24 hour towing in East Orange, NJ: the questions, answered the way our dispatcher would answer them

Yes, a real dispatcher, every night including holidays. (908) 666-3168 rings the same desk that assigns the trucks. A good part of our East Orange work arrives after 10 p.m., from the hospital lots, the station lots at Brick Church and Main Street, and I-280, and it is handled exactly like a daytime call.

From the yard it is about 22 minutes up the Parkway to Exit 145 and onto I-280. At night a truck is often already working elsewhere in Essex County, so the dispatcher gives you a window based on the closest truck, not the yard. The I-280 corridor and Brick Church tend to be quickest; the north end near Glen Ridge can take a little longer.

$149 for dispatch and hook-up when you call, $129 if you book online. The mileage to wherever the car is going is stated before a truck leaves. Jump starts, tire changes, lockouts and fuel drops are one flat price each, and the prices page shows everything.

No. There is no night rate, no weekend rate and no holiday rate. A call at 2 a.m. on New Year's Day gets the same booking fee and the same per-mile rate as a Tuesday lunchtime call.

Yes. Tell the dispatcher which lot and which exit you will wait by, and if there is a security booth, let them know a tow truck is on the way. Most of these calls are batteries, and a jump costs less than a tow.

We come to the Tremont Avenue area and the surrounding streets at any hour. On federal property, check with the VA police or security first so they can admit the truck; once they do, the job runs like any other lot call.

Stay near the car if the lot feels safe, or wait on Halsted Street where it is lit, and call. Tell the dispatcher which lot and which row. The driver tries a jump first, and if the battery is finished he quotes the tow right there.

Yes, I-280 is a direct dispatch for us. Get the car as far right as you can, hazards on, get out on the side away from traffic and stand behind the barrier. Tell us the direction and the last ramp you passed, Oraton Parkway, Harrison Street or Clinton Street.

On the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway the shoulder itself is served by the Turnpike Authority's authorized garages; book with us anyway, and once the authorized truck has the car off the highway we take it from the exit or the garage's lot to the shop or driveway you choose, at the same flat quoted price. City streets and I-280 in East Orange get a direct dispatch with no middle step.

Wherever you tell us: your mechanic on Central Avenue, a body shop in Bloomfield or Newark, a dealer, or your own driveway in Ampere. We do not steer cars to a yard that charges by the day, and a car delivered straight to your destination is never billed storage.

Yes. All-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive vehicles should ride on a flatbed with all four wheels off the ground, or the drivetrain can be damaged. Tell the dispatcher and a flatbed is sent.

Yes, on a flatbed. Most EVs and many hybrids should not be towed with drive wheels on the road. Tell us the make and model and whether it will go into neutral.

Almost never. A lockout is one flat price, and the driver opens the door with non-marring tools, so the glass and the weatherstrip stay intact. If the keys are lost rather than locked inside, we can tow to a dealer or a locksmith.

Yes, if you have a usable spare. The driver mounts it at the curb for one flat price. No spare, or two flats, and we tow to the tire shop you choose at the regular tow rate.

Usually. Street parking in East Orange is tight on the apartment blocks, but a wheel-lift can pull a car out of a space that a flatbed cannot reach, and dollies or skates can move a car sideways if it is boxed in.

No membership, no plan, nothing to sign up for. If you do have roadside coverage, pay us and send the itemized receipt to your plan for reimbursement.

Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, Apple Pay, Google Pay or cash, paid at the drop-off. Businesses can open a fleet account on net terms and get one monthly invoice.

Yes, one or two passengers can ride in the cab, and there is no charge for it. Let the dispatcher know how many people are with you when you call.

Yes. Medium and heavy-duty trucks run from the same Linden yard as the flatbeds. Box trucks on Dodd Street, vans on Springdale Avenue and buses anywhere in town are quoted on one call with one invoice.

Yes, by $20. Booking online takes the fee from $149 to $129. If you are on a shoulder or in a dark lot, call instead, because speed counts for more than the savings.

Yes. Trips into any town that borders East Orange are ordinary local tows, the booking fee plus mileage, quoted up front. Longer trips to the shore or out of state are quoted the same way, with tolls included.