RV Roadside Assistance Preferences?

[paulooch1958]

I currently have Good Sam Roadside Assistance and Roadside Assistance via my RV Insurance provider, Progressive.

I have recently seen many complaints about Good Sam, concerning their ability/interest in actually getting you out of a bind. It seems that GS can't always find *any* tow service to come and help. One customer was in Napa Valley, Ca. Hardley in the middle of nowhere and GS couldn't get help the same day. It wasn't much past 4 pm as I recall. That post led to many others claiming that GS couldn't find a service to help out in a reasonable time. This led to ex-customers thinking that it may be that GS is low-balling the tow services and those services just say, "Nope, can't do it for that price" so you, the customer is left on the side of the highway.

So, I wonder about my subscription to Good Sam.

I also have Progressive RV Insurance and have Roadside Assitance thru them. I have never used any roadside assistance, so I don't know if either of these are actually reliable in an emergency.

The consensus from the stream of posts that I have referred to seems to think that Coach-Net is the best.

So...
what do y'all think? What do you use? Who do you trust? How did they come thru when you NEEDED them?

[be happy]

Looks to me you have been reading the RV. Net forum about GSRA. Just remember people are first to complain and will seldom post a positive anything.

With that said, I have had GSRA for many many years. I have used them for tire change on my rig and tv three times. I used them once for out of fuel in the middle of nowhere. I believe one has to remember there are only so many tow companies around a given area. Each tow company is more than likely a member of one or more roadside asst. groups.

For what ever reason you pick one over the other you will most likely never find out if its good or bad or lets hope so. That would mean you have had many miles of trouble free RVing.

[Phil-T]

Coachnet has a very high rating of satisfaction, at about three times the cost of GSRA.

Choose the one that gives you highest comfort level/feel-good inside satisfaction.

[Morich]

I miss the reason for having the same service through two different places. I look at roadside service as one where the bigger provider is likely to have more places to call. So how many RVs versus how many Progressive vehicles on the road and I feel the Progressive is way more common and much more likely to have somebody in the neighborhood. Another way to think of it might be the difficulty of getting somebody to sign up to service RV versus the standard issue calls? Would one rather sign up to change tires on a car or would he rather to do a bus?
I go with the roadside service provided through my insurance but then I also do want to read it very carefully for coverage as they do vary. As long as my coverage provides the service for anything I happen to be driving , I go with keeping one single policy. Since Good Sam would not fix my car on the way to work, I don't even consider it.

[paulooch1958]

I have the two services (GSRA and Progressive) because I already had GSRA at the time I had to change my liability/collision insurace. The new insurance from Progressive was set up with roadside assistance by default. I didnt even know I had it until recently when I examined the contract closely.

[Hicks3456]

Originally Posted by Phil-T

Coachnet has a very high rating of satisfaction, at about three times the cost of GSRA.

Choose the one that gives you highest comfort level/feel-good inside satisfaction.

Just got these prices yesterday:

AAA Premier with RV - $208 a yr - auto pay lowers by $10

Good Sam Platinum 1st Year - $114.95 Renews for $149.95 (Tire wheel Prot - $129.99) (Travel Assist - $99)

CoachNet 1st year - $249 Renews for $169 ( Tire Hazard - $190) (Travel assist included)

Overall cost is pretty much a wash. I think the thing comes down to service. AAA has to have best but can they really handle RV’s?

[homeless]

So...
what do y'all think? What do you use? Who do you trust? How did they come thru when you NEEDED them?[/QUOTE]

I have always had good luck with Master Card!

[AJMike]

I have had GSRA since I bought my first RV sometime around 15 years ago. In that time they have never failed to send assistance when we needed it, even when we were locked out of our RV when boondocking way down a gravel backroad. They have towed us, started us when we had a dead battery and, as I mentioned, opened the RV when we were locked out. They have never failed to get to us and fix the issue in 15 years.

As for a second assistance package we have Progressive RV insurance and that includes roadside assistance, but I assume Good Sam, which is aimed at RV-ers, is more likely to have assistance for an RV than Progressive which probably aimed at car owners more than RV owners. In addition I know that Good Sam will tow me any distance while I am not sure if the Progressive insurance has a distance limit or not.

And I keep a second policy "just in case". In this case just in case means just in case GSRA tells me they can not send someone to us right now. The added cost of roadside assistance int the Progressive policy is very low and, to me, worth the extra cost for the peace of mind.

[signet63]

Originally Posted by Hicks3456

Just got these prices yesterday:

AAA Premier with RV - $208 a yr - auto pay lowers by $10

Good Sam Platinum 1st Year - $114.95 Renews for $149.95 (Tire wheel Prot - $129.99) (Travel Assist - $99)

CoachNet 1st year - $249 Renews for $169 ( Tire Hazard - $190) (Travel assist included)

Overall cost is pretty much a wash. I think the thing comes down to service. AAA has to have best but can they really handle RV’s?

I dropped AAA because when I put my RV in a ditch in Montana, they stressed me out when they told me it was not covered. I had to find a heavy tow company who came out and guided me out of the ditch using my levelers and wood. I was happy to pay the 200.00 for this service. I did complain to AAA and I was reimbursed after some time. I was really upset with AAA I dropped my service. My card said I was a member since 1963.

[Hicks3456]

Curious did you have the $40 RV add on with AAA?

[signet63]

Originally Posted by Hicks3456

Curious did you have the $40 RV add on with AAA?

Yes I upgraded my AAA to the RV selection when I purchased the 40' motorhome.

The problem was my right rear wheel went into a ditch as I was turning into my uncles driveway. I just left his house to dump the tanks and didn't make the corner going back. AAA told me that because I was on a dirt road they could not reach me. They actually told me that the Cable on the truck will not stretch the 3 miles from the pavement to reach my motorhome. The heavy tow company had no problem driving on a dirt road with a big rig. The Montana Hwy Patrol showed up as well. I was so embarrassed. I really had know idea what to do.

The heavy tow truck guy was wonderful and attached his truck to mine to make sure it would not fall further into the ditch. He then had me operate the levelers as they were not in the ditch to lift the 40 foot motorhome out of the ditch. He then put a wood beam over the ditch and we lowered the right rear wheels onto the heavy beam and I drove it forward and all was okay.

I probably could have figured out how to do this myself, but I am grateful for that heavy tow guy.

[imnprsd]

I have Hartford and have have several minor incidents and a few battery jumps. And in general I have been satisfied.

However, I learned this last summer (2019) that my tow coverage and roadside assistance policy rolls forward from the first year I signed up with The Hartford.

This means The Hartford will pay 100% for a tow to the nearest, qualified diesel repair facility.

Note: The Hartford newer policies (I am told) have a tow cap of $1000. So you really need to ask a lot of "what-if questions" when you choose your tow and roadside assistance coverage; and I'm guessing you need to SHOP CAREFULLY when buying coverage from AAA or Allstate or other company.

The Hartford also will NOT drop you if you have a total loss or high claim or multiple claims and I like that!

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:

Don't expect any insurance company to pay if you are NOT on a road (marked a map) or in an improved area. Why? ...Insurance does NOT cover off-road use.

One summer, I got stuck in the sand on the beaches of Port Aransas, TX. I had Good Sam at the time-- and they would not pay because the beach road was not considered a marked road. ...So I dug myself out using those stack-able plastic jack supports and a shovel, and I even bought extra square jack pads for extra safety/use in the future.

Note: Your differential is NOT posi-traction. I.e., you have one drive tire and it will spin on any wet, slippery surface. On my Itasca Horizon with a Freightliner Custom Chassis, my drive tire is on the driver's side. So this is the tire to be most concerned about.

If you find your tires spinning then you need to back off the pedal and try not to loose momentum. Because if you stop your tires will just start digging a hole and it will only get worse.

Another time it was raining a lot and I got stuck trying to do a U-turn on a private road. It road was not marked on a map. So when I called my insurance company I gave them the address of the farm house and told them I was in a "turnout" just off the the highway. And when I got the phone number for the tow truck driver I gave him more details on where to find me.

The tow truck driver does not care where you are. Only HQ. So step one is to setup your claim with only the "right information" and the least amount of information. Then step two, is to get rescued!

In general, I now watch out for wet ground and wet grass. And if you ever find yourself stuck, with your tires spinning, then the only think you can do is wait for the rain to stop... and for the ground to harden-up... or you need to lay down those plastic jack squares and try to develop some momentum to find some better ground.

It doesn't take much. If it's raining... STAY ON PAVEMENT!!!

[Hicks3456]

Originally Posted by signet63

Yes I upgraded my AAA to the RV selection when I purchased the 40' motorhome.

The problem was my right rear wheel went into a ditch as I was turning into my uncles driveway. I just left his house to dump the tanks and didn't make the corner going back. AAA told me that because I was on a dirt road they could not reach me. They actually told me that the Cable on the truck will not stretch the 3 miles from the pavement to reach my motorhome. The heavy tow company had no problem driving on a dirt road with a big rig. The Montana Hwy Patrol showed up as well. I was so embarrassed. I really had know idea what to do.

The heavy tow truck guy was wonderful and attached his truck to mine to make sure it would not fall further into the ditch. He then had me operate the levelers as they were not in the ditch to lift the 40 foot motorhome out of the ditch. He then put a wood beam over the ditch and we lowered the right rear wheels onto the heavy beam and I drove it forward and all was okay.

I probably could have figured out how to do this myself, but I am grateful for that heavy tow guy.

Wow! Quite the adventure. After you dropped AAA did you go with any other company?

[Buddy’s RV]

We use Coach-Net . Purchased the 5 year Premier Coach plan that comes with complete tire and wheel replacement for the RV for $ 500 . Will decide in 2023 whether to renew or not . It covers both of us in our automobiles and while traveling with friends and family in their vehicles too . Dropped the AAA and Good Sams . Have not had to use the service so far . We have heard nothing but good things from others that have the plan .

[signet63]

Originally Posted by Hicks3456

Wow! Quite the adventure. After you dropped AAA did you go with any other company?

Yes I currently have good sam. I have had two calls so far using it but not on the motorhome. I received good customer service. I did not care for the long wait time though. 1.5 hours to wait for the truck to arrive is too long in my opinion.

Thanks,

Bill

[creativepart]

My WBGO purchase came with a free year of CoachNet and I've just renewed it each year after my free year was up. This also gives a pretty substantial discount by doing it this way.

I've only called them for help once - and before they could find anyone to come out to me I figured out a solution for the jam I was in and didn't end up needing any help. It didn't exactly fill me with confidence the way they handled the call, but who knows maybe it was normal for them to not have luck finding a tow available within a reasonable time.

[emiddleb]

As long as you are comparing, you might want to check out FMCA membership which gets you Roadside Assistance for a reduced rate ($74/yr) as well as other benefits like the Travel Assistance for free. Compare coverages, etc to see if it fits your needs. I used Coachnet until they raised their rates so much in the last year.

IMHO, all "plans" are just dispatchers calling around to find a local resource, with only the $$ covered, miles towed etc being different. Not like they have their own fleet of tow truck, tire changers, etc. You are probably going to get "Bob" and his truck regardless of which plan you have covering you. Compare the rates, what you get for the $$ in the way of coverage, miles etc and your anticipated travels.

[AJMike]

I do wonder about how they decide about where they send help from. The last time we needed help from our roadside assistance plan (Good Sam) we were locked out of our RV and camped at a remote campground 3 or 4 miles down a gravel and dirt road (which, apparently is on the map because they did send the help) at a campsite on BLM land. The nearest city was about 10 miles east, the next nearest city was about 30 miles west and the third closest was about 50 miles north.

When I called Good Sam they said they would send me some help from the furthest city and it took them about 90 minutes to get there. I have never understood why they just did not send someone from the closer cities - I understand that they probably decided based on their cost but why would sending someone 50 miles be less expensive than sending them 10 miles or 30 miles.

[WinnDixie]

I'm a AAA believer. I've tried other services. Some cost more, some less. It's all about the service. In some cases I've been amazed at how fast they arrived, once with a trailer flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Maybe he came in on a drone.