How I got started in the towing business

I have been driving trucks all my life but I started in the towing industry in 1987 at the age of 30. I began working for a large towing company in San Diego, CA. They had a fleet of over a hundred trucks and eight impound yards.

I started out driving tow trucks in the light duty class. I attended training classes and was certified by CTTA to recover vehicles in the heavy duty class.

These vehicles were usually involved in accidents and roll over's. Training included safety and proper winching techniques.

It was a challenge to work with the heavy duty recoveries but it was also exciting. Every call was different which required some ingenuity to come up with the best solution for the task at hand.

Although I had experience driving every tow truck in their fleet my favorite truck was a Peterbuilt 18 speed with a telescoping boom and long reach underlift . This tow truck could perform any heavy duty task. I remember towing a huge eighty ton crane. The crane was so large that the crane also needed a driver in the back to steer it around the corners. It was a challenge just to keep the tow trucks front wheels on the ground.

After seven years with this employer I left to start my own independent towing business in my home state of Washington where I continue towing to this day.

Starting my own business was a real challenge but it was the best decision I ever made. The rewards of working for myself and independence that came with it made it all worthwhile.

As a bonus you can read more about how I started my towing business and how my experience may help you.
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Two trailers that I designed and built for my business. 1997 and 1998.

This was my favorite car to tow" Willys Coupe" with the original steel body. I towed this car several times as the owner was building it and it was transported from shop to shop. The owner had over $90,000 in that Willys Coupe. Even though I'm 53 It's still my dream car.

This is the same trailer that I built in 1998, although the color was changed to match the truck. Extended cab trucks are long but the trailer handles it nicely.

Unloading a truck at a dealership above and unloading a car at a dealership Below.

It's great driving a fifth wheel. I can jack knife the trailer and get into some really tight spaces.

Mt Rainier in my home State of WA.

After starting my own towing business I could not imagine working for anyone ever again. I was feeling the pride of ownership and the independence and gratification that came with it.

If you want independence for yourself then get my towing course. It may be one of the best decisions you will ever make and besides It's guaranteed 100% satisfaction or your money back.

After over one year of teaching online no one has ever asked for a refund even though I offer a full refund policy with no questions asked. The simple reason is this information is valuable.

I wish you all the success life has to offer!

If you have any questions please contact

Wally@howtotow.com

or

Support@howtotow.com

How to start and operate a towing business

If you are thinking about starting a towing business then You will want the best information possible to ultimately succeed in your towing business. The best information comes from someone highly professional and who has many years of hands on experience in all aspects of the towing industry. This will save you untold amounts of money and time from the experiences of trial and error.

My Towing Business Preferences

I do not have a impound yard or repossess vehicles. I like to work solely for the motor clubs, local businesses and retail accounts. My customers are friendly and happy to see me pull up and help them (unlike impounds and repossessions) and I prefer to keep it that way.

There are many things you should know before starting a towing business.

I have put together a detailed towing business package of instructions, illustrations, videos and much more. If you want to learn how to operate a successful & safe towing business then I highly advise you to take a look at this information. The time you spend learning all you can prior to starting a towing business will benefit you more than I can say.

"It has taken me a lifetime to gather this towing business information from personal experience as an employee and a long time towing business owner"

If you are already a business owner or an employee you may still find my instructions, illustrations, videos, and forms very useful.

I started my independent towing business in 1995 and continue towing to this day. I even built my own custom flatbed hydraulic tilt trailers. The one on my web site was built back in 1998 and still going strong. You can check out my web site if you like for reference. TowingTransport.com

I have over 24 years experience in the towing industry. I have personally towed over 14,000 vehicles! You name it and I have towed it. I have contracts with seven motor clubs and a dozen local business accounts. And yet I have never had a damage claim since I started my towing business. I have had a few prior damage claims while working as an employee but I learned not to repeat the same mistakes. I will tell you what I did wrong so you can also learn from these common mistakes. Damage claims are expensive and can even lead to court. It is a necessity to know how to hook up a vehicle properly not only to avoid damage claims but also for safety reasons. I will show you how to avoid all damage claims by hooking up properly and I will show you the proper forms to fill out prior to hooking up the vehicle.

What would all this knowledge be worth to you If you could save money and time?

If after reviewing all my material including my personal videos and let's say you did not have damage claims to contend with or you could unlock any vehicle in under three minutes without damage and tasks were completed safer and faster then how much would this information be worth to you? How much could you save if you trained your employees with my detailed instructions, videos, and safety procedures?

My videos not only show you to hook up to a vehicle but what NOT to do during a hook up. I list my "must have requirements" for towing equipment, safety gear, tools and many additional helpful items. I will show you the modern way to unlock a vehicle in under three minutes, the best way to perform service calls. I will also show you my favorite ways to get business accounts. How to bill your wholesale accounts. How to sign up with the motor clubs (including phone numbers and addresses) and what they expect from you and what you can expect from them. I discuss my personal billing rates with the motor clubs and tell you what is common or how to improve your billing rates. I also discuss proper winch out and recovery techniques with safety in mind (which are also available in the videos), how to perform service calls with the right equipment and how to avoid costly mistakes or even injury. I also tell you my favorite place to advertise and it's absolutely FREE! I basically tell you everything I know in the operation of my towing business.

What is not included

I will not give you advice on impound yards or repossessions. You will have to check with your state and local agencies regarding this information. All states have different requirements. However if you want to operate a towing business providing towing and roadside services for the motor clubs, local businesses and retail accounts then this is my area of expertise!

You won't find this information anywhere else!

I have searched the internet and I can't find any detailed information related to operating a towing business. If you find any information it is probably minimal and not like the extensive towing business information I have laid out for you.

Why am I sharing all my information?

I feel this information should be available for people who are interested in starting their own towing business. Besides I wish I had a mentor or access to this type of information when I decided to start my towing business. It would have saved me allot of headaches rather than trying to learn it all on my own.

I actually learned the hard way by trial and error until I figured out what worked best. I can save you a lot of time and money by sharing with you what has worked best for me in all areas of the towing business. The information I am going to share with you didn't come out of a book or some bits and pieces of information off the internet. The information comes exclusively from myself and my own experience as a business owner and operator.

I also invite you to join our towing forums. HowtoTow.com/forum and TowingMentor.com. Note: I have recently added a private members area to both of these forums and you will also have free access to these private areas. Information on how to access the private forum area is available in the members area after signing up below.

How to order my complete towing package

All I ask is that you do not give this information away or sell any part of the contents. You can however train employees with the material. I have received positive feedback from employers who use the material to train their employees with positive results.

Once payment is received you will be redirected automatically with a link where you can view all the information and instructional videos instantly online anytime 24/7 and remember to save the link or add to your favorites within your browser.

I sincerely wish you all the success in your towing business. You can also contact me anytime with questions and I will be more than happy to help you. Please contact me by email: Wally@howtotow.com or support@howtotow.com

I am so confident that you will benefit from this information that I am willing to make your purchase absolutely risk free! If for some reason you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, I will promptly issue a refund, no questions asked. I simply refuse to accept your payment unless you are 100% satisfied.

I invite you to sign up now and get instant access to the online towing information, materials, trailer plans, forms, videos, the best training and support.

Click the buy now button below and pay securely with PayPal which accepts major credit cards and debit card transactions. Donations are optional and very much appreciated. Thanks to all who have donated and helped support the towing information network!

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Wally,

I'm Richard and have worked in the Towing field for roughly 5-6 yrs, and to this day still will never claim that I know what I'm doing, cause every tow is different. I've often been asked why don't I start my own business and it's really interested me, but I've always doubted myself and the possible ability to do that and make it successful some day with living where I am right now there are a few big named company's around and a few small businesses that are doing pretty well so I'm concerned mainly about the clients that I will need to get to be able to get the business off the ground let alone the money needed to get a truck and trailer like you mentioned. I was just curious as to where you started this company at considering your home state is the same as mine, I live in Everett, WA. My other concern is how would I be able to have it run while I'm away on my National Guard duty once a month and 2 weeks out of the summer?

Thank You
Richard

Hi Richard and thanks for your questions.

6 years of towing is some good experience and I have to agree that we can always learn something new since some tows have special circumstances. The advantage that you have is experience and that will help build confidence in new situations.

I started my towing business in Federal Way WA. in 1995. There was a lot of towing companies in the area but most of them were into impounds and that’s mainly what they focused on. I chose to work strictly for the local businesses and retail accounts without doing impounds which was obviously advantageous as far as start up costs go . I also had one motor club that I towed for in my first few years. I did not want too many motor clubs as I wanted to be able to service my business accounts in a timely fashion and taking on more business than I could handle could cost me some accounts. So to be safe I just maintained one motor club account. I also offered really low tow rates to start with. I remember in 1995 my hook up rate was $20.00 and $2.00 per loaded mile. Of course today that would not buy the fuel to get out of the driveway. My hookup rate today is three times that and the mileage rate has doubled, which are still pretty good rates for today's standards.

I would highly advise to sign up with motor clubs if you decide to start your own towing business as you will not have to advertise or wait for the phone to ring. They do not pay quite as well as business or retail accounts but they will make up for it in quantity. You can also contract with then to perform only services such as jump starts, tire changes, lockouts and gas calls. This way you don’t even need a tow truck to start your own business.

Do you have enough credit to buy a used tow truck and enough credit to buy insurance? I used credit cards when I first started out, to purchase things like insurance and fuel.

You will have to devote some time to knocking on doors and asking people for their business. Keep knocking until you are satisfied with your call volume. If you need more business then knock on some more doors or contact more motor clubs. I remember hitting the streets for two straight weeks getting accounts in the local area. After I had my initial accounts I continued to knock on doors periodically or just pass out business cards to the businesses that I was delivering vehicles to.

I would do some research in your area and get an idea what the other towing companies charge, especially the small independent tow operators. If they have really low rates and you feel you can not match or beat that then you have to consider what is your niche market and will the customers call you over the competitors? For instance I have the custom flatbed hydraulic tilt trailer which has a super low loading profile which allows exotic cars and low riders to be easily loaded without damage. In fact I never had a damage claim to deal with since I opened my business. Not only did I have niche equipment but I offered low rates as discussed earlier. One more thing worth mentioning is that I worked out of my house so my overhead was low. I did not have to rent out or lease property or office space and therefore I was able to keep my towing rates low and beat the competition. Another thing I would do is call the motor clubs that you are interested in towing for and ask to speak with the regional manager for your area and ask the regional manager how many towing providers they have contracted with in your area. Try to ask questions and get an idea for how many calls and income you might expect in a given day.

Other commitments to be away from your towing business for The National Guard once a month and two weeks out of the summer could be a problem unless you hire an employee, have a partner, friend or even family to help. You could hire an experienced tow operator but I know that the paperwork and costs involved with hiring an employee can be a hassle and expensive. You could also contract with another towing company to handle your calls for you. You could have your phone calls forwarded to them or just hand them your cell phone and have then answer it with your company name. I mean what towing company would refuse to make more money. Just make sure that they have the capacity to get to your customers in a timely fashion. The towing company could advise your customer that they are servicing your accounts temporarily or what ever explanation you set forth. You would probably want to call your insurance company and let them know you are canceling your insurance for the time that you will be away and reactivating it when you are back. Personally I would not commit myself to owning a towing business unless I could be there 24/7. Owning a towing business does have some drawbacks as you have to be married to it but I feel that working for myself outweighs all the drawbacks and I would not want to go back to working for someone else. You will have to ultimately decide for yourself how dedicated you are to owning your own business. If you have the pure desire and means to start a towing business then by all means just do it and try not to let fear and doubt seep in and make your decisions for you. If money is the only problem then try to establish credit or work and save your money. Do the research for your area and make some informed decisions and follow your dreams.

Anyway's, I hope this helps Richard and I'm always here to help.

Wally