Towing
Heavy duty towing for semis, RVs, buses and box trucks
The short answer
Heavy-duty towing moves what a light-duty truck cannot: semis, motorhomes, buses, box trucks and loaded work vehicles. It takes a wrecker rated for the gross weight, an operator trained to rig it, and matching insurance. Most heavy work is billed by the hour rather than by the mile, so class, load and access decide the bill.
When the job needs a rated wrecker
A tractor-trailer is down on the shoulder
A loaded Class 8 rig needs a wrecker rated for its gross combination weight, and usually an air hookup so the brakes will release. Say whether the trailer is loaded and with what, and whether the drive axles still turn.
A motorhome or a coach will not move
An RV is long, tall, heavy at the rear and easy to damage at the tail. The operator needs the length, the axle count and whether it is a diesel pusher, because all three change where the truck can lift and how wide it has to swing.
A box truck or work van is loaded
A vehicle carrying its load weighs more than its empty rating, and the load shifts during a recovery. Offloading on the shoulder is sometimes the safest first move, so tell dispatch what is inside and whether it is strapped down.
The vehicle is off the pavement or on its side
A rig in a ditch, jackknifed, or rolled needs a rotator and a rigging plan rather than a straight pull. That is a recovery with a tow attached to the end of it, and it is billed for the time it takes on scene.
How a heavy-duty call is handled
Give dispatch the class, the weight and the load
Gross weight rating, axle count, overall length, and whether the vehicle is loaded and with what. Say whether it rolls, whether the air brakes will release, and whether the drivetrain is intact. Those answers decide which wrecker is rated for the job.You get an estimate and approve it
Heavy work is quoted as time on scene plus travel, with rigging and any specialist gear as their own lines. The operator confirms the rate and what it covers. Nothing is dispatched until you have agreed to a number.A rated wrecker arrives with a rigging plan
The operator surveys the scene, sets up on ground that will hold the truck, and rigs to points the frame can take. On a highway the work runs alongside traffic control, which often sets the length of the job more than the lift does.The vehicle is moved and the paperwork closes
Heavy tows end at a truck shop, a terminal or a yard with room for the vehicle. Keep the itemized invoice: on a commercial vehicle it is the document a fleet, an insurer or a claims adjuster will ask you for later.
Upfront pricing
What heavy-duty towing costs
Heavy work is priced on its own scale: a bigger truck, a rated operator, and the insurance behind both. Our estimator applies a heavy-duty step to the same shape as a car tow, a hook-up fee plus loaded mileage, while many operators and some state schedules bill heavy recovery by the hour on scene instead. Either way these are indicative estimates rather than a quote, and the operator confirms the final price before dispatch.
| Service | Typical range | What is included |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy-duty hook-up and rigging | $110 – $275per call | Rigging the vehicle and preparing it to move, before any mileage. |
| Local heavy tow, up to 40 miles | $6.6 – $15.4per mile | |
| Medium haul, 40 to 120 miles | $5.5 – $9.9per mile | |
| Long haul, over 120 miles | $3.85 – $6.6per mile |
Estimates only. Final price confirmed by the local operator before dispatch.
What moves this price
- Weight class. A medium-duty box truck, a loaded tractor-trailer and an oversize load are three different trucks on three different rate scales, and the class is set by gross weight rather than by what the vehicle looks like.
- Whether it is a recovery or a tow. A rig that is upright, rolling and on the pavement is a tow. One in a ditch, jackknifed or on its side is rigged and pulled first, and that time is billed on its own.
- The load. A loaded trailer may have to be offloaded or transferred before the tractor can move, and a load that has shifted changes the whole rigging plan.
- The scene. Lane closures, traffic control, overhead wires, soft shoulders and a long run to ground that will hold a truck all add time, and time is most of a heavy bill.
Where these ranges come from
- Connecticut DMV — Towing procedures and ratesChecked August 30, 2026
- CT Mirror — CT DMV raises towing rates, but tow companies say it is not enoughChecked August 30, 2026
Light-duty, medium-duty and heavy-duty
Place your vehicle by weight before you call. It is the single answer that decides which truck can legally take the job.
| What matters | Light-duty | Medium-duty | Heavy-duty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical vehicles | Cars, crossovers, half-ton pickups. | Box trucks, ambulances, delivery vans, small RVs. | Tractor-trailers, coaches, motorhomes, dump trucks. |
| Truck sent | Rollback or wheel-lift. | Medium wrecker, or a heavier rollback. | Integrated wrecker, or a rotator for a recovery. |
| How it is billed | Hook-up fee plus loaded mileage. | Hook-up and mileage, or hourly on a recovery. | Usually hourly on scene, plus travel and rigging. |
| Crew on scene | One operator. | One operator, sometimes two. | Two or more, plus traffic control on a highway. |
| What dispatch must know | Drivetrain, and whether the wheels roll. | Gross weight, and whether it is loaded. | Gross combination weight, axles, length and load. |
If the vehicle carries a commercial plate, a gross weight rating above the light-duty line, or a load, describe it by weight and axle count rather than by name. The class is what decides which wrecker can take the job, and guessing it low sends a truck that has to turn around.
Where these statements come from
Anything numeric or regulatory on this page carries the document it was read from and the date it was checked against it. A claim with no source is left off the page.
Connecticut publishes heavy-duty towing on an hourly basis rather than as a hook-up fee plus mileage: $400 an hour for medium duty between 10,000 and 26,000 GVWR, $700 an hour for heavy duty above 26,000 GVWR, $1,500 an hour for oversize or overweight vehicles, and $1,275 an hour for a rotator with one laborer.
Connecticut DMV — Towing procedures and ratesChecked August 30, 2026
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a heavy-duty tow?
Weight, not appearance. Once a gross weight rating passes the point where a light-duty rollback can carry the vehicle safely, the job moves onto the heavy scale. In practice that means tractor units, loaded trailers, coaches, transit buses, motorhomes, dump trucks and box trucks with a load in them.
What does dispatch need to know before sending a wrecker?
Gross weight rating, axle count and overall length. Whether the vehicle is loaded, with what, and whether the load is secured. Whether the wheels turn and the air brakes will release. Exactly where it is, including direction of travel and the nearest mile marker. And whether it is upright and on pavement, because that decides tow or recovery.
Can a tractor be separated from its trailer?
Often, and it is frequently the cheaper route: one wrecker takes the tractor while the trailer is pulled by another unit or recovered separately. Whether it can be done depends on the fifth wheel, the landing gear, the ground underneath and the load. The operator decides on scene, but say up front that the unit is coupled.
Does someone have to be there for a commercial tow?
Someone with authority to release the vehicle does. For a fleet that is usually the driver, a dispatcher on the phone, or a manager who can authorize the charge and name the destination. Settle who signs, who pays and where the vehicle and any load are going before the truck rolls, because a heavy tow with no agreed destination ends in a yard.
Is a rotator always needed for a rollover?
No, but it is what makes the hard ones possible. A rotator booms out to the side and lifts at an angle, which matters when a vehicle is down an embankment or on its roof and there is nowhere to park directly in front of it. A straight pull on solid ground often needs only a conventional wrecker.
Last updated
Send the weight, the axles and the load
A heavy job is priced from what the vehicle actually weighs and where it is standing. Give us those and the estimate comes back with the right wrecker already in it.
Estimates only. The local operator confirms the final price before dispatch.