TOW RATE CALCULATOR

Price the call
from your own costs.

A rate that ignores the empty miles is a guess.

Enter a typical call and what it costs to run the truck. See the revenue that reaches your margin, and the hookup fee that gets you there at the per-mile charge you plan to bill.

Your numbers.

USD · US units

Example numbers—not industry averages or typical results. Replace them with your own.

01 The typical call

Loaded miles per call

Unbilled miles per call

Miles to the pickup and back that you do not bill.

Paid operator hours per call

Include travel, hookup, waiting and drop-off.

02 Running costs

Fuel economy (MPG)

Fuel price ($/gallon)

Use your own price. Zero is allowed for a what-if scenario.

Loaded labor cost ($/hour)

Include applicable payroll costs. Count each expense only once.

Maintenance allowance ($/mile)

Other costs per call ($)

Card fees, tolls, disposal and similar.

03 Monthly allocation

Monthly overhead ($)

Insurance, rent, dispatch and admin. Exclude truck payment and all wages, fuel, maintenance and other costs already entered per call.

Monthly truck payment ($)

Enter 0 if there is no payment. This is only a business cost assumption.

Calls per month

04 Your rate

Target operating cash margin (%)

Your charge per loaded mile ($)

What you plan to bill per loaded mile. The tool works out the hookup fee that reaches your target.

YOUR SCENARIO

The rate that covers it.

Hookup fee that reaches your target: $120.22
Revenue per call at your 25% target margin: $180.22
Mileage charge per call: $60.00
Modeled cash cost per call: $135.17
Running cost per call (before fixed costs): $76.83
Allocated overhead + truck payment per call: $58.33
Modeled cash cost per loaded mile: $9.01
Total miles per call: 30 mi

These are your own figures and your own rates, set independently. Rates for police-rotation, private-property and other non-consent tows may be capped where you work; this tool does not know those limits.

Calculations use unrounded inputs. Displayed results are rounded.

No sign-up. Inputs stay in browser memory and reset when you leave or reload. Downloads are copies you control.

How the numbers work.

Total miles = loaded miles + unbilled miles. Running cost per call = fuel (total miles ÷ MPG × fuel price) + labor (paid hours × loaded hourly cost) + maintenance (total miles × allowance per mile) + other per-call costs.

Allocated fixed costs = (monthly overhead + truck payment) ÷ calls per month. Modeled cash cost per call = running cost + allocated fixed costs. Overhead excludes everything already entered per call; count every expense once.

Revenue at your target = modeled cash cost ÷ (1 − target margin). Mileage charge = your charge per loaded mile × loaded miles. Hookup fee = revenue at your target − mileage charge. If the mileage charge alone is more than the target, the tool shows by how much instead.

The result is your own scenario, not a recommended or legal towing rate. Many states, counties and cities cap rates for police-rotation, private-property and other non-consent tows, and contracts can set them too. Set your rates independently: agreeing on rates with competing tow companies is illegal price-fixing. This model excludes depreciation, income tax and anything you have not entered.

Your entered assumptions

Loaded miles per call: 15
Unbilled miles per call: 15
Paid operator hours per call: 1.5
Fuel economy (MPG): 9
Fuel price ($/gallon): 4
Loaded labor cost ($/hour): 30
Maintenance allowance ($/mile): 0.35
Other costs per call ($): 8
Monthly overhead ($): 5000
Monthly truck payment ($): 2000
Calls per month: 120
Target operating cash margin (%): 25
Your charge per loaded mile ($): 4