Need a tow? Towing in Simi Valley, CA
The 118 carries our Thousand Oaks tow trucks into Simi Valley, from Madera Road to the Rocky Peak trailheads and every city street between. Whatever the job needs - wheel-lift, flatbed, winch or jump pack - you know its total before our truck takes the 118.
A car stopped on the Ronald Reagan Freeway: which route brings us into Simi Valley
From Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley is roughly 10 road miles. Our tow trucks either go north on the 23, the Moorpark Freeway, until it bends east as the 118, or take Madera Road, the arterial connecting the two cities. Your location and the traffic decide the route, and the route decides the arrival window you hear by phone.
Inside the city the 118 carries the name Ronald Reagan Freeway, given in December 1994, and its exits run from 22A and 22B at Madera Road through 23 First Street, 24 Erringer Road, 25 Sycamore Drive, 27 Tapo Canyon Road, 28 Stearns Street, 29 Yosemite and 30 Kuehner Drive to 32 Rocky Peak Road. Give the direction and the exit number you noticed most recently, since a tow truck can only reach you from your own lanes.
A call at 2 a.m. on a holiday runs like any other: a few questions, one total, and dispatch when you accept it. We give the arrival window after learning which end of the valley you are in and how the 23 and the 118 are flowing.
Quit on the climb to the pass, dead at a trailhead or at the library: Simi Valley's usual calls
Past Kuehner Drive the 118 climbs to Santa Susana Pass, roughly 1,200 feet up on the Los Angeles County line, then crosses Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park into Chatsworth. The last exit on the Ventura County side is Rocky Peak Road, exit 32; if your car fails on the climb, that exit number is how we locate you on the shoulder.
Hikers use the same stretch. Visitors to Rocky Peak Park, 4,800 acres of the Santa Susana Mountains, leave cars on the north side of the Rocky Peak Road off-ramp or up at the top of the pass, reached where Kuehner Drive becomes Santa Susana Pass Road. A day in the sun there produces dead batteries and locked-in keys, and most of those calls finish with a jump or lockout fix at the trailhead rather than a tow.
On the west side, the Reagan Library occupies its hilltop at 40 Presidential Drive. Parking is free and first come, first served; once the lot fills, visitors leave cars along Presidential Drive and take a shuttle up, and motor homes are directed there from the outset. We handle a car or SUV that will not start at the library; most motor homes are too heavy for our light-duty tow trucks - a limit we raise as soon as you call.
The Easy Fire began on that same west side, near Easy Street and Madera Road, at about 6 a.m. on October 30, 2019. It nearly encircled the library, burned 1,806 acres and shut the 23 between Thousand Oaks and Moorpark, the road we normally use to reach you. When fire or a wreck closes a route, we drive whatever is open and adjust the arrival window to match.
A city police department, a CHP beat and rules for big rigs: Simi Valley tows
Unlike Thousand Oaks, which contracts with the Ventura County Sheriff, Simi Valley runs its own police department. The Simi Valley Police Department deals with crashes and tows on city streets, and its dispatch line is the number to try first when a car has vanished from a curb. On the 118 itself, crashes and freeway tows fall to the CHP's Moorpark Area, which patrols the 118 from SR 34 east to the Los Angeles County line.
- Street tows
- Simi Valley Police Department, 3901 Alamo Street, (805) 583-6950
- Freeway tows on the 118
- CHP Moorpark Area, 610 Spring Road, Moorpark, (805) 553-0800
- Abandoned or oversized rigs
- SVPD Traffic Bureau, (805) 583-6921
- Road miles from Thousand Oaks
- about 10
To release a car after a police tow, the department needs proof of current registration and ownership, a valid driver's license or a licensed driver with you, and the City's administrative fee, paid in cash or by credit card only; storage is paid separately to the tow company at the yard. If someone else collects the car, they need a letter signed by you and a copy of your license. Under Vehicle Code 14602.6, a car impounded from a driver with a suspended license or no license can be held for 30 days, and the notice allows 10 days to request a post-storage hearing.
Large vehicles at the curb get close attention in Simi Valley. Municipal code section 4-9.402 requires a police permit for anything longer than 23 feet, wider than 7 feet or taller than 8 feet, and for every trailer, to remain on a city street beyond a resident's allowance of less than 48 hours in front of their home; visitors have no grace period at all. Violators are cited, and the vehicle may be towed at the owner's cost under Vehicle Code 22651.
For a car taken from a store or apartment lot, state law applies but the record is local: under Vehicle Code 22658 the property owner who orders the tow has one hour from approving it to inform the police department, and a tow truck still on the property must release the car immediately if the owner asks.
A crossover on the 118 at rush hour: our tow truck, or the free patrol?
On the 118 the first question is the drivetrain. All-wheel-drive crossovers, four-wheel-drive trucks and electric cars ride the flatbed deck, tires clear of the road, and so does a car that sits low, carries crash damage or will not roll; a two-wheel-drive sedan or light pickup can usually take the wheel-lift. Size is the other limit. A motor home, a big box truck or a heavy work truck exceeds the rating of our light-duty tow trucks, and the first call tells you so, before any waiting starts.
On weekdays, during the 6:30-to-9:30 and 2-to-6 commute windows, a Ventura County Freeway Service Patrol truck covers a 14.2-mile beat on the 118 from the 23 to Rocky Peak; its tow stops at a safe place off the freeway, not at your mechanic or your home. Beyond that point, and at all other hours, the tow is private, and a single call gets you a 24-hour tow off the 118.
You choose the destination: a Simi Valley shop, the dealer, your driveway, or a mechanic back in Thousand Oaks. The distance between hook-up and drop-off makes up most of the price, what goes into a Simi Valley tow price explains the rest, and the single total is agreed on the call itself.
West to Moorpark, over the pass to Chatsworth, or home to the Conejo Valley
The 118 links Simi Valley with Moorpark and its junction with the 23, and our tow trucks also cover Newbury Park, Westlake Village and Oak Park. For Chatsworth, over the pass, phone us and we will tell you whether we can take the job and what it costs by the mile. Everything else is on our home page for Thousand Oaks towing.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the record of a Simi Valley street tow kept?
Call the Simi Valley Police Department, (805) 583-6950. Tows ordered by its officers are recorded there, and a property owner who has a car removed from a private lot must inform the city police no more than an hour after approving the tow. To get the car released, bring proof of registration and ownership, a valid driver's license or a licensed driver, and the City's administrative fee in cash or by credit card.
Is a crash on the 118 a CHP or a city matter?
A crash on the 118 itself belongs to the CHP: its Moorpark Area patrols the 118 from SR 34 to the Los Angeles County line, and any tow it orders goes to the next company on the CHP rotation. On city streets the Simi Valley Police Department writes the report. If you are unhurt and clear of the road, you may call Thousand Oaks Tow Truck yourself and pick the destination.
What is the RV parking allowance on a Simi Valley street?
An RV may sit in front of your Simi Valley house for less than 48 hours without a permit. Simi Valley Municipal Code 4-9.402 applies to every trailer and to any vehicle over 23 feet long, 7 feet wide or 8 feet high; beyond that allowance, or for a visitor's rig, you need a police permit for up to 10 consecutive days, six per residence each year. Without one the vehicle can be cited and towed at the owner's expense.
Who helps on the 118 during rush hour?
On weekdays from 6:30 to 9:30 and 2 to 6, the Ventura County Freeway Service Patrol works the 118 between the 23 and Rocky Peak, offering a jump, a tire change, a gallon of fuel or a tow to a safe spot off the freeway. It never delivers to a repair shop or a home, and nights and weekends fall to private tow companies such as Thousand Oaks Tow Truck.
What is the arrival time for a Simi Valley tow?
A Simi Valley arrival time hinges on our tow truck's location when you phone and on traffic on the 23 and the 118, so Thousand Oaks Tow Truck gives an arrival window by phone instead of posting one here. Simi Valley is about 10 road miles away, and the driver phones you shortly before arrival.
On the 118 or a Simi Valley street: the details that get a tow truck to you
Pricing and dispatch both happen on one call once we have these four details.
- Your position: the 118 exit number and direction, or a street and its nearest cross street
- Year and make: plus the model and any all-wheel or electric drivetrain
- What stopped it: no start, no movement, crash damage, a flat or a lockout
- Where it ends up: a Simi Valley shop, a dealer, home, or still undecided