Before RDI Power had a building, it was a service truck working the fleets between Brooksville and Tampa. The shop came later, but Tampa never stopped being part of the territory. We still have no shop or office in the city. What we have is a mobile service that sends diesel technicians from Brooksville to trucks stopped on Tampa’s interstates, at its yards and job sites and around its freight hubs, with dealer-level diagnostic tools and the equipment to make the repair on site when the job allows.
Tampa’s interstates and toll roads
Three interstates run through Tampa, I-4, I-75 and I-275, along with the Selmon and Veterans expressways. FDOT’s 2025 counts give a sense of the load:
- I-4: about 21,896 trucks a day, 11.9% of 184,000 vehicles
- I-275: about 20,493 trucks a day among 253,000 vehicles
- Veterans Expressway: about 12,285 trucks a day
- SR-60: about 11,977 trucks a day
FDOT also lists I-4 as a Strategic Intermodal System highway and names eastbound I-4 from Tampa as one of Florida’s seven one-way evacuation routes. A stalled truck on any of these roads is a hazard for everyone around it.
If yours starts to fail, move right while you still have power and get onto the shoulder or the next ramp. Hazards on, triangles out at the required distances, and stay out of the truck and away from traffic. When you call, give your direction, the nearest exit and a mile marker, and say whether you are on a shoulder, a ramp or a merge.
Trucks working Port Tampa Bay and the rail yards
Port Tampa Bay calls itself Florida’s largest port by tonnage and by land, about 33 million tons a year across 5,000 acres. It moves nearly 15 million tons of petroleum a year, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, and handles granite, limestone, cement, gypsum, steel, fertilizer and containers through a 100-acre terminal. On the east side of the city, CSX’s Uceta Rail Yard handles storage and intermodal freight.
If your tractor hauls out of those terminals, a breakdown inside a secured area adds a step: access. Tell us who controls the gate, where the truck is parked and any site safety rules. Terminals are busy, so the safest place to work is usually a designated parking or staging area rather than a travel lane inside the property.
The same goes for air cargo. Tampa International has FedEx Express and UPS cargo service, and UPS built a $79.5 million sort building on the airport’s east side. If your truck breaks down on a run to one of those operations, give us the building and the gate, and expect the technician to follow the site’s check-in rules.
The breakdowns a Tampa technician fixes on the spot
The technician begins with a scan and live data, then tests the circuit or part that the evidence points to. RDI’s team is Caterpillar certified with ASE certified technicians, and the tools include Ford IDS and WiTECH for pickups and heavy-duty software for Class 8 engines such as Cummins, Detroit, Caterpillar and Volvo. Common Tampa calls that end on site:
- Air system faults. A leaking line or fitting that keeps a tractor’s spring brakes applied.
- No-start or no-crank. Batteries, cables, ground straps and starters.
- Charging failures. Alternators and belts.
- Overheating in traffic. Hoses, clamps, belts and fan problems.
- Fuel delivery. Filters, water in the fuel and air in the lines.
- Derates. Sensors, wiring and aftertreatment faults that cut power.
- Trailer electrical. Lights, plugs and wiring on the trailer side.
Each repair is written up with photos of what failed and the technician’s notes, and labor is warrantied for 3 years or 36,000 miles, the same as work in our bays.
When a Tampa truck has to come north
Some failures cannot be fixed well beside a highway or in a terminal lot: internal engine damage, a failed transmission or anything that needs the truck on a lift. In that case the technician explains what failed and why, and we work out with you how and when the truck reaches Brooksville. The diagnosis goes with it, so the shop starts where the roadside call left off.
A discount for Tampa’s military, police and fire
MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa is the parent installation for more than 15,000 active military, civil service and contractor personnel. If you are active duty or a veteran, or you serve with police or fire, RDI Power’s 10% heroes discount applies to your diesel. Mention it on the call.
Calling for help in Tampa
Weekdays from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, the shop answers Tampa breakdown calls at (352) 433-3800. Fleet operators who need coverage overnight and on weekends can get 24/7 roadside help through an RDI Fleet account; see roadside assistance. Tampa calls are part of the coverage described on mobile diesel repair. Fleets based in the city can read Tampa fleet maintenance, and for the airport’s west side, see Town ‘n’ Country mobile diesel repair.