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Old 10-25-2020, 10:43 PM   #1
Rich Lazz
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Towing

I recently had a blow out on my 5th wheel 50 miles outside of no where Nv. Good Sam Club took really great care of me considering it was 2 AM. Nice tip to the tow guy and on my way.
Talking to neighbors about towing, the word is if your trailer is in need of help, some road service companies will tow the trailer to a shop and you drive your truck. BUT, if your truck is out, they leave the trailer on the side of the road and for anyone to vandalize and you get to come back to pick up the pieces when your truck is repaired.
Its AAA vs. Good Sam Club vs ?.
How true is this and who prefers which company?
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Old 10-26-2020, 07:36 AM   #2
Theunz
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I have AAA. A few years ago my previous truck broke down and AAA sent a semi wrecker that towed both the truck and the trailer 101 miles to the nearest town with a Ford Dealer, which fortunately was the same direction I was going. He parked my rig in an RV park and unhooked me from the trailer. Since it was late on a Saturday I had to wait until Monday to have another wrecker tow the truck to the dealer. Everything went as smoothly as one could expect. It did however count as two separate tows. I was pleased with their service.
Oh, by the way the driver gave me the extra mile... (100 mile plan)
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Old 10-26-2020, 09:10 AM   #3
mlh
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The next question is what kind of tires are on your camper?
If they are what we have came to know is China Bombs you can expect this to happen again. You need a good set of G rated tires.
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Old 10-26-2020, 09:33 AM   #4
DQDick
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One thing that figures in the mix is that AAA is like Blue Cross and each state is different. We had AAA with the camper indorsement and when we went full time, the sales people said not to worry, but I went ahead and called the emergency number and asked what they would do. They told me that our trailer was too long so they would leave it and tow the truck. We checked and went with Coach-net and ten years later I wouldn't change. Not only have they been great on tire issues for both the rig and our car, but they have got me next day appointments with mobile RV repair folks when the repair folks had told me they were too busy to get to me for several days.
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Old 10-26-2020, 12:24 PM   #5
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I had a cam sensor fail on my truck outside OKC a few years ago. Coach-net had a tow service send out a roll back tow truck that took my truck, wife, and 2 granddaughters to a Ford dealer. And they had the tow service also send a pickup with 5th wheel hitch that took me and the trailer to a KOA, park the trailer in my assigned site, wait while connected electric and started the A/ C (summer time), and then took me to the same Ford dealer.
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Old 10-26-2020, 08:35 PM   #6
R.S.O'Donnell
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We have AAA RV Premier but in light of this will probably be looking elsewhere in 2021:

Quote:
Upon activation and with proper identification, AAA will provide regular AAA services and full privileges for the new member. Roadside benefits begin three days after payment of dues. Some restrictions apply.

*Effective immediately. Plus RV and Premier RV towing, extrication and tire service is limited to $500 per eligible service call and $1,000 per household per membership year. These dollar limits are applicable to service provided to Plus RV and Premier RV vehicle types only, beginning in your new membership term. Members will be responsible to pay the service provider directly for all other costs of service above these dollar limits at the time service is provided. Refer to the online member handbook for the RV vehicle types affected. Members will be responsible to pay the service provider directly for all other costs of service above these dollar limits at the time service is provided.

You must be a valued AAA Plus RV or Premier RV member to be eligible for RV roadside assistance and other enhanced benefits. For non-commercial or personal use only. Battery jump-start not available for motorcycles. Dues rates are prorated for existing members upgrading to recreational vehicle roadside coverage. There is a 3-day waiting period for RV-specific roadside assistance benefits to begin. Cannot exceed trailer load maximum weight. Livestock must be removed prior to towing. All Premier benefits apply to Premier RV members. Plus RV and Premier RV members’ service calls are included in their four roadside service entitlements per membership year.

Members requesting roadside assistance outside of FL, GA, TN, ND, NE, WI, MI, MN/IA and IL/IN will be serviced by an affiliate AAA Club based on that club's servicing guidelines. For service outside this territory, please submit receipts for qualified service acquired for reimbursement. A claim form is located on AAA.com under Contact Us.
https://member.acg.aaa.com/fl/member...remier-rv.html
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Old 10-26-2020, 09:12 PM   #7
sourdough
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I carried AAA for years and never had to use it....and then I needed it. Whoa! Doesn't matter one whit what you "thought you bought", unlike most other policies AAA will vary by state, sometimes by county if I recall. There were useless to us. Dropped them 10 years ago and never been happier.
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Old 11-11-2020, 01:55 PM   #8
skippydoo
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We just had a blow out on one our 5th wheels tires too driving down 95 South near Santee SC. The tire exploded into shreds.

Thankfully we had Good Sams. They arrived in less than 30minutes. 2 guys showed UP , quickly took care of business and off we went.

I use to have AAA years ago, it's like pulling teeth. Good if you need a jump up north but other than that...nope. Great cruise and travel discounts but that's about it.
Sorry AAA but they should stick to the travel business.
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Old 11-11-2020, 02:22 PM   #9
drog55chev
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich Lazz View Post
I recently had a blow out on my 5th wheel 50 miles outside of no where Nv. Good Sam Club took really great care of me considering it was 2 AM. Nice tip to the tow guy and on my way.
Talking to neighbors about towing, the word is if your trailer is in need of help, some road service companies will tow the trailer to a shop and you drive your truck. BUT, if your truck is out, they leave the trailer on the side of the road and for anyone to vandalize and you get to come back to pick up the pieces when your truck is repaired.
Its AAA vs. Good Sam Club vs ?.
How true is this and who prefers which company?
LAZZ and LAZZ
2006 Montana /2002 F-250 7.3 Diesel
We have AAA RV Plus but have never used it yet.

Not that it would help on a catastrophic blow out I decided to put TPMS on all trailer tires. It may or may not help but for a slow leak it will and even on a fast leak it alarms in 1-2 seconds.
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Old 11-11-2020, 02:34 PM   #10
GEugeneS
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I started with Good Sam ERA about 10 years ago for $79/year. I was told by a friend that Good Sam ERA was the only service that would tow both my trailer and truck if the truck broke down. Each year the rates increased. This year I got my bill and it's now $149.95, close to double what it started at.

So I emailed State Farm and asked about towing my trailer if my truck broke down. They emailed me back "...it is covered!" In CA if an agent says you're covered, you're covered by law. So I got ERA from State Farm for $8.52 per year. Haven't needed a tow yet, but in 10 years, I never needed a tow from Good Sam either. With State Farm, you can use any towing company you find and they reimburse you their charges.

This is not an endorsement; just more information which you can check out if you're so inclined.
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Old 11-11-2020, 03:10 PM   #11
laverdur
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I have Good Sam Roadside Assist. On a recent trip the right rear spring on the Monty broke while driving through Spokane. I noticed the list of the Monty right away and got in to the Post Falls, ID rest area to call Good Sam. Although there were a couple of dispatch hiccups, a mobile RV tech came out and replaced both springs on the rear axle in about 90 minutes from the time he started. When I first called Good Sam, they asked if I wanted a tow or mobile repair. Having them tow the Monty would be no different than me towing it so I declined that approach and asked for mobile repair. I paid my part and Good Sam paid their part and all was well.
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Old 11-11-2020, 04:14 PM   #12
Montana Man
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I haven't used the services of any of these. I don't think one is any more responsive than any other. It just depends on how busy the drivers are and how far they have to travel to find you.
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Old 11-11-2020, 05:44 PM   #13
kramperD
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Just a few yrs ago we had an axle twist forward while on the causeway at Cedar Point here in Ohio. We had both AAA and their RV add-on and Good Sam's as well. We called AAA they said they only had 1 truck and it was in upper New York and couldn't help us for 48 hrs. We called Good Sam's and their response was they couldn't help us because they didn't have anything big enough to tow us. So what do you do? We called Cedar Point. They sent their train mechanic with his tools, he jacked up the Montana, pushed the axle back, tightened it up, replaced a blown tire and sent us on our way!
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Old 11-13-2020, 07:06 AM   #14
Cat320
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AAA is fine for passenger vehicles, but not necessarily for RVs. There are numerous instances where they sent a tow truck incapable of towing a 5th wheel or MH. An earlier poster mentioned tires....that was my first thought as well. Unless things have changed, OEM tires are not good.
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Old 11-13-2020, 07:41 AM   #15
padredw
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Quote:
AAA is fine for passenger vehicles, but not necessarily for RVs. There are numerous instances where they sent a tow truck incapable of towing a 5th wheel or MH
You may not realize how important this is until you need a tow that requires specialized equipment. This is not to knock AAA, but what is "covered" may be quite different from what shows up beside the freeway.

One experience in Dalhart, Texas proved this to me. We had a spring to break in such a way that the trailer could not be towed. In fact the tires were damaged by the failure. When I explained to Good Sam, they sent out a driver with a low-boy trailer onto which my RV was loaded and towed about 80 miles into Amarillo, Texas which was the nearest service center able to do the repair. With the RV on the trailer, the driver had to take back roads into Amarillo because the highway had some overpasses which were too low. We met him at the service center in Amarillo, spent the night in a motel and left the next day after the repairs had been made.

So our trailer was not "towed" it was carried "piggy-back" on a special trailer. We have had three such "catastrophic" failures to which Good Sam responded. Yes, we had to wait, but, as someone has said, that depends on many local factors which no road side assistance program can control.
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Old 11-13-2020, 10:42 AM   #16
twindman
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I think it is a hit and miss with all companies. When we first started, my truck had tow insurance for free, I had State Farm, and I also had Good Sam. Outside Rawlings, WY I had a thump thump thump feeling and wasn't sure it was truck or trailer. Saturday afternoon with a rain storm moving in. I unhitched and drove truck onto freeway and took about 100 yards to determine it was a truck issue.

So I called ALL THREE companies and one said they could send a tow truck and would tow us into town but the retail part of the store wouldn't open until Monday, so I couldn't buy a replacement tire. The other two couldn't find anyone. One of them gave a phone number and when I called they guy says he has a party at 6pm and can't make it!!
Finally (with a little help from a young guy at the exit store) got the tire changed and drove home to Mesa AZ with no spare!!! I do NOW know how to get my spare tire out of the truck (I had only had it for a few months and a first truck). LOL
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