The most popular domestic and foreign tow trucks

As the popular song of the 80s says, “Day and night we crawl under the car, we serve it so that it drives.” Unfortunately, the harsh truth of life is this: even the most reliable car will someday let its owner down. And the latter will be very lucky, if not at the most inopportune moment for this. How to behave in such a situation?


A few decades ago, drivers in our country did not know what a tow truck was. Of course, this category of transport has existed for more than 100 years, and in other countries even then it was in the order of things to call an emergency gang if necessary. And how did our grandfathers and fathers behave? I think this moment is best played in the comedy "Beware of the car." Yes, I'm not afraid of tautology, but mutual assistance has always helped out!


But, times are changing and we all have become more prosperous, civilized and ... less friendly. Now it is not always possible to meet chauffeur mutual assistance, like the one that truckers have. Nothing can be done, the time of isolation is every man for himself. So, you can be sure that someday a tow truck will be able to help you and help out in an unforeseen situation. And if you decide to do such a business in the future, we will try to tell you something useful.

The difficult history of domestic tow trucks

Even today, some drivers are ready to rely on the mercy of their colleagues in the event of a breakdown along the way. They do not call a tow truck for the reason that they are not familiar with the specifics of the work of this service, and they are sure that it will cost a good penny (in general, they are partly right). But, it happens that no one wants to help, and being in a desert area is unsafe. Yes, and the weather can be quite unsuitable for an evening promenade. In this case, it is better not to be stingy and trust the professionals.

Usually, foreign cars are used for such work, but you can also recall some domestic-made cars. The first Russian tow truck appeared after 1992. Then, at the now defunct ZIL plant, the production of the first medium-duty commercial vehicle called "Bull" began.



The factory in Gorky followed the same path. The serial Gazelle was equipped with specialized add-ons, so that it was quite successfully able to fulfill the role of an evacuation transport. Another version of the tow truck was created on the basis of Valdai. They have several varieties:

✅ winches (equipped with movable or fixed platforms)
✅ bunk (for the evacuation of two affected cars at once)
✅ equipped with a crane-manipulator

Of course, they will not be able to provide assistance to the affected SUV or commercial vehicle. But, a broken car weighing two or three tons is quite on their shoulder. There is still debate whether our cars can provide quality service and safe transportation. Sometimes such fears are not unfounded. More often than not, the issue is competition. After all, calling such a special vehicle can be much cheaper. Some people think that a foreign car is more reliable. Therefore, foreign-made special vehicles are more common. Let's take a look at the most popular ones.

Tow trucks of foreign production

Factories in other countries, which have been closely involved in the production of specialized equipment for many decades, can offer a very wide selection of brands and models. They are divided into two main classes. The first is for the transportation of passenger vehicles (light, Russian models of tow trucks also belong to it). The second is for jeeps, minivans, minibuses and vans (medium, more powerful and expensive models of tow trucks).


Special vehicles of the first category are produced by such European companies as Citroen and Mercedes. Here, good maneuverability and a lower price of the car come to the fore. But, there are restrictions on carrying capacity. More powerful and, accordingly, expensive tow trucks are produced by Isuzu, Hyundai and Tata. In addition to greater load capacity, there is high reliability and safety. We will pay attention to individual models from these companies below, and now we will mention the specifics of the work of the tow truck itself.

It is worth mentioning separately that the tow truck must have certain features in order to adapt to the situation. For example, there was an accident and two cars were badly damaged at once. On the other hand, it may just be an elementary breakdown of a car on the way. Also of great importance are the parameters and weight of the affected vehicle. That is why tow trucks are divided into several categories.

Various types of tow trucks

Often, the services of a truck crane are needed to load a car onto a platform. To minimize costs and reduce the time of work, there are versions of tow trucks equipped with a crane. This hydraulic device will be simply an indispensable assistant in the case when we are dealing with a car unable to move independently (either due to an accident or in the event of steering jamming). This ability will also help in the case of transporting new cars with a blocked ignition or in a ditch after an accident. In principle, it can also be used as a small mobile crane in other situations.

Another option for working with emergency vehicles is to install a winch mechanism on the platform. It exists of three types:

✅ manual winch
✅ electric
✅ hydraulic

When the winch is connected, the emergency vehicle is pulled onto the platform along special guide rails. There is a weight limit of up to 7 tons, as well as the need for the wheels of the transported vehicle to retain the ability to rotate independently. There are also four types of platforms for tow trucks:

✅ sliding
✅ direct
✅ broken line
✅ with partial loading

In the first case, you can work with any tonnage, and the speed of loading with a winch noticeably accelerates. In the second - a light tow truck with a crane. Often these are used in megacities, when it is necessary to transport an offending car to a penalty area along busy streets. You must have seen this many times in the movies!


In the third, we are dealing with universal technology, which is quite common in Russia. There may be both a hydraulic manipulator and a winch at the same time. The latter, as you understand from the name, does not provide for a full download on the platform. It is usually used to transport heavy trucks, trailers to them or bulky special equipment.

The most famous models of imported tow trucks

Mercedes-Benz Renntransporter was created specifically for the transport of racing cars to the competition track. Due to the fact that time does not wait in this case, the car has excellent speed qualities for the mid-50s (approx. 160 km / h). The platform of the car was created by lengthening the frame of the "three hundredth" model.


One of the most popular tow truck models in our country is a car based on the Chevrolet Kodiak. It was produced for almost three decades (from 1980 to 2009). The basic model survived three generations.

If we return to light special equipment, then it is worth mentioning the Citroen Jumper, which is capable of transporting cars weighing less than 1,9 tons. It uses a 3-seater single-row or 7-seater double-row cab. In the second case, it is also possible to transport an emergency team.


The last in this row I will mention the Isuzu ELF 3.5 Long diesel tow truck. The car has a 3-liter, 124-horsepower engine and a 3-seater cab. To this we can add a manual transmission and an average fuel consumption of 12 l / 100 km. Of course, there are a huge number of other models of such special equipment. The main thing that we were able to understand today is that in the modern transport world you simply cannot do without a tow truck.