(414) 279-5510 Call Excavator Towing · St. Francis, Milwaukee County
A machine sunk to the house in mud on a St. Francis 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★ 4.3 · 373 reviews Flat price quoted first Licensed & Insured
Flat price quoted before we roll — we show the factors, never fabricate a number. COI on request.
Need an excavator moved, recovered, or delivered in St. Francis? 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.
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 St. Francis dispatcher answers live, with rotator recovery and the right trailer the first time.
Local to St. Francis
Before the truck rolls in St. Francis, Milwaukee County, dispatch already knows the corridors we run, the industrial areas we serve, and how fast a rig reaches you.
Where the John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway (WIS-794) drops below grade through St. Francis, breakdowns are frequent — and that same stretch is the main commuter artery, linking the Hoan Bridge and downtown to Mitchell Airport just south, heaviest from 7–9 AM and again from 4–6 PM. WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Avenue, East Howard Avenue and South Lake Drive) and Layton Avenue (CTH-Y) handle the local movement, feeding toward Milwaukee and Cudahy. The city's major surface crossings — East Howard Avenue at Kinnickinnic, Lake Drive and Packard, and East Layton at Pennsylvania and Whitnall — are largely uncontrolled, so watch for right-of-way fender-benders.
The run in is about 5 road miles from our South Side yard — both Milwaukee and Waukesha counties covered. The dispatcher confirms a live ETA on the call.
Around St. Francis, excavator work runs between the construction and excavation sites and the routes out to WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive), WIS-794 (John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway), and CTH-Y (Layton Avenue) — machines bogged in soft fill after a rain, dropped in a trench, or finishing a job and due on the next site. Our trucks come through the WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive) ramps, and we recover and haul them, pulling any WisDOT oversize permit before the load moves. The Lake Parkway / Kinnickinnic Avenue commercial-industrial strip anchors most St. Francis excavator runs; the rest come off St. Francis Seminary / Seminary Woods, Lakefront (Lake Drive), and Kinnickinnic Avenue corridor.
Freeze-thaw potholes on Kinnickinnic and Layton Avenues — and Wisconsin's spring thaw posts weight limits (“frost laws”) on local roads we plan around.
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.
The bluff below St. Francis Seminary is where the lake makes itself felt: dense fog and lake-effect snow settle there and along the lakefront, and shoreline roads can hold cold and ice longer than streets a few blocks inland. Sitting directly on Lake Michigan, the city runs a humid continental pattern — snowy, cold winters; humid, warm summers.
Serving St. Francis ZIP codes: 53235
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 St. Francis-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 a WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive) 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 St. Francis 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.
Get your St. Francis priceBallpark it now — live estimate
A 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 St. Francis
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 St. Francis.
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 St. Francis 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 a rotator for the heavy recoveries — 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 St. Francis
Usually same-day, dispatched from our South Side yard ~5 miles out — St. Francis's utility, lakefront-park and industrial job sites are a short run off Kinnickinnic Avenue. We schedule around your crew window so the machine lands ready to dig. Call (414) 279-5510 24/7.
Equipment transport starts at $150 up to 10,000 lbs and $250 for 10–15,000 lbs; bigger iron is quoted by weight, distance and permits before anything moves — including any WisDOT oversize/overweight paperwork, which is on us. Call (414) 279-5510 for the number.
Yes — minis and compact excavators ride a rollback or Landoll and fit the city's tight spots: utility and sewer digs off the residential grid, lakefront and Seminary bluff work, and industrial-strip projects. We set the machine where your operator wants it. Call (414) 279-5510.
Handled. We keep heavy loads on Kinnickinnic Avenue (WIS-32) and the Lake Parkway (WIS-794), off the residential grid — we survey the route first, haul on a lowboy or Landoll with the boom cradled, and pull any oversize permit before the load moves. Call (414) 279-5510.
Yes. A dead excavator on a St. Francis site gets winched or craned onto the trailer and hauled to your yard or the dealer's shop. Tell dispatch the machine, the ground conditions and the access. Call (414) 279-5510.
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Learn moreOne call reaches a live dispatcher — lowboy, RGN, or double-drop, rotator recovery, oversize permits handled, a ~20-min typical response on St. Francis downtime calls, and a flat price quoted before we roll.