An AI Dispatcher for the Owner-Operator Who Is Also the Driver
If you run one truck, you are the dispatcher. You cannot answer while you are winching, strapping, or under a car. Tow Deputy picks up in under two seconds, texts you a finished summary, and you decide whether to take it. Starter is $99/mo with a 14-day free trial.
The one-truck problem is the phone, not the software
A one-truck owner-operator does not need a dispatch office. You need the line answered while both hands are on a winch. Voicemail does not do that. According to TheKeyBot's 2026 research, 85% of emergency callers will not leave a message and they call the next listing in about 90 seconds. That is the call you just lost because you were tightening a strap. Tow Deputy’s published average local job is about $150. Starter is $99.
“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
What the SMS summary actually gives you
When the call ends you get a text and an app alert: vehicle, drivetrain, problem, keys, a real pickup (or a geo-form link if the landmark failed), the quoted price, and whether they accepted. You glance. You take it, you hold it until you clear, or you let it go. That is the whole loop. You are not listening to a three-minute voicemail on speaker while a cop waits.
The driver web app is the same phone you already carry. It installs on any iPhone — no app store. Accept or decline by tap or text. Update the quote or ETA before you commit. Every call is recorded if you want to hear why a shopper hung up. Night-Time Alerts let you sleep through FAQs and wake for a confirmed hook. See driver app and dispatch alerts and midnight call alerts.
Starter is the plan for a single operator
Starter is $99/mo, 290 calls, SMS and app summaries, Night-Time Alerts, multi-language support, FAQ handling, and a 14-day free trial. Extra calls are $0.30 or $30 per 100. No contract, no hardware, no unpaid plan. Smart Deposits — the SMS pay link into your own Stripe account — start on Growth at $199/mo. If long-distance no-shows are eating you, step up; if you just need the phone answered, stay on Starter. Cards are on Tow Deputy pricing.
According to Salary.com, a towing dispatcher averages about $48,447 a year. You are not hiring that. You are buying the phone half of that job for nights and mid-winch. The dispatcher guide is worth a skim so you know what you are not buying: club negotiation, police-rotation politics, a person to talk down a wreck.
Setup that fits a day you are already working
You do not port the number. You do not reprint door magnets. You forward after hours the first night, or you put the dedicated AI number on a Google listing you already wanted to test. On the setup call you paste the hook-up, the per-mile, the night window, and whether AWD needs a flatbed surcharge. The next morning you have transcripts. If a quote was wrong, you fix the card — you do not rewrite a script for a call-center bench that forgot drivetrain again.
While you are under a car at 4 PM, the second ring still answers. That is the Anthony G. problem in daylight, not only at midnight. You glance at the SMS, finish the strap, and decide. If you cannot take it, you have a priced record instead of a voicemail you will never return. Operators report about 30% more calls serviced per shift on Tow Deputy; on one truck that is “the one that used to die in your pocket.”
Keep your number. Live in a day.
Keep Your Number or Use Ours: forward always, after hours, or when you are already on a call — or start on a dedicated AI number and test it on real rings before you touch the Google listing. Nothing to port. Most operators are live in under 24 hours. Teach it your FAQs, your hook-up, your night hours. Automatic Spanish if that is your market — bilingual Spanish answering.
Towbook or a paper pad still gets the job typed in by you. Tow Deputy works alongside Towbook and Omadi today via SMS and dashboard handoff. Native two-way sync is on the roadmap and is not built yet. Read Towbook if that is your board. The full dispatch writeup is AI towing dispatch. If you add a second truck, switch to small fleets.
Call (615) 205-9369 from the yard and give it a ditch plus “I’m the only truck.” Then look at how the finished job summary would read on your lock screen while your hands are still dirty.
Owner-operator FAQs
Do I need a dispatcher if I only run one truck?
You already are the dispatcher. The question is who covers the phone while you winch, drive, or sleep. Tow Deputy is that cover at $99/mo on Starter, not a second salary. It texts a finished summary. You decide. It will not negotiate a motor club or talk down a wreck — those still come to you.
What does the text look like after a call?
You get the intake: vehicle, drivetrain, problem, keys, pickup, quoted price, and whether they accepted. If the landmark would not resolve, you get a geo-location form link. Glance at the lock screen and take it, hold it, or pass. Recordings and the dashboard are there if you want the tape.
Can I keep my existing business number?
Yes. Forward always, after hours, or on busy. Or start on a dedicated AI number and try it on live calls first. Nothing to port, no reprint, no Google listing change unless you want one. Most one-truck shops are live in under 24 hours.
Will it wake me all night?
Only for the job types you mark. Night-Time Alerts can call and text you for a confirmed hook and leave a price shopper on the dashboard until morning. That is the 12 AM–6 AM setup a lot of owner-operators want, and it is on Starter — you do not need Growth just to sleep.
Is Starter enough, or do I need Growth?
Starter is built for single operators: 290 calls, alerts, SMS summaries, $99/mo, 14-day trial. Move to Growth at $199/mo if you want Smart Deposits on the call. There is no unpaid plan. Extra calls are $0.30 each. Most one-truck shops start on Starter and stay there until no-shows hurt.
Does it type jobs into Towbook for me?
Not today. You get SMS and the dashboard, then you enter the job in Towbook, Omadi, or a pad. Native two-way sync is on the roadmap and is not built yet. For a one-truck shop that is usually one extra minute, not a second hire.
Take the call you used to lose mid-winch
Start Starter at $99/mo with a 14-day free trial, or call the live demo from the truck.