24/7 towing and roadside help
Towing and Tow Truck Help in Red Deer, Alberta
Stuck in Red Deer? Call 1-888-TOW-1213. We lock your price by text, send the nearest available partner tow company and check on you until help arrives.
If anyone is hurt or you're stopped in a live lane, call 911 first.
- Check-ins until help arrives
- Driver card and truck tracking
- Price locked by text
- Photo-protected tow
How it works in Red Deer. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner in the Red Deer area does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price. Not in Red Deer? Find a tow truck near you.
Red Deer tow truck help
Towing in Red Deer, Exit by Exit on the QEII
Red Deer sits midway between Calgary and Edmonton, and the Queen Elizabeth II Highway skirts the west side of the city. If you break down on it, the fastest way to get help to the right spot is to tell us the nearest exit. Here's what's where:
- Exit 391, McKenzie Road. The Gasoline Alley stretch south of the city, where the highway widens to six lanes past the fuel stops and restaurants.
- Exit 394, Gaetz Avenue. Northbound, this is where Gaetz splits off toward the city center.
- Exit 395, Taylor Drive and 19 Street. The other way into the south end.
- Exit 397, 32 Street. Access to Red Deer Polytechnic. West of the highway it turns into the C&E Trail.
- The river crossing. North of 32 Street, the QEII drops into the Red Deer River valley and crosses beside a rail bridge.
- Exit 401, Highway 11 (67 Street). West to Sylvan Lake and Rocky Mountain House, east into the north end.
- Exit 405, Highway 11A. The city's northern edge, and 82 Street inside it.
Not near an exit? A kilometer marker, a bridge or even "just past the Blindman River" helps. Then we lock your price by text and send a vetted local partner.
In the city
Through downtown, Highway 2A becomes one-way pairs: 49 Avenue northbound, Gaetz Avenue and 51 Avenue southbound. If you stall on one, tell us which street and which block. Stuck at the 67 Street and Gaetz intersection near Parkland Mall? Hazards on, stay put, and ask for a tow.
Central Alberta weather
Long, Dry, Cold Winters, and Summer Storms
Environment Canada's 1981 to 2010 normals for the Red Deer airport show an average January low of about minus 18 C and about 120 cm of snow a year. Lows fall below minus 20 C on about 32 days a year, and below minus 30 C on about 8.
The QEII between Calgary and Edmonton is known for winter collisions. Some mean hours of delay or a closure, with traffic sent onto Highway 2A. If one happens near you, stay in your car unless it's unsafe to. Keep the engine running only if the tailpipe is clear of snow.
What the cold does to your car
- A weak battery won't turn the engine over after a night below minus 20. That's a jump start, unless the battery is cracked or swollen.
- Tire pressure drops in hard cold. A soft tire on a frozen morning may just need air. A flat with a good spare is a tire change.
- Slid into a snowbank on a side street in Kentwood or Timberlands? If the car isn't damaged, ask for a winch-out.
Summer brings its own trouble. The same station records thunderstorms on about 24 days a year and hail on a couple of those. If hail is pounding down, a gas station canopy or a parking garage beats the open shoulder.
Red Deer Parking Bans and Alberta's Move Over Rule
Plowing bans. The city clears Green Routes first. Those are collectors and transit routes, often with a yellow center line. Other routes come next. When crews are clearing, red A-frame NO PARKING signs go up at least 12 hours ahead, and the ban holds day and night until your street is done. Cars left in the way can be ticketed and towed. Details are on the City of Red Deer parking restrictions page.
Moving over. Alberta drivers passing any stopped roadside vehicle with flashing lights, tow trucks included, must move to the far lane. If that isn't safe, they must slow to 60 km/h or the posted limit, whichever is lower. Speed fines double around them. See the Government of Alberta roadside worker page. Before a long drive, check 511 Alberta for closures.
Areas We Cover Around Red Deer
- Downtown and Waskasoo
- Riverside Meadows and North Red Deer
- Normandeau and Glendale
- Kentwood, Johnstone Park and Timberlands
- Clearview Ridge, Inglewood and Vanier Woods
- Bower, Anders Park and Deer Park Village
- Gasoline Alley and Red Deer County
- Blackfalds and Lacombe to the north
- Penhold and Innisfail to the south
- Sylvan Lake to the west
Red Deer Towing Questions
Can I leave my broken-down car on the QEII shoulder?
Alberta's rules let you stop on a provincial highway shoulder when the car can't move under its own power or there's an emergency. That's exactly a breakdown. It still isn't a safe place to wait long, so call right away and we'll get a truck moving.
I ran out of gas between Gasoline Alley and Innisfail. Do I need a tow?
Probably not. Fuel delivery brings enough gas to get you to the next station. If the car still won't start after that, we text you a new price for a tow first.
Can I ride along to the shop?
When it's safe and the partner allows it, yes. If not, we help you get a ride. That's part of the Stay-With-You Promise, along with your driver's name and photo by text.
My car is stuck at a Sylvan Lake beach lot. Do you cover that?
Call and we'll tell you right away which partner can reach you. Sylvan Lake is about 25 km west on Highway 11 or 11A. Share your location on the call, and you can track the truck on a map as it heads out.
Roadside help in Red Deer, AB
Tow Truck and Roadside Services in Red Deer
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network for Red Deer drivers. Tell us what happened, and we send a vetted local towing company near you with a truck suited to the job: a tow truck for a car that can't be driven (a flatbed where the vehicle needs one, like many all-wheel-drive cars), or a service truck for a jump start, lockout, flat tire, fuel delivery or winch-out.
Car towing
Cars, SUVs, minivans and light pickups. Price locked by text, photos before hookup.
Car towing
Jump starts
Clicks, dim dash lights or nothing at all? A dead battery jump, day or night.
Jump starts
Car lockouts
Keys locked inside, on the seat or in the trunk. A partner works to get you back in without damage.
Car lockouts
Flat tire changes
Got a spare but no safe way to put it on? A partner swaps it for you.
Flat tire changes
Fuel delivery
Ran out of gas? Enough fuel to get you to the nearest station.
Fuel delivery
Winch-outs
Stuck in snow, mud or a shallow ditch near the road? A partner can usually pull you out.
Winch-outsThe Sentinel Stay-With-You Promise
Seven Promises on Every Red Deer Call
Read the fine print on the promise page.
We stay with you. From your call until the truck arrives, we check on you by text.
See your driver before they arrive. You get their name, photo and truck by text, and you can track your truck on a map.
Your family knows too. Give us one number, and we text them your location and arrival time.
Photo-protected tow. Before hookup, your driver photographs all 4 sides of your vehicle. We text you the photos.
Price locked by text. You get your price by text before we dispatch. That price is the most you pay for the job. If the job changes, we text a new price first and you decide.
Never stranded after. Ride along in the truck when it's safe and allowed, or we help you get a ride. We also point you to a good repair shop.
Free Sentinel Circle. After your first job, your vehicle is on file. Next time, just text "TOW" for priority dispatch.
How it works
From Your Call to Your Driver
- 01You call
Our 24/7 line answers
Call 1-888-TOW-1213. Tell us where you are, what you drive and what went wrong.
- 02We lock it in
Your price, by text
We text your price before anyone is sent. That's the most you'll pay for the job you described.
- 03A partner accepts
The nearest truck takes it
The nearest available partner tow company accepts your job. They're vetted for insurance and licensing.
- 04You see who's coming
Driver card and tracking
You get your driver's name, photo and truck, plus a link to track your truck. We check in until they arrive.
Nearby cities
Red Deer roadside guides
Red Deer, AB
Stuck in Red Deer? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.