24/7 towing and roadside help
Towing in Anchorage, Alaska: Tow Trucks, Jump Starts and Winch-Outs
Stuck in Anchorage? Call 1-888-TOW-1213. We lock your price by text, send the nearest available partner tow company and check on you until help arrives.
If anyone is hurt or you're stopped in a live lane, call 911 first.
- Check-ins until help arrives
- Driver card and truck tracking
- Price locked by text
- Photo-protected tow
How it works in Anchorage. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner in the Anchorage area does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price. Not in Anchorage? Find a tow truck near you.
Towing in Anchorage
Stuck on the Glenn, the Seward or a Side Street in the Bowl?
Most of Anchorage funnels onto two roads. The Glenn Highway runs northeast past Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to Eagle River, Chugiak and the Mat-Su. For most of the state, it's the only road into town. The Seward Highway runs south as a freeway past Tudor, Dowling, Abbott and De Armoun, then narrows to follow Turnagain Arm toward Girdwood.
That's where trouble tends to start. A car that won't restart after a stop at a Turnagain Arm pullout. A spinout on the Glenn near the Eagle River exits. A dead battery in a Midtown lot after a long, cold shift. A slow slide into the ditch on Minnesota Drive or O'Malley Road.
Tell us where you are and what the car is doing. We text you a locked price, then send the nearest available partner. A no-start in the cold is often a jump start. A car nosed into a snowbank is a winch-out. If it can't drive, it's a tow to your home or a shop you pick.
Cold, dark and moose
What an Anchorage Winter Does to Your Car
Winter days here are short, and the city is often cloudy. So most breakdowns happen in the dark, in the cold, with snow on the ground. A few habits make the wait safer and the fix faster.
- If the engine only clicks, stop cranking. A cold battery gets weaker with every try. Call, and let a partner jump it while there's still a little charge left.
- Clear the tailpipe before you idle for heat. Snow packed around the exhaust can push fumes into the car. If you can't clear it, shut the engine off and bundle up.
- Leave your hazards on and stay buckled. On the Glenn or the Seward, the car is the safest place to wait unless you can get well away from traffic.
- Hit a moose? Call 911 first if anyone is hurt. Moose are a common sight in Anchorage and a real hazard on the road. Don't walk up to an injured animal. Call us for the tow once everyone is safe.
- Tell us about the snow. Is the car in a berm, a ditch or a drift? How deep? It tells your driver which truck and gear to bring.
Want to see where your driver is while you sit in a cold car? You can track your truck on a map from the text we send.
Areas we cover around Anchorage
Where a Partner Can Reach You, and Where It Gets Harder
The Municipality of Anchorage is huge. It stretches from Eklutna in the north to Girdwood and Portage in the south. Calls from these areas are the core of what we cover:
- Downtown, Government Hill and Fairview
- Mountain View, Muldoon and the east side of the Bowl
- Spenard, Midtown and the Turnagain neighborhood
- South Anchorage along the Seward Highway freeway and Old Seward
- Eagle River and Chugiak off the Glenn
Past that, we'll be straight with you. A breakdown along Turnagain Arm, in Girdwood, or up the Glenn and Parks highways in Wasilla or Palmer depends on whether a partner can get to you that day. We check before we quote. If no one can reach you, we tell you on the call, before anything is booked. We also do local tows only, so we can't haul a car to the Kenai or up to Fairbanks.
Alaska law on the shoulder
Alaska's Move-Over Law Protects Your Tow Driver
Under Alaska Statute 28.35.185, drivers coming up on a tow truck that's picking up a vehicle with its lights flashing must leave the lane closest to it when there are two or more lanes going their way. On a two-lane road, they have to slow to a safe speed for the traffic, road and weather.
That rule covers your driver while they hook up your car. It doesn't make the shoulder safe for you. Stay in the car with your belt on, or get well off the road. Before you head out in bad weather, check Alaska 511, run by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, for closures on the Glenn and the Seward.
Anchorage questions
Towing Questions From Anchorage Drivers
My car sat outside all night and won't start. Is a jump enough?
Often, yes. If it starts, let it run and drive it somewhere warm. If the battery is old or the car dies again soon, it likely needs a new battery. We'll text you a tow price first, and you decide.
Can you tow my car from Anchorage to Wasilla or Palmer?
We handle local tows. Whether a Mat-Su trip works depends on the partner near you and how far the car has to go. Ask on the call. We'll tell you yes or no before anything is booked.
I hit a moose on the Glenn. What do I do?
Call 911 first if anyone is hurt. Stay away from the animal. Then call us. Before your car is hooked up, the driver photographs all 4 sides, and we text you the photos for your insurance claim.
The plow buried my car in a berm. Can you pull it out?
Usually. A winch-out works when the truck can park on packed ground and reach the car. Tell us how deep the berm is and which side of the street you're on. That's part of the Stay-With-You Promise too: we check on you by text while you wait.
Roadside help in Anchorage, AK
Tow Truck and Roadside Services in Anchorage
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network for Anchorage drivers. Tell us what happened, and we send a vetted local towing company near you with a truck suited to the job: a tow truck for a car that can't be driven (a flatbed where the vehicle needs one, like many all-wheel-drive cars), or a service truck for a jump start, lockout, flat tire, fuel delivery or winch-out.
Car towing
Cars, SUVs, minivans and light pickups. Price locked by text, photos before hookup.
Car towing
Jump starts
Clicks, dim dash lights or nothing at all? A dead battery jump, day or night.
Jump starts
Car lockouts
Keys locked inside, on the seat or in the trunk. A partner works to get you back in without damage.
Car lockouts
Flat tire changes
Got a spare but no safe way to put it on? A partner swaps it for you.
Flat tire changes
Fuel delivery
Ran out of gas? Enough fuel to get you to the nearest station.
Fuel delivery
Winch-outs
Stuck in snow, mud or a shallow ditch near the road? A partner can usually pull you out.
Winch-outsThe Sentinel Stay-With-You Promise
Seven Promises on Every Anchorage Call
Read the fine print on the promise page.
We stay with you. From your call until the truck arrives, we check on you by text.
See your driver before they arrive. You get their name, photo and truck by text, and you can track your truck on a map.
Your family knows too. Give us one number, and we text them your location and arrival time.
Photo-protected tow. Before hookup, your driver photographs all 4 sides of your vehicle. We text you the photos.
Price locked by text. You get your price by text before we dispatch. That price is the most you pay for the job. If the job changes, we text a new price first and you decide.
Never stranded after. Ride along in the truck when it's safe and allowed, or we help you get a ride. We also point you to a good repair shop.
Free Sentinel Circle. After your first job, your vehicle is on file. Next time, just text "TOW" for priority dispatch.
How it works
From Your Call to Your Driver
- 01You call
Our 24/7 line answers
Call 1-888-TOW-1213. Tell us where you are, what you drive and what went wrong.
- 02We lock it in
Your price, by text
We text your price before anyone is sent. That's the most you'll pay for the job you described.
- 03A partner accepts
The nearest truck takes it
The nearest available partner tow company accepts your job. They're vetted for insurance and licensing.
- 04You see who's coming
Driver card and tracking
You get your driver's name, photo and truck, plus a link to track your truck. We check in until they arrive.
Nearby cities
Anchorage roadside guides
Anchorage, AK
Stuck in Anchorage? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.