What Was the First Tow Truck Ever Made?

The first tow truck ever made was designed by Ernest Holmes Sr. in 1916. Holmes, a garage owner from Chattanooga, Tennessee, saw the need for a vehicle that could quickly and easily transport disabled and wrecked automobiles from one location to another. He called his invention the “Motorized Wrecker” and it was an early version of what is now commonly known as the tow truck.

The Motorized Wrecker had an open-bed design with two large wheels at the front and a small wheel at the rear. It was powered by an electric motor that Holmes built himself.

The motor only had two speeds: low speed for pulling along slow-moving or disabled cars, and high speed for hauling them away quickly. The Motorized Wrecker also featured a crank handle on the side which allowed Holmes to raise and lower the bed of the truck, making it easier to haul away larger vehicles.

The Motorized Wrecker proved to be very popular with garages and auto repair shops, as it allowed them to easily move vehicles from one location to another without having to use manpower or expensive horse-drawn carriages. It also helped reduce traffic congestion in cities as it allowed broken down cars to be removed much quicker than they could be manually loaded onto a carriage or cart.

In 1921, Ernest Holmes Sr. sold his invention to an auto parts company called JH Miller & Sons who continued to manufacture and improve upon his design over the next few decades. They eventually changed the name of their product from “Motorized Wrecker” to “Tow Truck” which is what we call them today.

Today there are many different types of tow trucks available on the market ranging from small flatbeds used for light duty hauling jobs, to large heavy-duty rollbacks used for hauling away larger vehicles such as buses or semi trucks. No matter what type of tow truck you need, you can thank Ernest Holmes Sr., inventor of the first tow truck ever made in 1916, for making it all possible!

In conclusion, Ernest Holmes Sr.’s design of ‘Motorized Wrecker’ in 1916 was revolutionary for its time as it enabled garages and auto repair shops to quickly move broken down or disabled vehicles from one location to another without having to use manual labor or horse-drawn carriages; thus helping reduce traffic congestion in cities at that time. JH Miller & Sons acquired this invention soon after its creation and improved upon its design over time before renaming it ‘Tow Truck’, which is what we call them today!

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James Gardner