A truck on the shoulder costs money every hour it sits, and a tow alone does not tell you what broke. RDI Power’s roadside service sends a diesel technician to the truck to diagnose the problem, fix it there when the fix is sound, and get it moving again. When it cannot be fixed on the spot, you leave the roadside with a real diagnosis and a plan.
Who can call, and when
During shop hours, Monday to Friday from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, anyone with a diesel truck, bus, trailer or diesel RV in trouble can call (352) 433-3800 for roadside help.
Outside those hours, roadside assistance is for RDI Fleet accounts, 24/7. Fleet customers already have their trucks in our records, so the technician heading out knows the unit, its service history and the people to call before arriving.
What roadside service can handle
The goal at the side of the road is a sound repair, not a patch that fails 20 miles later. Common roadside work includes:
- Air brake and air system problems. Leaking lines and fittings, failed brake chambers and air leaks that keep the brakes from releasing. See brake systems.
- No-start and charging problems. Dead or failed batteries, corroded cables, starters and alternators. See batteries.
- Cooling system failures. Broken belts, burst hoses and coolant leaks.
- Fuel problems. Plugged fuel filters and water in the fuel.
- Derates and shutdowns. Sensor and wiring faults, and DEF or aftertreatment faults that cut power, found with a scan tool rather than a guess. See electrical systems.
- Trailer lights and wiring. Dead circuits, damaged plugs and corroded connections.
Not every failure can be repaired at the roadside. A failed transmission, internal engine damage or a broken driveline usually means the truck comes to the shop. When that happens, the technician walks you through the failure, and we work out with you how the truck gets to Brooksville. The diagnosis travels with the truck, so the shop picks up where the roadside call left off.
Where we cover
Roadside calls come from the roads around Brooksville: I-75 east of town, US-19 along the coast, the Suncoast Parkway, and SR-50 and US-41 through Brooksville, across Hernando, Pasco and Citrus counties. For fleet accounts, roadside help reaches across Central Florida through our mobile diesel repair coverage, up to about 100 miles from the shop.
Arrival depends on where the truck is and what is already scheduled, so you get an honest estimate on the call instead of a promise.
When you call
Have this ready, and the technician can arrive with the right parts and a head start on the diagnosis:
- The road you are on, which way you were headed, and the closest exit, mile marker or street address
- The unit number, plus year, make, model and engine
- The symptoms: noises, smells, smoke, what the truck did before it stopped and which lights came on
- Codes on the dash, if any
- Load status, and whether you are clear of the travel lanes
If you can, get the truck completely off the road and yourself away from traffic before you call. Put out your warning triangles. The truck can wait. You come first.
What to do, and not do, while you wait
- Do not keep cranking a truck that will not start. Long cranking drains the batteries and overheats the starter, adding a dead battery to whatever stopped the truck.
- Do not drive on a red warning. A red stop-engine lamp, a low air pressure warning or a coolant temperature climbing toward the red line means stop where it is safe, not limp to the next exit.
- Note what the dash shows. Take a photo of the warning lights and any messages before you shut the truck off. Some faults clear on restart, and that photo helps the diagnosis.
- Look, but stay safe. If you can do it away from traffic, note any fluid under the truck and its color. Do not open a hot radiator cap.
Roadside help as part of a fleet plan
Many breakdowns start as small problems that grew: a weeping hose, a slow air leak, a battery that tested weak last month. Scheduled PM and digital inspections catch a lot of those in the yard, where a repair is planned and cheap, instead of on the shoulder at night, where it is neither. That is why 24/7 roadside assistance is part of the RDI Fleet program. It is the backstop for a maintenance plan, not a substitute for maintenance.
Every roadside repair is documented like shop work: a digital inspection with photos and technician notes, added to the truck’s service history. Repairs on fleet accounts carry the RDI Fleet warranty of 2 years / 24,000 miles.
Get help or get covered
If a truck is down now during shop hours, call and tell us where it is. If you run a fleet and want help available after hours, nights and weekends, set up an RDI Fleet account before the next breakdown instead of after it.