Tow trucks in Carteret, NJ: the questions people ask, with the dispatcher's answers

A flatbed if the car drives all four wheels, runs on a battery or a hybrid system, sits low, is a luxury or exotic model, is a motorcycle, or has just been in a crash. A wheel-lift if it is two-wheel drive, rolls and steers, and is going a short distance. Give the dispatcher the year, make and model and she decides, defaulting to the flatbed when anything is unclear.

For a car, $149 to book by phone or $129 to book online, which pays for the truck's trip to you and the hook-up. Mileage to your destination is added at a rate you hear before dispatch. Every line is spelled out on the pricing page.

No. Both carry the same booking fee. The vehicle decides which one goes, so there is never a reason to talk yourself into the wrong truck to save money.

The yard is in Linden, about eight minutes from Roosevelt Avenue. A truck is often already in the borough on a warehouse job, and the window the dispatcher quotes comes from that truck's actual spot.

Yes. Heavy-duty wreckers handle loaded and empty tractors, trailers and buses, and medium-duty units take box trucks and step vans. Those jobs are quoted from the weight, the load and the location, and carriers or warehouses can hold a monthly account.

It can. Tell the dispatcher the approximate load, whether the tractor still has air and whether the trailer can be dropped. That decides between towing the combination and separating the tractor, and it shapes the quote.

On a flatbed, with the car in its transport or tow mode so the wheels turn freely. The driver pulls it by the tow eye and straps it over the tires, keeping clear of the battery pack. Say the model and the driveway layout when you call.

No. Neutral does not stop the wheels left on the road from turning the center differential, which is what gets damaged. All-wheel-drive vehicles ride a flatbed, even for a trip of a few blocks.

Turnpike and Parkway shoulders are served by the Authority's authorized garages. Book with us and we take the car from the exit or the garage's lot. Once the vehicle is off the Turnpike, we take it wherever you want it at our normal quote.

No. A tow at two in the morning on a holiday costs what it would at noon on a Wednesday. The fee and the mileage rate do not move with the clock.

Try the jump first. It is one flat price with no mileage, and the truck that brings the pack can tow at the flat fee if the battery is done, with no second callout.

You can ask for your own. Tell the officer your truck is on the way and call (908) 666-3168. A flatbed comes, the damage is photographed for your insurer, and the car goes to the body shop you pick.

Wherever you say: your driveway, a mechanic on Roosevelt Avenue, a dealer, a body shop in Rahway or Woodbridge. There is no storage lot, so there are no storage or release fees.

Yes. The lots are open and a flatbed can back right up. If the car sat in water near the shore after a storm, leave the key off and a flatbed brings it out with the engine untouched.

The dispatcher sends a shorter truck where the car allows it. If the car needs the flatbed, the driver winches it or rolls it on dollies to a wider spot and loads there.

Yes, always on a flatbed with a front-wheel chock and soft straps. Never on a wheel-lift and never in a sling.

Yes, $20 cheaper: $129 instead of $149 when you enter the job on the booking page. If you are in a live lane, skip the form and call.

Yes. There is no bridge in Carteret itself, so the truck crosses at one of the Arthur Kill bridges and the mileage and any toll are in the quote you hear first. Longer trips run as a long distance tow.

No. There is nothing to join. You call, hear the price, agree, and pay at the end.

Cash, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover, all at one price. Fleet and warehouse accounts are invoiced monthly on net terms.

Yes: flatbed drivers, wheel-lift drivers, owner-operators with their own trucks and roadside providers. Current openings are on the driver jobs page.