A walk-around at the start of the shift prevents the afternoon call
A lot of roadside calls in a metro area are not sudden failures. They are slow leaks, cuts and low tires that were already there when the unit left the yard, and that finally gave out somewhere less convenient, usually in traffic and usually at the worst point of the day's schedule.
A two-minute walk-around before the first run catches most of them. Look at every tire, including the inside duals. Look for a tire visibly lower than its partner, a cut in the sidewall, a nail head in the tread, a valve cap missing. Thump or gauge the duals if you can.
What you find at 6:45 AM is a shop visit. The Fenton store opens at 7:00 AM, so a unit with a doubtful tire can be in the bay before most of the route has started, rather than on the shoulder of I-44 at two in the afternoon waiting for a service truck.
When it does happen on the road
Get the unit as far off the traveled lanes as is safe, hazards on, triangles out, and call. Give the location, the unit, the tire size and position, and what happened. If the tire was found low that morning and run anyway, say so: it changes what the technician looks for.
What is covered
Commercial units: tractors, trailers, straight trucks, vans and equipment. Authorization is easiest when it is settled in advance on a fleet account. A unit brought back afterwards can be looked at properly here, including heavy-duty truck alignment if the tire wore out of shape before it failed.
Nearest other roadside stores
De Soto to the south and Washington to the west also run roadside assistance.
About this store
The Fenton store is open Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and is managed by Daniel Garcia.
See the national roadside assistance page for all 48 locations.