📊 How much do tow truck owners make?

This calculator determines if starting a tow truck business makes financial sense compared to your current job. You will project daily tow volume, operating margins, and equipment debt to estimate your net monthly cash flow. We then compare those projected earnings against your current salary to see if taking the leap is worth it.

As Nate Jones puts it, you can make $105,000 a year in this business not telling the actual tax benefits of having a truck. If you are stuck making $50,000 to $60,000 at a dead-end job, towing offers a realistic path to building business equity.

Estimate your daily volume and operating costs. As Nate Jones explains, an average tow is anywhere from $75 to $125. He also notes the average amount of tows that a tow truck can do in a day is between seven to ten.

Operating margins are highly favorable in this industry. As he states, if you are doing a daily revenue of $700 you are going to bring home $490 in profit. This equates to a 70% profit margin before debt service.

Acquiring your truck is the primary barrier to entry. As Nate Jones points out, if you were looking for a nice used tow truck it would be about $60,000. Financing this purchase requires significant upfront capital, because most commercial loans require about 25% down.

Your monthly loan payment directly reduces your net cash flow. However, as he notes, if you work five days a week that is 20 days a month you are going to cash flow $9,800 a month.