Twelve services, one number, 24 hours

Towing & Roadside Services in Portage, MI

Everything from a flat battery in a parking lot to a Class 8 tractor unit off the shoulder of I-94. If you are not sure which one you need, call and describe it — we will tell you.

☎ Call (269) 350-8697

Where to start

You Do Not Need to Diagnose It Yourself

Most people calling a tow company have never had to before, and the honest truth is that picking the right service off a list is our job, not yours. Describe what happened in plain words — “it will not start,” “I slid off into a ditch,” “my keys are on the seat” — and we will work out which truck and which equipment to send.

Quite often the answer is not a tow. A jump start, a few gallons of gas or a door opened on the spot costs less and takes less time than loading your vehicle onto a deck and hauling it somewhere. We would rather do the smaller job and have you call us again than upsell you into a tow you did not need.

Where a tow genuinely is required, the choice between a flatbed and a wheel-lift comes down to your drivetrain, the ground clearance and the distance. That is a mechanical decision with a right answer, and getting it wrong can cost you a transfer case months later — so we make it based on the vehicle, not on which truck happens to be closer.

Every service below runs 24 hours a day across Portage and roughly 20 miles out. Prices are agreed on in US dollars on the phone before anything is dispatched, and because we own no repair shop, wherever your vehicle ends up is entirely your choice.

Quick triage

It will not startStart with a jump start. If the battery tests fine, the problem is elsewhere and it becomes a tow.

There has been a crashAccident towing. Check everyone first, then tell us whether it still rolls and steers.

Keys are insideLockout service. Usually open in minutes, no tow and no damage.

Off the road or stuckWinch-out recovery. If nothing is broken you drive away afterward.

All-wheel drive or electricFlatbed, every time. Never a wheel-lift without dollies.

Over 26,000 lbsHeavy-duty. Tell us the weight and whether it is loaded when you call.

All twelve, all hours

What We Do

Emergency Towing

Stopped somewhere you cannot stay, at an hour when most numbers go unanswered. A live person, a real ETA, and an honest answer about where you sit in the queue.

Accident Towing

Collision recovery for vehicles that no longer roll or steer. Dollies, winch and flatbed, taken to the body shop you choose rather than one we profit from.

Flatbed Towing

All four wheels off the ground on a tilting deck. The required method for all-wheel drive, electric vehicles, lowered cars, anything with a damaged wheel, and every long-distance move.

Wheel-Lift Towing

Faster to hook and cheaper than a flatbed for standard front- or rear-drive cars on short local moves. Narrow enough for apartment parking decks and boxed-in spaces.

EV Towing

Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, flatbed only. Dead 12-volt batteries, cars that will not enter transport mode, and vehicles that ran out of charge short of a plug.

Heavy-Duty Towing

Class 7 and Class 8 — tractor units, loaded trailers, box trucks, buses and RVs. Includes load transfers carried out on the scene rather than moving a compromised trailer.

Winch-Out & Recovery

Ditches, snowbanks, soft shoulders and mud. Your vehicle is usually undamaged — it simply cannot get out. Often you drive away and there is no tow at all.

Car Lockout Service

Air wedge and long-reach tools, not slim jims or coat hangers. Modern door wiring and side airbags make the old methods genuinely expensive to get wrong.

Jump Start & Battery

Our busiest call every January. We test the battery on the spot so you know whether you have a dead cell or a deeper problem — though we do not sell batteries.

Fuel Delivery

Two or three gallons of gas or diesel brought to you — enough to reach a station comfortably. Put the wrong fuel in? Do not start the engine, and call us.

Long-Distance Towing

Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis and beyond, including out-of-state. Always on a flatbed, always quoted individually, and better booked ahead than dispatched on the spot.

Motorcycle Towing

Front wheel into a chock, strapped down properly on the deck. There is no shortcut method for a bike, and the wrong straps bend forks and crack fairings.

Common around here

The Calls Portage Actually Makes

January battery failures

A Michigan cold snap finds every marginal battery in the county at once. If yours is over four years old, the first genuinely cold morning is when you will find out.

Winter ditch recoveries

Black ice on the county roads out toward Vicksburg and Richland puts cars in ditches every season. Most are undamaged and drive away after a winch-out.

I-94 breakdowns

The corridor runs straight past Portage and generates a steady stream of shoulder calls — blowouts, overheating and collisions, at every hour of the night.

Parking deck lockouts

The apartment complexes off Romence Road and around Lake Center. Low clearance rules out a flatbed, so the wheel-lift does the work if a tow is needed.

Crossroads Mall and Westnedge lots

Retail parking generates jump starts, lockouts and short hops to a shop a few miles away — the least dramatic calls we take, and among the most frequent.

Commercial vehicle downtime

A truck stopped on US-131 is costing somebody money every minute. Heavy-duty calls get the weight and load details taken up front so the right unit rolls first time.

Straight answers

Questions About Our Services

I do not know which service I need. What do I do?

Just call and describe what happened. You do not need to know the difference between a wheel-lift and a rollback — that is what we are for. Tell us what the vehicle is doing, where it is and what you were doing when it stopped, and we will name the service, the truck and the price.

Is every one of these available at night and on holidays?

Yes. All twelve run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays. The one practical difference overnight is that if a truck is already committed to a recovery, the wait can be longer — you will be told that on the call rather than discovering it an hour later.

What is the difference between emergency towing and accident towing?

Whether anything hit anything. Emergency towing is about speed and availability — your car has stopped, you are somewhere you cannot stay, and the clock matters. Accident towing is about damage: a vehicle that may not roll or steer, usually with a police report, an insurer and a body shop attached to it. They need different equipment on scene and they lead to very different days afterward, which is why they are separate pages rather than one.

What if the problem turns out to be different once you arrive?

It happens regularly — a jump start reveals a failed alternator, or a car described as being in a driveway is actually halfway into a flowerbed. The operator stops, explains what the situation really is, and tells you what it changes about the job and the price before doing any further work. Nothing gets escalated quietly.

Can you do two things on the same visit?

Usually, and it is normally cheaper than two separate service calls. A winch-out followed by a tow is the common pairing — we pull the vehicle back onto solid ground, and if it turns out not to be drivable it goes straight onto the truck. Mention both possibilities on the phone so the right equipment comes out the first time.

My vehicle is electric. Does that change anything?

It changes the truck, and there is a whole page on it. Nearly every EV manufacturer specifies flatbed only, because rolling wheels turn the drive motor and can feed current back through the system. The other thing worth knowing is that most EVs that strand people have a dead 12-volt battery rather than a flat traction battery, which stops the car entering the transport mode a winch needs. Tell us the make and model when you call.

Can I claim this back on insurance or a motor club?

That depends entirely on your policy or membership, and it is between you and them rather than something we can promise. What we can do is give you an itemized receipt showing the service, the distance and the date, which is what reimbursement claims normally require. Be aware that some motor clubs will only pay when you use a provider from their own network — worth checking before you call anybody.

Do you handle bikes and semis with the same equipment?

No, and that is the point of having both. A motorcycle needs a flatbed with a wheel chock and soft straps; a Class 8 tractor unit needs a heavy wrecker rated for the weight. They are different trucks with different operators’ tickets behind them. Telling us what the vehicle actually is on the phone is what stops the wrong one being sent.

Will you take my vehicle to any shop I choose?

Yes, and we have no preference at all. We do not own a repair shop and we take no referral fee from anybody, so we make exactly the same money regardless of the destination. Your regular mechanic, a dealer, a body shop or your own driveway — name it when you call, because the distance is what sets the price.

More About Us

Service Area

Portage, Kalamazoo County and roughly 20 miles out — plus the I-94 and US-131 corridors.

About Us

Independent since 2018, no repair shop, and the same two people on the phone at any hour.

Contact

One number, answered 24 hours, plus what to have ready before you dial.

Describe It and We Will Sort It

You do not have to know which service to ask for. That is our job — tell us what happened.

☎ Call (269) 350-8697

Portage Tow Truck
Portage, MI 49002 & 49024
Phone: (269) 350-8697
Email: info@portagetowtruck.com
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week