D&J Towing provides semi truck towing for tractor-trailers across the Denver metro, up the I-70 mountain grades and along I-25, 24 hours a day. Bobtail tractors, empty trailers, loaded units and jackknifed rigs all start with one call.
A semi is a tractor and a trailer that may or may not travel together after a breakdown. How the unit is set up, and what it is carrying, decides the plan before a hook goes on. It is a branch of our heavy-duty towing work, with its own set of questions.
A tractor running without a trailer is the simplest semi tow, but it is still a heavy truck with air brakes and a long driveline. It goes on a heavy-duty wrecker, and the driveline and brakes are handled before it rolls.
An empty trailer is light for its size and catches the wind. On open stretches of I-25 and on exposed mountain shoulders, a crosswind can push an empty box around, so the hookup and the route both account for it.
Weight decides most of the plan. A loaded unit may be towed as one combination, or the trailer may be dropped and moved on its own. If freight has shifted or spilled, offloading can come first so nothing moves with an unstable load.
When the tractor and trailer fold or leave the pavement, the job becomes recovery before it becomes a tow. The unit is winched, straightened or uprighted first. Crash scenes are covered on our accident recovery page.
How much does it cost to tow a semi truck? It depends on the call. No single number covers every rig. Set the details below to see which factors are in play on yours, then call for the actual quote.
This is a guide to the factors, not a quote. Dispatch quotes your call once they hear the details.
Get a quote: (303) 674-0198The order matters on a heavy truck. Here is how the work goes on a typical tractor-trailer call, and what dispatch will ask the driver or the fleet office so the right truck heads out.
Dispatch gets the location, the unit, the load and how it sits. Those answers decide which truck and which gear roll.
The operator sets up a safe work area. On I-70 or I-25 that can mean working with law enforcement already on scene.
A truck in the ditch, jackknifed or on its side is winched, straightened or uprighted onto its wheels before any tow.
Semi spring brakes lock without air pressure, so the brakes are released before the truck moves. The driveline is usually disconnected so the transmission is not damaged on the way.
The unit goes where you and your company direct: a shop, a dealer or a terminal.
The driver's hours-of-service clock keeps running while the truck sits, so tell dispatch if the driver will need to leave the unit.
Our yard sits in Evergreen, a short drive from I-70 in the foothills west of Denver. That puts us close to the grades where loaded trucks struggle, and within reach of the Denver metro docks, truck stops and yards where a unit breaks down on the way in or out.
North of Denver, I-25 carries freight to Cheyenne and Wheatland, where our Wyoming heavy-duty work is centered. A breakdown in either state reaches the same dispatch at the same number.
Long climbs heat brakes and strain engines on loaded trucks, and shoulders narrow on the curves. Snow and ice make a stalled unit harder to reach and harder to move.
Golden, Wheat Ridge, Littleton and the rest of the west metro: tight loading docks, truck stops and city streets where placing a heavy wrecker takes care.
Open country, strong crosswinds and winter closures. Empty trailers are the most exposed, and help can be far apart.
Curves, grades and stretches with hardly a shoulder through Conifer and Bailey.
D&J's team includes WreckMaster and I-TECC certified professionals. Both are towing and recovery training programs, and that training matters most when a loaded unit has to be uprighted or pulled out of a ditch.
D&J is a member of the Towing and Recovery Association of America and the Towing and Recovery Professionals of Colorado, and we run under USDOT number 699796. Fleet offices and insurance adjusters can check that number before the truck ever arrives.
On the day, expect a call back from dispatch, an operator who walks the scene before hooking up, and a clear plan for where the truck is going. Carriers that run these lanes often can set up an account ahead of time through our fleet towing service, so drivers know exactly who to call.
Need an answer about a unit that is down right now? Skip the reading and call (303) 674-0198. Dispatch answers 24 hours a day.
It depends on the call. The biggest factors are the distance from hookup to drop, whether the trailer is loaded, how the truck sits, any freight that has to come off, the location and traffic, and the time and weather. Call dispatch with those details for a quote.
Yes. We tow tractor-trailers loaded or empty, and bobtail tractors too. If freight has shifted or has to come off before the unit can move, offloading is part of the services we provide.
Yes. Our Colorado service area runs about 50 miles from our yard in Evergreen, which takes in the Denver metro, I-70 into the mountains and US 285. We also run heavy-duty calls in southeastern Wyoming along I-25.
Yes. We provide fleet support for commercial accounts. Call (303) 674-0198 to talk through your units, your lanes and how you want billing handled.
Get the truck as far from the travel lanes as it safely can go, turn on the hazard lights, set out the reflective warning triangles, and stay clear of traffic. If anyone is hurt or the truck blocks a lane, call 911 first.
Give dispatch the location, the unit and the load, and we will tell you what it takes to move it. One number covers the Denver metro, the I-70 grades, US 285 and the Wyoming I-25 corridor, day or night. Need something other than a semi? See all of our towing and recovery services.
