it from there. We tow out-of-service units to your shop or your yard and the receipt shows the unit number, the pickup location, the destination and the mileage, which is what the inspection report and your safety file need. The driver's hours-of-service clock keeps running while the unit sits, so tell the dispatcher if a relief driver is coming or if the driver rides to the yard with the wrecker. A placarded hazmat load is towed with the placards in place and the shipping papers stay with the driver. Fleet accounts in Elizabeth, Newark and Kearny get the same itemized invoice every month, ready for the auditor.

Tow or recovery, trailer with it or dropped, load on or off: say what you see and the dispatcher lays out the sequence and the price.

Call (908) 444-0129 Accident towing

Related services

Emergency, flatbed, winch-out and roadside services from the same commercial dispatcher

The dispatcher who sends a heavy wrecker also sends flatbeds for vans, roadside technicians for jump starts and tires, winch recovery for units off the pavement, and long-distance transport for dealer runs.

After a commercial accident

A box truck or tractor in a collision is accident towing with the same rules: call your own tow before the rotation wrecker, choose the destination, avoid the storage yard. Photos at pickup and delivery for the insurer.

When the fleet van is really a car

A Transit Connect or a small cargo van rides on a regular flatbed at a car rate. The dispatcher will not send a heavy truck to a light van.

One number for the whole fleet, from the sprinter to the tractor.

Call (908) 444-0129 All services

Heavy duty facts

Heavy duty towing in New Jersey at a glance: wreckers, coverage, hours, price structure and what to have ready

Heavy duty towing from The NJ Towing Service is a medium or heavy wrecker dispatched from Linden 24/7 to the port, the Turnpike exits, the Routes 1 & 9 warehouse belt and every town in nine counties, at a hook fee sized to the wrecker plus loaded mileage, quoted on the call with recovery work stated separately and no storage.

Service	Medium and heavy duty towing and recovery for commercial vehicles, plus commercial roadside (heavy jump starts, tire changes with the unit's spare, minor air-system fixes, diesel delivery and priming, cab lockouts) and fleet accounts with a direct line
Truck used	Medium-duty wheel-lift or heavy flatbed for Class 3 to 5 vans and cutaways; underlift with air lines for Class 6 and 7 straight trucks and buses; heavy wrecker rated above the unit's gross weight for Class 8 tractors, loaded trailers and mixers; the dispatcher matches the class to the GVWR on the door sticker
Vehicles handled	Box trucks, sprinter and step vans, cutaways, shuttle and school buses, coaches, dump trucks, roll-offs, mixers, straight trucks, tractors bobtail or with the trailer attached and air-braked through the wrecker, reefers with their own power, units placed out of service at a DOT inspection
What to have ready	GVWR from the door sticker, unit number, whether it is loaded and roughly with what, whether the fifth wheel releases and the trailer is sealed, the driver's hours situation, registration, insurance and any hazmat papers, and the yard or shop it is going to
Where the unit goes	Your yard, your shop, a dealer or a tire shop, anywhere you choose; never our yard, so never storage; a yard where the driver can rest and a relief driver can take over when hours are short; sealed trailers stay sealed
Coverage	Port Newark, Port Elizabeth, Turnpike Exits 12 to 14, the Bayway and Tremley Point industrial areas, the Routes 1 & 9 truck strip and the Carteret to Edison warehouse belt in the fastest zone; 163 towns in Union, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson, Somerset, Morris, Monmouth, Bergen and Passaic counties, every one within about 45 minutes of Linden dispatch; Routes 1 & 9, Route 22, I-78, I-287 and Route 3 direct from Linden; Turnpike shoulders are handled by the Authority's authorized garages and we take the unit from the exit or their lot
Response	Minutes to Exit 13, Port Newark, Port Elizabeth and the Linden and Elizabeth industrial areas; inside twenty to the Carteret to Edison warehouse belt; twenty to thirty-five to Kearny, Secaucus and the Meadowlands; a real window is quoted on the call
Pricing	Hook fee sized to the wrecker the job needs plus loaded mileage to your destination, quoted before dispatch; recovery work (righting, winching, a jackknifed trailer, a second wrecker) quoted separately and up front; no after-hours, weekend, holiday or fuel surcharges; no storage
Payment	Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or cash per job; established fleet accounts get net terms and one monthly invoice itemized by unit number; itemized receipt by text or email showing unit number, pickup, destination and mileage
Hours	24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every holiday
Phone	Tap to call

Everything about a heavy tow fits in one table. Getting the right wrecker to the unit takes one call to commercial dispatch.

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Heavy Duty Towing by town

Heavy Duty Towing in every town we serve: 163 heavy duty towing pages across 9 New Jersey counties

Heavy Duty Towing is dispatched from Linden to 163 towns; each town below has its own heavy duty towing page with the roads, the lots, the neighborhoods and the price structure for that town.

Pick your town for the local heavy duty towing page. Every one is the same phone number, the same flat quoted price and the same 24/7 dispatch; what changes is the drive time from Linden and the roads the truck comes in on.

Heavy Duty Towing in Hudson County: 12 towns

Bayonne and Jersey City via the Turnpike extension; Hoboken and the Gold Coast within the hour any time of day. Bayonne · Jersey City · Kearny · Harrison · East Newark · Secaucus · Hoboken · Union City · Weehawken · West New York · North Bergen · Guttenberg. County page: towing in Hudson County.

Heavy Duty Towing in Somerset County: 16 towns

Route 22 and I-287 towns — Watchung, Bridgewater, Somerville and the Bound Brooks. Watchung · North Plainfield · Green Brook · Warren · Bound Brook · South Bound Brook · Bridgewater · Somerville · Raritan · Manville · Franklin Township · Hillsborough · Basking Ridge · Bernardsville · Bedminster · Branchburg. County page: towing in Somerset County.

Heavy Duty Towing in Morris County: 11 towns

Up Route 24 and I-287 — Chatham, Madison, Morristown and Parsippany. Chatham · Madison · Florham Park · East Hanover · Hanover · Whippany · Morristown · Morris Township · Morris Plains · Parsippany · Montville. County page: towing in Morris County.

Heavy Duty Towing in Monmouth County: 14 towns

The Parkway and Route 9 south — Matawan, Hazlet, Holmdel, Middletown and Freehold. Matawan · Aberdeen · Keyport · Hazlet · Union Beach · Keansburg · Holmdel · Middletown · Marlboro · Manalapan · Freehold · Colts Neck · Red Bank · Atlantic Highlands. County page: towing in Monmouth County.

Heavy Duty Towing in Bergen County: 26 towns

Southern Bergen along Route 17, Route 46 and the Turnpike — the Meadowlands towns through Hackensack and Fort Lee. North Arlington · Lyndhurst · Rutherford · East Rutherford · Carlstadt · Wood-Ridge · Moonachie · Little Ferry · Ridgefield · Ridgefield Park · Palisades Park · Fairview · Cliffside Park · Edgewater · Fort Lee · Hasbrouck Heights · Teterboro · Lodi · Garfield · Saddle Brook · Elmwood Park · Bogota · Hackensack · Teaneck · Englewood · Paramus. County page: towing in Bergen County.

Heavy Duty Towing in Passaic County: 9 towns

Clifton, Passaic and Paterson by way of the Parkway and Route 21. Clifton · Passaic · Paterson · Little Falls · Woodland Park · Totowa · Wayne · Haledon · Prospect Park. County page: towing in Passaic County.

Do not see your town? If it is within 45 minutes of Linden we cover it. Call and ask.

Call (908) 444-0129 Full service area

Heavy duty FAQ

Questions fleet managers and drivers ask before calling for a heavy duty tow in New Jersey

The answers below cover weight limits, loaded units, trailers, buses, roadside fixes, net terms and arrival times; commercial dispatch answers anything else live.

How much does heavy duty towing cost in New Jersey?

A heavy duty tow is a hook fee sized to the wrecker the unit needs plus loaded mileage to your yard or shop, quoted on the call before the truck leaves Linden. The hook rises with the class of truck: a medium-duty wheel-lift for a sprinter van, an underlift for a straight truck or bus, a heavy wrecker for a loaded tractor-trailer. Mileage depends on the destination. Recovery work, such as righting a unit on its side, is quoted separately and said up front. The hour, the day and the weather do not change the number; no after-hours or fuel surcharge, no storage, and fleet accounts get net terms. Call (908) 444-0129 with the GVWR and the destination.

Can you tow a loaded truck?

Yes, within the rating of the truck we send. Tell the dispatcher the GVWR from the door sticker, whether the unit is loaded and roughly with what, so the right class of wrecker is dispatched the first time.

Do you tow tractors with the trailer attached?

Yes. The unit is towed together with the wrecker's air supplying the trailer brakes, or the trailer is dropped and moved separately. Say whether the fifth wheel can be released and whether the trailer is loaded and sealed.

Do you tow buses?

Yes. School buses, shuttles and coaches are lifted from the front on an underlift with the driveshaft pulled and the air brakes released through the wrecker.

Do you do commercial roadside, like tires, jump starts and air leaks?

Yes. Heavy-duty jump starts, tire changes with your spare, minor air-system fixes, diesel delivery and priming, and cab lockouts, each at a flat price. If it turns out to need the wrecker, the wrecker is dispatched from the same call.

Do you offer net terms for fleets?

Yes, for established accounts, with one monthly invoice itemized by unit number. New accounts pay per job by card until history is built. Ask dispatch or use the contact page to set one up.

How fast can a heavy wrecker get to the port or to a Turnpike exit?

Exit 13, Port Newark, Port Elizabeth and the Linden and Elizabeth industrial areas are minutes from the yard. The Carteret to Edison warehouse belt is inside twenty. Kearny, Secaucus and the Meadowlands are twenty to thirty-five. The dispatcher gives you a real window. Turnpike and Parkway shoulders are served by the Authority's authorized garages. Book with us and we take the car from the exit or the garage's lot.

Where will you take the unit?

Your yard, your shop, a dealer or a tire shop, anywhere you choose. Never our yard, so there is never storage. Runs outside the area are quoted as long-distance towing with one number including tolls.

Can the reefer keep running while the truck is towed?

Usually, if the reefer has its own fuel and power. Tell the dispatcher it is refrigerated and we will confirm on the call.

What if my driver is near his hours limit?

Tell our dispatcher. We can take the unit to a yard where the driver can rest and your company can send a relief driver, rather than towing to a shop that is closed.

Do you break seals on a loaded trailer?

No. A sealed trailer stays sealed. If the load has to be lightened for the tow, that is your call and your people.

Is there an extra charge for nights, weekends or holidays?

No. Commercial tows are quoted on the same hook-plus-mileage structure at any hour, with recovery work quoted separately and up front.

What is the difference between a heavy tow and a heavy recovery?

A tow moves a unit that is upright on its wheels on pavement: hook fee sized to the truck plus mileage. A recovery is the work needed before the unit can be towed, such as righting a tractor on its side, winching a box truck out of a swale or straightening a jackknifed trailer, and it uses the boom, the winch and sometimes a second wrecker. Recovery is quoted separately and said up front, and the tow that follows is quoted the way it always is. Describe what you see on scene and the dispatcher tells you which one you have.

Can you drop the trailer and tow just the tractor?

Yes, when the location allows it. The trailer can be dropped on its landing gear at a terminal, a yard or a lot with the property owner's agreement, for your relief tractor to collect, or moved separately by a second unit as a scheduled local tow. On a highway shoulder the trailer cannot be left and the combination moves together, with the wrecker supplying air and lights to the trailer; on the Turnpike shoulder that first move is made by the Authority's authorized garage, and we take the combination from the exit or the garage's lot. Tell the dispatcher whether the fifth wheel releases, whether the trailer is loaded and sealed and whether a relief tractor is coming.

Can you tow me off the New Jersey Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway?

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority allows only its authorized garages to tow or work on the shoulder of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, and we are not one of them yet. Call us anyway. The dispatcher tells you how to reach the Authority's roadside help, and you book the rest of the job with us: the moment the authorized truck has the car off the highway, at the nearest exit or in the garage's lot, our truck takes over and moves it to the shop, the dealer or the driveway you choose, at our normal flat quoted price. For a truck, add the GVWR and whether it is loaded, and the heavy wrecker is waiting at the exit.

Do you tow trucks placed out of service at a DOT inspection?

Yes. A unit placed out of service at a roadside inspection or a weigh station cannot be driven and has to leave on a wrecker. We take it to your shop or your yard, and the receipt shows the unit number, pickup location, destination and mileage for the inspection file. Tell the dispatcher if the driver is near his hours limit so the unit goes somewhere he can rest and a relief driver can take over.

Question not here? Commercial dispatch answers it in one sentence and quotes the unit in the next.

Call (908) 444-0129 Contact

Medium and heavy duty towing around Port Newark, the Turnpike and the Route 1 & 9 warehouse belt, dispatched from Linden 24/7