Towing in Hixson, TN

North-of-the-river coverage

Hixson sits on the north shore, so plenty of trips between here and a shop in town cross the Tennessee River. Requests from Hixson, Middle Valley and the 153 corridor are handled like every other request on this site, as north-of-the-river tow calls read within a day and passed to one independent local tow company. That company sets any timing, so if the river crossing matters to your plans, raise it on the callback along with the price.

Lake season is trailer season

Hixson's slice of Chickamauga Lake — Chester Frost, the marina coves, every informal ramp off Hixson Pike — generates the north shore's signature calls: tow vehicles that die at the ramp with the boat still on the trailer, trailer bearings that give up on the way home, and the occasional truck that followed its trailer a little too far down a wet ramp. That last one is winch-out work, it's time-sensitive, and no, you're not the first. A good recovery rigs for the trailer situation as a whole, not just the truck.

The dam, the bridge and Highway 153

Highway 153 crosses the Tennessee River on the bridge over Chickamauga Dam, so a stall or a crash on that span touches everyone moving between Hixson and the rest of the city. TDOT's HELP trucks patrol SR-153 from the I-75 junction to Hixson Pike, part of a free service the state runs seven days a week on Chattanooga's busiest roads. Nobody can phone a HELP truck to their location; operators stop for stalled drivers as they patrol. TDOT's SmartWay site lists traffic cameras on 153 just north and just south of the dam, worth a look before you pick a route home. For a tow off the bridge approaches, name your direction of travel and the last exit you passed, which saves a round of questions on the callback.

A lake that drops every winter

Chickamauga Lake is a TVA reservoir, and its level moves through the year. TVA fills the lake for the summer season, lowers it once summer is over, and holds it lower through the winter. So the spot where a ramp meets the water shifts down the concrete as the season turns, and a ramp that was easy in July can catch you out in January. Walk the bottom of the ramp before backing a trailer down in the off season, and if the truck has already gone too far, leave it in park with the brake set and send the request with the ramp name. Trying to drive out against a trailer that is still sliding tends to make things worse; a winch line run from dry ground is the gentler fix.

Chester Frost Park, the county side of the shore

Chester Frost Park in Hixson is a Hamilton County park on the shore of Chickamauga Lake, and its grounds take in Dallas Hill, where the county kept its first seat. Its public boat ramp makes it one of the north shore spots where tow vehicles and loaded trailers meet the water. Naming the park and the ramp in a request is quicker than describing every road that led there, and it tells the tow company from the start that a trailer may be part of the job.

North shore jobs, by type

• Tows — Northgate-area no-starts, Hixson Pike breakdowns, transport to your mechanic on either side of the river
• Roadside — batteries, lockouts, tire changes; big-box parking lots are the north shore's jump-start capital
• Recoveries — ditch pulls on the winding lake roads and Middle Valley's shoulders
• Junk cars — free removal, cash paid, from Hixson's established neighborhoods

For the glovebox and the boat bag — the callback form is read and passed on within a day.