A lot of time people don’t have the money to get their cars towed. It can cost up to $90. My rate is anywhere from $35 on up depending on where the vehicle is and how much work it takes. For people on a budget, if they come up with most of it, I’ll work with them. We pick up everything — cars, vans, trucks. If it fits on the back of the tow truck we can haul it.

A typical day is real busy. I start at 8 in the morning, as soon as I get the children off to school. I ride around in the tow truck until 4. Some days it may be five or six cars that I tow. I use a winch and a cable to roll the vehicle onto the bed of the truck. I hook it up under the bottom and pull it up. In some cases it’s hard; other cases it’s easy. The truck does most of the work. For me, it’s a matter of working the levers.

I have a contract with Sadisco. I go out and pick up wrecked vehicles. When I get them they’re demolished. Right now I have a truck that’s been turned over maybe three of four times. Most are the result of terrible accidents and floods. Before I started my towing business I worked at Manning Funeral Home. So seeing the mangled vehicles gets you thinking about the people who were in them.

I’m on the road all the time. It gives me a little peace and quiet. But every chance I get I spend with my sons [ ages 13, 12, 10 and 9 ]. They come along in the truck sometimes. They love to ride around looking for addresses. My two oldest know how to read a map.

I’m hoping to start my own fleet. If I get a couple more trucks then I could help more people. The other night a guy called me really late. He had hit a pothole in the city. It looked like it had broken the structure of the car. He really appreciated me handling his car with care. People need their cars.

— Interviewed by Brandon Walters,Photographed by Scott Elmquist.