How Much Weight Can A Tow Truck Lift? Can It Carry My Truck?

Whether you are looking for a towing service for your car that’s in perfect condition or a car that’s wrecked. You certainly wouldn’t want more damage to it. One way to do that is to figure out if the tow truck can really lift your vehicle.

Although figuring out which tow truck to use is usually done by the towing professionals, it’s perfectly normal to be curious about the capabilities of the tow trucks. We’ll shed a light on this by discussing with you the different types of tow trucks according to their capacity.

Towing companies may have multiple tow trucks and knowing which category they fall into would help you ease your mind about having them tow your vehicle. The three main types of tow trucks are classified as light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty tow trucks.

Light-duty Tow Trucks

These types of tow trucks are also classified as Class A tow trucks. They would include the rollback or conventional wreckers. They usually have a weight rating of 5tons. These types of tow trucks are usually used for towing motorcycles, cars, and pickups.

Usually, they have cable systems and a winch that could tow vehicles from 7000 lbs up to 11,000 lbs of weight. The majority of the towing jobs could be successfully done using this type of tow truck. Their small size and easy maneuverability make them easy to drive anywhere.

Medium-duty Tow Trucks

Bigger jobs will also require bigger tow trucks and those fall under this type. These are also known as class B tow trucks. These have a higher average gross vehicle weight that reaches 11 tons. They are usually used to carry cargo containers, heavy machinery, farm equipment, and multiple vehicles. They are capable of handling 7000 lbs up to 17000 lbs while towing.

Heavy-duty Tow Trucks

These are the biggest tow trucks and could handle the heaviest loads. The gross weight of such tow trucks would start at 23 tons. These are used when you need to handle loads that are greater than 17000 lbs.

These are available in a flatbed form and could be used to tow huge vehicles like excavators that weigh 25-tons. They are used not only to transport heavy loads but specialized ones too, just like aircraft parts or irregular-shaped huge items.

Final Words

As you can see, there three different types of tow trucks according to their capacity. Cars are of the lighter load so the tow trucks that fall under category A could tow them without having any problems. However, you should still take note of what kind of tow truck would be used for your vehicle. Would you prefer a flatbed or would you be okay with either a wrecker or wheel-lift tow truck?


Need quick, 24/7 access to a reliable towing service for flatbed and wheel lift towing in Virginia Beach?  Look no further than Green Light Towing Service…

Green Light Towing Service

Green Light Towing Service is a fully insured and certified roadside service company covering Virginia Beach, VA and the surrounding communities. We operate on a 24/7 basis and take pride in our full suite of tow trucks and equipment to address your unique Road Service situation.

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