Heavy Duty Towing in Bells, TN

Heavy Duty Towing in Bells, Tennessee covers a small Crockett County town with a very large name in frozen food. Bells had 2,463 residents at the 2020 census, was founded in 1855 as Bells Depot and was incorporated in 1868. The headquarters of Pictsweet Farms is here, and Wikipedia calls the company a major employer in the Bells area. That means refrigerated and food-service trucks on country roads. If one fails, call (731) 202-9868. Dispatch answers 24/7.

One road, two highways

U.S. Route 70A and U.S. Route 79 share a stretch through Bells. Going southwest it leads to Brownsville, and going northeast it leads to Humboldt. State Route 88 runs northwest to Alamo and southeast to Jackson. These are two-lane and four-lane U.S. and state highways, not interstates. A trucker who left I-40 to reach a plant or a customer may be on unfamiliar roads with narrow shoulders.

When you call from Bells, tell us whether you are on the shared US 70A and US 79 road or on SR 88, and which direction you were going. It saves minutes on the phone, and minutes matter when you are sitting on the edge of a highway with a loaded trailer.

The Pictsweet connection

Pictsweet Farms sells frozen vegetables through retail and food service outlets across the country. The Wikipedia entry says the company is owned by three generations of the Tankersley family and has its headquarters in Bells. A food company that ships nationwide uses refrigerated trailers, and a failed reefer unit or a flat tire on a loaded reefer trailer is a time-sensitive problem. Cargo temperature matters to the shipper, to the broker and to the insurer.

Tell dispatch three things for a reefer: whether the unit is still running, what the load is, and who needs to be called at the shipper. We cannot fix a refrigeration unit in the field as a tow job, but we can move the trailer to a safe place or to a shop while you work out the cargo. For a rolled or jackknifed trailer, we bring the right equipment to upright it and clear the road.

Okra, August and the Forked Deer

Bells once held the West Tennessee Okra Festival every August, during the peak of the okra season. The festival is now defunct, but the crop and the harvest schedule remain part of the area's rhythm. The South Fork of the Forked Deer River passes just south of the city, at an elevation of about 325 feet. In wet weather, low ground along the river can soften shoulders and fields. A heavy truck that slides off the pavement may sink quickly. Do not try to drive out. Wheels dig the hole deeper.

What to have ready

• The road: US 70A and US 79, SR 88, or a county road, plus direction
• A landmark near you, since mile markers are sparse on these roads
• Unit type, weight class and load
• Whether the unit is in soft ground or on the pavement
• Who is paying: owner-operator, fleet, shipper or insurer

Bells is small, and calls from small towns often start with an address that does not exist in a GPS. Give us the nearest crossroad or business, and we find you from there. The dispatcher gives an honest arrival estimate on the call. For a planned move, use

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