24 hour towing in Edison, NJ: the questions, with the answers the night dispatcher gives

A person. The overnight dispatcher sits at a screen with the trucks on it and answers (908) 666-3168 the same way the day shift does. A big share of Edison's calls land between eleven at night and six in the morning, from the station lots, the JFK garage, Raritan Center's docks and the Route 1 jughandles, and none of them are treated as an interruption.

The yard is in Linden, about twenty minutes up Route 1 or three Turnpike exits north, and a truck is often already working the Route 1 corridor. Menlo Park and the mall are quickest; Raritan Center and the river side of Piscatawaytown take a few minutes longer. The dispatcher gives you a window from where the closest truck is at that moment rather than a figure off a card.

Booking by phone is $149, which pays for the truck coming to you and the hook-up; the same job booked online is $129. The miles to the address you give are read out before the truck leaves. Jumps, tire changes, lockouts and fuel runs are each a single flat charge, and the receipt carries no line for the hour, the weekend or the holiday. Full detail is on the prices page.

Give the lot and row, and say whether you are at the car or still crossing the overpass. The rows along Central Avenue are long and the far ends are dark, so the driver calls when he turns in and you flash the hazards. Most of these are batteries that gave up during a week by the tracks, and a jump for one flat price is the whole visit. When the battery refuses the charge, the same driver prices the tow on the spot.

Yes. The deck has a height bar a rollback cannot clear, so the driver walks the car down to the surface on dollies or a wheel-lift and loads it in the open. Give dispatch the entrance you used, the store you parked nearest and the level. After the mall closes the ring road is quiet and the truck reaches you fast.

Every week, and usually around the eleven o'clock and seven o'clock turnovers. Give the dispatcher the deck and level, and the driver checks in with security before coming up. Batteries and lockouts make up most hospital calls, so the roadside price is tried first; when it has to go, the car is taken to the shop you name, not a yard.

On the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway the shoulder itself is served by the Turnpike Authority's authorized garages; book with us anyway, and once the authorized truck has the car off the highway we take it from the exit or the garage's lot to the shop or driveway you choose, at the same flat quoted price. Everything off the Turnpike, I-287, Route 1, Route 27, Woodbridge Avenue and the township streets, is direct dispatch.

Yes, in both directions, at any hour. I-287 is not the Turnpike, so no authorized-garage rule applies. Say which direction you were headed, the last ramp you passed (Woodbridge Avenue, Durham Avenue or New Durham Road), and whether you have left the mainline for a ramp yet. Get behind the barrier while you wait; the shoulder is narrow in places.

No, because there is no lot. Every tow ends where you tell us: a mechanic, a body shop, a dealer's service lane or your driveway. A car taken straight to your own destination has no storage line and no release fee on its receipt; a daily rate exists only if you ask us to hold a vehicle, and it is stated before we agree.

Yes, anyone can dial and nothing has to be shown. If you do have a plan or towing coverage, calling us directly and submitting the itemized receipt afterward is often quicker after midnight than waiting for the plan to locate a contractor willing to drive to Edison.

A rollback, with the car fully on the deck and strapped at the tires. Mention the drivetrain when you call so the right truck leaves Linden the first time; a wheel-lift is cheaper to run and fine for a front-wheel-drive commuter, but it would drag any of those three.

Yes. Skates or a wheel-lift walk the car out of the space and onto the side street, where it is loaded. Give the cross street and the side of Oak Tree Road so the driver enters from the right end of the block.

You tell dispatch the building number and the gate, and either someone meets the truck or the guard booth has instructions. Vans, sprinters and straight trucks ride a medium-duty unit; a tractor and trailer is a heavy-duty call, and both leave the same Linden yard.

Yes, one or two riders in the cab at no charge. A bigger group should say so on the call and dispatch will sort out a plan; nobody is left standing in a dark lot.

Yes. Straight trucks, sprinters, yard tractors and buses across Raritan Center, Talmadge Road and the Route 1 distribution buildings are handled by the medium and heavy-duty units kept at the same Linden yard. A fleet account brings a direct line, net terms and a single monthly invoice, and that line is answered at 4 a.m. like any other.

Almost always. Route 1 and the township are worked through the night and the yard is twenty minutes out. Give the dispatcher a cross street, lot, deck, gate or exit and you are told the closest truck's real arrival time, not a rough guess.

Leave the key out of the ignition. Call and say the words "in water" so a rollback is sent, and the driver will check the depth before backing toward the car. Water gets into connectors quickly, so the sooner it is on the deck, the more of the car survives.

No. The $149 booking fee, the $129 online fee, the mileage rate and the roadside prices are the same on Christmas night as on a Tuesday afternoon. There is no line on the receipt for the hour or the date.

Yes. Tell us the shop and how they want the keys handled, and the driver leaves the car at their gate or lot so it is first in line when they open. That is a common request at 1 a.m. on Route 1 and Amboy Avenue, where every garage is dark.

Any major card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or cash, paid to the driver at the curb no matter the hour. The receipt is itemized to match the quote, printed or emailed. Fleet accounts are billed monthly on net terms.

Yes. Woodbridge, Metuchen, Piscataway, Highland Park, New Brunswick, East Brunswick, Sayreville and South Plainfield all reach the same dispatcher and the same $149 booking fee. A tow from Edison to any of them, or back, is an ordinary local job. The service area page has the map.