Roadside Assistance has me scratching my head!

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One of the issues with AAA is that they aren't all "the same". Some areas may give you a hard time about coverage from other areas. GS doesn't seem to have that issue. They also cover all of your vehicles if you order the right service.

I've only used them once, when my ATV clutch belt broke on the way to work. They sent an appropriate tow vehicle, and he was willing to tow me back to our trailer since it was closer than the nearest service facility for them. I was then able to order a belt and replace it myself.

[[email protected]]

We had Triple AAA for about 3 years. And the 1st time we needed them to tow our tow vehicle only they showed up and said it was too heavy. We have a F-450, which is virtually the same in weight as a F-350. Under 10000 pounds, and their limit for towing is 10000 pounds. I showed the driver the sticker on the door of the truck showing it's under 10000lbs.
The truck had no accessories no hitch in it nothing just the standard truck. He said he would not tow it because he thought it was too heavy. I called my insurance company to have them tow it and they sent the same driver and the same truck and he towed it just fine. I was later told that Triple A pays penny on the dollar for a tow. And my insurance company paid full price, that is why they would not tow it with Triple AAA.

[DavidRansier]

I just did a bunch of research on Roadside Assistance pkgs and decided that Coach-Net for Towables offered the best service with the least number of complaints from users. It’s a bit more expensive, but I’m hoping it will be a better service for us. FMCA was a close second, but Coach-Net had less limitations for number of tows and distance, etc.

[[email protected]]

We had good Sam for towing as well, after Triple A dropped the ball for us. The problem with good Sam is when they say the closest place of repair. I needed to have an alfa Romeo towed to a repair facility and they were literally trying to have it towed to a golf cart repair facility I informed them it was an Italian sports car and they wanted me to go to Joe's garage about 4 miles way, when the alfa repair facility was about 30 miles away. I had to pay the difference between the 4 miles from Joe's garage to the alpha repair shop. When I called Joe's garage he would not have worked on the alpha. I explained this to good Sam and they did not care.

[ACDW-Ottawa]

Unfortunately you don't really know how good they are until you need them. I pay for Good Sam Platinum and will continue to do so. I have had my 5th wheel towed 3 times, I have had my tow vehicle towed 4 times, I have had tires replaced in the middle of Montana where it was 56 miles to the closest town and 75 miles to the closest tire dealer with the tire that I needed.

Will the others perform as well, probably. Was it easy and trouble free to use GS, not. We tend to travel in areas that don't have a lot of resources. If you travel near highly populated areas with many more companies offering road side services you get a much better response.

All that to say I have been satisfied with Good Sam Platinum Road Side Service.

This is kinda off topic but I'm curious to know how they towed your 5th wheel? Did they use another tow vehicle with a 5th wheel hitch to hook up to your RV's pin box?

When I lost a wheel (not just the tire) off my Solitude, it would have been hours to wait for a flat bed and equipment to load it up for transport to the repair facility. Instead the towing company "blocked up" the suspension (stabilized the RV so that it was level as if it had all 4 wheels) and then I towed it like normal but with only 3 wheels to the repair facility. I drove about 20Mph except for the 2 miles on the interstate when I was up to 40 mph while the tow truck followed me. Surprised the heck out of me that I could tow the RV fully loaded up on only 3 wheels.

I had ERS as part of my Xtra-Ride extended warranty; however, there was a dollar cap so that it would of ended up costing me a lot of money. Not happy with that policy. Luckily, I had the ERS from Explorer RV Club Canada which covered towing to the nearest repair facility regardless of cost.

Thanks

[Phil Saran]

I've had AAA road service for almost 50 years, yes I spend about $150 a year for my RV and both my truck and my wife's car.
In many cases when you call one of the other towing services (GS) (FMCA) it will be a AAA truck they send out.

In 2016 we still had a MH and I had a right front tire side wall (9k miles on it) blow out on I-90 in Montana. I had purchased
a good used tire to take with me unmounted. Called AAA and asked if they had a mobile tire mounting rig to come out? The only
one they had was tied up installing tracker tires on a farm so they sent out a tow truck to pick up my 18,000 lb gas Class A to the
next tow to have my spare installed. They did not have the correct size tire in stock. When I got to my destination in Idaho I called
the Goodyear truck tire dealer to order the correct size tire for my MH and we stopped on our way to Seattle and had it installed, the
blown tire was sent to Goodyear and I got a refund of all my costs except about $50 for the new tire.

Phil Saran
2019 Keystone Cougar 30 RLS 5th wheel
2012 Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 diesel, 4x4
Colorado

[Lightning]

We have GS and, thankfully (knock on wood), have never needed it. As mikgala stated, there is a BIG difference in how many tows and distance per occurrance with AAA. That's even with Premium. We are from WY so the increased allowance for distance is a game changer for us. We always enjoyed AAA for just auto coverage, as I still liked the print travel books over going digital, but with the RV it's only GS.

[D2Reid]

Did they use another tow vehicle with a 5th wheel hitch to hook up to your RV's pin box?

Two were pickups with 5th wheel hitches, one was another dually 3500, one was a F250, that got their attention, but it was a short tow and I was fearful things would break, but they didn't. The third the tow truck had a special adapter for 5th wheel hitches, but again, barely enough truck. I make double decker sure I tell them the weight of my 5th wheel before they even start, then it's on them to get the correct equipment. Also, the tows have not been really long, they tow to the closest RV park or repair facility. Not always the preferred choice, but when it hit's the fan you do what needs to be done.

[ACDW-Ottawa]

, but when it hit's the fan you do what needs to be done.

Agreed! So I'm not the only one having to to questionable things in that situation. Before I agreed to drive, I questioned them on this course and they said they did it often. When I asked what happens if I blow a tire from being over weight on 3 tires, they calmly replied we'll just fix it. So they seem confident to hadle contingencies.

I hope others read this post so if they are ever in a similar situation, it won't seem so scary to be doing these questionable things.

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We paid for the top of the line towing package that included towing the RV. Luckily we never needed them to tow the RV, especially since they apparently they are unable to tow a 9,000lb pickup truck.