A breakdown doesn't announce itself. Whether it's a dead battery in a Riverview parking lot or a flat tire on Route 11 north of Miramichi, the margin between a manageable wait and a genuinely bad situation often comes down to what you already have in your trunk. Here's a practical list for New Brunswick drivers — written for the shoulder of a provincial highway in August and in January alike.
The short list that matters every month
These are the basics. Every vehicle on NB roads should have them year-round:
- Reflective triangles or road flares. Put them out early, at distance, especially on a curve. Hazard lights aren't enough on Route 1 or Route 2 at 110 km/h. Three triangles at 30, 60, and 90 metres behind the vehicle gives other drivers meaningful warning.
- A flashlight with spare batteries. A phone torch dies with your battery. A dedicated flashlight doesn't.
- A first-aid kit. The small ones — adhesive bandages, gauze, antiseptic — handle what happens between the breakdown and the shop. They don't have to be elaborate.
- Jumper cables or a jump-starter pack. A dead battery is the most common roadside call we get. A good jump-starter pack means you might not need to wait for another vehicle — plug in, wait 30 seconds, try the key. Keep the pack charged.
- A charged backup battery or car charger for your phone. You need your phone to call for help. Don't let that be the thing that fails.
- A basic tool kit. A pair of pliers, a screwdriver, and zip ties fit in a small bag and handle a surprising number of minor problems.
What to add for NB winters
New Brunswick winters run from November to April, with shoulder months that can surprise you. Anything without winter gear stashed in the back knows what a −20°C stall on the side of the road looks like. Add this to the above before the first frost:
- A warm blanket or sleeping bag. If you're stuck in a ditch on Route 8 toward Fredericton and the truck is 45 minutes out, being cold is the main risk for anyone without proper winter clothing.
- An ice scraper and brush. Keeps windows clear while you wait. Obvious, but left at home more often than it should be.
- A small folding shovel. Enough to dig out a wheel if you've gone partly into a snowbank. A folding shovel fits in a standard trunk.
- Sand or kitty litter. A cup under a spinning tire can provide enough traction to get out of a shallow rut without calling anyone.
- Extra gloves and a toque. You may need to get out of the vehicle to put the triangles out, flag someone down, or meet the tow driver. Cold hands slow everything down.
What to add for summer
Summer in NB means construction zones, highway heat, and long inter-province runs to PEI or Halifax. Add these:
- Water. At least one litre per person. Breakdowns in July on the Trans-Canada can run long; dehydration is avoidable.
- Sunscreen and a hat. If you have to stand on the shoulder of Route 15 at noon in August, you'll want both.
- A tire pressure gauge and a can of tire inflator. For a slow leak, inflator buys enough distance to reach an exit. It's not a substitute for a spare tire, but it's a useful bridge.
The thing that helps us help you faster
None of this equipment calls the right truck for you — that's still your job. When you do call, the more detail you can give dispatch, the faster the right equipment rolls: your exact location (highway name and kilometre marker, or a dropped pin from your phone), your vehicle's year, make, and model, whether it's AWD or 4x4, and what happened.
If you have CAA, Canadian Tire Auto Club, or an insurance roadside endorsement, have your membership number ready. We work with all three — but you have to open the claim first. For a full walkthrough of what that call looks like, read our guide to emergency towing in Moncton.
For anything your kit can't handle — a tire you can't change, a battery you can't boost, a ditch you can't get out of — our roadside assistance service covers lockouts, boosts, tire changes, fuel delivery, and winch-outs, all 24/7.
Who you're calling
Dynamic Towing has run Moncton's roads since 1990 — 24 hours a day, every day, in English and French, backed by CAA, Canadian Tire, and a 4.5-star reputation across hundreds of reviews. The kit in your trunk is the first line of defence; we're the second. Get in touch when you need us — we'll take it from there.