The towing industry, while a necessary public service, is not one that’s usually celebrated or discussed in-depth due to the unfortunate events that warrant the need for towing services in the first place. However, the towing industry has a rich, interesting story.

1.There is a Tow Truck Museum

The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum, more easily called the International Towing Museum, is a non-profit organization located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Established in 1995, this museum explores the origin and growth of the towing industry through its exhibition of pictographic historical information and all manner of towing equipment—from small tools to restored antique towing vehicles.

2.The First Tow Truck was Built in 1916

The first tow truck in history was a prototype built in 1916 by Sr. Ernest Holmes, a mechanic who sought to revolutionize the very concept of towing by replacing manpower with machine power. This aspiration was sparked after he and half a dozen other men were called to help pull a wrecked car from a creek—a feat that took eight hours to accomplish using blocks, ropes, and waning human strength. After that incident, Holmes worked to develop an alternative solution for towing vehicles so that attending to any similar accidents in the future would be easier and less time-consuming.

3.There Are Five Types of Tow Trucks

The towing industry is a century old. As the car and towing industries both evolved, so did the tow truck models and the specialized parts they utilized. There are actually five very different types of tow trucks used today. These consist of the hook and chain, boom, wheel-lift, flatbed, and integrated tow truck.

4.The World’s Smallest Tow Trucks Aren’t Actually Trucks

There may be five types of tow trucks, but there’s one recovery vehicle growing in popularity that isn’t a truck at all: the Retriever.Retrievers are used in, and distributed to, a wide variety of places, but they seem to be especially popular in places like Japan and China where large populations and compacted cities make for tight traffic. Unlike trucks, motorcycle recovery vehicles like the Retriever can be driven off-road if necessary, and can more easily maneuver through heavy traffic and traffic accidents to get to the recovery site.

5.The World’s Largest Tow Truck is Canadian

The largest production recovery vehicle in the world, a million-dollar 60/80 SR Heavy Incident Manager, was manufactured by NRC Industries in Quebec and is now owned by Mario’s Towing Ltd. in Kelowna, Canada.