Should a driver try to reach a pull-off?

If the tire allows it and the pull-off is genuinely safer, yes. If the tire does not, stop, because driving on a failed tire usually ends somewhere worse.

Why do tires fail on descents?

Brake heat transfers into the wheel and the tire. A tire already low, damaged or worn is more likely to give way there than anywhere else on the route.

What time does the store open?

7:00 AM, Monday to Friday. Roadside assistance covers commercial units outside those hours.

Does an account speed up the response?

It settles authorization and billing and puts your sizes on file, which are the two things that most often delay a night call.

24-Hour Roadside Assistance in Colorado Springs, CO

Where a unit stops matters more on a grade

A truck that stops on level ground is a logistics problem. A truck that stops partway up or down a grade is a safety problem first.

Shoulder width varies, sight lines are shorter, and traffic arrives at speed with less warning. The practical advice is unglamorous: if there is a choice between stopping where the unit is and reaching a pull-off that is genuinely safe, and the tire allows it, take the pull-off. If the tire does not allow it, stop, because a unit driven on a failed tire frequently ends up stopped somewhere worse.

Tell the store which it is when you call. "On the shoulder on a grade with limited visibility" produces a different response from "in a pull-off."

Descending is harder on tires than climbing

Climbing loads an engine. Descending loads brakes, and brake heat does not stay in the brakes.

It transfers into the wheel and into the tire sitting on it, which is why a long descent is a tire event as well as a braking one. A tire already running low, already damaged, or already at the end of its life is considerably more likely to fail during or shortly after a descent than at any other point on a route.

Which is why pre-trip pressure checks matter more on routes like these. The failure happens on the mountain; the cause was in the yard.

What is covered

Commercial units: tractors, trailers, straight trucks and equipment. Colorado Springs carries all nine Purcell tire categories and opens at 7:00 AM, earlier than Denver or Craig.

Roadside assistance covers commercial units outside store hours of Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

What to have ready

The national roadside assistance page lists what any call needs. The addition on this terrain is whether the unit is in a safe position or on an exposed stretch, because that changes the order things are done in.

Authorization and billing hold up night calls more than anything mechanical, and a fleet account settles both.

About this store

The Colorado Springs store runs sixteen services and is managed by Tyler Campbell. Denver, Loveland and Craig run the same service.

See the national roadside assistance page for all 48 locations.