(414) 279-5510 Call Excavator Towing · 24/7
A machine sunk to the house in mud on a Greater Milwaukee site, a 320 that has to be on the next job by Monday, a unit that won't track onto the trailer, or a dealer machine due for delivery — MKE Towing & Recovery hauls mini through large excavators on lowboy, RGN & double-drop trailers, fully insured. Tracks on if it runs, winch-loaded if it doesn't, recovered with a rotator if it's down. Oversize permits handled, an arrival estimate on the call, flat price quoted before we roll.
Mini → large excavators★ 4.7 · 5,026 surveys Flat price quoted first Licensed & Insured
Flat price quoted before we roll — we show the factors, never fabricate a number. COI on request.
MKE Towing & Recovery — open 24/7. Need an excavator moved, recovered, or delivered in Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County? MKE Towing & Recovery hauls mini through large excavators — tracks on if it runs, winch-loaded if it's disabled, recovered with a rotator if it's stuck, sunk, or overturned — on lowboy, RGN & double-drop trailers, fully insured. We pull your oversize/overweight permits, give an arrival estimate on the call, and confirm a flat price before we roll. Call (414) 279-5510.
Instant quote — free, no phone call needed
Answer the sizing questions dispatch would ask anyway, and the exact price is on screen in about 60 seconds, with a quote reference (Q-XXXXXXXX) you can give the dispatcher. If the move needs specialty rigging or permits, dispatch confirms the details by phone first.
An idle crew and a downed excavator both cost money by the hour. Tell dispatch the make, model, weight, and whether it tracks — a real Greater Milwaukee dispatcher answers live, with rotator recovery and the right trailer the first time.
Across Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
How we run excavator transport across Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County: the corridors we run, the industrial areas we serve, and what dispatch needs to hear on the call.
The Marquette Interchange (I-94/I-43/I-794) takes the worst of it, with the Zoo Interchange (I-94/US-45) and the Mitchell Interchange (I-94/I-43/I-894 by the airport) close behind — locals navigate by freeway names: the North-South Freeway (I-43/I-94), the East-West Freeway, the Zoo Freeway (US-45/I-894), the Fond du Lac Freeway (WIS-145), the Lake Freeway (I-794) and the Airport Freeway. All of them stack up 7–9 AM and 4–6 PM, and the Hoan Bridge racks up more than its share of breakdowns. Off the freeways, the long arterials grind — North 76th Street, Capitol Drive, Silver Spring Drive, Fond du Lac Avenue, South 27th Street — and event nights surge around Fiserv Forum's Deer District, American Family Field and the Summerfest grounds at Henry Maier Festival Park.
The dispatcher gives an arrival estimate on the call. Scheduled equipment moves are booked for a set day.
Dispatch runs out of our South Side Milwaukee yard, covering Milwaukee & Waukesha counties. You get a live ETA, not a guess.
Most Greater Milwaukee excavator calls start around Downtown, Historic Third Ward, and Deer District: machines bogged in soft fill after a rain, dropped in a trench, or finishing a job and due on the next site. Whether it sits near Downtown (East Town & Westown) or out on I-94, I-43, and I-41/US-41, we recover and haul them, pulling any WisDOT oversize permit before the load moves. From Milwaukee Art Museum out to Downtown, Historic Third Ward, and Deer District, one Greater Milwaukee call covers the excavator move — insured, flat-priced, any hour.
Spring flooding along the Milwaukee, Menomonee & Kinnickinnic rivers — and Wisconsin's spring thaw posts weight limits (“frost laws”) on local roads we plan around.
Port Milwaukee (Jones Island) handles heavy and project cargo nearby.
Wisconsin's legal limits on the interstate run 8'6" wide, 13'6" high, and 80,000 lb gross — anything over needs a WisDOT oversize/overweight permit, and we pull it.
Wisconsin's spring thaw brings posted weight restrictions (“frost laws”) on local roads from roughly March into April — we know which routes are posted and plan the legal way in.
Lake Michigan sets the terms: it moderates Milwaukee's humid continental weather, but the lakefront still takes lake-effect snow and dense fog, and temperatures by the water can swing sharply from inland readings. The city averages about 39.5 inches of snow a year, so winters come in cold and snowy; summers, warm and humid.
Sound familiar?
A machine buried to the house in mud, dropped in a trench, or off a creek bank. We winch it out first — a rotator on the heavy ones — then load and secure. Our most common call.
A machine has to be on the next Greater Milwaukee-area site by Monday so the crew isn’t idle. Lowboy or RGN, secure, permit, deliver across the metro — scheduled, insured.
Won't start, hydraulics down, a track thrown or a final drive out. We winch it on — never towed dead on its own tracks.
A new, used, or rented machine dropped off or picked up with the clock running. On-time delivery and return, oversize permit pulled, COI on request.
On its side on an embankment or rolled in a trench. We upright it with a rotator and rated rigging on a plan, then load — without adding damage.
Bought at auction, online, or coming off lease. We pick up, permit, secure, and deliver — mini to large, every brand.
Running or not, we load it
A running excavator tracks up the ramp or over the RGN neck under control, boom and arm down, then is chained at the factory tie-down points. Tracks are walked on slow to protect the undercarriage.
Call dispatch — (414) 279-5510A dead machine comes up a rated winch line onto a lowboy or RGN. We never tow an excavator on its own tracks — it’s carried, not towed.
Call dispatch — (414) 279-5510Sunk, bogged, or overturned, we winch it out or upright it with a rotator and rated rigging on a plan, inspect it, then load and secure.
Call dispatch — (414) 279-5510Do you handle mine? Almost certainly.
Compact excavators track onto a tag or equipment trailer for the everyday move — usually no permit.
The workhorse class rides a lowboy or RGN behind a Class 8 tractor — an overweight or oversize permit is likely, and we pull it.
Large machines move on a multi-axle lowboy or RGN, often partly disassembled (boom, arm, or counterweight off), as a permitted superload with escorts and a planned route.
Long-reach booms, demolition fronts, breakers, and thumbs change height, width, and balance — tall fronts may travel separately or as oversize, confirmed before we roll.
What excavator transport covers
An excavator is carried, not towed — never dragged on its own tracks. We track-on or winch-on to rated points, recover first when it's down, and right-size the trailer to the real weight.
A picker, not a promise — the final trailer, permit, and any disassembly are confirmed from the exact weight, attachments, height, and route on the call.
Secured, not dragged
Boom and arm lowered, bucket curled to the deck, then grade-70 chain at the factory tie-down points front and rear — sized to the real weight.
The house swing lock and track travel locks are set so nothing rotates or creeps on an I-94 haul.
The machine is chained to its frame, never resting the tie-down load on the hydraulics or cylinders.
Tracks are walked on slow over a steel deck and the undercarriage protected — the machine is carried, never towed on its tracks.
What it costs & why
A Greater Milwaukee excavator haul is a flat price quoted before we roll — a compact machine that tracks on for a local move is the low end; a large machine mud-recovered and moved as a permitted superload is the high end. We show the factors and the flat price holds.
The flat price covers the dispatch and haul, quoted before a truck leaves. Recovery, permits, escorts, and any disassembly are itemized and confirmed up front — no lowball-then-add-on.
See my exact priceA mini and a 45-ton machine are different hauls — trailer, tractor, and rigging are sized to the real operating weight.
A machine that tracks on loads quickly; a dead or stuck one is billed by the winch and recovery work it takes.
Over legal width or weight gets the WisDOT permit, a route survey, and any pilot-car escorts — quoted up front.
A soft pad, a tight gate, or a long haul across Milwaukee & Waukesha counties adds time and gear over a clean curbside load.
Our anti-damage process
Tell dispatch the make, model, weight class, and whether it tracks. We confirm the lowboy or RGN, rigging, and any permit before a truck leaves Greater Milwaukee.
Sunk, bogged, or overturned machines are winched out or righted with a rotator and rated rigging before anything goes on the deck.
Running machines track up the ramp or over the RGN neck; dead units come up on a rated winch line. Never towed on its tracks.
Boom and arm down, swing and travel locks set, grade-70 chain at the factory tie-down points, sized to the real weight.
To the next site, yard, dealer, or shop — with clean paperwork and a COI for your file.
Why contractors call MKE
A dispatcher picks up, asks what the job needs, and gives an arrival estimate on the call. Planned moves are booked for a set day.
Tag trailer to multi-axle lowboy, with rotator recovery on call for the heavy jobs — the right rig the first time.
Years of equipment recovery across Milwaukee and Waukesha. Licensed & Insured — USDOT# 4272551.
We pull the WisDOT oversize/overweight and superload permits, survey the route, and arrange escorts — not your problem.
Excavator Towing across Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County
Our yard is inside Greater Milwaukee. Call (414) 279-5510 and the dispatcher gives you an arrival estimate on the call. Scheduled equipment moves are booked for a set day.
Excavator Towing in Greater Milwaukee is a flat price quoted before we roll — it moves with the weight and class, whether it rolls or has to be winched, distance and site access, and any oversize permit. The calculator on this page walks the same sizing questions our dispatcher asks and shows the exact number in about 60 seconds — or call (414) 279-5510 and hear the same price.
Any lawful route that fits the load: I-94, I-43, and I-41/US-41 do the heavy lifting around Greater Milwaukee, and Port Milwaukee (Jones Island) moves project cargo. Loads past legal width, height, or weight move on a WisDOT oversize/overweight permit with a surveyed route, and the widest or heaviest add pilot-car escorts — our paperwork, not yours. Call (414) 279-5510 with pickup and drop-off.
Yes — it's one of our most common calls. We winch it out with rated rigging and a plan, a rotator on the heavy ones, then load and secure it. Tell us the machine and how deep it's buried so we bring the right recovery gear.
Yes — a dead machine comes up a rated winch line onto a lowboy or RGN, boom and arm down, chained at the factory tie-down points. We never tow an excavator on its own tracks; it’s carried on the deck.
Yes — that’s our paperwork, not yours. Standard machines often need a WisDOT oversize/overweight permit, and the largest move as a permitted superload with a route survey and pilot-car escorts, all arranged as part of the move.
It depends on the transport weight and height. A mini tracks onto a tag or equipment trailer; a 10–45-ton machine rides a lowboy or RGN behind a Class 8 tractor; the largest go on a multi-axle lowboy, sometimes partly disassembled as a superload.
Answers reviewed July 2026. Pricing model and hours are checked quarterly.
Jump back to the calculator — free, no phone call, and your quote reference (Q-XXXXXXXX) holds your place with dispatch.
We cover Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. See the service area.
Need something else?
Dozers, loaders & more on lowboy, RGN & Landoll.
Learn moreDrive-on or winch-loaded, every frame size.
Learn moreStuck in mud, snow, or a ditch? Pulled free the right way.
Learn moreLight, medium & heavy — recovery and transport, one number.
Learn moreOne call reaches a live dispatcher — lowboy, RGN, or double-drop, rotator recovery, oversize permits handled, an arrival estimate on the call, and a flat price quoted before we roll.