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Rig Doctor LLC truck and trailer repair Rig DoctorTruck and Trailer Repair Call (319) 529-0920

Breakdown Checklist

What to Tell Dispatch When You Call

Give dispatch your exact location, the unit details and what the truck is actually doing, and the response gets shorter and the parts on board get more likely to be the right ones.

The Five Answers

Have these ready and the truck leaves sooner with the right parts on it.

  1. Your exact locationHighway, direction of travel, the last mile marker or exit you passed, the scale, the truck stop or the jobsite address. If you have a phone location, read the coordinates. Being one exit off can cost an hour.
  2. The unitYear, make and model of the tractor or trailer, the unit number, and the tire size if it is a tire call. For a reefer, the make and model of the unit itself. This is what decides which parts come on the truck.
  3. What actually happenedWarning lights and fault codes word for word, noises, smells, leaks, and what the unit will and will not do. What it was doing in the minute before it stopped matters more than almost anything else.
  4. Whether you are safe where you areIn a travel lane, on a narrow shoulder, on a ramp or in a lot. That changes what gets done first and whether you should be out of the cab at all.
  5. Whether the load has a clockA reefer with product, a live appointment, hours about to run out. Say so. It changes the order things happen in.

Before You Get Out of the Cab

If you are in a travel lane or on a narrow shoulder, the safest place is usually inside the cab with the belt on and the flashers going, not walking the shoulder with triangles. Tell dispatch where you are standing, because that changes what happens first.

Set your triangles only if you can do it without stepping into traffic, and set them the way you were taught for the road you are on. On a divided highway that is ten, one hundred and two hundred feet back. If the shoulder is too narrow to do it safely, do not.

What Not to Do

Do not keep cranking a unit that starts and dies. Do not keep resetting an alarm that returns. Do not roll on a dual pair with one flat, because the good tire is now carrying double load and building heat. All three turn a repair into a replacement.

Do not release the parking brakes to go looking for an air leak. The system is designed to fail toward the brake, and finding out where at highway speed is the expensive version.

Questions Drivers Actually Ask

Do you really answer at night?
Yes. A technician answers the phone rather than a call center, and the profile has been set to open twenty four hours since the business started. Several reviews specifically mention being the only company that picked up after eleven at night.
How far will you travel?
The Cedar Valley and the I 380, US 20 and US 218 corridors are routine. Longer runs happen and have happened, including a call ninety miles out at three in the morning. Distance is discussed on the phone before anyone is dispatched, so the cost is never a surprise.
What does a roadside call cost?
You are quoted the callout, the labor and the travel on the phone before a truck rolls. There is a two hour labor minimum and travel is billed post to post, which is standard for heavy duty mobile work. Nothing starts until you agree to the number.
Can you fix it on the shoulder, or will it need a shop?
Most roadside work never needs a shop. Tires, air, electrical, lighting, filters, brakes and a long list of trailer repairs are all field work. When a job genuinely belongs in a bay you get told that early rather than after four hours of labor.
Do you carry parts, or will you have to leave for them?
Common failure parts ride on the service truck, including air hose and fittings, governors, lighting, connectors, filters, fluids and a working selection of new and used commercial tires. Reviews mention this specifically, because a tech who leaves for parts doubles the length of the call.
Do you work on RVs and buses?
Yes. A Class A coach sits on a heavy chassis with truck brakes, truck tires and truck electrical, which is why heavy duty mobile service is usually the right call rather than an RV dealer.
Do you do farm equipment?
Yes. AG equipment is part of the business and field service through planting and harvest is a large part of the year.
Can you do our annual DOT inspection at our yard?
Yes, and it is the sensible way to do it. The inspector and the mechanic arrive in the same truck, so anything the inspection turns up can usually be repaired on the same visit.
Find the Shop

Where to Find Rig Doctor LLC

10145 Independence Ave, Waterloo, IA 50703

Get DirectionsOpen in Google MapsCall (319) 529-0920

Day or night, we keep your rig runnin’ right.

One number, answered by a technician, at any hour.

Call (319) 529-0920

Call Dispatch(319) 529-0920