(414) 279-5510 Call Forklift Towing · Milwaukee & Waukesha County
A dead lift blocking your only dock in the Milwaukee metro, a relocation between sites, a unit tipped off a loading dock, or a reach stacker that needs a lowboy and a permit — MKE Towing & Recovery hauls forklifts and material-handling equipment on rollback and lowboy trailers, fully insured. Running or dead, indoors or curbside. ~38-min typical response on the Milwaukee metro downtime calls, flat price quoted before we roll.
Forks, telehandlers & MHE★ 4.3 · 373 reviews Flat price quoted first Licensed & Insured
Flat price quoted before a truck rolls — we show the factors, never fabricate a number. COI on request.
Need a forklift towed or moved in the Milwaukee metro? MKE Towing & Recovery hauls forklifts, telehandlers, and material-handling equipment — running or dead, indoors or curbside — on rollback and lowboy trailers, fully insured. the Milwaukee metro-area dispatch, ~38-minute typical response on downtime calls, scheduled moves any time, and a flat price quoted before we roll. Call (414) 279-5510.
A dead forklift behind your only dock backs up freight by the hour. Tell dispatch the unit, the weight, the fuel type, and whether it rolls — a real Milwaukee-metro dispatcher answers live and we bring the right trailer the first time.
Across the metro
Before the truck rolls across Milwaukee and Waukesha, dispatch already knows 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.
Coverage spans both counties from our yard right in the Milwaukee metro — the dispatcher reads you the live ETA.
In the Milwaukee metro, the calls cluster around Marquette Interchange and I-94, I-43, and I-41/US-41, plus the yards around Menomonee Valley, 30th Street Industrial Corridor, and Harbor District & Jones Island (Port Milwaukee) — dead lifts blocking a dock, units relocating between sites, and rental returns. We winch them out of tight bays and run them on to the dealer, the shop, or the next yard. Whether it sits near Milwaukee Art Museum or over by Downtown, Historic Third Ward, and Deer District, we bring the trailer to it and strap it to rated points.
Winter ice & roughly 39.5 inches of snow a year (Nov–Mar) — bridges and overpasses freeze first
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?
The only forklift quit behind your dock and freight is backing up. We winch it out and haul it to your shop or the dealer — downtime priority.
A new purchase, a sale, an auction win, or a rental return. We load, secure, and deliver your unit across the Milwaukee metro or across the metro — scheduled, insured.
A unit on its side or dropped off a loading dock. We upright it with rated rigging, then load it — without adding damage.
Behind a 9-ft door, down a narrow aisle, dead where it sits. We winch it out, then load on the bed outside — the right rigging the first time.
A telehandler, reach stacker, or container handler too heavy or tall for a standard bed. Lowboy or step-deck, oversize permit handled.
New or used units from the dealership to the buyer, or fleet swaps between yards. Scheduled, insured, COI on request for your file.
Running or not, we load it
A running forklift is driven or winched up the tilt-bed under control, forks lowered, then chained at the rated lift points — never up a steep ramp that would high-center it.
Call dispatch — (414) 279-5510A dead or seized lift comes up a tilt-bed on a rated winch line, or onto a flatbed. Solid tires drag and flat-spot, so a forklift is carried, not towed.
Call dispatch — (414) 279-5510A tipped or off-dock unit is uprighted with rated rigging on a plan, inspected, then loaded — without adding damage.
Call dispatch — (414) 279-5510Do you handle mine? Almost certainly.
Class I–V warehouse forklifts, from 3,000-lb electric walkies to 15,000+ lb pneumatics — most ride a rollback, heavy pneumatics step up to a lowboy.
They ride tall and long — boom lowered and pinned, hauled on a lowboy or step-deck, with an oversize permit if the load goes over legal.
Port-class top picks and empty handlers run heavy and oversize — almost always a lowboy or multi-axle with an oversize permit and a routed haul.
Flat solid tires, blown hydraulics, a seized transmission, no neutral — it still loads. Rated winch line up a tilt-bed, forks down, chained at rated points. No machine is too dead to move.
What forklift transport covers
A forklift can't be flat-towed — no free-wheel neutral, no car-style tow points, and solid tires that drag instead of roll. So we winch and secure to rated points, every time.
A picker, not a promise — the final trailer and any permit are confirmed from the exact weight, height, and access on the call, so we come right the first time.
Secured, not dragged
Forks lowered to the deck and chained with grade-70 at the unit’s rated lift points — sized to the real weight, never a strap and a guess.
The mast is lowered and the counterweight strapped for the road, so nothing shifts on an I-94 on-ramp.
The traction battery is protected or the LPG tank secured before the unit moves — the way a forklift has to travel.
Solid and cushion tires drag and flat-spot, so the lift rides on the deck — winched on, never dragged behind a truck.
What it costs & why
The Milwaukee metro forklift haul is a flat price quoted before we roll — a 5,000-lb electric that rolls onto a rollback is the low end; a 30,000-lb reach stacker that needs a lowboy and a permit is the high end. We show the factors and the flat price holds.
The flat price covers the dispatch and the haul, quoted before a truck leaves. Recovery, indoor extraction, and any oversize permit are itemized and confirmed first — no lowball-then-add-on.
Get your priceBallpark it now — live estimate
A 5,000-lb electric and a 30,000-lb reach stacker are different hauls — trailer and rigging are sized to the real weight.
A unit that rolls onto the bed loads fast; a dead or seized one billed by the winch and recovery work it takes.
A curbside pickup is straightforward; an indoor pull down a narrow the Milwaukee metro aisle or off a dock adds time and gear.
A telehandler or reach stacker over legal gets the WisDOT permit and routing — a real cost, quoted up front so the flat price holds.
Our anti-damage process
Tell dispatch the unit, weight, fuel type, and whether it rolls. We confirm the trailer, rigging, and any permit before a truck leaves the Milwaukee metro.
We lower the forks and mast, handle the battery or LPG, and clear the access — a door, an aisle, a dock — before anything moves.
Running units load under power where safe; dead or seized units come up a tilt-bed on a rated winch line. We never drag a forklift.
Forks down, chained at the unit’s rated lift points, mast and counterweight strapped for the road — sized to the real weight.
To your yard, the dealer, the auction, or the shop — with clean paperwork and a COI for your file.
Why contractors call MKE
A real ETA from the closest unit — downtime priority on a dead-lift call, not a canned promise.
Walkie to reach stacker, we right-size the deck to the machine — never a guess and a strap.
Years of equipment moves across Milwaukee and Waukesha. Licensed & Insured — USDOT# 4272551.
Certificate of insurance on request for the yard’s file, with consolidated billing on dealer and fleet accounts.
Forklift Towing questions
Same-day in most cases, and typically about 20–30 minutes to your dock from our South Side yard inside the city — Milwaukee runs on its 150-plus warehouses, from the Menomonee Valley to the 30th Street Industrial Corridor to the Port Milwaukee sheds, and a dead lift blocking a dock is priority work. Call (414) 279-5510 24/7.
Equipment moves start at $150 for units up to 10,000 lbs and $250 for 10–15,000 lbs, quoted before we roll. Distance and loading method set the final figure, which you hear on the call — no per-mile surprises on a cross-town warehouse move. Call (414) 279-5510.
Yes — a lift that won't run gets winched onto a rollback or Landoll from the dock apron, rigged to its rated points. We work the Valley, the 30th Street Corridor, Port docks and retail backrooms across the city, and we plan the pickup so your dock isn't blocked any longer than it has to be. Call (414) 279-5510.
Class I–V counterbalance lifts from 3,000-lb electric walkies to 15,000-lb pneumatics, plus reach trucks and order pickers. Most ride a rollback; heavy pneumatics step up to a lowboy, and wide rough-terrain units get any permit they need. Tell dispatch the model and capacity plate reading. Call (414) 279-5510.
Yes — recurring moves between plants, warehouses and job sites can run on an account with clean per-move billing and a COI on request. One-off rental returns and auction pickups are welcome too. Call (414) 279-5510 to set it up.
Forklift Towing across the metro
Need something else?
Drive-on or winch-loaded, every frame size — metro-wide.
Learn moreSlab & rough-terrain lifts on a low-angle Landoll.
Learn moreDozers, loaders & excavators on lowboy & RGN.
Learn moreEquipment loaded, secured, and set down right.
Learn moreOne call reaches a live dispatcher — rollback or lowboy, indoor extraction to oversize permit hauls, a ~38-min typical response on the Milwaukee metro downtime calls, and a flat price quoted before we roll.