AI Dispatch for Small Towing Fleets That Cannot Staff 24/7
A 2–10 truck fleet needs the same intake on every call so the closest equipped driver can roll. Tow Deputy answers in under two seconds, structures the job, and alerts drivers by SMS and the web app. Growth at $199/mo is the usual fit. It does not replace Towbook.
What a small fleet actually needs from the phone
Small towing fleets lose money in two places: unanswered overflow, and sloppy intake that sends the wheel-lift to an AWD or the light-duty truck to a dump. You may have a daytime person. You probably do not have four dispatchers for true 24/7. According to Salary.com, a towing dispatcher averages about $48,447 a year. Two around-the-clock seats is real payroll. Tow Deputy is the phone layer: every call answered, same fields every time, driver alert fired.
TheKeyBot's 2026 research says 85% of emergency callers will not voicemail and they leave in about 90 seconds (missed-call study). Operators using Tow Deputy report about 30% more calls serviced per shift. Trusted by 100+ towing and roadside operators. This page is for 2–10 trucks. The only fleet quote we publish is larger than that, and we will not invent a five-truck shop to make the segment tidier.
“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, response time down 8 minutes
Ayalas is 14 trucks. A 2–10 truck shop uses the same structured intake so whoever is routing — you, a lead driver, or a daytime dispatcher — is not guessing from a voicemail. The closest equipped truck is a decision you make from complete fields, not a claim that Tow Deputy assigns GPS inside Towbook.
Closest-driver routing starts with the intake, not a map pin
Tow Deputy does not auto-assign a truck in Towbook today. What it does is finish the call: drivetrain, problem, keys, blocking a lane, a resolved address, the quote. That package is what lets you send the flatbed instead of the wrecker two miles closer. Drivers get push and SMS with accept/decline. Each driver installs the web app on an iPhone — no app store. They can update quote or ETA before they accept.
Run two rate cards if you do light-duty and heavy-duty. The Smart Pricing Engine and Zone-Based Pricing are per your dashboard: hook-up, zones, mileage, weight-class, night hours. A rotator job should not quote like a parking-lot hook. Teach the FAQs and the press-1-for-a-person path with call menu and routing so city-contract or police-rotation calls skip the AI.
A 6 PM overflow with two trucks already hooked
Daytime dispatcher just clocked out. Two trucks are loaded. The public line rings twice. Both callers get answered. One is a light-duty no-start two miles from the yard; one is a dually that needs the heavy truck. The SMS packets say drivetrain, weight class, and the quoted card — not “customer called, please call back.” You send the light-duty driver when they clear. You do not roll the rotator to the Civic. That is closest-equipped, done by a person with complete fields, in the two minutes you have between drops.
If you still run paper or a whiteboard next to Towbook, the dashboard recording is how you catch a driver who accepted a job and then sat. Quoted revenue on the screen is not cash in the bank; it is the number the caller heard. Compare it to tickets in the morning. That is the small-fleet use of Live Analytics — not a vanity chart.
Growth is the fleet plan
Growth is $199/mo, 590 calls, Smart Deposits, everything in Starter, 14-day free trial. Deposits go to your Stripe account on the call — the no-show killer when you have two trucks already out. Starter at $99/mo is built for single operators and will feel tight once several drivers are taking alerts. Extra calls $0.30 or $30 per 100. Lead Engine at $3,000/mo is a separate marketing experiment, not a fleet default. See pricing.
The dashboard is how a small fleet stays honest after the night: calls, tows booked, quoted revenue, recordings, transcripts. Night-Time Alerts still let the owner sleep while the on-call driver takes the wake-up. Spanish-speaking callers get automatic Spanish — bilingual answering — which matters if you cover more than one county.
Alongside Towbook and Omadi, not instead of them
Tow Deputy works alongside Towbook, Omadi, and any dispatch software today via SMS and dashboard handoff. The operator enters the job manually. Native two-way sync is on the roadmap and is not built yet. Keep the board your drivers already live in. Read Towbook AI dispatch and Omadi AI dispatch. Do not plan a cutover that assumes the call creates the ticket.
Human answering services still win on motor-club negotiation. Distressed and complex recoveries still escalate. The AI towing dispatch pillar is the full quote-and-book story. One-truck shops should use owner-operators instead of this page. After-hours-only fleets: after-hours answering. Compare live services on Tow Deputy vs answering services.
Call (615) 205-9369 and run a heavy-duty vs light-duty story. Then decide whether Growth’s deposits are the next seat you were about to hire.
Small towing fleet FAQs
Is Tow Deputy for small fleets or only one-truck shops?
Both. Starter is built for single operators. Growth at $199/mo is the usual 2–10 truck fit: more calls, Smart Deposits, the same driver app on every phone. Ayalas Towing published a 14-truck result. We do not invent a five-truck case study. The intake and alerts are the same product.
Does it send the closest driver automatically?
It gives you structured intake — vehicle, drivetrain, exact location — so you or your dispatcher can send the closest equipped truck. It does not write the assignment into Towbook or Omadi today. Drivers get SMS and push; they accept or decline. You still own the board.
Can every driver use the app?
Yes. The driver web app installs on any iPhone, no app store. Each driver gets job details by push and SMS, can accept or decline, and can update quote or ETA before they take it. Night-Time Alerts can wake only the on-call truck instead of the whole roster.
Can I run heavy-duty and light-duty prices?
Yes. The Smart Pricing Engine supports vehicle type and weight-class surcharges, plus separate roadside rates. Zone-based hook-ups stack on top. Edit it in the dashboard. A rotator should not quote like a parking-lot hook, and the caller should hear the right number before you roll.
Will it replace our Towbook or Omadi setup?
No. Tow Deputy answers the phone. You enter the job in Towbook or Omadi from the SMS or dashboard. Native two-way sync is on the roadmap and is not built yet. Keep the software your drivers already know. The phone layer is what most 2–10 truck shops are missing at night.
What should a small fleet budget?
Growth is $199/mo with 590 calls, Smart Deposits, and a 14-day free trial. Extra calls are $0.30 each. A dispatcher seat averages about $48,447 a year per Salary.com. Most fleets this size cannot staff 24/7 and should compare Growth to nights of missed calls, not to “free.”
Give every driver the same finished intake
Start Growth at $199/mo with a 14-day free trial, or call the live demo and run a two-truck scenario.