How Much Does It Cost To Buy and Own A Tow Truck?

Discover how to own a tow truck without breaking the bank. Stay ahead of the competition and increase your profits with low monthly payments.

By Stephanie Richards, CLFP| Oct 27, 2023| 30547 Views
3 MIN
How Much Does It Cost To Buy and Own A Tow Truck?

Let’s face it – starting a new towing business isn’t easy. In the first few years, you’re up against overwhelming odds.

It’s even harder to decide on which tow truck will bring a positive return on your investment. Finding the right one at the right price is a must if you want to haul home more profits and keep your costs low.

Get a tow truck in your fleet fast with these figures...

  1. Prices for New Rollbacks
  2. Prices for New Wheel-Lift Tow Trucks
  3. Prices for New Heavy Wreckers
  4. Understanding Your Towing Requirements
  5. How to Keep Your Cash and Let Your Next Tow Truck Pay For Itself
  6. Estimate Your Next Truck's Low Monthly Payment
  7. Find a Used Tow Truck for Sale

How Much Does A Reliable Tow Truck Cost to Buy?

Getting your hands on that new tow truck is a sweet milestone for growing your fleet. If you’ve got the cash to spend, what can you expect to pay upfront? Knowing the truck model, size, and features you need will help you narrow down your search and get a better idea of the cost.

Let's take a look at some of these truck types.

Prices For A New Rollback Tow Truck

Depending on the brand and model, a new rollback tow truck can cost anywhere between $90,000 - $150,000. Newer models are generally more expensive than older ones, but they come with more advanced features and better performance.

Financing your next tow truck can help break down that cost to help you acquire the same great truck sooner.

CALCULATE YOUR NEW ROLLBACK'S LOW MONTHLY PAYMENT

Prices for a New Wheel-Lift

Whether you need a boom, wheel-lift, forks, or light bars, these trucks can range in price anywhere between $90,000 to $150,000.

Prices For A New Heavy Wrecker

If you need to haul extremely large vehicles, a heavy wrecker could be as expensive as $1,200,000. If your business is like most, keeping more cash in your business is key!

Buying a heavy wrecker is very expensive. You can make your tow truck purchase more affordable by spreading out its cost into low monthly payments.

CALCULATE YOUR NEW WRECKER'S LOW MONTHLY PAYMENT

Understanding Your Towing Requirements

As a dedicated tow truck operator, you recognize that the towing industry isn't one-size-fits-all. Your success hinges on the ability to meet the unique demands of your customers and the specific needs of your market. Understanding your towing requirements is paramount to making smart investments and ensuring your business thrives.

Here's what you need to consider:

Vehicle Types and Sizes

Start by identifying the most common types and sizes of vehicles you'll be towing. Are you primarily serving individual motorists with compact cars, SUVs, and pick-up trucks, or are you catering to larger commercial vehicles like semi-trucks, buses, and motor homes? Knowing this helps you choose the right tow truck with the appropriate capacity.

Here's a closer look at two common types of tow trucks and their suitability for different scenarios:

Wreckers

Wreckers are specialized vehicles designed for the recovery of a single vehicle at a time. They excel in handling roadside breakdowns, accidents, and repo operations. If your business primarily involves these kinds of tasks, investing in a wrecker is the way to go.

Flatbeds

Flatbed towing trucks offer a distinct advantage with their capacity to tow multiple vehicles simulataneously and the preferred vehicle for transporting electric vehicles (EVs) like Teslas. This versatility makes them an ideal choice for various towing situations.

Tow trucks with flatbeds, like this white one, are the preferred vehicle for transporting electric vehicles.

Towing Capacity

Different tow trucks come with varying towing capacities. Consider the maximum weight you anticipate towing regularly. You don't want to invest in a truck that's underpowered for your typical jobs, nor do you want to overspend on a truck designed for tasks you won't often encounter.

Terrain and Environment

Think about the terrain and environment where you'll be operating. Do you often work in urban areas with tight streets and limited manueverability? Or do your jobs frequently take you to rural or off-road locations? Your choice of tow truck should be tailored to handle the specific challenges of your work environment.

A blue heavy-wrecker drives down the highway after getting financed by Beacon Funding.

Specialized Equipment

Some towing jobs require specialized equipment, such as wheel-lifts, flatbeds, or wreckers with added functionalities. Evaluate whether your customer base demands these services and whether it makes sense to invest in such specialized tow trucks.

How to Keep Your Cash and Let Your Next Tow Truck Pay For Itself

Even if you have enough cash, there is an easier way to get your hands on your truck without having to spend it on one large expense.

Growing your business is harder without cash on hand. After all, the #1 reason why businesses fail is lack of cash, so your decision on how to buy your truck shouldn’t be taken lightly.

The solution? Spreading out your expensive truck purchase into manageable monthly payments with financing. Unlike paying with cash, financing lets you add another truck to your fleet while still conserving your savings.

Your business may need savings for:

  • Payroll
  • Emergencies
  • Saying yes to more opportunities

Benefits of Financing Your Tow Truck

Using tow truck financing to acquire equipment comes with many advantages. A tow truck added today means saying yes to more customer calls, bringing in more revenue, and speeding up your business’s growth tomorrow.

Not only can you conserve your cash, you’ll also be able to:

Even if you already own a truck, you will need to purchase another one eventually.

Financing a truck allows you to:

  • Expand your towing radius
  • Add more hauling power to your fleet
  • Keep your business running while other trucks get repaired

Easily Estimate Your Next Truck's Low Monthly Payment

Financial calculators make it easy to discover how affordable getting your next truck can be.

Simply enter the cost of the truck you want to buy, press "Calculate" -- and done!

Immediately see your truck's monthly financing payment based on the terms you’ve selected.

Beacon Funding's mobile app features a monthly payment calculator to quick show your next tow truck purchase's low monthly payment.

You can do this now on the fly with your phone by downloading Beacon Funding's mobile app. Streamline your business growth today.

Looking to Save On Equipment Costs? Try Opting For a Used Truck

Leasing a tow truck can be even more affordable if a used truck makes sense for you. Your business can still find a truck to handle your toughest jobs while saving on its cost. Leasing a used tow truck may allow your business to see profits sooner if you are willing to do a little searching.  

Resources to Help You Find a Used Tow Truck for Sale:

Equip-Used.com

Used tow trucks are becoming harder to find, but at Equip-Used.com’s commercial truck section you could buy your next used tow truck at a reasonable price.

If you want to see a high return on your investment, this site is ready is to help you conquer the road by getting one for immediate use. They update their inventory on a weekly basis and offer a collection of used commercial truck equipment, including:

  • Flatbeds
  • Wreckers
  • Box Trucks
  • Trailers
  • Car Haulers
  • Septic Trucks
  • Cranes

Be sure to check back with their inventory on a weekly basis if no commercial trucks are available at the moment.

Used Equipment Network

Tired of wasting time with online listings and classified? With Beacon Funding’s Used Equipment Network, you have access to thousands of commercial equipment providers just a phone call away.

In this large network, you can immediately leverage thousands of connections already in the towing industry to quickly find the right used truck for you, including:

  • Manufacturers
  • Dealerships
  • Equipment Vendors

With Beacon Funding communicating with over 1,500 businesses a day, searching for your dream tow truck is much easier with a financing consultant helping you get results.

Finance Your Next Tow Truck with Beacon Funding

Growing a young towing business isn’t for the faint of heart. Fortunately, you have options to make it easier.

Since 1990, we’ve been helping companies of every size get the tow truck they need to grow their fleet fast and rev in more revenue. We’ve financed over $1 billion in equipment, providing quality customer service to tow truck companies of every size.

Yes, even for start-ups.

As an A+ rated Better Business Bureau lender, our experienced financing consultants can have you with a tow truck that’s right for you in no time.

Apply with us today and see why thousands of towing companies chose us to help them keep more cash in their hands, get the truck they need, while earning revenue to growing their dream towing business.

 Stephanie Richards, CLFP
Stephanie Richards, CLFP

P: 847.627.1614 |  ESchedule A Meeting with Me

Stephanie is a Certified Lease and Finance Professional (CLFP) that started with Beacon as a Business Development Consultant in 2012.



12/20/2023