24/7 towing and roadside help
Towing and Tow Truck Help in Lincoln, NE
Stuck in Lincoln? 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 Lincoln. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner in the Lincoln area does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price. Not in Lincoln? Find a tow truck near you.
Tow truck help in Lincoln
Towing in Lincoln, From I-80 to the South Side
Unlike most large Nebraska cities, Lincoln isn't on the Platte or the Missouri River. It grew up on flat ground by Salt Creek and has spread into the rolling hills around it. The roads to know:
- I-80. It touches Lincoln at seven interchanges. On the shoulder, stay in the car and note the exit you just passed or the next one ahead.
- I-180. Lincoln's second Interstate. Say which direction you were headed and the nearest exit.
- US 6, US 34 and US 77. These U.S. highways serve the city too. Give us the nearest cross street.
- Nebraska 2. Its eastern stretch is a main truck route toward Kansas City, so expect heavy trucks. Wait inside the car, belted in.
Tell us where you are and what happened. We text your price first. Then a vetted local partner heads out, with a tow, a jump or whatever the job needs.
Not sure it needs a tow?
Not every breakdown does. A car that clicks and won't turn over in a Havelock driveway needs a jump start. Keys locked inside at a store lot call for a lockout visit. Tell us the signs, and we'll send the right help.
Nebraska law
On I-80, Nebraska Makes Drivers Move Over for You
Some move-over laws only protect emergency and work vehicles. Nebraska's goes further on controlled-access highways like I-80 and I-180. It covers any stopped vehicle on the same side of the road, as long as someone is in it or near it.
- With two or more lanes going their way, drivers must move at least one lane over from you.
- If they can't, they must slow down to a safe speed as they pass.
- The rule doesn't apply to an empty car with no one around.
That's one more reason to stay with your car on the interstate, inside and belted in. State law requires signs about this rule along controlled-access highways. You can read the law, section 60-6,378, on the Nebraska Legislature site.
Great Plains weather
Hard Cold, Hot Summers and Big Swings
Lincoln sits far from any mountains or big lakes, so nothing takes the edge off the weather. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Lincoln airport tell the story. January lows average about 14 degrees. About 10 nights a year fall to zero or below, and about 143 drop to freezing. In February 2021, it hit 31 below.
That kind of cold kills batteries. If your car won't start on a subzero morning, call for a jump before you call for a tow.
Snow is lighter than you might think, about 26 inches in a normal year. It swings a lot, though. One winter brought 7.2 inches and another 55.5. Blizzards are possible. If you slide into a ditch off US 77 and aren't hurt, a winch-out is often all it takes.
Then summer flips it. The airport averages about 42 days of 90 degrees or more. Watch your temperature gauge in stop-and-go traffic.
Storm season
Tornadoes have hit Lincoln itself, in western Lincoln in 2019 and the northeast side in 2024. Severe hail and wind storms have grown more common. When a warning is out, get to shelter first. Call us after it passes.
Road and weather closures: Nebraska 511.
Areas We Cover Around Lincoln
Several Lincoln neighborhoods started out as their own towns before the city took them in. Call from any of them, or from the towns around Lincoln:
- Downtown and the historic districts around it
- Havelock and University Place
- Bethany and Belmont
- College View and the newer south side
- West Lincoln
- Waverly and Malcolm
- Hickman, Firth and Roca
- Bennet and Denton
- Raymond, Seward and Milford
Before your driver pulls up, you'll know their name, photo and truck. You can track your truck on the map as it comes, and we check in until it's there. It's all part of the Stay-With-You Promise.
Questions
Lincoln Towing Questions
Should I wait in my car or outside it on I-80?
In the car, with your belt on and hazards going. If you smell smoke, get out and walk well away from traffic. If you're stuck in a live lane, call 911 first. Nebraska law makes passing drivers move over when someone is with a stopped car, but inside is still the safest place to wait.
It's below zero and my car is dead. Can you help?
Yes. Deep cold is hard on batteries. A partner can bring a jump pack. If the car still won't start, we text a new price for a tow and you decide.
Can you tow me from Waverly or Hickman into Lincoln?
Yes, if a partner can make the trip. Name the shop when you call, and the price you get by text covers the whole trip.
Can my family know where I am?
Give us one number. We text them your location and when the truck should get there.
Roadside help in Lincoln, NE
Tow Truck and Roadside Services in Lincoln
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network for Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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
Lincoln roadside guides
Lincoln, NE
Stuck in Lincoln? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.