24/7 towing and roadside help
Tow Truck and Towing Help in Hamilton, Ontario
Stuck in Hamilton? 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 Hamilton. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner in the Hamilton area does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price. Not in Hamilton? Find a tow truck near you.
Hamilton tow truck help
A Tow Truck in Hamilton, Above or Below the Mountain
The Niagara Escarpment runs across the whole city and splits it into the upper city and the lower city. Locals call the top of it the Mountain. When you call for a tow truck in Hamilton, tell us which level you're on first.
- The Linc. The Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway crosses the Mountain from Highway 403 to the Red Hill, mostly in a cut below street level. The limit is 90 km/h. Interchanges include Mohawk Road and Golf Links, Garth, Upper James, Upper Wentworth by Lime Ridge Mall, Upper Gage, Dartnall and Mud Street.
- The Red Hill Valley Parkway. A 7 km, four-lane freeway at 80 km/h. It drops down the escarpment from Mud Street past Greenhill, King, Queenston and Barton to the QEW.
- Highway 403. Also called the Chedoke Expressway. It meets the Linc, then turns sharply east and descends the escarpment into a tight corridor in the lower city, before swinging around the harbor toward Burlington.
- The mountain accesses. The Jolley Cut, the Claremont Access, the Sherman Access and the Kenilworth Access climb the escarpment. The Sherman Access has reversible lanes and a sharp hairpin near the Jolley Cut and the Claremont. On ice, a car that loses grip on a climb is often a winch-out, not a tow.
Straight talk about the QEW
The QEW Through Hamilton Is a Restricted Tow Zone
Ontario runs 15 restricted tow zones on highways in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Two of them cover the QEW and the 403 in and around Hamilton:
- The QEW from the Highway 403 split in Burlington, over the Skyway, past Centennial Parkway and Fruitland Road, to Fifty Road.
- The QEW and 403 from Third Line to the 403 at Highway 6 North.
Inside those zones, only the tow company under contract with the province can move your car. That means we can't send a partner there, and neither can any other company. Here's what to do instead:
- In a live lane, or if anyone is hurt, call 911.
- Safe on the shoulder? Call 511 and choose the Tow Zone Program option.
- Stay in the car. The province says not to try a repair or change a flat on the highway.
- Once your car is off the zone, you get to choose the next company and where the car goes. That's when we can help.
The Linc and the Red Hill are city expressways and aren't on the zone list. Everywhere outside the zones, the province says to call a towing company directly, not 511. Read the tow zone program page for the map.
Broken Down on the Linc or the Red Hill? Stay Put
The City of Hamilton is blunt about this: walking on an expressway is illegal, and it puts lives at risk. Its advice if you break down on an expressway like the Linc or the Red Hill:
- Stay in your seat with the belt on and your hazards flashing.
- If the car still rolls, get it to the shoulder, away from curves and blind spots.
- Can't move it? Tie a white cloth to the door handle or antenna so passing drivers know you need help.
- If you have to get out, use the passenger side and never stand in front of or behind the car.
Then call, and we'll text you updates while you wait. The city's full list is on its expressway safety page.
Water on the Red Hill
The low end of the Red Hill, near the QEW, sits close to lake level and is prone to flooding. Thunderstorms closed parts of it at the QEW in July 2009 and at Barton Street in July 2010. Ontario's handbook says to avoid flooded roads, because water can stop your brakes from working. If your car stalled in water, ask for a tow.
Two climates in one city
More Snow Up Top, More Slush Down Below
The lower city is sheltered and milder. Winter days downtown often rise just above freezing, so snow turns to slush. Up on the Mountain, it's windier and the lake-effect snow comes in harder. The airport at Mount Hope, on the upper side, logs more snow than the built-up lower city.
About 157 cm of snow a year
That's at the airport, per Environment Canada's 1981 to 2010 normals. The city plows and salts main routes and escarpment accesses first, then collectors, then your street.
About 45 foggy days
Also measured at the airport. In fog, Ontario's handbook says to use low beams and follow the right edge of the road, not the center line.
About 9 days of freezing rain
The city warns that regular tires lose grip below 0 C, snow or not. Its winter kit list includes jumper cables. A cold morning that ends in a click is a jump start call.
About 29 thunderstorm days
Summer storms are what flooded the Red Hill.
Car Missing From a Hamilton Street?
The City tows cars parked against its by-laws, for example when one blocks a driveway or road work. If your car is gone and you think it was stolen, call Hamilton Police at 905-546-4925. City tows are released through the City's contracted yard, and police-ordered tows only by Hamilton Police. Don't wait on it. After 60 days, an unclaimed car becomes the property of the towing agency. The City explains the steps on its towing page.
Areas We Cover Around Hamilton
- Downtown, Beasley and the North End
- Westdale and Ainslie Wood, near McMaster
- Locke Street and the West End
- Crown Point, McQuesten and the East End
- The Mountain, east and west of Upper James
- Stoney Creek, Fruitland and Winona
- Ancaster and the Meadowlands
- Dundas
- Waterdown and the rest of Flamborough
- Binbrook and Mount Hope in Glanbrook
Hamilton Tow Truck Questions
Can you send a tow truck to the QEW near the Skyway?
No. That stretch is a restricted tow zone, and only the province's contracted company can tow there. Call 911 if you're in a live lane, or 511 if you're safe on the shoulder. Once the car is off the zone, call us for the next leg.
My car spun out climbing the Jolley Cut in snow. Now what?
Don't keep trying the climb. Hazards on, stay in the car, and call. If it's stuck but not damaged, a winch-out usually gets it moving. Tell us if you were going up or down, and the nearest street at the top or bottom.
Can you tow me from Stoney Creek to a shop on the Mountain?
Yes. The price is texted to you before we send the truck, and if the bill comes in higher, you still pay the texted price. You'll see your driver's name, photo and truck, and you can track your truck as it heads your way. It's part of the Stay-With-You Promise.
Roadside help in Hamilton, ON
Tow Truck and Roadside Services in Hamilton
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network for Hamilton 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 Hamilton 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
- Towing in Kitchener
- Towing in London
- Towing in Barrie
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- Towing in North Bay
- Towing in Sudbury
- All Ontario cities
- All cities
Hamilton roadside guides
Hamilton, ON
Stuck in Hamilton? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.