Tow truck in Johnson City
Johnson City, TX sits at the junction of US 281 and Highway 290, which makes it a crossroads for a great deal of traffic that is not from here. Wimberley Towing covers it from the Blanco yard, straight down 281, rather than from a metro an hour away.
That distance is the entire issue in a town this size. There is not a wrecker on every corner, and the vehicles that break here are frequently a long way from home and have no idea who to call.
The roads that produce the calls
US 281 runs north to Round Mountain and south to Blanco, carrying freight on a two lane highway with narrow shoulders and long gaps between exits. Highway 290 comes in from Dripping Springs to the east and heads out toward Fredericksburg to the west, and it is a tourist road as much as a freight road, which means a lot of drivers who do not know the terrain and are not watching the fuel gauge.
The Pedernales River and the ranch roads out toward the LBJ properties fill in the rest, and they are where the recoveries happen.
What we get called for here
- Long distance breakdowns. People passing through, usually heading to or from Fredericksburg, usually with no local number to call. Most of our Johnson City work is exactly this.
- Heavy duty on 281. See heavy duty towing and the US 281 corridor page.
- Recovery. Ranch roads, caliche, and river crossings. See off-road recovery.
- Out of fuel. The gaps between pumps out here are real. See fuel delivery.
What a tow costs in Johnson City
Johnson City is in Blanco County, so a police authorized tow starts at $300 rather than the $272 that applies in Hays County. The county sets that figure, not us. Everything else is quoted up front before a truck leaves the yard. See towing rates.
What to tell dispatch
Where you are, what you are driving, and whether the vehicle is on the pavement. If you are on 281 or 290, give us a mile marker or a landmark and your direction of travel. Call (512) 375-1215. See everything under towing services, and our Blanco coverage down the corridor.
Neighbourhoods and landmarks we cover
Historic downtown Johnson City, the LBJ National Historical Park and the boyhood home, Pedernales Falls State Park out on RR 2766, and the ranches and rural properties spread across the rest of it. The 281 and 290 junction is the single busiest point in the area and one of our regular recovery zones.
The 281/290 junction
High traffic volume from both commercial trucks and tourist traffic, meeting at a junction, on two roads with narrow shoulders. It produces routine accident calls, and when it does, it usually needs heavy equipment rather than a flatbed. We coordinate with the Blanco County Sheriff and DPS on scene clearing, and for a multi-vehicle or heavy commercial wreck we dispatch heavy duty immediately rather than sending a truck to look at it first.
If you are calling from the junction, give dispatch your direction of travel and a landmark. Call (512) 375-1215.
Ranches, rural properties, and the Pedernales
Ranch and off-road recovery is a real part of the work here, and the Pedernales River area floods. Flash flooding puts vehicles in water fast, and a vehicle recovered from a flood is going to a workshop rather than home. We will tell you that honestly on scene. See mud and ditch recovery.
Our Blanco yard is roughly fifteen miles south on US 281, which for a town this size is the difference between a wait and an ordeal.
Why Blanco County rates apply here
Johnson City is in Blanco County, so a police authorized tow starts at $300 rather than the $272 that applies across the line in Hays. That is the county’s figure, not ours, and it catches people out who assume the Hill Country is one jurisdiction. It is not. Everything else is quoted before the truck rolls. See towing rates.
If you are passing through and stranded
Most of our Johnson City calls are people who do not live here, usually between Austin and Fredericksburg, usually with no idea who to ring. If that is you: you are about fifteen miles up US 281 from our Blanco yard, dispatch answers 24 hours a day, and we will tell you the price and the window before anything moves.
Call (512) 375-1215. You are not as stuck as you feel.
