Barnett’s Towing offers both light-duty and heavy-duty towing in Arizona. In most cases, our towing experts will assess your vehicle’s location, damage, and other circumstances to determine what type of towing services you need; however, it still helps to understand the differences between your options. Here is our guide to light vs. heavy-duty towing and how to choose the right one for your vehicle.
What is Light-Duty Towing?
Light-duty towing is the process of extracting and hauling standard passenger vehicles. It is the most common type of towing service, and it’s what we use for the majority of roadside breakdowns, disabled vehicles, and accidents.
When is Light-Duty Towing Recommended?
We recommend light-duty towing for vehicles that weigh 10,000 pounds or less. This includes:
- Sedans
- Coupes
- SUVs
- Crossovers
- Minivans
- Pick-up trucks
- Motorcycles
It is the ideal method of towing for situations like:
- Engine overheating or failure
- Flat tires or blowouts
- Dead batteries
- Minor collisions or traffic accidents
- Tight-space recovery
What to Expect from the Light-Duty Towing Process
When you call our 24-hour emergency towing dispatch line, we’ll ask you some questions about your location, the condition of your vehicle, and the cause of damage. We’ll dispatch a tow truck to your location ASAP, and either use a conventional flatbed truck to winch your vehicle onto a flat platform, keeping all wheels off the ground, or a wheel-lift tow truck that uses a metal yoke to lift the front or rear wheels off the ground during towing.
What is Heavy-Duty Towing?
Heavy-duty towing is the process of hauling large, heavy commercial vehicles or equipment. We use specialized, high-powered tow trucks and equipment, and our certified operators are trained to handle complex recoveries and extreme weight.
When is Heavy-Duty Towing Recommended?
Heavy-duty towing services are recommended for vehicles that weigh over 26,000 pounds. This includes:
- Semi-trucks
- Tractor trailers
- City buses
- Tour buses
- Motor homes and RVs
- Garbage trucks
- Dump trucks
- Concrete mixers
- Heavy construction equipment
You may need heavy-duty towing if you’re dealing with a:
- Semi-truck jackknife or rollover
- Heavy machinery transport between jobsites
- Submerged vehicle recovery
- Cargo shifting or spilling cleanup after a wreck
What to Expect from the Heavy-Duty Towing Process
Our dispatch team will determine the towing services you need based on the type and size of your vehicle, cause and severity of damage, and vehicle location. We will then send experienced operators with the equipment needed to safely extract your vehicle or equipment. This may include:
- Rotating recovery tow trucks
- Integrated tow truck
- Lowboy trailer
- Air cushions
Call Barnett’s Towing for 24-Hour Expert Towing Services
Barnett’s Towing offers 24-hour light-duty, heavy-duty, and specialty towing services throughout Arizona. We are Arizona’s largest family-owned towing and recovery operation, with over 60 years of experience in the industry. We offer massive fleet capabilities, competitive pricing, fast response times, and a friendly, professional team of experts. Our recovery vehicles can handle everything from light-duty passenger cars to ultra-heavy commercial semi-trucks. We use specialized recovery machinery, including a heavy-duty 70-ton rotator wrecker and air cushion recovery to upright overturned big rigs, shipping containers, construction equipment, and heavy machinery. Call us today at (800) 722-2302 or contact us online to learn more about our specialty towing services in Arizona.