(414) 279-5510 Call Excavator Towing · Milwaukee, Milwaukee County
A machine sunk to the house in mud on a 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, ~20-min typical response on downtime calls, flat price quoted before we roll.
Mini → large excavators★ 4.2 · 398 reviews 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 Milwaukee? 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, dispatch fast on downtime calls, 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 Milwaukee price is on screen in about 60 seconds — itemized, with a reference number (Q-XXXXXXXX) you can hand the dispatcher. If the move needs specialty rigging or permits, dispatch confirms the details by phone before a truck leaves.
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 Milwaukee dispatcher answers live, with rotator recovery and the right trailer the first time.
Local to Milwaukee
Every excavator transport call in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County gets planned around the corridors we run, the industrial areas we serve, and how fast a rig reaches you.
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.
We're based right here in Milwaukee — both Milwaukee and Waukesha counties covered. The dispatcher confirms a live ETA on the call.
What strands a excavator in Milwaukee? Usually machines bogged in soft fill after a rain, dropped in a trench, or finishing a job and due on the next site — spread across the construction and excavation sites and the I-94, I-43, and I-41/US-41 corridors. We recover and haul them, pulling any WisDOT oversize permit before the load moves, coming in on I-94. Coverage runs Downtown, Historic Third Ward, and Deer District and everywhere in between — a live Milwaukee dispatcher gives you a real ETA and a flat price first.
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.
Serving Milwaukee ZIP codes: 53202 · 53203 · 53204 · 53205 · 53206 · 53207 · 53208 · 53209 · 53210 · 53211 · 53212 · 53214 · 53215 · 53216 · 53218 · 53219 · 53220 · 53221 · 53222 · 53223 · 53224 · 53225 · 53233
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 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 fast 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 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 Milwaukee 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 County adds time and gear over a clean curbside load.
Getting help in Milwaukee
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 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 Milwaukee site contractors call MKE
A real ETA from the closest unit on a downtime or recovery call — not a canned promise.
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 in Milwaukee
Usually same-day, dispatched from our South Side yard inside the city — construction runs year-round here, from downtown builds to riverfront work along the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic corridors, and we schedule around your crane and crew windows. Call (414) 279-5510 24/7.
Equipment transport is priced by weight band — up to 10,000 lbs, then 10–15,000 lbs; bigger iron is quoted by weight, distance and permits before anything moves. You hear the full number — including any WisDOT oversize/overweight permit — on the call. Call (414) 279-5510.
Yes — minis and compact excavators ride a rollback or Landoll and fit the tight stuff: alley digs, East Side infill lots, backyard sewer laterals. We walk the machine on, chain to rated points, and set it exactly where your operator wants it. Call (414) 279-5510.
Handled. Anything past legal width, height or weight moves on a WisDOT permit with a surveyed route on the city's designated truck routes, escorts where required. We haul on a lowboy or Landoll with the boom cradled and tracks blocked. The paperwork is on us. Call (414) 279-5510.
Yes. A dead excavator on a site in the Valley or a trench-side breakdown gets winched or craned onto the trailer and hauled to your yard or the dealer's service shop. Tell dispatch the machine, the ground conditions and access. Call (414) 279-5510.
Answers reviewed July 2026 — pricing model, hours and ETAs are checked quarterly.
Jump back to the calculator — free, no phone call, and your quote reference (Q-XXXXXXXX) holds your place with dispatch.
Nearby
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, a ~20-min typical response on Milwaukee downtime calls, and a flat price quoted before we roll.