From the truck

Financing for expensive tows and recoveries: snowmobiles, boats, RVs, impounds, even air rescue

By Freeman Belmont, owner · Budget Towing and Recovery LLC, Camas, WA · 2026-09-14

Some calls aren't a $150 hook and a short ride. A truck and sled trailer buried at a sno-park, a boat with a collapsed trailer axle on I-5, a motorhome on the shoulder of I-84, a car in impound with storage adding up daily, a recovery in terrain a truck can't reach. Those bills can run into the thousands and arrive on the worst day of your month. That's why we run every job through TowFi, which lets customers who qualify split the cost into monthly payments.

Situations we finance

How it works

1. Call us or request in the TowFi app. The dispatcher quotes the job; for big recoveries the quote may come after the driver has seen the site.
2. Choose "pay over time" in TowFi. The app runs a quick eligibility check with Affirm. Seeing your options doesn't affect your credit score.
3. See your monthly payment before you agree. Terms and rate are shown up front. Rates run 0% to 36% APR depending on the plan offered. Affirm collects the first payment, or a down payment if required, from your debit card or bank account when the loan is issued.
4. We do the job. Payment to us is released when the work is done and you confirm it in the app with your completion code, like every TowFi job.

On our side the job runs through the TowFi Provider app, which is how we dispatch, quote, and get paid, so financing isn't a separate process; it's built into how we work every call.

Financing is offered through Affirm inside the TowFi app and is subject to eligibility and approval. Rates from 0–36% APR. Payment options depend on the purchase amount and may include a down payment. Affirm loans are made by Affirm Loan Services, LLC or its lending partners. Budget Towing and Recovery LLC is not a lender. Helicopter and specialized recovery are arranged through third-party partners and quoted individually.

SR-14 in winter: where cars go off the road between Camas and the Gorge

By Freeman Belmont, owner · Budget Towing and Recovery LLC, Camas, WA · 2026-09-14

Every winter we pull the same kinds of cars out of the same kinds of places on SR-14. The road looks fine leaving Camas and turns into something else east of Washougal.

The stretches that catch people

• Cape Horn. The curves east of Washougal sit in shade most of the day, so ice stays after the rest of the highway has dried. The turnouts along the top get slick first.
• The cuts before Stevenson. Water runs across the road from the hillside and freezes overnight. Black ice, on the inside of the curve where you don't expect it.
• Anywhere the wind gets you. Between Beacon Rock and North Bonneville the east wind comes down the river hard enough to move a light car.

If you go off the road

Get the car as far off the travel lane as it will go, hazards on, stay in it with the seatbelt on unless being hit is likely where you are. Call 911 first if anyone's hurt. Send us your location from your phone; mile markers are hard to read at night and a pin is faster.

What a winch-out actually is

Most SR-14 slide-offs are recoveries, not tows. The truck anchors on the road, we run the cable to a frame point, and pull the car back onto the pavement slowly so it doesn't dig in. If it's drivable afterward, you drive home and you paid for a recovery. If a wheel or the suspension took a hit, it goes on the flatbed. The driver tells you which, and the price, before he hooks anything.

Before you head east

Check the WSDOT camera at Cape Horn, carry a blanket and a charged phone, and if you drive an EV keep 40 miles of range in reserve; cold takes it faster than the display suggests.

Broke down on I-205 or I-5 in Vancouver? Do this in the first five minutes

By Freeman Belmont, owner · Budget Towing and Recovery LLC, Camas, WA · 2026-09-14

Most of our freeway calls come from I-205 between the Glenn Jackson Bridge and Padden Parkway, and I-5 through the Mill Plain and Main Street interchanges. The first five minutes decide whether it's an inconvenience or a dangerous afternoon.

Get all the way onto the shoulder

If the car still rolls, get fully onto the right shoulder, as far from the white line as the ground allows. On the bridge approaches there's no shoulder; if you can coast to the next ramp, do it. On I-205 the left shoulder is narrow and traffic is fast, so if you have any momentum, work right.

Stay in or get out?

On a wide shoulder with the car well off the line, stay in with the belt on. On a narrow shoulder or a bridge, get out on the passenger side and stand behind the barrier. Never stand behind the car or between it and traffic.

What to tell us

• Which freeway, which direction, and the nearest exit number or mile marker.
• What the car did: died, flat, overheated, won't shift. It changes what truck we send.
• Whether anyone's hurt (911 first) and whether the car is drivable at all.
• Where you want it to go. If you don't know yet, say so; it can come to our yard in Camas and move later.

What happens next

A flatbed is the right truck for nearly every freeway pickup. The driver pulls in behind you with the light bar on, loads, and you ride in the truck. Dispatch to on-scene in Vancouver is usually 25 to 40 minutes, price quoted before the hook goes on.

Towing a Tesla or Rivian without wrecking it: why it has to be a flatbed

By Freeman Belmont, owner · Budget Towing and Recovery LLC, Camas, WA · 2026-09-14

We tow a lot of EVs now: Teslas, Rivians, Ford Lightnings, Ioniqs, Bolts. The ones that arrive damaged are almost always ones that were towed wrong first.

Why two wheels on the ground is a problem

In most EVs the drive motor is coupled directly to the wheels. Roll the car with the wheels turning and the motor spins as a generator with nowhere to send the power. That heats the motor and inverter and can damage them. Tesla's own manual says it: transport with all four wheels off the ground.

What a proper EV tow looks like

• Transport mode. Most EVs have a setting that releases the parking brake for loading; it's in the manual under Towing or Transport.
• Flatbed only. Fully on the deck, winched on slowly, never dragged.
• Tie-downs at the manufacturer points. Strapping over a suspension arm the wrong way can damage parts that cost more than the tow.
• Dead 12-volt means no transport mode. We can wake the 12-volt system or use skates under the wheels.

Where EVs end up

Usually a dealer or certified shop, because independents often won't touch high-voltage systems: Tesla Portland on Macadam, Rivian's Portland service center, or a Ford or Hyundai dealer. Long tows, quoted flat before we leave.

How tow pricing actually works in Clark County

By Freeman Belmont, owner · Budget Towing and Recovery LLC, Camas, WA · 2026-09-14

People ask for a price before they say where the car is. Understandable, but a tow bill has parts, and the number depends on which apply.

The parts of a tow bill

• Hook-up. A base charge for sending a truck and loading; covers the first few miles.
• Mileage. Per mile beyond the base, counted loaded.
• Recovery. Time on the winch if the car is in a ditch or stuck, charged separately from the tow.
• After-hours. Nights, weekends, holidays cost more because the driver is on call rather than on shift.
• Special handling. EVs, lowered cars, dollies or skates.

What we do differently

The driver gives you the full number before hooking up, and that's the number on the receipt. If something changes on scene he tells you before doing it. No storage fees for a car that came to our yard at your request and left within a day.

Paying for it

Card, cash, or the TowFi app, which offers financing through Affirm for customers who qualify (see how financing works).

Getting your car out of impound in Clark County

By Freeman Belmont, owner · Budget Towing and Recovery LLC, Camas, WA · 2026-09-14

A car gets impounded after a crash, a police tow, or a parking violation, and daily storage starts the moment it rolls into the lot. Getting it out fast is worth real money.

Find out where it is

If police ordered the tow (Vancouver PD, Clark County Sheriff, WSP), that agency can tell you the lot. The lot must notify the registered owner by mail within a few days, but don't wait for the letter.

What to bring

• Photo ID matching the registered owner, or notarized authorization if collecting for someone else.
• Registration or title.
• Any police release paperwork if it was a hold.
• Payment for the tow, storage, and admin fee; ask what forms they take before you drive over.

What it costs

Washington caps what lots can charge for the tow and daily storage, and most charge near the cap. Storage accrues every calendar day including weekends.

If you can't cover it at once

Through TowFi, customers who qualify can finance an impound release with Affirm and pay over time so the car doesn't sit accruing storage. We'll also tow it from the lot to your home or a shop once it's released.

AAA or call the tow company direct? When each makes sense

By Freeman Belmont, owner · Budget Towing and Recovery LLC, Camas, WA · 2026-09-14

We're a contracted AAA provider and we answer direct calls around the clock. Which you use depends on what you need and how long you can wait.

Calling AAA

AAA finds an available network provider and dispatches. If we're nearest, they send us. The tow is covered under your plan's mileage (typically 5, 100, or 200 miles by tier) and you pay nothing at the truck. The trade-off is time: AAA's queue on a busy night or icy morning can add real minutes.

Calling us direct

You reach our dispatcher, we send the nearest truck, and you're billed for the tow. You choose the destination and timing, with no mileage cap. On a bad-weather day this is usually faster. A direct call isn't billed to AAA.

A common mix

AAA for covered basics like a jump start or short tow; direct for anything urgent, long-distance, or an EV or recovery where you want to choose the operator.

Locked out at a Gorge trailhead? Beacon Rock, Dog Mountain, Hamilton Mountain

By Freeman Belmont, owner · Budget Towing and Recovery LLC, Camas, WA · 2026-09-14

Summer weekends bring a steady stream of trailhead calls: keys locked in the car at Beacon Rock, a battery drained by a dome light at Dog Mountain, a tire flattened by the gravel at Hamilton Mountain.

What we can do at the trailhead

• Lockouts. Most cars open without damage. If the key is lost rather than locked in, that's a locksmith.
• Jump starts, including EV 12-volt systems.
• Tire changes if you have a usable spare; many cars now don't, and then it's a tow to a tire shop in Stevenson or back to Camas.
• Fuel delivery, enough to reach the next station.

How long it takes

Beacon Rock is about 30 minutes from our yard; Dog Mountain closer to 50. Coverage is spotty in the lots; if you have one bar, use it to call. Tell us the lot name and where in it you are.

Avoiding the call

Zip the key in a pocket before the hike, check the dome light is off, and know whether your car has a spare before you're 40 miles from a tire shop.

Your car died in Portland and you live in Clark County. Here's how to get it home

By Freeman Belmont, owner · Budget Towing and Recovery LLC, Camas, WA · 2026-09-14

A lot of our Portland calls are Clark County residents whose car quit at the airport, downtown, or on I-84. Fix it there, or bring it home?

Bring it home when

Your mechanic is here, you know their prices, and you won't be crossing the river for updates. A Portland-to-Vancouver or Camas tow is one flat quote, usually less than a Portland shop's diagnostic fee plus a second tow later.

Fix it there when

It's dealer-only work: warranty, an EV, a key or module that has to be programmed. The Portland dealers are often closer; we tow straight there.

The bridges

A tow that's 40 minutes at 2 p.m. can be 70 at 5. If the car's safe where it is, an off-peak pickup is cheaper because the truck isn't sitting in traffic, and we'll say so when you call.

What you'll pay

One number: pickup, mileage, drop. No add-ons at the other end. TowFi financing is available for longer tows.