Road Side Assistance

[Peto]

What does everyone use? I have AAA for the wife but upgrading to the RV package does not look like a good deal.

I'm pretty capable of road side repairs but we have a couple long trips coming and am investigating.

How is stuff handled for instance if my truck is disabled and need a tow for the trailer to some where safe. Or a tire explodes and disables the trailer etc...

Opinions?

 

[NH_Bulldog]

We are longtime FMCA members (although the name changed recently to FRVA). We were gifted the membership and the Roadside plan, otherwise I would have considered Good Sam. Here is a chart that you can review and see what works for your needs/situation.

 

[sourdough]

We have Good Sam, Geico, plans with both vehicles and another one or two I can't recall. I list Good Sam and Geico first because they are the ones I've used (maybe 4 times in the last 10 years). Sometimes it seems like a waste having them but when you need one, especially at our age, you need one. I used to use AAA but it took one trip then finding out that their coverages change depending on the area you are in and I dropped them.

 

[Peto]

That chart makes a strong case for Good Sam. Anyone have experience with them?

Thank you for the details

 

[workinonit]

Looks like that plan is for auto coverage. The RV coverage is 119. So would you have to have both to cover the tow vehicle and the RV? I'm looking at GS.

 

[Gearhead]

I have GOOD SAM. I don’t know why. Had a blowout in nowhere New Mexico in August. Took forever for the dirt bags to get to me. I had my hand on my 9 the entire time. I had the tire off and the spare ready.
Seriously thinking of dropping GS. GEICO told me they will pay for road service.

 

[Peto]

If you had the tire off and the spare ready why didn't you just put the spare on and go about your trip?

 

[NH_Bulldog]

The thing with ANY roadside service is that each one uses the SAME contracted service providers. Whether it is AAA, Good Sam, Geico, FMCA, etc. it is the same people that come out, particularly in a rural area where there isn’t much competition. In my conversations with a tow service owner when we needed roadside service, he said that the programs pay much less than their regular rates. The call centers go down through a list of providers until someone accepts the assignment. You are more likely to get good service in an area with larger populations and shorter distances involved.

One last thing to keep in mind is that if you have a 5th wheel, you need to step up to a higher level program because the number of shops with the capability of towing a 5th wheel is limited and therefore more costly. With a travel trailer, they can put your truck on a flatbed and tow your camper with their truck, but they can’t do that with a 5th wheel

 

[workinonit]

Same type of deal as Angies List and Thumbtack. Same contractors that you can call yourself.

 

[Gearhead]

If you had the tire off and the spare ready why didn't you just put the spare on and go about your trip?

Load Range H 17.5 tire on a solid steel wheel. I don’t know what it weighed but it was more than I wanted to lift up on the studs
I have since downsized.

 

[LHaven]

I used Good Sam for years. I got tired of having breakdowns on Interstates and having them tell me they had nobody in my area who could come out on call. Why pay for road service they don't deliver?

So we switched to AAA on the basis of net postings that said they were least likely to pull that. We've used them once and they responded. But they're pricey, and as an NMA member there were reasons not to prefer them.

My AAA is expiring this week and we're going to replace it with CoachNet. The pricing is reasonable and those who have it rave about it.

 

[jsb5717]

As Rob said, they only have access to the service that’s available in the area you need it. I don’t know for a fact, but I’m guessing that they all subcontract to the same call centers as well.

We are currently using Coach Net but have no feedback since we haven’t needed their assistance.

 

[LHaven]

As Rob said, they only have access to the service that’s available in the area you need it. I don’t know for a fact, but I’m guessing that they all subcontract to the same call centers as well.

We are currently using Coach Net but have no feedback since we haven’t needed their assistance.

I've had cases where I've tried multiple services -- the first one (or two) said they had nobody to send, the last one found and sent somebody. I simply have to assume the last one either had a bigger stable of providers, or was willing to offer more generous terms to get one of them out to the scene.

 

[adeakins]

We are longtime FMCA members (although the name changed recently to FRVA). We were gifted the membership and the Roadside plan, otherwise I would have considered Good Sam. Here is a chart that you can review and see what works for your needs/situation.

View attachment 1115824

Chart appears to be out of date. Good Sam does provide remote tech services (phone). I’ve only used it once. It was somewhat helpful.

 

[wiredgeorge]

AARP insures through the Hartford. I got mad at Progressive due their not dropping rates during Covid as many insurers did. Our car and truck are through Hartford (AARP) so I asked about RV insurance and it is kind of an extension of your car policy with a lot of benefits missing. One was roadside so.... I joined Good Sam roadside assistance and used it once and was satisfied. Was out on Hwy90 in my truck and they sent a flatbed from Uvalde and took me there. Didn't take all that long but as others have mentioned, wrecker or roadside assistance is only available if they have wreckers or roadside assistance vehicles in the are you need one. I was in San Antonio a few years ago with a Can Am Spyder and the battery died. Called Progressive (my motorcycle insurer) for road side assistance. It took almost 8 hours to get someone with a flatbed to take the Spyder to the Can Am dealer about 15 miles away. They sent out people in little econo cars with jumper cables and a can of gas a few times after I explained a flat bed would be needed. Wasn''t thrilled about this episode.

 

[PSM0528]

Hey Peto,

We have been full time for three years now and have had 3 'mishaps'. A brake failure on my truck (While pulling our 5th wheel), A blowout on the trailer and a brake failure on the trailer. All three times AAA wasn't able to find a participating service provider that could help me. The truck brake failure happened on a weekday afternoon on I-65 south of Louisville, KY. We sat on the side of the road for over 3 hours waiting. The issue was they couldn't find someone who could tow the fifth wheel and I wasn't willing to leave it on the side of the interstate. The other two mishaps occurred in remote areas of Michigan and BC Canada. In both cases AAA didn't have anyone close enough to help. In all three cases I ended up fixing the problems myself with the tools I carry with me. So after 30 years of paying AAA to provide this service I canceled it. And as far as the rest are concerned it just isn't worth it to me to count on these providers to help me with what I consider nuisance breakdowns. I can usually fix one of these issues in the same amount of time it takes to wait for them to tell me they can't help. And if a more serious failure occurs that I can't fix on the side of the road - I'll use google to find a garage/tow truck myself and deal with the bill.

 

[Badbart56]

I was the area supervisor for a FDOT Road Ranger contractor in Florida some years back. If you're from Florida you may be familiar with the Road Ranger service patrol.

FDOT - Road Ranger

Our guys could perform tire changes and light duty repairs along the interstate system but RV's often presented challenges for the towing companies especially in rural areas. So many tow providers just didn't have fifth wheel towing resources we found. They experienced a total lack of coverage by AAA in some areas forcing RV owners to seek alternate towing companies which are pretty expensive. Hopefully that has improved over the years.