Good Sam's vs. AAA

[Wild Horse]

I've had AAA for nine years now, but with getting the monty next month I've been looking at upgrading my membership to AAA rv plus...I also looked at Good Sam's Club. Good Sam's looks like the better deal moneywise and benefit wise. I want to make sure my bike is covered, the monty and tv, and the boat(trailer). Anyone ever use/compared the two ?
Thanks.
Bill

[Wild Horse]

Also concerned about if Good Sam's have as good a coverage area as AAA.

[Pete Hanson]

I can only speak to my experience up here in New England. I had AAA for years and when I got the Monty I actually carried both AAA and Good Sam for awhile. I used AAA several times over the years and always got service when I needed it but it was dreadfully slow and trying to followup on the status of my call was nearly impossible. A year ago, I had a flat tire on the Monty and used Good Sam. The first question they asked when I called in was "Are you in a safe spot?". That really impressed me. They then took my info and told me they would call back in 15 minutes or less and she did. She updated me on the status of my call and said that a truck would be there in about 30 minutes. She called back again in about 30 minutes to see if the truck had arrived, or not, and to see if we were still ok. The truck had arrived and was almost done with the tire when she called. I was quite impressed with the whole thing and ended up dropping AAA. I guess we will see if we have the same nice experience the next time we need them but we were certainly pleased with the service we got from the one time we've had to use them.

[blarkman]

I would call Good Sam and ask them that question, at least you will get their policy not what we think

[HamRad]

Our experience is with AAA. We have looked at other coverage but have stayed with AAA. The yearly cost is about the same or maybe a little higher than other coverage but not enough to cause us to start going from one company to another simply because of $$$.

We have used AAA services in several different states and always found them to be more than helpful. The service personnel have always been helpful and professional. Our experience is much like what Pete described. First thing they ask is are you in a safe position. Then they would follow up to make sure all was as it should be.

Go with what you feel will serve you best. Sometimes experience is the only way to know. When we started RVing we were ready to do whatever would work for us. Thankfully AAA came thru as we expected so we simply stayed with them.

Good luck.
Dennis and Mary Kay

[boylanag]

Over the years, we have used Good Sam several times both on the RV and our personal vehicles. Coverage is everywhere we have been and it has been like Pete described above. No experience with AAA but am definately very happy with GS.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

GS covers ALL our vehicles and trailers, with one exception, does not cover a utility trailer. Does cover our boat trailer.

Over all our experiences are good, and hey, when we needed yanking out of our out yard, when we were sunk to the bottom of the ole TT, they did the deed, sent a BIG truck with a BIG winch and pulled out van and TT at one time and did not rip off our holding tanks either.

That said, some of the vendors have more experienced personel than others, eh??

[capn chris]

The only insight I can offer is that a friend had AAA come out for a RV tire and the service tech was not RV savvy. Have Good Sams but never used them. Have heard good reports on this forum, however.

[Wild Horse]

The coverage between the two is virtually the same, except towing mileage is limited to 100 miles with AAA. Both cover all vehicles and spouse's, both cover rv/boat trailer/motorcycle. Price difference is either 70 bucks or 40 bucks, depending on which plan.

[Parrothead]

We also had AAA for years. We purchased GS when we first started RVing. We had both for several years. We used GS for the RV and AAA for the other vehicles (we had a car then also). We kept AAA for other services (maps, DMV services, etc.). What we learned was AAA will not tow both the truck and RV if needed. So that is a question that you need to ask. We finally gave up AAA as the services we were getting from them became available on the internet. We have used GS several times and our experience was like Pete described. We wouldn't be without them. JMHO
Happy trails.........................

[stiles watson]

I sent you an email about another excellent alternative.

[Bill and Lisa]

Here is our experience may or may not be typical.

Had AAA RV Plus (25 year AAA member) Finally dropped due to the following experiences/incidents

1. Towing the Monty home lost the rear wheel (hub and all) on the tow vehicle while on the PA Turn Pike. Even though we were promised two tow vehicles only one arrived. I had to travel with the truck while wife waited with the rig for a second truck to be dispatched. I was at the repair center and they were still looking for the right connector to tow a 5th wheel. finally found it, went to retrieve wife and rig and still had to jury rig the unit. no harm done in the end but not what I expected with RV Plus.

2. had a bubble develop in one of the rear truck tires while returning from Goshen Rally while on the Ohio Turnpike. pulled off at exit, got to a safe location and pulled over to the side of the road. Needed to locate a tire center with E rated tires on a Sunday afternoon. Called AAA. Long story short, it made a difference what side of the toll booth I was pulled over to the side of the road on. One "club" handled the turnpike, a different "club" the surronding area. Took 30 minutes to get someone who "would" help, and even though we asked twice for directions to the service center on secondary roads (needed to stay below 30 mph to avoid violent shaking) the first words out of the persons mouth were "get back on the turnpike...." Finally got to the place, they were open but didn't carry the tire rating we needed, AAA had never spoke to them on the phone (although we were assured they had) so I ended up changing the tires myself in the parking lot. (my spare was a "C" rated spare (result of the first accident) so I had to put that on the truck on the front and take the E rated from the front and put on the rear.

3. Picked up a travel trailer we wanted to practice our restoration skills on. One tire wouldn't hold air and shredded. Service station closed (only one in town). Called AAA - because it wasn't "tagged" they refused to dispatch a tow truck. Took me getting a supervisor on the line, pointing out that I had a legal bill of sale and could tow the trailer anywhere in the US for the next 30 days on that and that I was a 25 year member to get them to honor their commitment.

This all happened in a 2 year period and were the only calls I made for service. At that point I switched to Good Sam's.

I have used them twice
1. flat on my personal vehicle - someone responded quickly but I had already just about finished putting the spare on myself. They still led me back to the shop and checked everything over and repaired the damaged tire.

2. One time while stopped for fuel, noted a seperation and bubble forming on my mission tires. called GS for service. Provider assigned to that "area" was 45 north of my location on the other side of a major city. GS got the run around (a lot of lies) from the provider. After 1 hour, I paid two guys in the restaurant to help me change the tire. I had to ask and had documented who I talked to each time I called but in the end, GS reimbursed me for what I paid out of pocket to have the tire changed. The service provider still had not arrived when I pulled out 2 hours after the initial call.

I still have Good Sam's and try not to put stock in any single incident. At that time Tireco would only replace the two tires I could visibly find defects in. A month later when I was on the way to the Goshen Rally, less than 60 miles from home, I had one of the original Mission tires throw the tread and tear up the side of the Monty. Since I was in the same service area as the last fiasco and was getting to be a pro on changing my tires I didn't even bother to call for road side assistance. I had the tire changed in under 15 minutes. At the next rest stop I called Tireco and "shared" my frustaration with them. They shipped 3 new tires to the fairgrounds in Goshen and the tires were actually waiting for me when we arrived. Folks here on the forum were very helpful in coordinating things with the fairgrounds, had someone in the group standing by to come fetch us if another tire failed (since we now had no spare)and helped change out the remaining original tires once we were safely in Goshen. We made it safe and sound by the Grace of God as one of the remaining original Missions had totally seperated the tread and was freely moving around the rest of the tire as we pulled into the campground.

I also can't say enough about the folks as Keystone. Even though Tireco acknowledged responsibility for the damage to our rig, we had an appointment scheduled at the factory and they told us they would repair the damage while the worked on the other items on our list. THANKS KEYSTONE!

Anyway, sorry to ramble on and like I said, this was just our experience....your milage may differ......Bill

[ols1932]

Go with some company that is RV smart. My experience when we began full timing was that AAA was not smart when it came to RVs. Good Sam, Camping World, and/or Coach-Net are all excellent choices.

Orv

[Art-n-Marge]

Just like Parrothead, we had AAA for years but used it for mostly in-town car-related problems like locked keys in car, or a jumpstart at home or work. We stopped using their map and vacation services since I found I could do all that online or with mapping programs better than they could, but we kept them just for automotive travel emergencies.

The first and only time I tried to use them with the truck/RV was when I had my second Chinese tire blowout in the same trip about 60 miles north of Bakersfield, CA. On the first blowout I put the spare on myself while on top of the Grapevine of I-5. With this second flat the first person I talked to first said, "Don't you know this is a Holiday weekend?", I reminded her there was nothing on my card that mentioned specific hours for AAA services. Then she said to call again in about 30 minutes because she had no one available. So I did that and this time she suggested I was not in her jurisdiction and to call a different number that she gave me. When I did that, the new person said, she was incorrect in saying that and I needed to work with the original person since she WAS in the proper jurisdiction. I only called AAA because I had already used the spare on the first incident and thought I could get some help from a tow technician by going through them somehow. At this point I was so angered at this attitude I just hung up. I used my cellphone and my GPS and computer to locate some tire stores to locate some tires - finally found two tires in Bakersfield. I removed the flat and with the other flat tire I unhitched and drove back to Bakersfield to purchase two new tires to solve my problem myself. There's a lot more to the story but is unrelated to my experience with AAA.

When we got home from the trip, I immediately called AAA about it and they provided NO support except for an apology that did not include "this should not have happened". With my faith in them blown away, I cancelled them. If I could not depend on them for automotive travel emergencies I saw no point in their services. I would not recommend them for other than in-town local services. However, I have read many stories of folks being able to work with Good Sam for Interstate travel and suppose they could handle in-town needs just as easily.

Years later, my niece now works for AAA in the L.A. area and has heard of many complaints that there are several jurisdictions in Central California that work like that and no one is trying to fix it. The point being watch where you are and when a problem happens if you are with AAA in California.

[NCFischers]

About 12 years ago when we were moving from California to North Carolina, the truck that was pulling our SOB fifth wheel broke down on I40 in the California desert. AAA came and put the truck on their flatbed and hooked the fifth wheel to the rear of his flatbed and towed us 100 miles to Needles. It didn't cost us a thing.

[Trailer Trash 2]

My wife has had AAA for years (Road Service) When I had a flat front tire in front of our home on my 350 Ford one morning on the way to work, I called them and was told the do not change the tires on Ford F350 trucks The tires were to big.
I now have GSERS and have nothing bad to say about them Jonny on the spot when you need them, and no excuses.

[jsmitfl]

I had two seperate issues this last fall with the TV and was pulling a utility trailer. I have GSERS.First time was in Badlands Park. Great service with are you in a safe area and so forth. The guy who towed me in didn't charge to hookup the utility trlr. Got the truck fixed so we thought. Got to Mammoth CG, truck don't start. Called GSERS, same as before, the only thing was that Yellowstone would not allow out of Park trucks to tow me thru the GSERS Club. I had to pay this up front and be reimbused by GSERS. I was towed 70 miles to Livingston MT and they charged 90.00 to hook up the utility. As soon as I sent the bill in which was almost 2 months later they sent me a check. I did talk to both drivers and they said that AAA pays better to them in their area but it may be diffrent else where.

[PapaBeav]

We have had both, but currently we have GS. I never used AAA but the wife did a few times locally with out any problems. But I did use GS for the first time last December. We were visiting friends up in Northern Ca and we always go up to Lassen NP to cut down Christmas Trees. Well I locked my keys in the truck about 6 miles in off of the main road on some snowy spur road. They finally made it out there once we got the map out and told them the number of the road we were on. Needless to say I was very happy with the service, and I didn't have to break a window.

[mhs4771]

I've had AAA Plus RV and never had to use it until last Oct when were cooked a wheel bearing on our TT, what a pain. Was on Route 15 North of Harrisburg PA, called the 800 number and kept getting move from one area to another as no one wanted to claim responsibility for the area. Finally got some one, but they were next to no help. Gave me several shops to try, got no answer from either an this was a Friday evening. After several hours with no help, I removed the wheel off the bad bearing and limped down the shoulder for about 25 miles to where I knew there was a truck stop. There were able to give me a number of a local mobile repair outfit that could come when they finished milking the cows (for real). Finally arrived and by luck had a bearing a race that would fix our hub. Finally made it to our destination tho about 6 hours later than planned. Have not yet changed to GoodSam, but from reading this thread I think it will be a wise choice now towing a Monty.

Michelle S.

[awaywego]

I had GS for years and never used them so to be fair I cannot judge them. In Sept 09 I switched to Coach Net because I knew GS was owned by Affinity Group and I just felt better with Coach Net and they had more coverage.
Last month I pulled into a campground in Orlando and noticed the wheels on the RV were to close together and after inspection found the rear spring hanger broken.
I did not even think about Coach Net since I was already parked and I called Mobil Florida RV repair and was told they could weld it or replace it whichever was best. The charge was $225 service call(I thought it was high) and $90/ hr repair charge.
When he arrived, he ask if I had towing insurance and I showed the Coach Net card.
He got on the phone and called them and they agreed to pay for the service call and I paid for the two hour repair.
Coach Net did tell him to tell me, next time call them first.
I thought they were very professional and the first question they ask was is the unit in a safe place and were we OK. I will renew with Coach Net again.