A new report from the trucking industry publication Land Line is reporting that predatory fees are common with towing companies of heavy-duty vehicles, even as much as six figures.
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has examined the issue and concluded that such charges are “vast.”
We at RVtravel.com don’t know of any study conducted about heavy-duty RV towing fee abuse, but, if so, we’d like to know for a future article if you have ever experienced charges you believed were excessive.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) was among those contributing data to the study conducted to “improve the relationship between the towing and trucking industries,” an ATRI news release said.
Lewie Pugh, executive director of OOIDA, told FreightWaves that issues of non-consensual towing are often the result of towing companies being contacted by highway patrol officers concerned with clearing a crash as quickly as possible.
“We don’t have a problem with that; the problem we do have is that some towing companies will take advantage of truckers when someone else calls for the service,” Pugh said. “If there’s no regulation, like in most states, to address unscrupulous towing companies, it’s an open checkbook. We’ve seen bills go well into six figures. It’s a huge problem for the industry that kind of flies under the radar.”
The ATRI study revealed that while predatory towing is more prevalent in some states than others, it’s an issue no matter the location. According to the research, nearly 83% of motor carriers regardless of where they are have been billed excessive rates.
Do you own a large RV? If so, have you ever been charged an excessive amount to have your rig towed to a service facility? We realize that many, if not most, of you have emergency road service policies, but we wonder if, whether you do or do not, you believe you were ever gouged? If so, please email us at editor@rvtravel.com and tell us about your experience. If your emergency road service picked up the bill without any hassles, please tell us about that as well.
Chuck Woodbury
Publisher
AAA RV towing came to the rescue when I was “in the middle of no where” (actually 25 miles outside of Augusta, Maine), towing my dually to the nearest dealership. AAA couldn’t locate a tow company to tow our 5th wheel to the campground so I was charged $2/mile (150 miles round trip for the driver) plus his time, 3 hours @$100/hr, by a private trailer hauling company. So $600 (cash) to tow the 5th wheel 75 miles. There was NO AAA 5th wheel trailer tow available.
When your towing insurance provider “cannot find” a tow company DEMAND to be given an approval, including an approval number or written emailed authorization, for you to find one and that they will reimburse. These insurance companies cannot be allowed to be off the hook just because they do not want to pay the going rates.
If they won’t do that I’d be filing a complaint with my state’s insurance board.
AAA northeast Pa can’t be relied on. Had too many bad experiences with them.
OOIDA is an association that is fighting for the rights of truckers, and it has been for 50 years. Many of the rights that they fight for often also benefit RV’ers.
How is six figures possible? Who wouldn’t take them to court? That is beyond absurd.
What you’ve touched on and I believe would be as interesting in a follow up in the overcharge/price gouge article is for those with Roadside Assistance: how much did the RA pay, was it worth the cost of the policy, did it meet your expectations (i.e. did you get towed to where the repair could actually occur or did you get towed to “Larry’s Garage”)? There seem to be a plethora of RA companies that have popped up in the last several years and we’re barraged with ads for this one or that one. Did it work for you? Personally, I had to use ours 1X for a tire issue that ended up costing me a lot of $, and didn’t fix the underlying issue-a Love’s truck stop did for $50 but that’s another story
We have been towed 4 times over the years in a 38 ft motor home. Once in New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Arizona. We always carry ERS or towing insurance. Only had to pay one time $50 on the spot, But Our insurance paid us back as we should not have been charged.
Without specifics it’s hard to know what all a “large” tow bill might entail. I don’t know about six figures, but I can see five figures if a very difficult recovery is involved.
My wife and I have watched “Highway Through Hell” and “Heavy Rescue 401” for years. Sometimes at these semi wreck sites it’s not just simply hooking up and pulling. Spilled toxic chemicals or leaking fluids like diesel require toxic cleanup crews. Overturned semis may have to be unloaded and may require multiple very large rotator recovery rigs to upright them and then, depending on damage, may require flat bed semis to be brought in. Net, a tow bill might be days of work and $M of equipment.
Thank you, Chuck! We have roadside assistance with Coach-Net. Our 43′ DP had a problem with the exhaust gas recirculation parts of the engine in May 2021 and were towed twice in three days. Coach-Net fully covered both tows. So, sorry, did not get over-charged but neither do we know what the fees forwarded to Coach-Net were.
Thanks for the article Chuck. I broke down in Willits, CA with a class A Motorhome. I needed to get towed 33 miles to Fort Bragg. The entire hook up and driving for the driver would have been 3-4 hours. My bill was $1800. If you pay the driver $100. per hour, that takes $400 off the bill. So the service and maintenance on the truck was $1400.? The company was out of Ukiah, and I will tell everyone I know not to use them. I’m a believer in respectable profit, but in my book, this tow was a ripoff.
We had an issue with our truck while towing our 5th wheel. Insurance paid for the truck. But not the trailer since it was not disabled. Same towing company towed it for us to the same location, about 5 miles and charged me $250 but would not wait until I could get my leveling blocks. So we sat way off level for 10 days. I know $250 isn’t that much, but for 5 miles.
Not an RV story but about the towing companies. Where I use to live they built a huge freezer storage facility. That meant a lot of new truckers who had no idea as one told me ‘no idea it was sand’. Their GPS often took them down a one lane road which dead ended. Truckers would try to turn around getting stuck. It was an automatic minimum $1000 to tow them out of the sand.
Hi Chuck,
I had a 34000 # 37′ Bluebird Motor Coach (BMC) which while returning to Yuma, I had a battery Fire which totally shut down the BMC in Wikieup, AZ, 221 miles from my place in Yuma… Coach-Net, would only pay for 60 miles to a repair facility in Kingman, AZ, being fulltimer I did not want to go to Kingman, so I had to pay the difference to Yuma, which I don’t know if this was exorbitant, but I had to pay $1575.00 at the time of towing it, but I was reimbursed by my Ins. Co. Hope this gives you a working example of coach towing pricing…
Please explain what you mean by six figures? $100,000??? Doesn’t sound accurate.
Hi, Steve. Here’s a link to the article where it says “six figures”. And, yes, I believe you’re correct in what that means, i.e., $100,000. Have a good afternoon. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
We have a low railroad bridge that gets struck by trucks on a regular basis. Depending on the type and amount of freight that gets scattered along the road and how difficult the recovery is, the recovery and clean up costs have been known to exceed six figures.