For DOD ID cardholders, Fort Bliss Auto Crafts (Army MWR) runs a towing service Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at (915) 568-7280, and outside those hours you’d call an independent tow operator and confirm access with installation authorities first. If your car is missing on post, ask installation authorities where it went. Once a car sits in an off-post Texas storage facility, Texas tow yard rules cover how you get it back.

Quick Tow EP is a referral service. We connect drivers with independent local tow operators. The driver hires and pays the operator directly, and the operator quotes the price. Quick Tow EP does no towing, roadside work or storage itself.

Who tows on Fort Bliss

Fort Bliss Auto Crafts, part of Army MWR, runs a towing service that’s open to DOD ID cardholders. That’s the on-post towing option MWR lists. The Auto Crafts towing page lists the hours and phone number.

Off post, independent tow operators serve the El Paso area. The operator quotes the price and does the work.

One thing to sort out before anything moves: whether an off-post truck can get through the gate and where it’s allowed to go. That’s an installation question, not a towing company question. Ask installation authorities, then confirm the same details with the operator when you call.

If your car breaks down on post

Work through this in order:

  1. If you have a DOD ID card and it’s Tuesday to Saturday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., call Fort Bliss Auto Crafts towing at (915) 568-7280.
  2. If it’s outside those hours, call an independent tow operator.
  3. Before the truck heads your way, confirm with installation authorities that an off-post operator can access your location, and tell the operator exactly where the car sits.
  4. Write down the operator’s name, phone number and quoted price before you agree to anything.
  5. Photograph the car and its location while you wait.

In a dust storm, NWS advises pulling off the pavement as far as possible, stopping, turning off lights, setting the emergency brake, taking your foot off the brake pedal so the tail lights are not lit, and never stopping on the traveled portion of the roadway. Get yourself to a safe spot first, then make the calls.

If the breakdown happens off post on US-54 or I-10, TxDOT’s HERO program covers I-10, Loop 375 and US-54 during its posted hours at 915-790-HERO (4376). Under Transportation Code Section 545.157, when approaching a stopped tow truck using its lights on a road with two or more lanes in that direction, drivers must vacate the closest lane, or slow to 20 mph under the posted limit (5 mph if the limit is under 25 mph). A dead battery in a post parking lot may be a jump start rather than a tow: Fort Bliss Auto Crafts lists a jump start at $30 for DOD ID cardholders during its posted hours, so ask Auto Crafts about a jump start first. Off-post operators set their own prices and quote their own rates.

What on-post towing costs

Army MWR publishes its price list, and these are the figures to plan around:

  • Lockout: $50 (MWR)
  • Jump start: $30 (MWR)
  • Tow to Fort Bliss Auto Crafts: $50 plus $2 per mile after the first 5 miles (MWR)
  • Tow to any other location: $75 plus $2 per mile after the first 5 miles (MWR)

Those rates come from the Auto Crafts towing page. Off-post operators set their own prices, so ask for the quote up front. Our post on tow truck cost in El Paso explains what usually drives the number.

Can an off-post tow truck come on base?

That’s an installation access question, and the answer isn’t something a towing company or a referral service can give you. We don’t have a published Fort Bliss gate-access rule to point you to, so ask installation authorities what an off-post operator needs.

Do this instead: call installation authorities and ask what an off-post operator needs to get to your vehicle, and whether there’s a staging point outside the gate. Then call the operator and confirm they can meet those terms. Get both answers before the truck rolls.

My car was towed on post. Where did it go?

Ask installation authorities. On-post towing, impound and where vehicles end up are installation matters, and there’s no published Fort Bliss regulation to point you to. Call the installation directly, describe the car, and ask where it was taken and what you need to bring.

If they tell you it’s at an off-post Texas storage facility, the Texas rules below take over. If it’s at a facility in New Mexico, like Sunland Park or Santa Teresa, Texas rules do not apply there. Texas TDLR rules and Texas statutes do not govern a tow, storage or registration in New Mexico; contact the agency or company that handled the tow, and use the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (NMMVD) for New Mexico titles and registration.

If EPPD towed the car off post, call (915) 212-0205 or search the URVMS online vehicle database for the City of El Paso Municipal Vehicle Storage Facility at 11615 Railroad Drive, open 24 hours. If you are not sure which agency towed it, ask installation authorities first. Note that some vehicles have a hold and cannot be released, so call before visiting. Our towed car lookup guide and El Paso impound guide walk through the search and the paperwork.

Getting your car out of an off-post Texas tow yard

Once a car is in a Texas vehicle storage facility (VSF), state rules set the process. TDLR licenses tow companies, tow operators and VSFs, and its consumer information page spells out what you’ll need.

Bring this checklist:

  • Photo ID: any state driver’s license or ID card, any federal photo ID, or a photo ID from a foreign government such as a Mexico driver’s license or a matricula consular (TDLR).
  • One proof of ownership: a driver’s license whose name matches the registration record, an insurance card naming you, the title, a notarized power of attorney signed by the owner, a tax collector’s receipt plus registration renewal card, a current lease or rental agreement, or TDLR’s Personal Vehicle Owner Removal and Inspection form (TDLR).
  • Payment for the towing and storage fees (TDLR).

A few protections are worth knowing. A VSF may not refuse release just because your valid photo ID shows a different address than the title and registration records, under Section 2303.160 of the Texas Occupations Code. If your papers are in the glove box or console, the VSF must let you get to them, under Section 2303.158. A VSF that takes cars 24 hours a day must let you claim or access your car within one hour at any time. One that doesn’t must do so within one hour between 8 a.m. and midnight Monday to Saturday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, except national holidays (TDLR).

At the counter, know what the paperwork should show. For each nonconsent tow the tow company must issue a tow ticket that itemizes each charge and shows the company’s licensed name, public phone number, certificate of registration number and the operator’s TDLR license number (TDLR). The VSF must tell owners TDLR’s website, email, mailing address and phone for complaints (TDLR).

On fees, TDLR lists daily storage at $22.85 per day or part of a day for a vehicle 25 feet or less and $39.99 for longer, after the 2023 adjustment. A day begins and ends at midnight, and a VSF may not charge more than one day of storage if the vehicle is there less than 12 hours (TDLR). For a Texas-registered vehicle, a VSF may not charge more than five days of storage unless the owner notice is mailed or published (TDLR). The notification fee is up to $50 and isn’t allowed if the car is reclaimed within 24 hours or before notice is sent (TDLR). The impoundment fee may not exceed $20 and only applies in specific circumstances, with the exact services listed on the bill (TDLR). A VSF may also collect fees owed to a law enforcement agency or government entity, but may not charge other storage-related fees (TDLR).

Inside El Paso city limits, City Code Section 12.54.020 caps a nonconsent tow at $100 for a light duty tow (vehicle gross vehicle weight rating not more than 10,000 lbs), $350 for a medium duty tow (more than 10,000 but less than 25,000 lbs) and $450 for a heavy duty tow (more than 25,000 lbs). Under Section 12.54.020(D), if the vehicle has been hooked up but not towed from the scene, it must be released on payment of one-half the regular tow fee, and there is no charge if it has not been hooked up. Inside El Paso city limits, that one-half regular tow fee rule governs the drop fee. TDLR’s statewide drop fee maximums of $135 for a vehicle 10,000 lbs or less, $190 for over 10,000 but under 25,000 lbs, and $244 over 25,000 lbs apply outside city limits or where no lower local rule exists, and a city or county rule can set a drop fee lower, never higher.

Before you pay, check the operator’s license in the TDLR License Search by name, license number, city, county or ZIP. If something looks wrong, you can file a complaint online with TDLR. Filing a complaint isn’t a substitute for requesting a tow hearing, but you may do both (TDLR). You also have the right to a tow hearing: the written request must reach a justice court in the county before the 14th day after the car was placed in storage, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and missing the deadline waives the hearing. The 14 days do not start until the tow company or VSF gives you the information needed to fill out the request, and the deadline does not apply if the required notice was never given. The court may charge a $20 filing fee, and the hearing must be held before the 21st calendar day after the court receives the request (TDLR, Occupations Code Section 2308.458). At the hearing the burden of proof is on the person who asked for it, and the issues are probable cause and whether the charge exceeded the allowed amount (Occupations Code Section 2308.458). TDLR towing customer service is (800) 803-9202 in state and (512) 463-6599 (TDLR).

For more on fees and your options, see our posts on Texas towing fee limits and towing rights for Texas drivers. If you need something out of the car rather than the car itself, read getting belongings from a tow yard in Texas. And if someone else is picking the car up, someone else picking up a car from impound covers the paperwork.

PCS moves and long-distance vehicle transport

A PCS move is a different job from a local tow. Start the arrangements early, keep photos of the car’s condition, and get the quote and pickup window in writing.

Our long-distance tow from El Paso guide and the long-distance towing service page cover how that works. For a Tesla, the owner’s manual requires all four tires off the ground and recommends a flatbed; see the Tesla transport mode steps before the driver arrives.

Frequently asked questions

Does Fort Bliss have a towing service?

Yes, for DOD ID cardholders. Fort Bliss Auto Crafts, part of Army MWR, runs a towing service Tuesday to Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at (915) 568-7280. Off post, independent El Paso operators handle tows as well.

How much does Fort Bliss Auto Crafts towing cost?

MWR lists a lockout at $50, a jump start at $30, a tow to Fort Bliss Auto Crafts at $50 plus $2 per mile after the first 5 miles, and a tow to any other location at $75 plus $2 per mile after the first 5 miles. Those are MWR’s published rates. Off-post operators quote their own.

Can a civilian tow truck get onto Fort Bliss?

That’s an installation access question, and we don’t have a published Fort Bliss gate-access rule to point you to. Ask installation authorities what an off-post operator needs to reach your vehicle, then confirm the same details with the operator before the truck heads your way.

What if my car breaks down on post on a Sunday?

Auto Crafts lists Tuesday to Saturday hours, so on Sunday you’d call an independent tow operator. Before the truck comes, confirm access with installation authorities and confirm the plan with the operator. Get the quote and the operator’s details in writing.

Where do towed cars on Fort Bliss go?

Ask installation authorities. On-post towing and impound are installation matters, and there’s no published Fort Bliss regulation describing where vehicles go. If the car ends up at an off-post Texas storage facility, Texas VSF rules cover the release.

Can I ship my car for a PCS move?

If you need to move a car long distance, arrange it early and get the quote and pickup window in writing. Photograph the car before pickup. Our long-distance towing page explains the options.

When to call for a tow

Call for a tow when the car can’t be driven safely, or when a jump or a tire change won’t get it moving. If you’re on post, start with Auto Crafts during its hours and installation authorities for anything else. Quick Tow EP is a referral service. Call (915) 320-5573 and Quick Tow EP will connect you with an independent local tow operator.