What is Heavy Duty Towing?

Commercial truck drivers in trouble on the side of the road know that heavy-duty towing is the fastest way out of trouble. Whether it’s a mechanical breakdown, a flat tire, or an accident, commercial drivers rely on the expertise and quick response of heavy-duty, professional towing services to get them back on the road as soon as possible.

Fife Towing is proud to be a well-established, dependable towing company in the Tacoma area. We can handle all your commercial towing requests right when you need them. Our team of expert tow truck operators has the skills you need, no matter what situation you’re in. In this blog post, we’ll talk about the applications for heavy-duty towing and how it’s different from other types of towing.

Types of Tow Trucks

There are several different types of tow trucks, each suited to a different type of vehicle. Broadly speaking, there are three main types that a towing service might use. These are light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty towing. As the names imply, these are classified mostly by the weight of the vehicles they can handle. However, they’re used for much more than conventional towing.

When you call for towing services, the dispatcher will ask you questions to help them determine which type of truck to send. This might include the type of vehicle you’re driving, whether there has been an accident, whether your vehicle has gone off-road, gotten stuck, or simply run out of gas, and more.

Light-duty towing

If your car needs a tow, this is most likely the truck you’ll see. Small pickup trucks are usually the largest type of vehicle that this truck can handle, so anything bigger will need to go up a level.

For most standard passenger vehicles and smaller trucks, light-duty towing services are more than capable of handling the job. When your car has a flat tire, a dead battery, or has been involved in a minor accident, a light-duty tow truck can quickly and efficiently transport it to a repair shop, your home, or anywhere it needs to go.

Medium-duty towing

Medium-duty trucks are best for larger vehicles or heavy equipment. They can also be used in situations where a smaller vehicle has gone off-road and needs a little extra power to retrieve it. Medium-duty tow trucks are often used by emergency response teams to assist with accident towing, vehicle breakdowns, and other roadside emergencies involving larger vehicles.

Heavy-duty towing

This type of towing service is reserved for the heaviest of vehicles and equipment (including other tow trucks!) or when a lower-weight tow job needs extra power. This type of truck handles everything the other two types can’t, and it does this with ease. If you need semi-truck towing, bus towing, or towing for any other large vehicle, you’ll probably see a heavy-duty truck pull up.

In addition to towing the largest vehicles on the road, heavy-duty towing equipment is used to assist in extreme or challenging situations that a lower-weight tow truck simply can’t handle. This could include recovering vehicles that have become stuck in deep mud, snow, or sand, or retrieving vehicles that have rolled over or even gone into water. Since they bring so much power to the table, heavy-duty tow trucks can navigate difficult terrain and even handle underwater recovery with ease.

Who Needs Heavy Duty Towing?

Heavy-duty towing services are essential for commercial vehicles. These services are designed to assist large trucks and other heavy vehicles that may become stranded or involved in accidents on the road. Whether a truck is carrying cargo or not, heavy-duty towing companies are equipped to handle the job without damaging the vehicle — or its cargo.

Commercial vehicles often travel long distances and carry valuable goods, making it crucial to have a reliable towing service on hand. Merchandise loss is a major concern when a truck tips over, so it’s important to know that the tow service you choose has experience in this type of recovery challenge.

Not just towing…

Heavy-duty tow trucks are capable of handling a wide variety of towing tasks and situations that fall beyond the capabilities of lighter-duty tow trucks. They’re commonly used in winch-out and accident recovery services, for example. Any situation that requires extra muscle will be attended by a skilled tow truck operator in a heavy-duty truck.

Whether it’s towing a fully loaded semi-truck, recovering a stranded bus, or assisting in a complex recovery operation, heavy-duty tow trucks are used in all sorts of situations.

Call Fife Service & Towing!

If you’re stranded on the side of the road in the Tacoma area looking for a heavy-duty towing company, Fife Service & Towing is the only call you need to make. We’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; we know that emergency towing doesn’t wait for business hours, so we make sure our fleet of towing vehicles is always ready for whatever the road brings. We even have crane capabilities, so we can handle even the most off-road situations.

On top of our 24-hour towing service, we’re also proud to offer roadside assistance. So, whether you have a flat tire, you’ve run out of gas, or your commercial truck has gone offroad and you need cargo recovery services, Fife Service & Towing is the only team you need to call. We can do anything from motorcycle towing to RV towing — on top of our offroad recovery services, and much more. If you ever need emergency roadside assistance of any kind, you can count on Fife Service & Towing. We think we’re the finest towing company in the area, and we’re certain you’ll agree. Give us a call today!