24/7 towing and roadside help
Tow Truck and Towing in Bakersfield, CA, Around the Clock
Stuck in Bakersfield? 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 Bakersfield. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner in the Bakersfield area does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price. Not in Bakersfield? Find a tow truck near you.
Towing in Bakersfield
Towing in Bakersfield, a Big City With No Interstate Running Through It
Bakersfield is one of the largest cities in the country without a direct interstate link. I-5 skirts past several miles to the west. So most trips, and most breakdowns, happen on the state routes and the long, straight city streets. Sound familiar?
- The engine quits on SR 99 in afternoon traffic, and the right lane is the only place to go.
- Your battery gives out in a lot off Rosedale Highway after the car baked all day.
- A tire blows on SR 58 heading east toward the Tehachapi grade.
- Fog rolls in on a January morning, and you can't see the car you just stopped behind.
Call, tell us where you are, and we text you a price that's locked before anyone rolls. Then the nearest available partner comes to you. It might be a tow to your shop, a spare put on so you can drive, or a jump start to get you home.
The roads we work
SR 99, SR 58, SR 178 and the Westside Parkway
SR 99 cuts Bakersfield in half from north to south. It's the main north-south freeway of the valley, so a stall there needs a quick call and a clear location. Give us the nearest exit and your direction.
SR 58 runs as a freeway east of SR 99 through the southeast side, then climbs over the Tehachapi Mountains toward Tehachapi and Mojave. SR 178 is a short freeway from near downtown to the northeast. There's no direct freeway link between SR 99 and SR 178, so tell us which surface street you took.
On the west side, the Westside Parkway runs along the Kern River and Stockdale Highway. Out in the northeast, the Alfred Harrell Highway heads up to Hart Park.
A word on the Grapevine
South of Wheeler Ridge, I-5 climbs through the Grapevine to the Tejon Pass. That stretch gets snow in winter. The California Highway Patrol usually closes it outright during storms.
If you're stuck in a closure, a tow truck can't drive in to you. Once the road opens, call. Whether a partner can reach you that far south depends on the day, and we'll tell you before we quote.
Bakersfield weather
Hot Summers, Foggy Winters
NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Bakersfield airport show about 100 days a year at 90°F or hotter, and about 24 days at 100 or above. That heat works on everything under the hood. Batteries weaken, coolant runs hot and worn tires give out. Check your tire pressure when it's cool in the morning, and keep water in the car.
Winter brings the other problem: tule fog. The dense valley fog usually shows up between November and March, and it can still be thick outside town on mornings when the city looks clear. It can come with drizzle that freezes into black ice. If you break down in it, get the car as far off the road as you can, leave your hazards on, and don't stand behind the car. A driver who can't see you can't stop for you.
Road closures and conditions are on Caltrans QuickMap.
California law
Your Hazard Lights Trigger California's Move-Over Law
California's move-over law, Vehicle Code 21809, isn't just for police cars and tow trucks. It also covers any stationary vehicle with flashing hazard lights, cones or flares out. Drivers coming up on you must move over a lane when it's safe and allowed, or slow down if they can't.
So the first thing to do when you stop is turn your hazards on. It makes the law work for you. Then call us from inside the car.
Areas we cover around Bakersfield
North, South, East and West Bakersfield
Locals split the city by direction, so we do too. We send partners to downtown and East Bakersfield, the Northeast up by the Panorama Bluffs, and the Northwest, Southwest and South sides. Around the edges, we cover Oildale, Rosedale, Greenacres, Lamont, Arvin and Shafter. Farther out toward Wheeler Ridge or the Tehachapi grade, it depends on partner reach that day.
Bakersfield questions
Bakersfield Towing Questions
My car overheated on SR 99. Should I keep driving to the next exit?
No. Pull over, turn it off and let it sit. Driving on a hot engine can do real damage. Call and ask for a tow. We'll text your price before a partner heads out.
Can you reach me if I'm stopped by a Grapevine closure?
Not inside the closure. No one gets in until the highway patrol opens the road. Once it's open, call. We'll check if a partner can reach you and tell you straight.
Do you tow cars from Oildale and Rosedale?
Yes. Both are part of the area we cover. Tell us the street and cross street, and whether the car is parked or in a lane.
How will I know which truck is mine?
Before your driver arrives, we text you their name, photo and truck, and you can track them on a map. It's all part of the Stay-With-You Promise.
Roadside help in Bakersfield, CA
Tow Truck and Roadside Services in Bakersfield
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network for Bakersfield 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 Bakersfield 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
Bakersfield roadside guides
Bakersfield, CA
Stuck in Bakersfield? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.