Tow truck recovery: your first rescue
To recover a car in Nordic Recovery, make the scene safe, line up your tow truck, then work through the recovery steps on screen. Lower the bed, hook the car, winch it up and secure it before driving to the workshop. A careful setup makes the whole job easier.
Before your first recovery
Take a job from the radio and follow the route to the stranded vehicle. Slow down before you reach it. Leave room to move your truck into place. The game changes your controls when you enter the work view, so check the next action shown on screen.
On a phone or tablet, turn the screen sideways and use the on-screen controls. With a keyboard or controller, the buttons below use the Xbox-style layout. See all driving and recovery controls if you need a reminder.
Secure the scene
When you arrive, dispatch reminds you: lights and triangle first.
- Hazard lights: press B (Y on the gamepad). You can switch them on while you're still driving, and they stay on until you switch them off.
- Warning triangle: stop the truck near the vehicle and press E (A) to put it out.
- Talk to the driver: stop close to them and press E (A). Drivers have plenty to say, and some are shaken, grumpy or chatty.
The safety bonus is only paid when you have used both the hazard lights and the triangle.
Position the truck
Drive past the car and reverse up to it, straight in line. A frame on the ground shows where the truck should stand, and a gauge shows the distance, sideways offset and angle, graded Good, Acceptable or Poor. Confirm the spot with E (A).
A crooked setup has consequences. Stand too close and the bed hits the car. Stand at an angle and the car slides sideways and scrapes against the edge of the bed, or slides off the wheel-lift forks. A straight setup with no mishaps earns the clean recovery bonus. If the setup is poor, the game asks you to confirm again before going ahead.
The flatbed recovery
After you confirm, the game switches to a work view with its own camera.
- Tilt the bed: hold Z (D-pad down) to tilt and slide out the bed.
- Pay out the cable: hold S (LT) to run the winch cable out to the car.
- Hook on: the hook swings back and forth. Press E (A) when it's in the zone.
- Winch in: hold W, or squeeze RT, where the pressure sets the speed. Watch the cable tension gauge. When it turns red, ease off. Keep pulling and the cable jerks, and in the end it lets go and you have to hook on again.
- Raise the bed: hold Q (D-pad up) to tilt the bed back up.
- Strap the wheels: tap Space (X) quickly. If you're too slow, the strap slips.
Then drive to the workshop. Until the vehicle has been lifted, Esc (B) packs the rig away so you can reposition.
Other recovery methods
Ditch: snatch block
A car in the ditch needs a snatch block on a tree before you hook on. It doubles the pulling power.
Wheel lift
Instead of a bed, you lower the wheel lift, slide the forks under the wheels, tighten the wheel clamps, lift the front axle and attach the safety chains.
Car on its roof
Run the cable over the car to the wheels on the far side, hook onto the suspension and winch gently until it tips back onto its wheels. A crooked pull makes it slam down hard. After that it goes on the bed like a ditch recovery.
Through the ice
Stand on firm ground well back from the hole, at least 9 metres. Closer than that and the ice cracks under the truck. Then a long, careful pull brings the car out and up onto the bed.
Heavy vehicles
Lorries and buses in the ditch need the heavy truck with a boom: lower the outriggers, attach two cables, winch slowly, then take the vehicle on the wheel lift. An overturned timber truck is righted with the rotator. Which truck carries what is on Tow trucks and the shop.
Mishaps to avoid
| What you see in the game | What to try next |
|---|---|
| The position gauge says Poor | Straighten the truck and check the distance before confirming. |
| The hook misses the attachment zone | Wait for it to swing into the marked zone before pressing. |
| The tension gauge turns red | Ease off the winch. Pull again gently once the tension drops. |
| The car slips or scrapes the bed | Check your alignment. Reposition before lifting the vehicle if needed. |
| The strap will not stay tight | Follow the repeated-press prompt shown for your controls. |
- The bed hits the car: you parked too close.
- A jerk on the cable: you winched too hard.
- A car whizzes past very close: park the truck so it shields you.
- An outrigger sinks into the verge on heavy jobs.
Bumps into traffic or the wreck cost you part of the safety bonus. See The workshop, pay and repairs.
Finish the job
Once the car is secured, drive steadily to the workshop. The recovery is only part of the job: a clean delivery protects your pay too. For your next rescue, read which tow truck can carry each load and tips for driving in the snow.
