wrecker or tow truck?

[keannu]

Do you use "wrecker" more or "tow truck" for dragging a wrecked car on the road?

 

[spongie]

Those words are common in American English.
It seems to me that "tow truck" is more popular.

 

[Raymott]

Do you use "wrecker" more or "tow truck" for dragging a wrecked car on the road?

Tow truck.

 

[Rover_KE]

I'd say 'breakdown vehicle', 'rescue vehicle' or 'recovery vehicle'.

We don't use wrecker in BE.

Rover

 

[Ouisch]

In some parts of the US the two words are interchangeable, in other areas a "wrecker" usually refers to a flatbed truck that carries the inoperable car in the bed, while a "tow truck" uses a hoist and winch to lift the front tires off the ground and pulls the vehicle behind it on the back wheels.

 

[keannu]

In some parts of the US the two words are interchangeable, in other areas a "wrecker" usually refers to a flatbed truck that carries the inoperable car in the bed, while a "tow truck" uses a hoist and winch to lift the front tires off the ground and pulls the vehicle behind it on the back wheels.

Perfect!! I've heard an unidentifiable pronunciation like "lackar" so far in Korean, and one day my wife asked me what such vehicles are called, and I tried to think with the pronunciation "lackar", and after this question, I found out it is a distorted Korean accent of "wrecker".
And now you clarified that "wrecker" is for carrying the whole car on it, while "tow truck" is for only half the wheels on it and the others dragged on the road. In Korea, they normally use "tow truck", which is called "lackar(wrecker)", so it seems to be a little bit wrong usage.