Reference
Towing & recovery glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms drivers, adjusters, and dispatchers actually use — from wheel-lift to Landoll to air-cushion recovery.
Quick answer
What do towing and mobile-repair industry terms actually mean?
This glossary decodes the equipment classes, DOT terms, recovery techniques, and pricing components used across Titan's dispatch — from GVWR and wheel-lift to Landoll, glad hand, and out-of-service. Skim it before you call (816) 888-8732 so you know exactly what to ask for.
- Wheel-lift
- A tow rig that lifts a vehicle by its drive wheels using a hydraulic yoke.
- Used for standard 2WD cars and light trucks. Cheaper and faster than a flatbed but not appropriate for AWD, 4x4, EV, or low-clearance vehicles because the drivetrain or bumper can be damaged in transit.
- Flatbed (rollback)
- A tow truck with a hydraulic bed that tilts and slides to load a vehicle fully off the ground.
- The safest option for AWD, 4x4, EV, luxury, low-clearance, and disabled vehicles. Standard equipment for Tesla, Rivian, and Ford Lightning tows.
- Heavy-duty wrecker
- A Class 7 or Class 8 tow truck rated to move semis, loaded trailers, RVs, and buses.
- GVW capacity generally 50,000 lbs+ on the boom, with underlifts, wheel grids, and dollies for tractors, trailers, and box trucks.
- Landoll
- A long, drop-deck trailer used to haul disabled semis and heavy equipment behind a tractor.
- Often used when a truck can't be flat-towed or when the destination is beyond typical wrecker range.
- Winch-out
- Pulling a stuck vehicle out of a ditch, mud, snow, or sand with a cable winch.
- Common winter and post-storm call. Priced by equipment, cable pulls, and scene time — not distance.
- Recovery
- Any tow scene requiring more than a straight hook-and-tow.
- Includes uprighting, load transfers, cargo removal, ditch pulls, rollovers, and jackknifed trailers. Billed by equipment on scene and time.
- Hook fee
- The base fee to dispatch a truck and connect the vehicle.
- Combined with a per-mile rate to make up a standard light-duty tow price. Some operators call this a 'call-out fee' or 'service call.'
- Per-mile / loaded mile
- The per-mile portion of a tow rate, charged after the vehicle is hooked.
- Kansas City metro light-duty rates generally run in the low double digits per loaded mile. Heavy-duty per-mile is higher and varies by wrecker class.
- GVW / GVWR
- Gross Vehicle Weight (Rating) — the max legal loaded weight of a vehicle.
- Determines which wrecker class is required. A loaded Class-8 tractor-trailer runs up to 80,000 lbs GVW.
- Kingpin
- The steel pin under the front of a trailer that locks into a tractor's fifth wheel.
- Damaged, worn, or seized kingpins are a common cause of trailer drops and require heavy recovery to safely re-couple.
- Fifth wheel
- The horseshoe-shaped plate on a tractor that couples to a trailer's kingpin.
- Air-slide, jaw wear, and grease issues here cause many roadside coupling failures.
- Air brakes
- The compressed-air braking system on semis and heavy trailers.
- Roadside air-system faults (leaks, glad hands, chambers, slack adjusters) are one of our top mobile repair calls.
- Glad hand
- The coupler that connects tractor and trailer air lines.
- Seal blowouts and mismatched red/blue couplings are quick roadside fixes when the driver has parts on hand — or when we bring them.
- 7-way (trailer plug)
- The 7-pin electrical connector between a tractor and a trailer for lights and ABS.
- Corroded pins and blown fuses in the 7-way are a top cause of trailer light-out DOT stops.
- DOT inspection / out-of-service
- A federal Department of Transportation roadside inspection that can pull a truck off the road until specific items are fixed.
- Out-of-service items (brakes, lights, tires, air leaks) often require mobile repair at the scale or shoulder to clear before the driver can continue.
- Dollies (tow dollies)
- Small trailers with two wheels used to lift a vehicle's drive axle for towing.
- Common on heavy recoveries where wheel-lift only clears the steer axle and the drive axle needs to be off the ground.
- Air-cushion recovery
- Using inflatable bags to right an overturned truck or trailer without damaging it.
- Standard on rollover scenes with intact loads. Slower than a straight-line wrecker pull but far less damage to freight and bodywork.
- Class 7 / Class 8 truck
- Federal truck weight classes: Class 7 is 26,001–33,000 lbs GVWR, Class 8 is 33,001 lbs+.
- Most tractor-trailers, dumps, and large box trucks are Class 8. Determines wrecker class required for towing.
- Motor club
- A dispatching network (AAA, Agero, Allstate, Urgent.ly) that routes roadside calls to local providers.
- Members give the club or policy number when calling; we bill through the club when eligible.
- Rotation call
- A tow dispatched by police from a rotating list of approved local operators.
- Standard for accident scenes with no owner-preferred provider.
- Impound / storage
- Secure lot where vehicles are held after accidents, seizures, or during investigations.
- We operate short- and long-term storage at our Liberty, MO facility for cars, trucks, semis, and trailers.