Heavy Duty Towing in Ooltewah, TN

Heavy Duty Towing in Ooltewah is about I-75 exits 7, 9 and 11 and the roads that feed them. Ooltewah is an unincorporated community in Hamilton County, an enclave inside the city of Collegedale, with a 2020 census count of 684 people and an elevation of 761 feet. Its ZIP code is 37363, and schools in that ZIP include Ooltewah High School and East Hamilton Middle/High School. A tractor-trailer, bus or box truck down near these exits is a heavy tow. Call (423) 387-0740.

The three exits

From the I-75 exit table: exit 7 is US-11 south and US-64 west (SR 2 west) and SR 317 west (Bonny Oaks Drive) toward Summit and Collegedale, and it starts the US-11, US-64 and SR 2 concurrency. Exit 9 is SR 317 (Apison Pike) toward Ooltewah and Collegedale, and it is the exit for Volkswagen Drive, which serves the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant. Exit 11 is US-11 north and US-64 east (SR 2 east), which ends that concurrency at Ooltewah and Collegedale. Say the exit number and direction first. Everything else follows.

Volkswagen next door

The Volkswagen plant sits on a 1,400-acre parcel of the 6,000-acre Enterprise South Industrial Park in eastern Chattanooga. Production began in April 2011. The plant makes the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport, a supplier park holds eight companies, and CSX and Norfolk Southern serve the site. Automotive freight uses exit 9 and Volkswagen Drive. If you are hauling parts for the plant or a supplier, tell us the shipper and whether a delivery window matters.

History near the rails

Ooltewah was once the county seat of James County, which went bankrupt in 1919 and was folded into Hamilton County. The former James County Courthouse in downtown Ooltewah is on the National Register of Historic Places. In the Civil War, the railroad through town mattered: a Southern Unionist from Ooltewah led a group that destroyed three railroad bridges near Chattanooga on November 8, 1861, and Union cavalry burned the Ooltewah railroad bridge on November 25, 1863.

What I-75 does here

Heading north from the Split, I-75 climbs White Oak Mountain in Hamilton County, where Wikipedia notes a steep ascent up the western slope and a truck climbing lane on the northbound side. A loaded trailer that overheats or loses power on that climb is a common heavy-tow scenario on any mountain interstate. Tell us the milepost or the nearest exit and we can find you.

North toward Cleveland

From exit 11, I-75 runs about 9 miles by posted milepost to exit 20 in Bradley County, where the US-64 Bypass leads into Cleveland. That stretch is where Ooltewah-bound and Cleveland-bound freight share the road. When you call, tell us the last exit you passed and the next one you saw.

The name

The name Ooltewah may come from Cherokee or Muscogee (Creek) words. One possibility is "water town," and locals sometimes translate it as "Owls Nest" or "Owls Roost." The 2020 census counted 684 people in the community itself, with 337 households, so most of the traffic around here is passing through on I-75 and the state routes.

Address versus location

The mailing address "Ooltewah" and the city limit do not always match. Give us the exit, the road and the nearest cross street, and we will find the truck.

Call checklist

• Exit 7, 9 or 11, or the road name, and your direction
• Unit type and weight class
• Loaded or empty, and the cargo (hazmat or not)
• What is wrong
• Who pays: you, a fleet, a broker or an insurer

The dispatcher gives an honest arrival estimate on the call. Call (423) 387-0740 or

Get a Free Estimate

.