TowingBossPro Blog — Running a Towing Business

Adding Roadside Service to Your Towing Business

Roadside work is the natural first service line to add for most tow companies. Jump starts, lockouts, tire changes and fuel delivery need less equipment than a tow, the calls are short, and a good roadside experience often turns into a tow customer or a repeat caller later.

But roadside can also eat your day if you are not careful. Short calls that pay less than a tow can crowd out the work that actually makes money. Here is how to add it the right way.

Why Roadside Makes Sense

With a lead driver in place, as covered in Building a Lead Driver So Your Towing Business Runs Without You on Every Call, you have the people to handle more types of work. Roadside fits well because it uses equipment and skills your drivers mostly already have. A jump pack, lockout tools, a good jack and some fuel cans are a small investment compared to a new truck.

Roadside also gets your name in front of more people. Someone who calls you for a lockout is likely to remember you when they need a tow. And the calls are usually quick, which helps fill gaps between tows.

Roadside is also a good training ground. Newer drivers can build confidence on jump starts and tire changes before moving up to tougher tows. That gives you a way to keep a new driver productive while he learns.

Decide What Roadside You Will Offer

Not every roadside service fits every company. Common ones include jump starts, lockouts, flat tire changes, fuel delivery and winch-outs from ditches or mud. Decide which you will do and which you will pass on.

Be honest about your drivers' skills. Lockouts on modern vehicles take practice and the right tools. A bad lockout attempt can damage a door and cost more than the call paid. Train first, then offer.

Write down your limits, too. Will you change a tire on a busy highway shoulder, or will that become a tow for safety? Will you do fuel delivery at night? Clear rules protect your drivers and make it easier for the call taker to tell customers what to expect.

Price It So It Pays

Roadside calls are short, but they still require a truck and a driver to drive out. Price for the trip, not just the minutes on scene. Many companies set a base rate for roadside that covers the drive, then adjust for distance or time of day.

Watch the numbers after you start. Reports by category show what roadside actually brings in compared to light-duty tows. If roadside is busy but not profitable, adjust your rates or your service area.

Make sure the customer knows the price before the truck rolls. Roadside customers are often surprised that a five-minute jump costs what it does, and a clear price on the phone avoids an argument at the car.

Dispatch Roadside Alongside Tows

The trick with roadside is fitting it in without slowing down the tows. A truck heading to a tow might pass right by a lockout. A driver finishing a drop-off might be five minutes from a dead battery.

In TowingBossPro, Roadside is its own category, so roadside calls stand out on the Waiting List map. You can see where they are relative to your trucks and other calls, circle or select them, and assign them to the closest driver and truck in one step. Auto-routing helps fit them into each truck's day in a sensible order.

Keep an eye on the day as a whole. A roadside call slipped between two tows can be pure profit. Three roadside calls in a row that pull a truck away from a waiting tow can cost you the bigger job. The map makes that tradeoff easy to see before you decide.

Turn Roadside Customers Into Repeat Customers

A roadside customer is often someone who has never called you before. Treat them like a future tow customer. Send an on-the-way text so they are not stuck guessing. Let them see the live map of the driver on the way in the customer app. Invoice right away and let them pay online.

After the call, ask for a review. Roadside customers who got rescued quickly are often happy to leave one. The customer app has a rate-us option and a referral option, which make that easy.

Know When Roadside Becomes a Tow

Sometimes a jump does not work or a tire cannot be changed on the spot. Have a clear plan for when a roadside call turns into a tow. Can the same driver do it? Does it need a different truck? What does the customer pay?

Decide this ahead of time so the driver can tell the customer right away. A smooth handoff from roadside to tow builds trust and keeps the job with you. Next up, the guide on adding heavy-duty work. See how roadside fits the whole picture on the towing business software page.