Shelburne Tire and Towing hits new milestone

August 27, 2020 · 0 Comments

Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

Staying in business for 20 years is considered a real milestone in the business community.

When you surpass three decades as a going concern, you must really be doing something right.

Dave and Mike Johnston of Shelburne Tire and Towing are now in their thirty-second year of business serving Dufferin County.

They started out in the Town of Shelburne, then moved to their current location at the corner of County Road 124, and 5 Sideroad, ten years ago.

“We started in August of 1988,” Dave explained. “We are coming up on ten years at this location. We used to be on Industrial Road in Shelburne.”

In addition to a towing operation, the shop is a full service automotive centre, with Mike as the chief mechanic.

The towing business operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round. In addition to helping stranded motorists, they also work with police when there is an automobile accident requiring their assistance.

“It’s about 50/50,” Dave said of the split between towing and auto services. “Towing has really gotten busier over the last four or five years. We service all of Dufferin County, but we do have to tow vehicles to different locations like Barrie or Toronto. We have a lot of loyal customers and we know a lot of people.”

The increase in the towing side of the business comes down to the fact the they have a good reputation in the industry as well as a modern well equipped tow truck fleet.

In the shop, Mike does full automotive service as well as a lot of tires. The shop gets especially busy during the fall when people want to switch to winter tires, and again in the spring when they want their summer rubber back on the car. They have a full line-up of top quality tires available.

“The biggest challenge is being open 24/7,” Dave said. “We have to be available if the police need us or there is some kind of emergency. During off hours, if the police call our number, it will be forwarded directly to our driver’s cell phone.”

Dave added that there has been a marked increase in the amount of calls they receive from police to tow a car that is being impounded for stunt driving, meaning the driver was going over 50 km over the posted speed limit. Getting caught at that speed means you’ll be looking for alternate transportation to get home.

If you get stuck at the side of the road in Dufferin County and need assistance, there’s a good chance you’ll meet someone from Dave and Mike’s staff.

After over 30 successful years in the business, they have become the go-to guys when you need a tow or a set of tires on your vehicle.