And the tow bill was…..
$11,807.50.
Before this I would have been right there in the group voting $4,001 to $6,000. And that’s just because I remembered Greenhorn posting the tow bill from when he wrecked his pickup.
The big ticket items on the bill were the heavy wrecker at $430 per hour for 7.5 hours, the 2nd truck and trailer to haul it off was $225 per hour for 7.25 hours and the tracked skid steer they brought to push the debris onto the trailer was $325 per hour for the same 7.25 hours. Felt like I got stiffed a little on that one because it probably only ran for a couple hours but I got billed for it for the entire time even when it was sitting on the trailer not being used. They ended up with a 4th guy out there helping so that was another $140 per hour for the 7.25 hours.
Traffic control was another big ticket item. That was surprising to me. Before the tow company got there they had a fire truck just in case somehow all the gas leaking out caught on fire, the highway patrol, a sheriff deputy, and a tribal policeman. The wheels on the tow truck barely stopped turning and they all took off. I guess if something caught on fire it was up to the tow company to deal with it once they got there. The bill for that was $185 per hour for 7 hours.
We didn’t get back to Sheridan for a couple days to get our machines so that was $130 per day storage fees.
Last item was the disposal fee. They had zero interest in salvaging anything and every pound taken to the dump was extra so we found a couple old guys in Sheridan that took the wheels and tires and the propane tanks. The fuel station and generator were worth something but they weren’t interested in spending the time to salvage them out.
They estimated $2,000 for the disposal cost and were supposed to refund us if it was less than that so I’m guessing it wasn’t less.
They did let me put it on my credit card so I got a few airline miles out of that and they didn’t charge a processing fee.
They were decent guys. It was close to 100 degrees and talking with them when we went back to the yard to sort through the debris they talked about how it is just as dangerous being a tow truck driver as it is to be a policeman or a fireman.
Still doesn’t help the sting of the huge bill entirely though.
So my main intention for this post was to let people know what something like this costs. Even if you have a $10,000 trailer and feel fine self insuring it, the extra cost of towing it off and disposal could add some serious pain to the wallet. I’m not a fan of insurance but even if my replacement trailer is paid for with cash and within my risk tolerance for losing it I will probably go ahead and insure it. Another thing I was told was that even if my trailer was insured the toys inside it would not have been insured. They ended up fine but it is worth knowing.
I haul my tractor on my trailer a few times a year and it doesn’t sound like it would be insured either.
My policy says that if I was towing someone else’s trailer it would be covered, but then several pages later says the limit they would pay is $500. Not sure I know of many trailers that are worth less than $500.
I’m going to make one more attempt with my current insurance company if somehow the tow bill or some of our household goods that were lost might be covered under my homeowners policy but I’m not holding my breath.
They are covering the damage to the truck which according to their estimate is $1,993.
I’m most likely going to be shopping for insurance and will be paying closer attention to coverages.
