24/7 towing and roadside help
Towing and Roadside Help in Kelowna, BC
Stuck in Kelowna? 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 Kelowna. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner in the Kelowna area does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price. Not in Kelowna? Find a tow truck near you.
Kelowna tow truck help
Towing in Kelowna: Harvey Avenue, the Bridge and the Connector
Kelowna runs on two highways. Highway 97 comes across Okanagan Lake and becomes Harvey Avenue through the middle of town. Highway 33 leaves Harvey and climbs east toward Big White. Add the Okanagan Connector on the west side of the lake, and you have the main roads in and out.
Stalled on Harvey Avenue
Central City is a long commercial strip along Harvey, from downtown out to the Highway 33 junction. If your car dies at a light near Orchard Park, don't try to push it across lanes. Hazards on, stay in your seat, and call. A tow clears the lane and gets you to a shop.
Stuck near the William R. Bennett Bridge
The Bennett Bridge is a floating bridge that carries 97 between downtown Kelowna and West Kelowna. Traffic backs up there often, especially southbound toward West Kelowna. The busiest part of all of Highway 97 is in West Kelowna. If you break down on the bridge deck, stay inside with your belt on. Tell us which direction you were heading and how far across you got.
Trouble on the Okanagan Connector
Highway 97C leaves 97 at the Drought Hill interchange near Peachland and climbs to Pennask Summit, 1,728 m above sea level. The freeway part has very few exits. That means a flat tire or an overheated engine can leave you a long way from the next ramp. If you have a good spare and a safe shoulder, a flat tire change may be all you need. If not, it's a tow.
Up Highway 33 to Big White
Highway 33 is the main road to Big White Ski Resort, near the top of the pass above Kelowna, and on through Beaverdell to Rock Creek. On a ski day, a car that won't start in the resort lot may just need a jump start. A car that slid into the ditch on the way down is a winch-out, if it isn't damaged.
Okanagan weather
Mild Winters, Hot Summers and Fire Season
By Canadian standards, Kelowna winters are gentle. Environment Canada's 1981 to 2010 normals for Kelowna International Airport put the average January high just above freezing and the low near minus 6 C, with about 89 cm of snow a year. The catch is the mountains around the valley. Drive up to the Connector summit or Big White, and winter gets a lot more serious.
- Winter tires. B.C. enforces winter tire and chain signs on signed routes from October 1 to April 30. Drivers without the right tires can be turned around and fined. Check DriveBC before you head up to the summit.
- Gray valley days. In December and January, a low layer of cloud often sits over the valley for days. Headlights on, even at noon.
- Summer heat. The same normals show about 26 days a year above 30 C, and the city hit a record 45.7 C on June 29, 2021. Heat drains weak batteries and pushes cooling systems hard.
When smoke fills the valley
Kelowna has lived through big fire years. In August 2003, a nearby fire forced about 30,000 residents out. In August 2023, embers from the McDougall Creek fire crossed the lake into Kelowna. During an alert, keep your tank half full. If your car won't start and you need to leave, call. We'll text your family where you are.
Areas We Cover Around Kelowna
From the lakeshore to the hills, call from:
- Downtown and Central City along Harvey
- Midtown and the Orchard Park area
- Rutland
- Glenmore, Wilden and Dilworth Mountain
- Lower Mission, near Gyro and Rotary Beaches
- Upper Mission
- The airport, north of the city core, and UBC Okanagan
- West Kelowna and Peachland, across the bridge
- Lake Country: Winfield and Oyama
- Joe Rich and Big White
Pass the tow truck the B.C. way
Every vehicle stopped roadside with flashing red, blue or yellow lights gets the same space in B.C., tow trucks included. Drop to 70 km/h in an 80 km/h or faster zone, or 40 km/h in a slower zone, and move over a lane on multi-lane roads when it's safe. The rule is posted on gov.bc.ca.
Kelowna Towing Questions
I locked my keys in my car at UBC Okanagan. Can you help?
Yes. That's a car lockout. Tell us which lot you're in. You'll get the price by text, then your driver's name and photo, so you know who to look for.
Can you tow my car from West Kelowna to a shop in Kelowna?
Yes. Tell us where the car is and which shop you want. We text you a locked price for the whole trip, bridge and all, before anyone is sent.
My car overheated on the Connector. Should I keep driving to the next exit?
No. Exits are far apart, and driving hot can wreck an engine. Pull fully onto the shoulder, turn it off and call. We'll check on you by text until the truck reaches you.
Is Sentinel based in Kelowna?
Sentinel is a network, not a local tow company. A vetted partner in the Kelowna area does the work, and we hold them to the price you were texted. That's the Stay-With-You Promise.
Roadside help in Kelowna, BC
Tow Truck and Roadside Services in Kelowna
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network for Kelowna 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 Kelowna 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
Kelowna roadside guides
Kelowna, BC
Stuck in Kelowna? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.