Tow truck in the Chrome section of Carteret, NJ: narrow blocks, full curbs and the truck that fits

Many Chrome blocks leave one lane between two lines of parked cars. A wheel-lift can pull in, hook and leave in a few minutes without blocking neighbors for long.

Tell the dispatcher whether your car is at the curb, in a shared driveway or behind the house. The truck and the approach are chosen from that.

An all-wheel-drive SUV or a hybrid on a tight block still rides the flatbed. The driver rolls it out on dollies or draws it to the corner with the winch, then loads it where the deck can tilt without hitting anything.

Any dolly or winch work is quoted on the call so there is no surprise on the curb.

Cars that sleep on the street through a January night give out in numbers here. A jump is one flat price and no miles, and the truck carrying the pack can tow if the battery will not hold.

Most of these calls end in a running car and a short receipt.

The two through streets see the moving breakdowns: overheating in summer traffic, a flat from a pothole, a fender-bender at a corner. The driver stops with his lights on and loads quickly.

A car that still rolls should be pulled onto a side street before you call, which makes the load safer and costs nothing extra.