The Job Hits Your Phone. You Decide If You Roll.
When the AI books a tow, the driver web app and SMS carry the full job — vehicle, pin, quote, notes. Accept or decline by tap or text. Update the ETA before you take it. SMS and app summaries are on Starter at $99/mo.
What the Driver App and Dispatch Alerts Are
A tow truck dispatch app only matters if it fires while your hands are on a winch. Tow Deputy’s Driver App & Live Analytics is a web app that installs on any iPhone — no App Store — plus push and SMS job alerts with full details. You accept or decline by tap or text reply. You can change the quote or pickup ETA before you accept. Every call is recorded and transcribed. The dashboard shows calls, tows booked, and quoted revenue.
That is the loop Anthony G. at Gorillas Towing described as a one-man shop, and the intake Eric A. at Ayalas Towing said feeds closest-driver routing across 14 trucks.
“I'm a one-man operation. I drive the truck. When I'm winching a car out of a ditch or strapping a vehicle down, I can't answer the phone if a call comes in. Before Tow Deputy, those calls just went to voicemail and I'd lose the job. Now the AI picks up, gets all the details, and texts me the summary. I just glance at my phone and decide if I can take it.”
— Anthony G., Owner-Operator, Gorillas Towing · +12 jobs/week
“We run 14 trucks across three counties. We used to need two full-time dispatchers around the clock. Tow Deputy handles the intake perfectly — vehicle type, drivetrain, exact location, the whole nine. The structured data feeds right into our routing, so we always send the closest available driver. We cut our dispatch overhead by 90% and our average response time dropped by 8 minutes.”
— Eric A., Operations Manager, Ayalas Towing · −90% dispatch overhead
SMS and app summaries are on Starter ($99/mo) and Growth ($199/mo), with night-time alerts and multi-language. There is no free plan. Both include a 14-day free trial. According to TheKeyBot, 85% of emergency callers will not leave a voicemail. The text has to land before they dial the next listing. Operators report a local job around $150 and about 30% more calls serviced per shift when intake is structured.
How It Works
- The AI towing dispatcher finishes intake, quotes from your card, and creates a job (or escalates, or ends the call).
- Push and SMS go out with vehicle, drivetrain, pickup, drop-off, quoted total, and notes. Location Intelligence is why the pin is a pin.
- The driver accepts or declines by tap or text. They can edit quote or ETA first if the scene does not match the card.
- You review recordings and transcripts later. The dashboard tallies calls, booked tows, and quoted revenue.
- You still type the job into Towbook, Omadi, or your board. Handoff is SMS + dashboard. Native sync is not built yet.
Worked Example (Sample Alert)
Example only. 1:12 AM. Inner-zone lockout declined earlier; this one is a booked 12-mile night ditch on the sample card ($100 zone hook-up, $3.50/mi, $25 night, $50 ditch, $40 luxury) = $257. Owner-operator is mid-strap on another car. Night rule: wake on booked jobs over $200.
| Alert field | Example contents |
|---|---|
| Channel | SMS + push + owner wake call |
| Vehicle | 2021 luxury sedan, 2WD, keys, ditch, not blocking |
| Pickup | Resolved lot / landmark, 12 mi from yard |
| Quote | $257.00 (example stack) |
| Actions | Accept / decline by tap or text; optional ETA edit |
Anthony G. glances and takes it or lets it go. Eric A.’s shop uses that same structured row to pick the closest of 14 trucks. The software does not magically know GPS on every wrecker unless you run that elsewhere; it gives you the intake a dispatcher used to type while the caller waited. Closest-available is your routing rule applied to a complete ticket.
If the driver needs a flatbed and the quote assumed a wheel-lift, they update the quote before accept instead of arguing at the scene. That is the “update quotes or pickup ETAs before accepting” control. It is not a license to invent a new rate card on every call — it is a correction when the intake missed a drivetrain.
Settings You Control
- Who gets the alertOwner, on-call driver, or both
- SMS and pushFull job details on both channels
- Accept / declineTap in the web app or reply to the text
- Quote / ETA editsBefore accept, not after you are already rolling blind
- RecordingsEvery call recorded and transcribed
- DashboardCalls, tows booked, quoted revenue
- Night overlapWake rules for the owner vs. silent SMS to the truck
What It Does Not Do
This is not a full fleet AVL map, turn-by-turn navigation product, or payroll system. It does not auto-assign trucks by live GPS unless you do that in your own process after you read the ticket. It does not replace Towbook or Omadi. Tow Deputy works alongside them via SMS and dashboard handoff; you enter the job manually. Native two-way sync is on the roadmap and is not built yet.
It will not accept a job for you while the phone is in the door pocket. Decline and no-reply still need a human backup — another driver or a morning look at the dashboard. And it does not negotiate motor club. Those calls should have been transferred by the call menu before a driver alert ever fired.
Related Features
- Midnight call alerts that wake the owner only for real jobs
- Caller location capture that fills the pin on the alert
- AI towing dispatch from quote to driver handoff
- AI dispatch for small towing fleets
- All Tow Deputy features
Driver App FAQs
How do SMS dispatch alerts work with Tow Deputy?
When the AI books a tow, your phone gets the full job by SMS and a push on the driver web app: vehicle, location, quote, notes. Accept or decline by tap or by text reply. You can update the quote or pickup ETA before you accept. SMS and app summaries are on Starter at $99/mo, not a Growth-only extra.
Do drivers have to download an app from the App Store?
No. The driver web app installs on any iPhone without the App Store. That matters when you add a weekend driver who will not sit through an IT setup. They still get SMS if push is off. Android users are not blocked from the text path — the published install note is iPhone, no store.
Does this replace Towbook or Omadi for dispatch?
No. Tow Deputy works alongside Towbook, Omadi, and any dispatch software via SMS and dashboard handoff. You enter the job manually. Native two-way sync is on the roadmap and is not built yet. Use this for the phone-to-driver alert. Keep your existing board for the rest of the shift.
Can I review the call before I accept the job?
Every call is recorded and transcribed. The live dashboard shows calls, tows booked, and quoted revenue. You can update quotes or pickup ETAs before accepting. That is how a one-truck operator glances at a text while strapping and decides, and how a fleet manager checks why a driver declined.
Are driver alerts on the $99 Starter plan?
Yes. SMS and app dispatch summaries are on Starter ($99/mo, 290 calls) and Growth ($199/mo, 590 calls), with night-time alerts and multi-language. Smart Deposits start at Growth. There is no free plan. Starter and Growth include a 14-day free trial. Extra calls are $0.30 each or $30 per 100.
Get the Job as a Text, Not a Voicemail
Start a 14-day free trial and put the web app on your phone, or call the demo and book a test tow.