24/7 towing and roadside help
Towing in Milwaukee, WI: Tow Truck Help at Every Interchange
Stuck in Milwaukee? 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 Milwaukee. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner in the Milwaukee area does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price. Not in Milwaukee? Find a tow truck near you.
Tow truck help in Milwaukee
Towing in Milwaukee Starts With the Interchange Names
Milwaukee's freeways carry roughly a quarter of all the driving in Wisconsin. Four big interchanges tie them together. If you break down, naming the closest one is a quick way to tell us where you are. We lock your price by text, then a vetted local partner takes the job.
Marquette Interchange
Downtown, where I-94 and I-43 meet and I-794 heads east toward the lake. If you stall on a ramp, stay buckled in with hazards on. Call 911 first if you're in a live lane, then call us for the tow.
Zoo Interchange
On the west side, at the north end of the I-894 bypass. Tell us which direction you were headed and which ramp you took.
Mitchell Interchange
On the south side. I-94 and I-894 meet here, and I-41 turns west toward the Hale Interchange.
Hale Interchange
Where I-43, I-894 and I-41 meet. South of it, I-43 becomes the Rock Freeway toward Beloit.
The Hoan Bridge
I-794 runs east from the Marquette, then turns south over the harbor on the Hoan toward Bay View and the airport. There's no good place to wait outside a car on a bridge. Stay in yours.
Freeway nicknames
North-South, East-West, Airport, Lake and Zoo
Milwaukee's freeways have names as well as numbers. Here's how they match up:
- North-South Freeway. I-94 from Seven Mile Road up to the Marquette, then I-43 north of downtown toward Port Washington.
- East-West Freeway. I-94 from downtown west toward Wisconsin 16.
- Airport Freeway. The stretch where I-43, I-894 and I-41 share the road over to I-94.
- Lake Freeway. I-794 and the Lake Parkway past the Hoan Bridge.
- Zoo Freeway. I-41, US 41 and US 45 north from the Hale Interchange.
Off the freeway, Blue Mound Road and Wisconsin Avenue carry US 18 west toward Waukesha. A dead battery at a light there is usually a jump start, not a tow.
Reading Milwaukee addresses
North-south streets have numbers. East-west streets have names. The Menomonee River splits north from south. 1st Street splits east from west north of Oklahoma Avenue, and Chase and Howell Avenues do it farther south. A numbered street plus a named cross street pins you down fast.
Lake Michigan winters
Snow, Deep Cold and the Lake
NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for Mitchell International show about 49 inches of snow a year, with about 15 inches in January. The high stays at or below freezing on about 50 days a year. On about 7 nights, it drops to zero or colder.
The lake shapes all of this. In winter it takes some of the edge off cold snaps near the shore. Away from the shore and the city center, nights can be much colder. On Cold Sunday in January 1982, the airport hit 26 below, while suburbs about 10 miles north hit 40 below.
That's why a car that started fine in Bay View may not start in a lot out in Brown Deer. Deep cold drains batteries. If yours clicks and won't turn over, ask for a jump first. If you slid off an icy ramp and the car isn't damaged, a winch-out may be all you need.
Check 511WI for crashes and closures before a winter drive.
Areas We Cover Around Milwaukee
Call from any Milwaukee neighborhood or the suburbs around it:
- Juneautown, Yankee Hill and the Lower East Side
- The Historic Third Ward and Walker's Point
- Bay View, Mitchell Street and Layton Park
- Riverwest, Harambee and Sherman Park
- Washington Heights, Story Hill and the Menomonee Valley
- Clarke Square and Granville
- Wauwatosa, West Allis and Greenfield
- Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Glendale and Brown Deer
- St. Francis, Cudahy, South Milwaukee, Oak Creek and Franklin
You get the driver's name, photo and truck by text before they arrive. You can track your truck on a map, and we check on you until it pulls up.
Wisconsin protects your stopped car
Wisconsin's move-over law covers a disabled car with its hazards on, flares out, or people standing by it, if it's within 12 feet of the road. It also covers tow trucks with flashing red lamps. Drivers must move out of the next lane if they safely can, or slow down until they're past. If a violation damages property or hurts someone, the court must suspend the driver's license.
Read section 346.072 on the Wisconsin Legislature site. And see how we look after you in the Stay-With-You Promise.
Questions
Milwaukee Towing Questions
I'm stuck near the Marquette Interchange. What should I tell you?
Which freeway you're on, which way you were headed and whether you're on a ramp. Stay in the car with hazards on. If you're in a live lane, call 911 first.
Can you tow me from Wauwatosa or West Allis to a shop in the city?
Yes, if a partner can make the trip. Tell us the shop when you call. Your price comes by text, and it's the most you pay for that job.
My car won't start at Mitchell International. Can you jump it?
Usually, yes. Tell us which lot or level you're on and any height limit at the entrance. A jump pack is small, so the truck may not need to reach your car.
I locked my keys in the car in the Third Ward. Is that a tow?
No. That's a lockout. A partner comes to get you back in, and the price comes by text first.
Roadside help in Milwaukee, WI
Tow Truck and Roadside Services in Milwaukee
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network for Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee 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
Milwaukee roadside guides
Milwaukee, WI
Stuck in Milwaukee? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.