In the Southwestern United States there are some unique geographical features that affect the towing industry. In desert areas there are arroyos in abundance. Arroyo is Spanish for ‘wash’ a dry creek, stream bed or gulch created by rain and flood runoff. The challenging desert terrain draws the off-road sports driver with an irresistible urge to travel across wide open spaces. The challenging terrain features (there is a reason Baja is challenging and popular) offer a rich and varied off-road experience. Such traveling over these terrain features added stress to the vehicle and sometimes component failure. Break-downs and retrieval are multiplied by difficult terrain. At times like this you need a towing company that offers winching services. This is accomplished by the traditional ‘hook’, or wrecker.

How to Use a Winch to Recover a Vehicle

Equipped with an A-frame boom and winch these trucks are uniquely equipped to recover vehicles from rough terrain. The winch can retrieve vehicles from deep gulches or arroyos. Some time two trucks are used to stabilize the winching vehicle extracting the vehicle, as the other is attached to the winching wrecker to prevent is from rolling into the trench. Off-road vehicle recover is not a common service. The recovery vehicle must be rough-terrain capable to reach the recovery site.

How to Respond & Survive when Your Vehicle has Stalled in the Desert

The problem with desert breakdowns is the survival aspect. Most off roaders carry emergency water, but the casual off-roader may not be so prepared. An extended wait for recovery of a broken off-road rig, becomes a survival issue. Even in the cool but dry winters dehydration can become an issue. Another phenomena encountered in off-road conditions is the abandoned stolen vehicle, many of which end up in an arroyo. The rough and remote topography in the southwest create the ideal ‘ditch site’ for stolen vehicles. Many stolen vehicles are recovered from sites and usually by off-roaders. The areas are to remote and vast to afford easy patrolling by law enforcement. Vehicle recovery may only amount to a burned out hulk, as post-theft arson is common.

Towing, Roadside Assistance & More in Addison, Balch Springs, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Cockrell Hill, Combine, Coppell, DeSoto, Farmers Branch, Ferris, Garland, Glenn Heights, Grapevine, Highland Park, Hutchins, Lancaster, Lewisville, Ovilla, Richardson, Rowlett, Sachse, Seagoville, Sunnyvale, University Park, Wilmer, Wylie, Duncanville, Grand Prairie, Arlington, Irving, Mesquite & Greater Dallas, Texas

Winching services as provided by Citywide Towing is not a common service, as the tow vehicles are put at some risk due to the terrain. But in many cases is the only means for remote recovery of the ‘ditched’ stolen vehicle and/or the broken off-roader. Contact us for all your towing and roadside assistance needs!