Believe it or not as a Deputy it was my duty to change tires for motorists. I had my own floor jack, 4-way, planks in the trunk. I got as good as any Indy. pit crew. Part of the job..To Serve And Protect! If having trouble call the local non emergency number and "request a motorist assist" The local Deputy or Trooper will know what's available locally if they can't get you going. Another great Vid! Love you guys!! Cool & Calm under fire.......my kind of people. Use a PROFESSIONAL when on any interstate! Natural response for people to steer where they are watching. If you're changing a tire and a driver looks at you there is a chance they will steer that way. The year my Son graduated from the Highway Patrol Academy they lost FIVE Troopers who were on roadside stops. I went to a passenger side approach on my traffic stops for safety. NUMBER ONE RULE: 4-ways on, safety vest on. It almost seems to get the best possible coverage it almost takes two roadside assistance plans......that's just wrong. Miss the guitar playing...........the lava lamp helps make up for it though :)
We are praying for the safety of our peace keeping, protectors... God Bless Law Enforcement public servants. Thank you so much for your service to our country.
Wow. I've only had terrible experiences with police. They yell at me when I'm polite. They treat me like a criminal. Hard to believe they are there for me to serve me.
@@WakeUpPeople1776 If treated bad, call the Chief, Sheriff, Zone Commander, Council Person and complain. Nothing changes until something is said. With body cams so prevalent now your claims would have proof.
last year had the same problem, they never showed up, dropped good sam and just added tools to the truck to do it myself and now carry two gallons home depot pre canned fuel, camper or not, not sitting on the side of the road overnight, walked 3 miles to the gas station and a nice guy gave me a ride back at one in the morning.
We have AAA, and have used it twice for our old class A motorhome. We had a blowout on the front driver's side tire. The spare was not very good but it got us to the campground. We took the flat tire to a shop about a mile from our camp. We got a new tire and called AAA again. They came to our campsite and replaced the bad spare with the new tire. It was worth every penny.
I remember when I was 13 someone we went to church with moved mobile homes for a living. He had a small business and worked with his adult sons. He was underneath a mobile home that was jacked up removing water lines or something when the jack fell and crushed him. His sons tried to get the mobile home raised back up, but couldn't. So they called 911 and stood there listening to their dad die. Anytime I see anyone on the road underneath their vehicle that is jacked up I say a prayer for them. Will never forget that experience. And never forget the looks on those sons' faces at the funeral.
Kristina that is absolutely horrible! Unfortunately, my family knows a gentleman that was changing a tire on the interstate and was hit a killed by passing traffic. This is one of the reasons I am adamant that Sean never change a tire when we're on the side of the road. It's just not worth the risk.
@@larrybe2900, I think carrying some small orange cones, road flares or some of those warning triangle reflectors is an excellent idea! We also have a reflective safety vest that we keep in our truck. It could potentially save your life!
We had a blow out in a very small in Colorado on a Sunday. We called and could not find anyone to help us. We remembered we had road side assistance with State Farm and called them. Before they could get there only a few minutes a young man came by and changed our tired. After he finished State Farm assistance came by. We were thrilled by State Farms assistance on a Sunday in a very small town; but, we were more impressed by the a young man that came to our assistance.
Cooling system failed on my truck with my overhead camper installed pretty far from any town and AAA came right out and towed me all the way to my home. I was happy with the service.
We had a similar Good Sam experience and we also had AAA. Called AAA and found that we didn’t have the RV coverage! Called GS and they said sorry it would be hours or even the following day!!We were up in Minnesota not far from a midsize size town.. Called AAA back and they were kind enough to let us immediately upgrade and sent a truck. Truck driver said that they work with both companies, but their contract with AAA is that their calls will always take priority. Since then we’ve need to use our AAA RV service multiple times and have always been happy. We now have their top RV policy. I believe AAA currently has 4 or more roadside policies available depending on vehicle type and tow distance.
Thanks for the great information. I wanted to share that we had Allstate Motor Club Premium Membership that we specifically purchased to cover our tow vehicle and our Airstream. After 5 years we attempted to use it for the first time. They also refused! We have AAA Premium Today. We have upgraded our tires and now travel with TPMS as well.
We had a flat on the freeway in Massachusetts, which ONLY allows one company on the freeways! (Our tire iron was inadequate.) Our service couldn't enter the freeway! An off duty highway patrolman stopped and changed our tire, hours before the permitted service said they would be there! Bless him! (Needless to say, we immediately bought a good tire iron!)
Great video. I have heard several nightmares dealing with Good Sam. Big advantage to having AAA+ is the trip interruption, they paid for our flight home from Canada and storage of RV so I could have emergency back surgery. The even paid for the ambulance. They will even pay for meals and motel for a limited time while repairs are being done. Best deal I have found and they are almost everywhere.
Great video. I would recommend tire monitors for your towing vehicle, RV, or toad. We use a monitor which displays tire pressure and temperature with alarms for pressure changes and high or low-temperature changes. Thank you!
We use AAA +RV. A number of years ago when we were going through Pennsylvania our truck developed a rod knock. We pulled over and called AAA and in about 30 minutes two trucks came, one took the truck to a Ford dealer and the other pulled our 31' trailer to a nearby campground. This was In Bedford. The whole experience was hard but the AAA portion went off without a hitch and we have been AAA customers for years. Never had an issue.
HAHAHA made me smile. I think unfortunately, with amny corporations today, it's all about the bottom line, and if they can get away with something, they will.
We had Good Sam when we had a blow out on our MoHo. We made the call and fortunately wrote down the person we talked to. They sent the tow truck to the WRONG STATE! We called back and they said "we'll have someone there in the morning". The next morning we called back to Good Sam who said they couldn't find anyone to come out in our area. We did a internet search, called the first number and the guy was there within half an hour, changed our tire right there on the side of the road and said he could have come the day before without any problem. We since cancelled Good Sam and have roadside assistance with our MoHo insurance.
Nothing worse than a breakdown in the middle of nowhere and then to have to deal with somebody who just doesn't see how serious your situation is. Great lesson on how to control your anger. It's definitely a much needed commodity when traveling in a RV.
Had the same thing happen to us with AAA, not realizing I needed the RV part of a policy. Cost me over $400.00 late one evening in Washington state, where for us it was a bearing on our trailer, which damaged the area the bearing sits on, so they had to change out the whole axle! We where in a small town, and it took 3 days to get the part, so we where suppose to be meeting up with 3 other couples, but this issue put us 4 days behind. We did sign up with the AAA RV service, where we now have a Class A diesel pusher, and thankfully have not needed them since! I've heard good and bad from nearly all road side services out there, albeit, your Good Sam truly dropped the ball!
What I can tell you is that Good Sam's actions constituted breach of contract. They sold you a service, you paid for it and they refused to provide the service when needed. My personal take is that Good Sam was unable to find someone to tow your vehicle for the price they wanted to pay. As you found out, there were folks willing to provide the service. That said, I was wondering if you have a list of questions to ask your roadside assistance provider when you get coverage, it would probably be helpful for a lot of folks. Please keep those videos coming.
I had a similar problem with AAA just south of lake Tahoe on Hwy 50 at about 10 PM. Because I had a utility trailer attached to my Jeep they refused to tow it with my standard policy. Ended up costing me $500 to tow the trailer and Jeep to Guerneville. We had been with AAA for 35 years. Switched to Coach-Net after that incident.
Attention Backcountry Campers: I've had AAA for over twenty years and never had a problem at all. I knew what to expect and the few times I needed them they came through for me. The reason I bought AAA coverage was because one of their marketing photographs showed a vehicle being towed out of Death Valley. Well, they don't do that anymore (and they probably didn't do it then either). To get towed out of a national park you need to be on a paved road, or highway, that is shown on a regular road map. If you need a specialized off-road tow truck even AAA Plus RV won't help you with that. At first I never camped further from a frequently traveled road than I could hike to, and I always had multiple means of wireless communications. Then I started buying rescue insurance. To do really remote backcountry camping you need rescue insurance and a satellite transponder, or sat-phone. You can't count on a cellular connection deep in the backcountry. There are plenty of old mining roads criss-crossing the desert, many are suitable for a 2WD high-clearance vehicle, but it is better to have a good 4X4 just in case. Ripcord Rescue Insurance is kind of a one-stop-shop for getting rescued. I haven't had rescue insurance for many years, and I never needed to be rescued, so I'm not qualified to say how good any rescue insurance provider actually is. A quarter century ago, when I did mostly remote desert camping, that was when I first felt the desire to have rescue insurance.
I could imagine Kristy it would be a bad idea to get on your bad side. You remind me so much of my wife. I have seen her in Bad Business Mode and it's not something I would want to be the target of. We have had AAA Plus since the beginning because we have been towing a trailer for 20 years. First the pop up and now our hardside Tilly. Because of the research that I had done and the education by people such as yourself I knew that Plus was necessary for Tilly. I will always be Grateful. Retiring today, full time nomad next month. But yeah, we didn't sell our house either. Love you folks, you are some of the best.
I have nothing but good to say about our experience with AAA,(bcaa,caa). I've had 4 50-100 mole tows on our 2004 6 litre Ford F350. First the egr cooler blew about 50 miles from Calgary, then on the way home the starter went needing a 50 mile tow to cranbrook. This was with a 11ft camper. The next one was the turbo blowing resulting in a 90 mile tow to BC Diesel for the bomb-proofing fix. The last one was with our 26ft trailer, a fuel line cracked in the Sonora desert, the tow truck driver delivered us to the street behind the Ford dealer where we slept and then took our truck in for repairs. If I'm still driving at 100 yrs, they still won't have broken even!
We have our roadside assistance insurance through GEICO. We’ve never had to use it. I had a blowout on my truck while towing our 28’ travel trailer just outside of Dallas on a 100+ day. Famous last words, “I got this”. The bright sunshine and 100+ temperature made the asphalt sticky. It felt like it was scorching my skin. The metal on the truck was super hot to the touch. The rim was too hot to touch for quite some time. The dirt on the road clung to the sweat on my skin. It came down to “embrace the suck factor” and get through this. Yep, I did it all by myself and never again.
Thank you for bringing up this topic in your video. I had an experience with Good Sam and it did not turn out well in my opinion. We had a truck mechanical failure in WA State while pulling our travel trailer. We got on the phone and called Good Sam to tow us. We were on the phone for 25 minutes trying to get the tow truck dispatched, we were less than 2 miles from Ellensburg, WA right on the freeway. They kept asking us where we were located (about 5 times), we were right at a mile marker so we knew exactly were to send the tow truck. After 25 minutes we told the customer service person that were were not going to use their service and we were going to call a local tow truck. We told them we were going to send them the bill for towing. I am fairly confident that they were not going to send a tow truck to us. They wanted to send out a technician to the location to diagnose the problem at $135/per hour but would not send a tow truck. We only wanted a tow so I think it did not fit into their way of making additional money so they were stalling. The tow truck arrived within 10 minutes and we were off to drop the truck at the Ford dealer to get a new part put on it and get us back on the road. After we looked at our Roadside assistance contract we realized we had a bad contract and this was not really roadside assistance as you would expect. The contract actually reads that they will tow you to their Camping World facility so they can fix the truck and all you have to pay for is the labor and materials. This is a trap since you cannot have the truck towed to a shop of your choice they will take you to their shop which was not convenient. I will read the agreement very carefully next time but Good Sam is really Bad Boy Sam waiting to tow you to their shop and charge you what they want to the repair. No thanks. We did send to towing bill to them and got a full reimbursement about 2 months later so they did redeem themselves on the costs but the real issue is the contract language and the fact that we would still be waiting for a tow truck if we did not call one ourselves. I think your comment about having your tow vehicle insurance cover the towing is a good way to do it but make sure it has the coverage you want. READ THE FINE PRINT with Bad Sam.
As a 39 year AAA member, who is also with State Farm Insurance, I will never use anyone but AAA. Too many times they've saved my butt. One of the worst happened while driving to Laughlin, NV from LA when one of the dually tires on my 30' motorhome blew...by the time we got the rig pulled off to the side of the road the air supply hose that had been banging against the tire next to it had caused damage to that tire as well. This happened on EASTER SUNDAY. I had my elderly mother with me. On top of all that we were stuck in the desert about 30 miles outside Barstow. AAA had someone out there with new tires within 40 minutes of us calling them. We were so elated we wrote a thank you letter to AAA and their contracted service company in Barstow.
I am so thankful I ran across your video about good sam roadside... I literally was calling them tomorrow to sign up because we really need to have some sort of roadside assistance... I have a class A, so if they had a problem towing your truck, i can only imagine what they would do with my class A... thank you for your video!!!
Awesome video! While camping in the Eastern Sierras this past August 11th, the 5th wheel hitch in our truck broke and we could not move our 30 foot 5th wheel trailer. A call to Good Sam Roadside Assistance turned into the most incredible 'Charley Foxtrot' (military parlance for Cluster F***) over the next 8 hours. Initially we were denied assistance because we were in a campground and not on the side of the road. After much back and forth, we agreed to a dispatch of a tow truck to move our trailer 100' to a storage location in the campground for $200.00. By the end of our call, the dispatch of a tow vehicle was cancelled and the dispatcher provided me with telephone numbers to vendors that did not respond or did not tow 5th wheels. No help for our hitch, no suggestions for replacement, just left us twisting in the wind. As luck would have it, the Camp Ground Host helped us move our trailer to the storage area of the campground and we drove home. Upon purchasing the new part at our home town 400 miles away, we turned around and picked up our trailer. Upon our arrival home, I leaped into a rabbit hole to find out why we were not helped by the Good Sam Roadside Service we paid for. After several days of my time and effort, I found the email of the CEO 'If you're not happy, I'm not happy' Marcus Lemonis. Ultimately we received partial compensation. Despite my requests, I have yet to hear back or get an understanding of why this happened. As an avide RV'er, reliable roadside service is important. Good Sam Roadside Service let us down. Without an explanation.
Also Coach-Net for a Winnebago Class A. Winnebago offers plans through Coach-Net, but we use Coach-Net directly. We haven't needed it, but It's good to know that you've been happy with it.
Fuel delivery - Check the fine print: I had AAA and their fuel delivery service did not include diesel fuel. I was stumped. After getting towed to a fuel station, I took a look at the policy and, yup, does not include diesel fuel.
My experience with Good Sam was the same, on the first call. "I can't find anyone to service your vehicle". AAA found someone within 1/2 hour of on phone time that came out within 30min.
I had to stop half way into your video to thank you for doing this video. My biggest fear is being broke down and my chosen towing service plan bailing on my like Good Sams did you. So far I have not had to use it. I have a large dual wheel truck camper pulling a camping gear trailer. I’ve never had a flat on the rear of the truck and I don’t want to learn how on the side of a busy highway. Thank you again for your experience and input.
@@LongLongHoneymoon Sean....people (including you, lol) Should improve their safety chances on the highway by buying the best tires they can afford to help avoid these emergency flat tires....I now use Sailun tires on my bigger horse trailer and theyre bullet proof....no more roadside prob becuz of tires...JMO....good luck !!
I got to tell you my story... I bought a Class A Allegra 34-foot RV a month later jumped in it drove from Kansas City to South Carolina. Turning into our final destination there was a dip in the road. My camper was stuck hanging into the highway about 5 feet. Now let me tell you this highway was a Logging Road with trucks flying by at 70 miles an hour. Within two minutes there were two police cars at the back of our camper which was so refreshing with their lights on 00 we did I forget to tell you it's 10 at night. We had AAA back then so I called them and they told me it would be 8 a.m. in the morning before they had somebody out luckily for us the police officers newest semi truck tow truck business we called them and they pushed us off of the road for $300. Fortunately I sent the bill to AAA and they paid it without question. So it turned out to be a good experience.
Coach Net....they have come through everywhere, every time. Had a water pump failure on the way to Las Vegas towing our 39’ Teton 3 axle. Not only towed us to the park in Las Vegas to drop the trailer in addition to taking the F-450 to the dealer of our choice...nuff said!
I second Coach Net. We were stuck out in rural Oregon. Coach Net got a tow truck right away and would pay for any cost they charged. The tow truck driver said the bill would have been $450. Coach Net completely covered it. He said they would never respond to requests from AAA or Good Sam since they have a cap on what they will pay and in rural areas, that cap is way too low for tow truck drivers to respond.
Ive had Coach Net for five years and used them four times for a tire, lockout (broken lock cylinder), burnt up starter on a 11 liter caterpillar, and a tow on my toyota after the waterpump belt broke. They have ALWAYS come thru in an amazing way with truly professional help that was a lifesaver in remote places. I wouldnt even bother trying anyone else after they have been so good. Price doesnt matter to me because the service is that good.
Probably THE best (or most important) video of yours that we've watched so far, Sean & Kristi. The potential for danger makes this that important. We are right now, as I write this, checking with our insurance company about our coverage details and options. I can't believe we hadn't done this before hand. God Bless you two.
This is not a "Good Sam" issue per-say, it's a symbiotic issue w/most Customer Support nationwide. Most make promises upon selling the "Service" but ... when it comes time to deliver upon their service rhetoric, the "Small Print" (w/terms & conditions) typically precludes them from delivering what is promised. Very enlightening and thanks for bringing this to light ya'll !
Used towing assistance one time and it is was damn sure worth what we paid for it. We are AAA “Premium Members” and auto coverage and have been members since 2008. We also got Good Sam about a year ago thinking it might be better that AAA as the on-line description of their coverage was to tow us all the way home, if need be. Returning from New Brighton State Beach on near Capitola CA on the Monterey Bay to our home in the Sacramento area our tow vehicle, Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi overheated. Our TT is a 25’ 2001 Holiday Rambler We were just over 100 miles from home. Like you, I called Good Sam and the response was “Well, I can try but don’t think I can find anyone willing to tow you that far…” My response “You mean you are telling me that you can definitively maybe get us home?” He confirmed that was the case. Called AAA and got a “No problem, we’ll work on getting someone there ASAP.” Currently AAA keeps you continually updated via text message re the status of your tow. With out Premium AAA membership, we are entitled to four 100-mile tows per year. Also, because we have AAA auto coverage, we have scheduled our trailer on the policy and AAA covers it the same as it does our truck and auto. AAA tow driver showed up with a flat bed the size of the one in your video. The Dodge dealer in Sacramento was 96 miles from our breakdown point and out home a bit over a 100 as I noted earlier. Driver came, loaded up our truck on his flat bed, hitched up our TT and got us home, dropping the TT in front of our house then taking the truck onto the Dodge dealer. $0 bucks out of pocket. I have to note that AAA “charged” us for three of our four eligible tows per year, tow for taking the trailer to our home and one for taking the truck to the dealer. The real expense came from getting the cooling system work: over $800! Thermostat replacement, cooling system flush, coolant replacement, and, buried in the bill somewhere I’m sure, a healthy contribution to the college fund of the dealer owner’s kids. We are still with AAA and are long satisfied customers. Politely told Good Sam what they could do with their roadside assistance... Re LT tires: after your video, researched the diff between LTs and “trailer” tires. Consensus is that trailer tires are designed to handle the side wall flex stresses that trailers put on tires, flex for which LTs are not designed.
Watched your video. I read those mixed reviews in response. My situation with AAA was this: "NO We Do Not Cover That, because the flat is not on a car, but it's on your trailer." The AAA operator didn't say it's covered if you have AAA Plus, just "not Covered." I expressed my displeasure at the news she gave me and was told to read my policy, the fine print of course. It isn't the end of story because a 'Good Samaritan' came along to help us, since we were up the creek without a paddle. The scruffy looking guy saw our situation and frustration written on my face, asking how he could help. He went to his van, pushed a few things around among the pile of disorganized stuff and found a bottle jack. In a short few minits he had the flat off and the spare on. What an assortment of emotions we had. Upset at having a flat tire. Glad we had AAA. Mad that AAA didn't take care of us. But finally happy to have run into a kind, sympathetic man willing to help us. In short, your videos are GREAT, informative, giving practical info. The point about the ramp to put one tire up to get the flat off was really good. Also with one being able having a double axle system, that one could drive a short ways with a flat because there's enough support with the remaining 3 wheels. I've had 3 travel trailers over 40 years time, with many short local area trips, a few moderate distance trips, and one loooong trip to Florida and another up to Canada from Mass. And you are absolutely correct, you're going to run into things out there, be it a flat tire, an engine, tranny, suspension failure, or something else where you are going to need a reliable Roadside Assistance program. Please keep those videos coming. Thanks, Frank from Lynn, MA. (......currently seeking out an AS trailer 18' to 24'., but why are they so expensive?) Actually I do know why.
Good Sam left us stuck out in the desert last year. Broken fan belt on motorhome. Good Sam says 'We can't find anybody'. We fixed it ourselves on the side of the road. No more Good Sam.
_"We can't find anybody."_ What a load of crap. They're a nationwide company in the emergency roadside assistance business. It's their *_job_* to find somebody! Outrageous.
I've used State Farm and AAA roadside assistance. Both worked fine for me. Twice for a lockout, once for extra gas and 4 times to tow my truck to a repair shop. Haven't used it when my RV was attached though. The only downside I had was when I was about 250 miles from home and blew a rear end. State Farm would tow it to the nearest repair shop which was a dodge dealership for fixing my Ford truck. I opted to have it flat bedded home to a repair shop I knew and State Farm pair for about $140 worth of the tow and I paid the rest. Fair enough. I would have had to wait a week for parts and repair to be done and any warranty problems would have been at a shop 250 miles away not local. My Dad and grandmother had AAA and when on a out of state trip and blew an engine. AAA paid for their motel room and meals while they waited for the repairs to get done, five days. This comes with their Premier plan and has a 1,000 limit. Towing increases with that plan to 200 miles instead of the basic 100 miles. State Farm RV insurance paid for the total loss on my rv when we had a flood and the inside got a couple of inches of water covering the floor and it swelled and went soft. Good insurance for less than $45 a year (1990's).
Thank you Sean & Kristy, my GS Roadside assistance was to renew next month. I called GS and cancelled after watching what you folks went through. You are correct, my travel trailer and vehicles are road side assist covered with my normal vehicle insurance, so you folks saved me money! I love watching your series!
I had a similar incident last weekend. I was in the Seattle metropolitan area when my GMC motorhome blew the vacuum valve for the heater core dumping the majority of my coolant. I was 5 miles from my destination. I called the Progressive roadside assistance which is provided by Agero. Started out fine with taking the information and how I would be notified when the tow was scheduled. 90 mins later I had not hear a thing and called back for a status update. The automated system said the case as still open and that I should expect to notified within the next 10 hours. I talked to several customer service reps that night with the same story that they were not finding anyone that could tow the RV. At midnight I had a tow operator show up (he thought I was who he was dispatched for) and said that he has towed several GMC motorhomes and to have Progressive call his towing company. I had a friend pick me up as I needed sleep after driving all day and called the roadside assistance once again to give them the name of the towing company. I also let them know that it was unacceptable to be waiting for a tow in a large metropolitan area for 4 hours and that I could not believe that they could not find a tow operator. Finally at 5:30 in the morning (9 hours after the initial call) I was told that they had a tow scheduled. The tow drive filled in part of the rest of the story for me. Agero was giving the wrong height for my RV which was disqualifying many of the tow operators and it also sounds like they were trying to be really cheap on what they would have to pay out. Needless to say I am looking at other options and will probably move all of my insurance away from Progressive.
Good video. Useful information. However, I have a few suggestions. My RV is a class A and I have a compartment that doesn't lock. I keep a front door key in that compartment under the carpet in the top outside corner of the box. I've never needed it in nearly ten years, but it's there and I doubt anyone will ever figure it out. Secondly, I've had to change a few tires on the super slab in dangerous situations (I used to be a tow operator) and flairs, triangles, and traffic control cones all work to divert drivers, but a vest in safety yellow or orange with plenty of reflective material around the body and arms when used in conjunction with four way flashers and flairs or triangles makes you as safe as you possibly can be in view of the circumstances. The pro's have a service truck with a bar light that they park behind you but it can be managed without one. Additionally, if you're not alone you can have your partner (who is hopefully also wearing a vest) stand well off the road on the shoulder by your first safety marker with a white towel or perhaps a white pillow slip or a flashlight at night and alert drivers of the danger. Vehicle breakdown is a different matter and unless you're a pretty good hand with a wrench that might require a tow. Proper tire inflation and rotation will also minimize problems, as well as a good vehicle maintainence program. Good safety equipment and protocol is essential, though. By the way, this has nothing to do with testosterone. I'm on disability and my budget is so tight that I have to be the tire guy, the mechanic, the driver, the cook and the dishwasher, too. In the last decade I've been full time, I've never had a blow out or a mechanical problem that kept me from getting to a good place to effect a repair. Oh, one more thing. If you run on a flat tire you ruin the tire in the first fifty feet. The way to tell if a tire has been run flat is to look inside to see if the rim has destroyed the chord which can be seen all the way around, or if it's mounted on a wheel it will have a ring all the way around on the side wall. This is also good information if you ever get in a bind and have to purchase a used tire just to get you to a place where you can get a new one. If you ever get a chance to look at a tire pile behind a tire shop you'll see that wear isn't the only issue. It might bennifit the adverage RVer to recognize tire defects and thus avoid getting out on the road with a problem tire in the first place. Happy trails and keep the videos coming! Thanks
We have State Farm for both the vehicle and RV. Roadside assistance is on the policy. But, in addition to that, we have Coach-Net with tire hazard. Never an issue with that combination. Coach Net has been amazing.
We've never had any emergency yet, but being retired military we use USAA for our truck & Airstream. Decided to go over our policy again just to know what kind of coverage we have & if we need to upgrade
Being a belt-and-suspenders kinda guy, we have Good Sam (which we tried to use once, and won't be renewing), AAA, *and* State Farm. We had a similar poor experience with State Farm, who said they couldn't find anyone. AAA came through in that instance. But, different assistance companies seem to have have different "favorite" service providers. Will be looking into Coach Net, after reading this thread!
A good friend of ours had exactly the same problem in South Carolina. They had a f-350 dually transmission failure pulling a fifth wheel trailer. They called Good Sam and could get a tow for the truck but bot the trailer which would be left on the side of the interstate.
Such a great idea about using a tire ramp to bring you dual trailer wheels off the ground to change!! I did learn a long time ago, (seriously 40 plus years ago from my dad) get rid of those cheap-ass trailer tires and immediately upgrade them to LT tires. I toured 3 different trailer factories and the ONLY factory that I found that puts LT tires on their campers was Northwood. When I was looking for a new camper, I toured 3 different factories and the last one (because it was the farthest away) was Northwood in Oregon. Not only did their standards and guidelines blow me away about the way they were constructed, but the engineering process was amazing also. I think they took every flaw from every other camper manufacturers and reversed their competitors' process. Plus they are 4 season campers.
Here is my story about roadside assistance. I carried it for about 7 years and never used it. In the 8th year I was planning to retire from RVing so I dropped it. On the trip to deliver the travel trailer to the next owner, I was cruising on a heavily travelled interstate at 4:30 pm Friday evening when one left tire disintegrated! I called Good Sam, they told me my coverage had expired but gave me two local towing numbers to call for help. The first company said that they were shorthanded and could not come out. The second company said that they do not service trailers, but gave me another number to call. The third company said that they could be there in about 2 hours and it would be $300 up front. About that time, a good Samaritan contractor stopped, changed my blown tire with the spare in 20 minutes despite traffic buzzing by at 70 mph. I thanked him profusely, tipped him $100, and he reluctantly accepted it.
Had an incident last week where we needed have our 1999 Tiffin towed. I have been a AAA Premier member for years. In June before my renewal, I contacted them to see if our newly purchased used motorhome would be covered. I was told "any vehicle I am in is covered". Well..... last Friday we had to call for a tow. This was 3:00pm in the afternoon. Three hours after calling AAA for tow, and them searching for a wrecker, they informed us we did not have the "RV package" . Long story short, after finding this out and asking to speak to a supervisor and 2 supervisors later, all I got was they could not help me and that "I must have declined the RV package due to the cost. I was told the cost was $35 - $50 additional dollars. I have to admit I was livid and thru the tears I asked the supervisor if she thought I was that stupid not to purchase the additional coverage for $50 dollars. I had to, as respectfully as I could, stop the call before I hung up on her. Now the whole time that the reps were trying to get me a tow (before someone decided to check my coverage) they could not find someone willing to tow. Our 40' requires a special tow truck/wrecker. We also found out that what AAA is willing to pay is far less than what we would have been billed by tow company. Since a tow company can make more money for self pay, they seem to be "too busy" or unwilling to tow a AAA member. I have been a AAA member for over 20 years, this was unacceptable service. Was browsing for a company such as Good Sam, etc for roadside/towing assistance I came across your "The Truth about Roadside Assistance". Will call our insurance company!!!!
Thanks for the info I have my Good Sam's renewal laying on the kitchen table. I will not be renewing with Good Sam's have been there for five years and never had to use them thank God, and my luck is I would have the same experience as you did. I have AAA and I've had it for many years I think I will just add the AAA Plus RV sounds like I'd be safer anyway reading all the other comments that your respondents have made. Thank you for the great info...
We just started RV'ing this year. I picked up one of those axle ramps that youtube recommended, but it's a good thing I tested it out at the house because it didn't work. My axles are too far apart, so the other tire didn't lift off the ground. Had to pack the big jack. And it's a good thing, too, cause we cracked a rim on day 1, and then blew out another tire on the last day. Would have been a much different maiden voyage if I'd assumed the ramp would have worked.
Hello from So. California, Great info I have had AAA for the last few years and I must say I have had excellent experiences. There has been years when we our selfs never needed it, But used it for friends, Family, and even strangers. That 400 Mi tow with the Premier Package is a great peace of mind. P. S. When using for other people at least get lunch out of them. Thanks
I have been a member of AAA for 25 years. I just got my first RV and was looking at getting a good Sams club. But everything I read and listen to you has made me change my mind. Thanks for the information
@@forrestgump8241 I think Kristy said that the tow people have a big truck to park in front of them as well as the appropriate emergency gear and I also noticed air tools being used. I don't carry air tools on vacation.
I had great service from AAA in Alaska when I got a class C motorhome stuck on a soft shoulder near Mt. McKinley they sent a wrecker from Nenana because of road construction it took 2.5 hours each way for the wrecker he worked for over an hour to get the RV out, so AAA picked up at least a 6 hour wrecker bill in Alaska. Pretty great service I would say.
Same thing happened to me. Blow out on the Interstate. Took the Good Sam guy 20 minutes to "pinpoint " my location even though I told him the highway, direction and mile marker. Then another 30 minutes to say they couldn't find assistance. By that time I had the tire changed myself. Hard, but I got it done. And after this I now have a reflective safety vest and roadside triangles.
All I can tell you. I was driving from North Central Texas to Seattle. Made it there fine. Transmission went out the Siskiyou mountains in California. I had AAA RV Premier Service. They sent one wrecker out. Said it was to small sent a bigger wrecker out. I had a three-quarter ton Chevrolet pickup truck with a camper in the back and the trailer behind it. 80 miles to the nearest transmission shop. 850.00 wrecker fee. AAA paid for 100% of it and it cost me $159 a year. At that time. AAA is well worth the money. That's all I got to say about that
Amen! I have a battery powered impact, 4 way, 12 ton bottle jack, jack stands, and wood for under the jacks in addition to reflective vests, gloves, head lamps, and other emergency supplies. Do I still have roadside assistance? You bet I do. I have had flat tires in August on asphalt when it was 112 degrees with 90 percent humidity and nothing but the factory tools to use. That was a nightmare. I was borrowing a small trailer to haul playground equipment when the cam that locks against the hitch ball broke and the trailer bounced off. One of the safety chains failed and snapped, and the other gave way after we had slowed down about 20 mph. Thankfully nobody was killed when it became a middle on the highway. Now I don’t leave home without being prepared, because things happen.
I have AAA Plus, but I also signed up for SPOT’s roadside assistance. Unfortunately I did get a flat on The Dempster in the Northwest Territories. There is no cell service on this road which was a big reason why I got the one for SPOT. However, pushing the button for the satellite linked service was not straightforward. I found out later in Dawson City that you have to lift the cover off the button before you can push it. There are no instructions to do that on the unit and you can’t exactly look on the internet when there is no service! I was lucky that there was a roadside crew who refused to leave me there. I got the tire fixed at Eagle Plains. Anyway, just know if you have a SPOT unit and need to get either roadside assistance, or press the SOS button, you need to flip up the cover to expose the actual button.
I had 3 blowouts last weekend on my utility trailer. It wasn't on my camper but the experience is the same. When the first blew out, I changed it and turned around to go home. About half way there, 2 more blew out. One on the road and another before I could get to a safe place to pull off. With no spare, a holiday weekend, and very tired (that is more important than people realize - you make mistakes), I called a tow truck to bring the trailer home. I think those tires had dry rotted. That happens a lot on vehicles that are not used often, including campers.
5-6 years is the life span, whether you roll on them or not. Even if they look good, they are not. keep track of the date code on all your vehicle tires, especially the ones you don't drive often. your situation happened to my brother on a camping trip. wrecked the whole weekend.
I'm really happy I found this video. Just today I was thinking about Good Sam Road side assistance as a gift for my brother and his wife because I've sat along side the road with AAA for 3 stinking hours only to learn that a tow truck company five miles down the road would have towed my vehicle 15 miles home IF AAA would have just called them. Wow. Three hours. But with my brothers health conditions neither Good Sam's nor AAA fiascos would be acceptable. Uuuuugh
Thanks for an informative and useful video. One thing to think about with regards to using roadside assistance via your automobile insurance company. It's my understanding that if you call the insurance company for roadside assistance for any of your vehicles (RV or otherwise) they will treat this as a claim that goes on your insurance claim history that may result in raising your rates. Multiple claims (say for multiple flat tires, tows, etc.) may significantly affect your insurance premiums. While we have roadside assistance with our RV insurance, we will always use AAA (RV coverage purchased at additional cost to the AAA membership) to avoid insurance claims and higher premiums. Now matter how much the insurance companies try to make it look like they are you friends, rest assured they are not.
I had the same problem with Good Sam last winter. They seem to take your money and don't have a group of people to back up what they are selling us. I proceeded to drop them. I had AAA and they have always helped me.
We have a 38 ft. class A diesel pusher. . We broke down in Sacramento, Ca. on March 19, 2019 about 11 am. We started losing water when we stopped to have our tires checked. We decided to head to the Caterpillar dealership that was about 20 miles away. We got about 2 exits down and it started over heating. We got off the freeway and pulled into a card lock place. It was in the 90’s but we couldn’t run the air conditioner while we waited because we lost all of our power. We were in a not so good area of town. We called Good Sam and they had us send photos before they would order the truck to tow us. We were in contact with them about every 45 minutes until just before dark. The tow truck driver showed up around 5 pm. Good Sam had ordered a tow truck that was too small to tow us. The driver had to argue with GS. He had to send pictures to show him. He was finally able to get them to let him call for his company’s biggest truck. He happened to be an hour away. Good Sam didn’t want to pay for a bigger truck and argued about it. The tow company said they would tow us but told GS that they had to have certified funds transferred into their account first. We had them tow us to a diesel repair shop that was less than 4 miles away. We had to threaten to get our lawyer involved. The worst experience ever. (FYI -you never want to have to buy a new radiator and starter for a diesel pusher.) I posted on my FB page about the incident and I think on the Good Sam page. They called the next day and apologized and extended our coverage for an extra 6 months. Yeah! The tow company said Good Sam is really bad at paying. We told them we were going to check out Geico because we have our car ins with them. He said Geico is one of the best for RV roadside. Good Sam is not so good.
I had a similar experience with Good Sam. I was on the side of the road for about three hours engaging in multiple calls to Good Sam. The conversations were similar to yours. I finally called a local tow company and they were able to be there within about twenty minutes and solved my problem. It was my first time calling Good Sam for help after paying for the insurance for several years.
I have had AAA since about 1986 and plus since whenever it came out. I check tire pressure and do up keep on my vehicles so I have not needed them much for roadside and when I have called it has been a mix. In about 1990 they towed me in Wyoming 100 plus miles to get to a town, the tow driver said unless I had AAA or paid upfront with a credit card he would not come out to get us. About 2005 in the middle of Minnesota's lakes my truck would not start in the morning, it was around -35 AAA had no one they could send. Called the service station in nearby town he came out with 5 gallons of gas he had sitting by the heat vent to add to my frozen gas tank, jumped it to keep my battery from going dead. $25 cash later I was running, no receipt for AAA to reimburse though. I stopped at the station when leaving and filled both tanks to get a good run on the day. I used AAA the most riding with friends in college and they would break down on the road trip. I have kept AAA and my daughter is on it but when she had a flat by Chicago I spent 30 minutes trying to get her help, she can change a tire she rotates her tires herself, but she was in a bad spot. The Chicago transport truck came and helped her change the tire out and looked at her other tires to see if they had picked up any road junk. AAA had not even found someone to help her yet. So if AAA did not have other benefits to me I doubt I would still have it.
Long as it is not on Sunday and is near a big city. My wife is a home care nurse, her patient lives in a mobile home down three miles of dirt road. This morning her relief nurse was late, her car broke down half way down the dirt road. Cell service is spotty for most, my wife's Virgin mobile account being the only one that is reliable, so it was a while before the woman found someone to take her to the home. Once there she used the land line to call AAA. No local tow trucks were available, one had to be sent from 40 miles away. This is north Florida, not Wyoming. On top of that she had to be taken back to her car, the tow operator would not pick it up without her being there. My wife had already worked her 12 hour shift and the two extra hours waiting for the nurse. The patients mother had to bundle the child into her van to take the nurse down to wait because my wife has to be back at 8:00 pm and had to come home to get a little sleep.
AAA Plus has served us well. How about two calls in one day? Changed a tire in a dangerous spot then two hours later a motorcycle t-boned the trailer. Both services were perfect.
Good Sam lost me the 1st time I needed them. Drove from KC to Alabama to purchase our rv. Tyranny went belly up 10 miles after hook-up and departure. GS couldn't get any vendors to us because Alabama was playing a "big game" that weekend, so we spent our first night in our rv stranded at a rest area off the interstate (thankfully). We made other arrangements the next morning. GOODBYE GOOD SAM!
Y'all are 100% right about tire changing. I think most of us that aren't from the current generation used to view changing tires in 100 degree temperatures, on the side of a busy highway with zero protection from oncoming traffic, something that "a real man" does. Now we are smart enough to realize that we are paying for the coverage anyway so why worry about some knucklehead that's busy texting about the latest water cooler gossip, running you over and then telling everyone how TRAUMATIZED they are from your death...........
We went on the road in 32 ft motor home in Nov. 2017. We started out with Good Sam for Road side assistance. Never had a need to use them but saw a couple of videos where some RVers had problems. We did not renew, and went with FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association). Had a flat tire while we were parked in a campground and called them. The first thing they asked was if we were in a safe place which made me feel good. The tire guy came out in a reasonable time. Was quiet happy with them. We needed a new stem so with our spare on we took the tire to be repaired at a shop down the road. The local tire guy was wondering why he was not called since they deal with Big Rigs. From what I understand the services need to be pre approved before FMCA sends them. Imagine Good Sam is the same way. Don't know who is in charge of selecting services and how they go about it. Anyway am happy with FMCA and will stay with them.
I also have fmca after a breakdown and finding out my towing insurance covered $75 maximum what a joke it was $150 for 7 or 8 miles. That was thru Hartford. I dropped them for progressive and saving about 40% with 4 rigs.
Took my 26 ft Salem and my Yukon pu. We got a hour from home and as we were going down a 90 degree hill that had a no trucks allowed, to late for us to turn around. This is my son's first experience driving pulling a heavy trailer. I learned a lot from you and the taking foot off has to stop tail sag was the best! Weight distribution is another issue i did not have quite right. Long story short half way down this steep hill that was a straight shot into a big lake in NH, the break line popped and we had no breaks! We missed the part where u can control the trailer breaks from the trailer breaks control box! Somehow we sailed through a stop sign didn't flip over going around the corner and stopped right exactly in the best spot. Scared out of our wits both shaky g like a leaf! Called my newly acquired WAS for RV! $150. Put of the box. Called and requested 2x 2 separate tow vehicles 1 for yukon, one for the camper. All this happened at 4:30pm. 1 day ago. Took 2 hours for first tow, and he said he didn't know anything about 2 tow vehicles. St trooper stopped and talked to us, very nice. Until we began having trouble finding tow truck for the rv. AAA, found some guy in Hampton NH, and I was in Alton Bay, NH. He showed up at 10pm. I got home at 11pm. And his back up skills were not so good, almost took out the rear side of the t.v. On a tree. So AAA , doesn't listen so great, but we eventually got home. On a side note, I did weigh the truck and camper at a cat, scale at a Irvings truck stop. While thing came in at 15,300 lbs! I had a feeling we were heavy and should have turned around and gone home and hauled half that stuff out! But, maiden voyage wanted to go to mountains and go!d prospect for a week. Figure out what we need and don't to get to Oregon . I guess I don't need a lot of stuff I was carrying not only in the camper but in back of the truck. Survival, border\camper wanna be! I don't like minimalism, I like having my stuff, but this has scared the junk out of me!,
We had a similar problem with Good Sam Roadside assistance. It was the first time we ever used it. Our truck broke down at the side of the freeway. We needed it to be towed along with our 5th wheel. We could not leave these on the freeway shoulder. I had to find my own towing company after spending hours on the phone with Good Sam. Eventually Good Sam reimbursed me for my out of pocket towing costs because they did not do their job. Very poor service indeed!
My exp, of well over 30 years, tells me your NEED some kind of road side service unless your willing to pay the bill. Now the bill may be 85 bucks or it may be 1000 or more. We broke down outside Laramie in the middle of no where two weeks ago. We have AAA Plus, thank heavens. We needed a tow, back to Laramie which was over 100 miles, for the truck and 31 foot fifth wheel. AAA was great!!! The tow company, I80 towing out of Laramie, went out of their way to get the truck to the repair facility and took our camper to the KOA so we had a place to stay. That one tow probably payed all our past and future roadside assistance insurance. As for running on a flat or almost flat tire. I would advise to get off the road as soon as possible. Do not run a few miles unless you have to. When a tire goes flat or almost flat it transfers the entire weight of that side of the trailer to the one tire that is still inflated. This will probably over stress that tire, unless you have a very light camper and make it extremely unreliable. We had a blowout and I stopped immediately. Goodyear warranted the G614 tire and when I told them of my concern about the other tire they replaced that one also. The also took care of the body damage to the camper. This to my knowledge is only for the G614 tires. Not cheap but considering a bargain. Oh by the way. Check to see what speed your tires are rated. Running faster than the rated limit is asking for a trouble. Also check your tire pressure cold every time you hit the road. You will be surprised how temp and altitude will change your pressures. I check and adjust every morning.
We had Good Sam's in the past and the one time we needed to use it they dropped the ball. On I95 in Georgia we had a blow out on our class"A" motorhome. Being the outside dually we limped to the Flying J that we planned on as a fuel stop. My wife got on the phone right when the flat happened. So I got out to fill the fuel while she was on hold. Georgetowns came with a new spare but no rim. I got to talking to a tire guy at the truck stop and he offered to swap the tires and install it for $60. Now I know that that was a great price. He did his thing and I gave him a tip. I jumped in the seat to continue the trip and wifey was still on hold with the crappy elevator music. My wife let then have it when they finally came back to the phone.
My wife and I have traveled many miles on the Gold Wing (motorcycle) pulling our tent trailer, so I've had AAA+ for a long time. It also assures me they will tow to where YOU want, instead of wherever the closest shop is
I also had a very bad experience with Good Sam roadside assistance a couple years ago, and I have now switched to Family Motor Coach Association of which I have used twice, to tow my truck in to the shop. Everything went smoothly so no complaints so far. You have to be a member of FMCA in order to purchase roadside assistance but there are lots of percs with membership. But never would I go back to" good Sam".
I have had Good Sam for over15 years and have used them a few times with no problem yet... but after your experience, I am considering a change. Like you our insurance is with State Farm, both Truck & 5th Wheel, however I have never felt comfortable with them...
We had a similar instance a few years back now, where we had wheel bearings go out on our twin axle trailer. It was getting close to dark in the late afternoon, and a call to AAA told us that because we didn't have 'triple A PLUS' that they couldn't help us....after an hour on the phone with them! We called our own tow truck, who took us a whopping 22 miles, and charged us $420. for the tow of the trailer! We where down for 4 days, as it was a small town, and the small garage the tow truck took us and trailer to, had to 'order in' a new axle! Good grief, one would think AAA could say, well, if you want to pay X amount for the PLUS, we'll send someone out..but no, they didn't do that, nor did they re-imberse us! We DO now have the PLUS, and of course have never needed it...but, have gone from truck/slide in camper & pull behind cargo trailer, to a Class A motorhome...which now pulls the trailer, so I really should double check that all is covered, after hearing this story! Good old Seamore....has taken you on more wonderful vacations than most people get in a lifetime...how can you beat that! Thanks for the video, drive safe you two!!
Now you tell me! Yup. I went through the identical same thing with, Good Sam. Over a month ago. Just before you did this video. I started RVing, as soon as I got my first Chevy Van. In 2012, I got my, 30 foot, Fleetwood, Southwind, motorhome. I had some problems with that. Good Sam did their thing. Having to take care of my 95-year-old mother. The motorhome got stored. It's been stored. It's staying, stored. But I'd maintained by Good Sam, roadside assistance plan. Coming home one Saturday night/Sunday morning. 2 miles south of Austin, Texas. Off of one of their main streets at the corner of another main street. My Chevy van engine blows a cylinder, Rod, piston, whatever. Completely blew. It was terrifying. The engine stalls. I lose the power steering and power brakes. I managed to get off of I-35, in front of a closed restaurant. It's very hot. I had no air conditioning. I was already overheated and getting panicky. I suffer from Multiple Sclerosis, I'm not supposed to get overheated. I don't care if the car does.But it's dead. I'm an old woman. All alone. I'm 63. It's 2:30 AM. I'm looking at open gas stations in front of me a few hundred feet away. I'm so overheated I don't have the energy to walk anywhere. Just out of my reach, 7-11 Across the Hwy. Everything is still open, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Taco Cabana and they tell me they can't find anybody. I'm going to just have to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow??!? Excuse me? I tell them that is not an option. I said this is not what I'm paying for. I'm in distress. I'm going to sue you for everything. They put me on hold. My cell phone charger is dead. My battery is going low. And I'm on hold for 10 minutes. Finally... they have located a towing company.. Though? It might cost extra? They will only accept cash. Fine. And how much extra? Likely about $62 am told. That's about what I have. As promised. About 1 1/2 hours later, the tow truck driver shows up. It's now almost daylight. I've been up for 20 something hours and terribly overheated and debilitated.. And as the tow truck driver is driving me southbound, on, I-35. He informs me the additional charge in cash will be, $280. $280!?!?!? I don't have $280 cash on me. He starts to pull off the highway. I panic. I'm freaking out. I tell him to get on the phone to his manager right now! And he does so. And two minutes later. He hangs up and starts driving again. I asked him what the charge will be? He tells me nothing it's been taken care of with someone else's credit card. Here's the kicker, folks! I lament about Good Sam. And the pulling of teeth to get him. He tells me he's not from Good Sam. When I inquire what towing company, he's from? He tells me, State Farm Roadside Assistance. I think Good Sam just lost a, 7 year customer. And maybe so did, Camping World? Because that doesn't cut it. I was mortified and truly disappointed. And that's the problem. I was almost mortified. As in Morte'. As in dead. From overheating with Multiple Sclerosis. Or maybe just a heart attack at 63? Or maybe being murdered at 2:30 AM in front of a dark clothes restaurant? So I think it's Good Sham. And such a shame that Sam is a Sham. Like spam in a can. Because they could and can.. They were spam. And they wanted to spam me. With more spam. Sam in spam. With the Sham Can with Spam. And no Good Sam Spam. So I shan't be Spamming Spam with my, can. And no more Good Spam Sham Sam. Not in my can. Remy
This is very good to know. I have always used AAA and they have never been more than an hour to get to me. Often within 30 minutes. And it's dirt cheap insurance.
We have Roadside Assistance coverage with auto/motorhome policy. Cost is less than $5 a month per vehicle. We have used it twice (for motorhome) $500+ each time. Huge 18 wheeler style tow truck Insurance paid 100% and I didn't have to wait for an 800 number answering machine.
I’ve had AAA RV Plus for almost 20 years with no issues (knock on wood). They’ve come through for me even when I needed a 100 mile tow for my vehicle and camper and didn't charge any additional fees. My regular auto insurance wasn’t much help that time even though both my vehicle and camper have their own policies. Because of my experience with AAA RV Plus I also added all the kid’s vehicles on our plan. Not cheap, but comforting for my circumstances because AAA is everywhere. YMMV.
Have had Good Sam for twenty-seven years. Had to use them four times. In the first we were several miles outside of Dallas. They sent an over the road wrecker. He towed our one ton with the fifth wheel still attached back to my sisters house, off loaded the RV, then towed my truck to the transmission shop that we wanted. Outstanding service. The third time I was stranded in the mountains east of Cloudcroft, NM with my mustang. Barely in cell phone range. They tried for two hours to find someone to come out. They all said no. I was too far out of their service area. I also called all of the towing companies in our area and got the same answer. Finally, with not much phone battery left had to call my family to get a Uhaul, and come out and rescue me. The last time they came to our house and towed the truck to my selected repair shop in Alamogordo. Three out of four outstanding experiences. Do not have the truck, or RV any longer. But still have Good Sam.
A similar incident happened to me. A law enforcement officer stopped to check on us in California. He asked who we had for towing. When we said Good Sam, he was disappointed and said they would string us along for three hours then say they couldn’t help us. That’s exactly what happened. Fortunately we had another tow company for the truck and we had to pay out of pocket for the trailer. The tow driver said Good Sam did call and only wanted to pay for the tow on one vehicle. He said towing the truck was one tow and towing the trailer was another tow = two tows. Since they wouldn’t pay for two, he refused the job. It was July 4th and we spent five to seven hours on the side of the road in triple digit heat. I think it was seven hours but I can’t remember. It was on the US 395 outside of Bishop. We got our money from Good Sam within a month.
Thanks for the video. I do have a redundancy in coverage - AAA Plus, Good Sam and GEICO, but I will definitely drop Good Sam now that I 've heard about your sad experience with them. Like your Seemore, I also have an F-250 Diesel truck (Awesome!), but it has a 100 gallon Diesel fuel tank on the truck's bed to prevent your experience of running out of diesel fuel when towing a trailer. Regular gas stations, even if they carry diesel fuel, don't really have any space accommodations for towed travel trailers. Your best bet is to go with gas stations which can accommodate "the big boys" (semi trailers). The 100 gal tank gives you the range to find them without any worries as well as saving $$ by buying Diesel at the lower priced stations. If you're not into 100 gal tanks - I would suggest at least two 5 gal containers, which should give you an added 140 mile range before you totally run out of fuel.
Also had a bad situation (stuck on busy interstate on a weekend with two blown tires in 95 deg heat) with Good Sam 'unable to find help' for us. Luckily we had GM Onstar service that found a tire shop within 30 miles that would stay open to fix our problems. Excellent, caring customer service.
Last year we bought the Escapees Roadside Assistance, but haven't needed to use it yet (yea!). It covers both our truck and our trailer whether we're towing or not.
I recently had a blow out with a tire on my camper. I thought I had coverage with AAA but my wife had dropped the coverage since we were not using the trailer. The nice lady on the phone said sorry we can't help you since its your trailer as it was in your experience. I did remember that we also had state farm road assistance. The nice people on the phone at state farm could not pull up my policy even with giving them my #'s . This process went about an hour until I said fine and we found our own tire guy to change the tire. The guy says he would be there in 15 minutes and 2 minutes later the road side assistance from state farm shows up unannounced by state farm. I called the other guy back and canceled he was not happy but it saved me $185 he was going to charge me. I don't know if there is a perfect system in place , my agent called me later and said they only cover up to $100 and I might be getting a bill but none has come. I need to have a more in depth conversation about what is covered exactly with state farm. I do know that you only get a certain number of calls with AAA before they give you the kiss off as well.
Hi guys, I saw this and had to click on it. I use to work for Good Sam roadside assistance. I was located in one of the call centers in Texas and I could tell you that yes, one tow is worth it. I've personally seen it cost from $1000 up to $5000. The weekends are the toughest to find someone to go out there. The real problem is the RV Techs that we, as in the people you speak to, have to ok the price for out of network providers. The example you used was perfect. Some times none of our in-network providers want to do the tow because either they don't have the equipment or you are too far for them. So at that point, we start looking for out of network providers. We basically call anyone that is close to you and then get a quote and talk to the RV Tech's to approve it. If they don't approve the price, then we keep calling other providers. It's a pain in the ass. Their job is to save the parent company, Allstate, money. I'm not kidding when I say we exhaust every single resource that we have to find someone. 50% of the time the RV Tech's have to bite the bullet and pay the $500 bucks for a tire change. It's absurd but it's the truth. And as far as your incident, some states cannot triple tow. California is probably the strictest when it comes to towing vehicles. Another point I wanted to make is that you have unlimited use, but some people do take advantage of the service. If you are in danger, DON'T CALL ROADSIDE, CALL 911!!! Nothing makes me angrier than a customer hearing they feel in danger and calling us, we are not EMERGENCY DISPATCHERS!! Another thing, we are not insurance!!!! You pay a YEARLY payment, that does not mean it's insurance. I know my car insurance will cover my car if I get into an accident and will cover anything that happens to it. Good Sam does not do that. If my car breaks down and get it towed, Good Sam will not cover the cost to fix it. It's not difficult guys, Good Sam is roadside assistance, not insurance. Ok, rant over. I feel like I did an AMA lol. I don't work there anymore, it kinda sucked. One last thing before I go. If you have a class A, B, or C get roadside assistance. Nothing costs more than using a tow truck to tow a diesel pusher.
Need a hero to come through like Mighty Mouse? You already know his name. Marcus Lemonis. I had a serious blow out/stranded incident traveling through southern Utah which was caused by negligent work done on my Class C at Camping World. Good Sam got me through it but upon our return home Camping World gave me the runaround. As luck would have it we had just received an advertisement letter from Camping World with a note in it from Mr. Lemonis saying something to the effect that he wanted to hear about any experiences his customers had with his company. I wrote him a detailed description of our problems, including photos and that my complaints were being ignored by the local Camping World. Well, Lo and Behold, very shortly after that I received a call from the manager of Camping World and the way his lips came through the phone you would have thought it was Christmas time and I had mistletoe hanging from the back of my belt. All repairs were made, reimbursements came for the expenses incurred, and they tried to set the world record for apologies. Apparently Marcus took a big bite out of somebody's ass.
lol, it appears that Lemonis didn't know the reputation of his company.. If he's THAT proactive, he must be dumping bricks to see the many negative reviews .
Believe it or not as a Deputy it was my duty to change tires for motorists. I had my own floor jack, 4-way, planks in the trunk. I got as good as any Indy. pit crew. Part of the job..To Serve And Protect!
If having trouble call the local non emergency number and "request a motorist assist" The local Deputy or Trooper will know what's available locally if they can't get you going. Another great Vid! Love you guys!! Cool & Calm under fire.......my kind of people. Use a PROFESSIONAL when on any interstate! Natural response for people to steer where they are watching. If you're changing a tire and a driver looks at you there is a chance they will steer that way. The year my Son graduated from the Highway Patrol Academy they lost FIVE Troopers who were on roadside stops. I went to a passenger side approach on my traffic stops for safety.
NUMBER ONE RULE: 4-ways on, safety vest on.
It almost seems to get the best possible coverage it almost takes two roadside assistance plans......that's just wrong.
Miss the guitar playing...........the lava lamp helps make up for it though :)
Thanks so much for the information, and thank you for your service!
We are praying for the safety of our peace keeping, protectors... God Bless Law Enforcement public servants. Thank you so much for your service to our country.
Belated thanks for this great comment. I may need to break out the old guitar in your honor.
Wow. I've only had terrible experiences with police. They yell at me when I'm polite. They treat me like a criminal. Hard to believe they are there for me to serve me.
@@WakeUpPeople1776 If treated bad, call the Chief, Sheriff, Zone Commander, Council Person and complain. Nothing changes until something is said. With body cams so prevalent now your claims would have proof.
last year had the same problem, they never showed up, dropped good sam and just added tools to the truck to do it myself and now carry two gallons home depot pre canned fuel, camper or not, not sitting on the side of the road overnight, walked 3 miles to the gas station and a nice guy gave me a ride back at one in the morning.
"This wasn't a fumble---this was picking the ball up and running the opposite direction..." 🤣
We have AAA, and have used it twice for our old class A motorhome. We had a blowout on the front driver's side tire. The spare was not very good but it got us to the campground. We took the flat tire to a shop about a mile from our camp. We got a new tire and called AAA again. They came to our campsite and replaced the bad spare with the new tire. It was worth every penny.
I remember when I was 13 someone we went to church with moved mobile homes for a living. He had a small business and worked with his adult sons. He was underneath a mobile home that was jacked up removing water lines or something when the jack fell and crushed him. His sons tried to get the mobile home raised back up, but couldn't. So they called 911 and stood there listening to their dad die. Anytime I see anyone on the road underneath their vehicle that is jacked up I say a prayer for them. Will never forget that experience. And never forget the looks on those sons' faces at the funeral.
Kristina that is absolutely horrible! Unfortunately, my family knows a gentleman that was changing a tire on the interstate and was hit a killed by passing traffic. This is one of the reasons I am adamant that Sean never change a tire when we're on the side of the road. It's just not worth the risk.
@@kristymichael
Would it be a good Idea to pack a pair of small orange cones or the like should it boil down to needing to do it yourself?
@@larrybe2900, I think carrying some small orange cones, road flares or some of those warning triangle reflectors is an excellent idea! We also have a reflective safety vest that we keep in our truck. It could potentially save your life!
When I was in my 30's or 40's changing tires was no big deal. Now I'm pushing 60. I'm happy to let someone else do it.
We had a blow out in a very small in Colorado on a Sunday. We called and could not find anyone to help us. We remembered we had road side assistance with State Farm and called them. Before they could get there only a few minutes a young man came by and changed our tired. After he finished State Farm assistance came by. We were thrilled by State Farms assistance on a Sunday in a very small town; but, we were more impressed by the a young man that came to our assistance.
Cooling system failed on my truck with my overhead camper installed pretty far from any town and AAA came right out and towed me all the way to my home. I was happy with the service.
We had a similar Good Sam experience and we also had AAA. Called AAA and found that we didn’t have the RV coverage! Called GS and they said sorry it would be hours or even the following day!!We were up in Minnesota not far from a midsize size town.. Called AAA back and they were kind enough to let us immediately upgrade and sent a truck. Truck driver said that they work with both companies, but their contract with AAA is that their calls will always take priority. Since then we’ve need to use our AAA RV service multiple times and have always been happy. We now have their top RV policy. I believe AAA currently has 4 or more roadside policies available depending on vehicle type and tow distance.
Thanks for the great information. I wanted to share that we had Allstate Motor Club Premium Membership that we specifically purchased to cover our tow vehicle and our Airstream. After 5 years we attempted to use it for the first time. They also refused! We have AAA Premium Today. We have upgraded our tires and now travel with TPMS as well.
We had a flat on the freeway in Massachusetts, which ONLY allows one company on the freeways! (Our tire iron was inadequate.) Our service couldn't enter the freeway! An off duty highway patrolman stopped and changed our tire, hours before the permitted service said they would be there! Bless him! (Needless to say, we immediately bought a good tire iron!)
Great video. I have heard several nightmares dealing with Good Sam. Big advantage to having AAA+ is the trip interruption, they paid for our flight home from Canada and storage of RV so I could have emergency back surgery. The even paid for the ambulance. They will even pay for meals and motel for a limited time while repairs are being done. Best deal I have found and they are almost everywhere.
Great video. I would recommend tire monitors for your towing vehicle, RV, or toad. We use a monitor which displays tire pressure and temperature with alarms for pressure changes and high or low-temperature changes. Thank you!
Good to know. Ty for sharing. I'll search on amazon for one
We use AAA +RV. A number of years ago when we were going through Pennsylvania our truck developed a rod knock. We pulled over and called AAA and in about 30 minutes two trucks came, one took the truck to a Ford dealer and the other pulled our 31' trailer to a nearby campground. This was In Bedford. The whole experience was hard but the AAA portion went off without a hitch and we have been AAA customers for years. Never had an issue.
Hey, Good Sam - you don’t happen to watch TH-cam, do you? Well, we do!
HAHAHA made me smile. I think unfortunately, with amny corporations today, it's all about the bottom line, and if they can get away with something, they will.
We had Good Sam when we had a blow out on our MoHo. We made the call and fortunately wrote down the person we talked to. They sent the tow truck to the WRONG STATE! We called back and they said "we'll have someone there in the morning". The next morning we called back to Good Sam who said they couldn't find anyone to come out in our area. We did a internet search, called the first number and the guy was there within half an hour, changed our tire right there on the side of the road and said he could have come the day before without any problem. We since cancelled Good Sam and have roadside assistance with our MoHo insurance.
Nothing worse than a breakdown in the middle of nowhere and then to have to deal with somebody who just doesn't see how serious your situation is. Great lesson on how to control your anger. It's definitely a much needed commodity when traveling in a RV.
Had the same thing happen to us with AAA, not realizing I needed the RV part of a policy. Cost me over $400.00 late one evening in Washington state, where for us it was a bearing on our trailer, which damaged the area the bearing sits on, so they had to change out the whole axle! We where in a small town, and it took 3 days to get the part, so we where suppose to be meeting up with 3 other couples, but this issue put us 4 days behind. We did sign up with the AAA RV service, where we now have a Class A diesel pusher, and thankfully have not needed them since! I've heard good and bad from nearly all road side services out there, albeit, your Good Sam truly dropped the ball!
What I can tell you is that Good Sam's actions constituted breach of contract. They sold you a service, you paid for it and they refused to provide the service when needed. My personal take is that Good Sam was unable to find someone to tow your vehicle for the price they wanted to pay. As you found out, there were folks willing to provide the service. That said, I was wondering if you have a list of questions to ask your roadside assistance provider when you get coverage, it would probably be helpful for a lot of folks. Please keep those videos coming.
I had a similar problem with AAA just south of lake Tahoe on Hwy 50 at about 10 PM. Because I had a utility trailer attached to my Jeep they refused to tow it with my standard policy. Ended up costing me $500 to tow the trailer and Jeep to Guerneville. We had been with AAA for 35 years. Switched to Coach-Net after that incident.
Attention Backcountry Campers:
I've had AAA for over twenty years and never had a problem at all. I knew what to expect and the few times I needed them they came through for me.
The reason I bought AAA coverage was because one of their marketing photographs showed a vehicle being towed out of Death Valley. Well, they don't do that anymore (and they probably didn't do it then either). To get towed out of a national park you need to be on a paved road, or highway, that is shown on a regular road map. If you need a specialized off-road tow truck even AAA Plus RV won't help you with that.
At first I never camped further from a frequently traveled road than I could hike to, and I always had multiple means of wireless communications.
Then I started buying rescue insurance. To do really remote backcountry camping you need rescue insurance and a satellite transponder, or sat-phone. You can't count on a cellular connection deep in the backcountry.
There are plenty of old mining roads criss-crossing the desert, many are suitable for a 2WD high-clearance vehicle, but it is better to have a good 4X4 just in case.
Ripcord Rescue Insurance is kind of a one-stop-shop for getting rescued. I haven't had rescue insurance for many years, and I never needed to be rescued, so I'm not qualified to say how good any rescue insurance provider actually is. A quarter century ago, when I did mostly remote desert camping, that was when I first felt the desire to have rescue insurance.
I could imagine Kristy it would be a bad idea to get on your bad side. You remind me so much of my wife. I have seen her in Bad Business Mode and it's not something I would want to be the target of. We have had AAA Plus since the beginning because we have been towing a trailer for 20 years. First the pop up and now our hardside Tilly. Because of the research that I had done and the education by people such as yourself I knew that Plus was necessary for Tilly. I will always be Grateful. Retiring today, full time nomad next month. But yeah, we didn't sell our house either. Love you folks, you are some of the best.
I have nothing but good to say about our experience with AAA,(bcaa,caa). I've had 4 50-100 mole tows on our 2004 6 litre Ford F350. First the egr cooler blew about 50 miles from Calgary, then on the way home the starter went needing a 50 mile tow to cranbrook. This was with a 11ft camper. The next one was the turbo blowing resulting in a 90 mile tow to BC Diesel for the bomb-proofing fix. The last one was with our 26ft trailer, a fuel line cracked in the Sonora desert, the tow truck driver delivered us to the street behind the Ford dealer where we slept and then took our truck in for repairs. If I'm still driving at 100 yrs, they still won't have broken even!
We have our roadside assistance insurance through GEICO. We’ve never had to use it. I had a blowout on my truck while towing our 28’ travel trailer just outside of Dallas on a 100+ day. Famous last words, “I got this”. The bright sunshine and 100+ temperature made the asphalt sticky. It felt like it was scorching my skin. The metal on the truck was super hot to the touch. The rim was too hot to touch for quite some time. The dirt on the road clung to the sweat on my skin. It came down to “embrace the suck factor” and get through this. Yep, I did it all by myself and never again.
Thank you for bringing up this topic in your video. I had an experience with Good Sam and it did not turn out well in my opinion. We had a truck mechanical failure in WA State while pulling our travel trailer. We got on the phone and called Good Sam to tow us. We were on the phone for 25 minutes trying to get the tow truck dispatched, we were less than 2 miles from Ellensburg, WA right on the freeway. They kept asking us where we were located (about 5 times), we were right at a mile marker so we knew exactly were to send the tow truck. After 25 minutes we told the customer service person that were were not going to use their service and we were going to call a local tow truck. We told them we were going to send them the bill for towing. I am fairly confident that they were not going to send a tow truck to us. They wanted to send out a technician to the location to diagnose the problem at $135/per hour but would not send a tow truck. We only wanted a tow so I think it did not fit into their way of making additional money so they were stalling. The tow truck arrived within 10 minutes and we were off to drop the truck at the Ford dealer to get a new part put on it and get us back on the road. After we looked at our Roadside assistance contract we realized we had a bad contract and this was not really roadside assistance as you would expect. The contract actually reads that they will tow you to their Camping World facility so they can fix the truck and all you have to pay for is the labor and materials. This is a trap since you cannot have the truck towed to a shop of your choice they will take you to their shop which was not convenient. I will read the agreement very carefully next time but Good Sam is really Bad Boy Sam waiting to tow you to their shop and charge you what they want to the repair. No thanks. We did send to towing bill to them and got a full reimbursement about 2 months later so they did redeem themselves on the costs but the real issue is the contract language and the fact that we would still be waiting for a tow truck if we did not call one ourselves. I think your comment about having your tow vehicle insurance cover the towing is a good way to do it but make sure it has the coverage you want. READ THE FINE PRINT with Bad Sam.
As a 39 year AAA member, who is also with State Farm Insurance, I will never use anyone but AAA. Too many times they've saved my butt. One of the worst happened while driving to Laughlin, NV from LA when one of the dually tires on my 30' motorhome blew...by the time we got the rig pulled off to the side of the road the air supply hose that had been banging against the tire next to it had caused damage to that tire as well. This happened on EASTER SUNDAY. I had my elderly mother with me. On top of all that we were stuck in the desert about 30 miles outside Barstow. AAA had someone out there with new tires within 40 minutes of us calling them. We were so elated we wrote a thank you letter to AAA and their contracted service company in Barstow.
I am so thankful I ran across your video about good sam roadside... I literally was calling them tomorrow to sign up because we really need to have some sort of roadside assistance... I have a class A, so if they had a problem towing your truck, i can only imagine what they would do with my class A... thank you for your video!!!
Awesome video! While camping in the Eastern Sierras this past August 11th, the 5th wheel hitch in our truck broke and we could not move our 30 foot 5th wheel trailer. A call to Good Sam Roadside Assistance turned into the most incredible 'Charley Foxtrot' (military parlance for Cluster F***) over the next 8 hours. Initially we were denied assistance because we were in a campground and not on the side of the road. After much back and forth, we agreed to a dispatch of a tow truck to move our trailer 100' to a storage location in the campground for $200.00. By the end of our call, the dispatch of a tow vehicle was cancelled and the dispatcher provided me with telephone numbers to vendors that did not respond or did not tow 5th wheels. No help for our hitch, no suggestions for replacement, just left us twisting in the wind. As luck would have it, the Camp Ground Host helped us move our trailer to the storage area of the campground and we drove home. Upon purchasing the new part at our home town 400 miles away, we turned around and picked up our trailer. Upon our arrival home, I leaped into a rabbit hole to find out why we were not helped by the Good Sam Roadside Service we paid for. After several days of my time and effort, I found the email of the CEO 'If you're not happy, I'm not happy' Marcus Lemonis. Ultimately we received partial compensation. Despite my requests, I have yet to hear back or get an understanding of why this happened. As an avide RV'er, reliable roadside service is important. Good Sam Roadside Service let us down. Without an explanation.
We dropped Good Sam and went with Coach Net. We have only good things to say about them. Safe and happy travels.
Have you ever had to use these?
@@kenjones1689 Yes when we had blow outs, a lock out and had our car towed. Both companies did a good job.
I have had AAA RV PLUS for many years, used them several times and they always helped us.
Another Coach-Net customer. Covers all our vehicles. Used it several times, and couldn’t be happier.
Also Coach-Net for a Winnebago Class A. Winnebago offers plans through Coach-Net, but we use Coach-Net directly. We haven't needed it, but It's good to know that you've been happy with it.
Thanks I picked up Coach-Net too after bad experiences with State Farm, Good Sams and AAA
Our sons girlfriend locked her keys in her car we called Coach net from our account they got someone to go unlock the car .
@@Oilerrocker that happened to me and I paid over 125.00 for that because I had no roadside assistance coverage at that time.
Fuel delivery - Check the fine print: I had AAA and their fuel delivery service did not include diesel fuel. I was stumped. After getting towed to a fuel station, I took a look at the policy and, yup, does not include diesel fuel.
Thank you for the head's-up. Good Sam just lost another potential customer, me.
My experience with Good Sam was the same, on the first call. "I can't find anyone to service your vehicle". AAA found someone within 1/2 hour of on phone time that came out within 30min.
Thanks for sharing your report. Apparently many others have had the same experience!
I had to stop half way into your video to thank you for doing this video. My biggest fear is being broke down and my chosen towing service plan bailing on my like Good Sams did you. So far I have not had to use it. I have a large dual wheel truck camper pulling a camping gear trailer. I’ve never had a flat on the rear of the truck and I don’t want to learn how on the side of a busy highway. Thank you again for your experience and input.
@@LongLongHoneymoon Sean....people (including you, lol) Should improve their safety chances on the highway by buying the best tires they can afford to help avoid these emergency flat tires....I now use Sailun tires on my bigger horse trailer and theyre bullet proof....no more roadside prob becuz of tires...JMO....good luck !!
Good Sam has been pestering me to join their roadside assistance program. Glad I went elsewhere.
I got to tell you my story... I bought a Class A Allegra 34-foot RV a month later jumped in it drove from Kansas City to South Carolina. Turning into our final destination there was a dip in the road. My camper was stuck hanging into the highway about 5 feet. Now let me tell you this highway was a Logging Road with trucks flying by at 70 miles an hour. Within two minutes there were two police cars at the back of our camper which was so refreshing with their lights on 00 we did I forget to tell you it's 10 at night. We had AAA back then so I called them and they told me it would be 8 a.m. in the morning before they had somebody out luckily for us the police officers newest semi truck tow truck business we called them and they pushed us off of the road for $300. Fortunately I sent the bill to AAA and they paid it without question. So it turned out to be a good experience.
Coach Net....they have come through everywhere, every time. Had a water pump failure on the way to Las Vegas towing our 39’ Teton 3 axle. Not only towed us to the park in Las Vegas to drop the trailer in addition to taking the F-450 to the dealer of our choice...nuff said!
Rick Colston
That is very good to know. Thanks.
I second Coach Net. We were stuck out in rural Oregon. Coach Net got a tow truck right away and would pay for any cost they charged. The tow truck driver said the bill would have been $450. Coach Net completely covered it. He said they would never respond to requests from AAA or Good Sam since they have a cap on what they will pay and in rural areas, that cap is way too low for tow truck drivers to respond.
I'm interested, how are they compared in price? I'd pay more for that kind of service. Currently using AAA Premium RV.
Stuart Bush “
Ive had Coach Net for five years and used them four times for a tire, lockout (broken lock cylinder), burnt up starter on a 11 liter caterpillar, and a tow on my toyota after the waterpump belt broke. They have ALWAYS come thru in an amazing way with truly professional help that was a lifesaver in remote places. I wouldnt even bother trying anyone else after they have been so good. Price doesnt matter to me because the service is that good.
Wait hold on can we all appreciate how perfectly that driver drops that ramp at 11:45 absolutley pro dude
Probably THE best (or most important) video of yours that we've watched so far, Sean & Kristi. The potential for danger makes this that important. We are right now, as I write this, checking with our insurance company about our coverage details and options. I can't believe we hadn't done this before hand. God Bless you two.
This is not a "Good Sam" issue per-say, it's a symbiotic issue w/most Customer Support nationwide. Most make promises upon selling the "Service" but ... when it comes time to deliver upon their service rhetoric, the "Small Print" (w/terms & conditions) typically precludes them from delivering what is promised. Very enlightening and thanks for bringing this to light ya'll !
Used towing assistance one time and it is was damn sure worth what we paid for it. We are AAA “Premium Members” and auto coverage and have been members since 2008. We also got Good Sam about a year ago thinking it might be better that AAA as the on-line description of their coverage was to tow us all the way home, if need be.
Returning from New Brighton State Beach on near Capitola CA on the Monterey Bay to our home in the Sacramento area our tow vehicle, Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi overheated. Our TT is a 25’ 2001 Holiday Rambler We were just over 100 miles from home.
Like you, I called Good Sam and the response was “Well, I can try but don’t think I can find anyone willing to tow you that far…” My response “You mean you are telling me that you can definitively maybe get us home?” He confirmed that was the case.
Called AAA and got a “No problem, we’ll work on getting someone there ASAP.” Currently AAA keeps you continually updated via text message re the status of your tow. With out Premium AAA membership, we are entitled to four 100-mile tows per year. Also, because we have AAA auto coverage, we have scheduled our trailer on the policy and AAA covers it the same as it does our truck and auto.
AAA tow driver showed up with a flat bed the size of the one in your video. The Dodge dealer in Sacramento was 96 miles from our breakdown point and out home a bit over a 100 as I noted earlier. Driver came, loaded up our truck on his flat bed, hitched up our TT and got us home, dropping the TT in front of our house then taking the truck onto the Dodge dealer. $0 bucks out of pocket. I have to note that AAA “charged” us for three of our four eligible tows per year, tow for taking the trailer to our home and one for taking the truck to the dealer.
The real expense came from getting the cooling system work: over $800! Thermostat replacement, cooling system flush, coolant replacement, and, buried in the bill somewhere I’m sure, a healthy contribution to the college fund of the dealer owner’s kids.
We are still with AAA and are long satisfied customers.
Politely told Good Sam what they could do with their roadside assistance...
Re LT tires: after your video, researched the diff between LTs and “trailer” tires. Consensus is that trailer tires are designed to handle the side wall flex stresses that trailers put on tires, flex for which LTs are not designed.
Terrific post Jim!
Watched your video. I read those mixed reviews in response. My situation with AAA was this: "NO We Do Not Cover That, because the flat is not on a car, but it's on your trailer." The AAA operator didn't say it's covered if you have AAA Plus, just "not Covered." I expressed my displeasure at the news she gave me and was told to read my policy, the fine print of course. It isn't the end of story because a 'Good Samaritan' came along to help us, since we were up the creek without a paddle. The scruffy looking guy saw our situation and frustration written on my face, asking how he could help. He went to his van, pushed a few things around among the pile of disorganized stuff and found a bottle jack. In a short few minits he had the flat off and the spare on. What an assortment of emotions we had. Upset at having a flat tire. Glad we had AAA. Mad that AAA didn't take care of us. But finally happy to have run into a kind, sympathetic man willing to help us. In short, your videos are GREAT, informative, giving practical info. The point about the ramp to put one tire up to get the flat off was really good. Also with one being able having a double axle system, that one could drive a short ways with a flat because there's enough support with the remaining 3 wheels. I've had 3 travel trailers over 40 years time, with many short local area trips, a few moderate distance trips, and one loooong trip to Florida and another up to Canada from Mass. And you are absolutely correct, you're going to run into things out there, be it a flat tire, an engine, tranny, suspension failure, or something else where you are going to need a reliable Roadside Assistance program. Please keep those videos coming. Thanks, Frank from Lynn, MA. (......currently seeking out an AS trailer 18' to 24'., but why are they so expensive?) Actually I do know why.
Good Sam left us stuck out in the desert last year. Broken fan belt on motorhome. Good Sam says 'We can't find anybody'. We fixed it ourselves on the side of the road. No more Good Sam.
They left us stranded after my wife had an accident.
_"We can't find anybody."_
What a load of crap. They're a nationwide company in the emergency roadside assistance business. It's their *_job_* to find somebody!
Outrageous.
@john D ...did you finish your thought, friend?
I've used State Farm and AAA roadside assistance. Both worked fine for me. Twice for a lockout, once for extra gas and 4 times to tow my truck to a repair shop. Haven't used it when my RV was attached though. The only downside I had was when I was about 250 miles from home and blew a rear end. State Farm would tow it to the nearest repair shop which was a dodge dealership for fixing my Ford truck. I opted to have it flat bedded home to a repair shop I knew and State Farm pair for about $140 worth of the tow and I paid the rest. Fair enough. I would have had to wait a week for parts and repair to be done and any warranty problems would have been at a shop 250 miles away not local. My Dad and grandmother had AAA and when on a out of state trip and blew an engine. AAA paid for their motel room and meals while they waited for the repairs to get done, five days. This comes with their Premier plan and has a 1,000 limit. Towing increases with that plan to 200 miles instead of the basic 100 miles. State Farm RV insurance paid for the total loss on my rv when we had a flood and the inside got a couple of inches of water covering the floor and it swelled and went soft. Good insurance for less than $45 a year (1990's).
Thank you Sean & Kristy, my GS Roadside assistance was to renew next month. I called GS and cancelled after watching what you folks went through. You are correct, my travel trailer and vehicles are road side assist covered with my normal vehicle insurance, so you folks saved me money! I love watching your series!
I had a similar incident last weekend. I was in the Seattle metropolitan area when my GMC motorhome blew the vacuum valve for the heater core dumping the majority of my coolant. I was 5 miles from my destination. I called the Progressive roadside assistance which is provided by Agero. Started out fine with taking the information and how I would be notified when the tow was scheduled. 90 mins later I had not hear a thing and called back for a status update. The automated system said the case as still open and that I should expect to notified within the next 10 hours. I talked to several customer service reps that night with the same story that they were not finding anyone that could tow the RV. At midnight I had a tow operator show up (he thought I was who he was dispatched for) and said that he has towed several GMC motorhomes and to have Progressive call his towing company. I had a friend pick me up as I needed sleep after driving all day and called the roadside assistance once again to give them the name of the towing company. I also let them know that it was unacceptable to be waiting for a tow in a large metropolitan area for 4 hours and that I could not believe that they could not find a tow operator. Finally at 5:30 in the morning (9 hours after the initial call) I was told that they had a tow scheduled.
The tow drive filled in part of the rest of the story for me. Agero was giving the wrong height for my RV which was disqualifying many of the tow operators and it also sounds like they were trying to be really cheap on what they would have to pay out. Needless to say I am looking at other options and will probably move all of my insurance away from Progressive.
Good video. Useful information. However, I have a few suggestions. My RV is a class A and I have a compartment that doesn't lock. I keep a front door key in that compartment under the carpet in the top outside corner of the box. I've never needed it in nearly ten years, but it's there and I doubt anyone will ever figure it out. Secondly, I've had to change a few tires on the super slab in dangerous situations (I used to be a tow operator) and flairs, triangles, and traffic control cones all work to divert drivers, but a vest in safety yellow or orange with plenty of reflective material around the body and arms when used in conjunction with four way flashers and flairs or triangles makes you as safe as you possibly can be in view of the circumstances. The pro's have a service truck with a bar light that they park behind you but it can be managed without one. Additionally, if you're not alone you can have your partner (who is hopefully also wearing a vest) stand well off the road on the shoulder by your first safety marker with a white towel or perhaps a white pillow slip or a flashlight at night and alert drivers of the danger. Vehicle breakdown is a different matter and unless you're a pretty good hand with a wrench that might require a tow. Proper tire inflation and rotation will also minimize problems, as well as a good vehicle maintainence program. Good safety equipment and protocol is essential, though. By the way, this has nothing to do with testosterone. I'm on disability and my budget is so tight that I have to be the tire guy, the mechanic, the driver, the cook and the dishwasher, too. In the last decade I've been full time, I've never had a blow out or a mechanical problem that kept me from getting to a good place to effect a repair. Oh, one more thing. If you run on a flat tire you ruin the tire in the first fifty feet. The way to tell if a tire has been run flat is to look inside to see if the rim has destroyed the chord which can be seen all the way around, or if it's mounted on a wheel it will have a ring all the way around on the side wall. This is also good information if you ever get in a bind and have to purchase a used tire just to get you to a place where you can get a new one. If you ever get a chance to look at a tire pile behind a tire shop you'll see that wear isn't the only issue. It might bennifit the adverage RVer to recognize tire defects and thus avoid getting out on the road with a problem tire in the first place. Happy trails and keep the videos coming! Thanks
We have State Farm for both the vehicle and RV. Roadside assistance is on the policy. But, in addition to that, we have Coach-Net with tire hazard. Never an issue with that combination. Coach Net has been amazing.
We've never had any emergency yet, but being retired military we use USAA for our truck & Airstream. Decided to go over our policy again just to know what kind of coverage we have & if we need to upgrade
Being a belt-and-suspenders kinda guy, we have Good Sam (which we tried to use once, and won't be renewing), AAA, *and* State Farm. We had a similar poor experience with State Farm, who said they couldn't find anyone. AAA came through in that instance. But, different assistance companies seem to have have different "favorite" service providers. Will be looking into Coach Net, after reading this thread!
We will look into Coach Net also. They seem to have a lot of satisfied customers here.
A good friend of ours had exactly the same problem in South Carolina. They had a f-350 dually transmission failure pulling a fifth wheel trailer. They called Good Sam and could get a tow for the truck but bot the trailer which would be left on the side of the interstate.
Such a great idea about using a tire ramp to bring you dual trailer wheels off the ground to change!! I did learn a long time ago, (seriously 40 plus years ago from my dad) get rid of those cheap-ass trailer tires and immediately upgrade them to LT tires. I toured 3 different trailer factories and the ONLY factory that I found that puts LT tires on their campers was Northwood. When I was looking for a new camper, I toured 3 different factories and the last one (because it was the farthest away) was Northwood in Oregon. Not only did their standards and guidelines blow me away about the way they were constructed, but the engineering process was amazing also. I think they took every flaw from every other camper manufacturers and reversed their competitors' process. Plus they are 4 season campers.
Here is my story about roadside assistance. I carried it for about 7 years and never used it. In the 8th year I was planning to retire from RVing so I dropped it. On the trip to deliver the travel trailer to the next owner, I was cruising on a heavily travelled interstate at 4:30 pm Friday evening when one left tire disintegrated! I called Good Sam, they told me my coverage had expired but gave me two local towing numbers to call for help. The first company said that they were shorthanded and could not come out. The second company said that they do not service trailers, but gave me another number to call. The third company said that they could be there in about 2 hours and it would be $300 up front. About that time, a good Samaritan contractor stopped, changed my blown tire with the spare in 20 minutes despite traffic buzzing by at 70 mph. I thanked him profusely, tipped him $100, and he reluctantly accepted it.
Had an incident last week where we needed have our 1999 Tiffin towed. I have been a AAA Premier member for years. In June before my renewal, I contacted them to see if our newly purchased used motorhome would be covered. I was told "any vehicle I am in is covered". Well..... last Friday we had to call for a tow. This was 3:00pm in the afternoon. Three hours after calling AAA for tow, and them searching for a wrecker, they informed us we did not have the "RV package" . Long story short, after finding this out and asking to speak to a supervisor and 2 supervisors later, all I got was they could not help me and that "I must have declined the RV package due to the cost. I was told the cost was $35 - $50 additional dollars. I have to admit I was livid and thru the tears I asked the supervisor if she thought I was that stupid not to purchase the additional coverage for $50 dollars. I had to, as respectfully as I could, stop the call before I hung up on her. Now the whole time that the reps were trying to get me a tow (before someone decided to check my coverage) they could not find someone willing to tow. Our 40' requires a special tow truck/wrecker. We also found out that what AAA is willing to pay is far less than what we would have been billed by tow company. Since a tow company can make more money for self pay, they seem to be "too busy" or unwilling to tow a AAA member. I have been a AAA member for over 20 years, this was unacceptable service. Was browsing for a company such as Good Sam, etc for roadside/towing assistance I came across your "The Truth about Roadside Assistance". Will call our insurance company!!!!
Thanks for the info I have my Good Sam's renewal laying on the kitchen table. I will not be renewing with Good Sam's have been there for five years and never had to use them thank God, and my luck is I would have the same experience as you did. I have AAA and I've had it for many years I think I will just add the AAA Plus RV sounds like I'd be safer anyway reading all the other comments that your respondents have made. Thank you for the great info...
We just started RV'ing this year. I picked up one of those axle ramps that youtube recommended, but it's a good thing I tested it out at the house because it didn't work. My axles are too far apart, so the other tire didn't lift off the ground. Had to pack the big jack. And it's a good thing, too, cause we cracked a rim on day 1, and then blew out another tire on the last day. Would have been a much different maiden voyage if I'd assumed the ramp would have worked.
Hello from So. California, Great info I have had AAA for the last few years and I must say I have had excellent experiences. There has been years when we our selfs never needed it, But used it for friends, Family, and even strangers. That 400 Mi tow with the Premier Package is a great peace of mind. P. S. When using for other people at least get lunch out of them. Thanks
I have been a member of AAA for 25 years. I just got my first RV and was looking at getting a good Sams club. But everything I read and listen to you has made me change my mind. Thanks for the information
There's a big difference between masculinity and stupidity. Happy to hear you know the difference
AMEN!!!
It's amazing how ignorant Macho-ism truly is.
That doesn't say much about the guy coming out to help you.
@@forrestgump8241 I think Kristy said that the tow people have a big truck to park in front of them as well as the appropriate emergency gear and I also noticed air tools being used. I don't carry air tools on vacation.
There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. Masculinity and beer goggles blur that line.
Kind of like the green glasses of Oz.
I had great service from AAA in Alaska when I got a class C motorhome stuck on a soft shoulder near Mt. McKinley they sent a wrecker from Nenana because of road construction it took 2.5 hours each way for the wrecker he worked for over an hour to get the RV out, so AAA picked up at least a 6 hour wrecker bill in Alaska. Pretty great service I would say.
That's awesome! We hear good and bad about all companies, so I think it's just a roll of the dice.
Same thing happened to me. Blow out on the Interstate. Took the Good Sam guy 20 minutes to "pinpoint " my location even though I told him the highway, direction and mile marker. Then another 30 minutes to say they couldn't find assistance. By that time I had the tire changed myself. Hard, but I got it done. And after this I now have a reflective safety vest and roadside triangles.
All I can tell you. I was driving from North Central Texas to Seattle. Made it there fine. Transmission went out the Siskiyou mountains in California. I had AAA RV Premier Service. They sent one wrecker out. Said it was to small sent a bigger wrecker out. I had a three-quarter ton Chevrolet pickup truck with a camper in the back and the trailer behind it. 80 miles to the nearest transmission shop. 850.00 wrecker fee. AAA paid for 100% of it and it cost me $159 a year. At that time. AAA is well worth the money. That's all I got to say about that
My man card is laminated because I am smart enough to know when I need a friend to help me out. With age comes wisdom :).
Amen! I have a battery powered impact, 4 way, 12 ton bottle jack, jack stands, and wood for under the jacks in addition to reflective vests, gloves, head lamps, and other emergency supplies. Do I still have roadside assistance? You bet I do. I have had flat tires in August on asphalt when it was 112 degrees with 90 percent humidity and nothing but the factory tools to use. That was a nightmare.
I was borrowing a small trailer to haul playground equipment when the cam that locks against the hitch ball broke and the trailer bounced off. One of the safety chains failed and snapped, and the other gave way after we had slowed down about 20 mph. Thankfully nobody was killed when it became a middle on the highway. Now I don’t leave home without being prepared, because things happen.
I have AAA Plus, but I also signed up for SPOT’s roadside assistance. Unfortunately I did get a flat on The Dempster in the Northwest Territories. There is no cell service on this road which was a big reason why I got the one for SPOT. However, pushing the button for the satellite linked service was not straightforward. I found out later in Dawson City that you have to lift the cover off the button before you can push it. There are no instructions to do that on the unit and you can’t exactly look on the internet when there is no service! I was lucky that there was a roadside crew who refused to leave me there. I got the tire fixed at Eagle Plains. Anyway, just know if you have a SPOT unit and need to get either roadside assistance, or press the SOS button, you need to flip up the cover to expose the actual button.
I had 3 blowouts last weekend on my utility trailer. It wasn't on my camper but the experience is the same. When the first blew out, I changed it and turned around to go home. About half way there, 2 more blew out. One on the road and another before I could get to a safe place to pull off. With no spare, a holiday weekend, and very tired (that is more important than people realize - you make mistakes), I called a tow truck to bring the trailer home. I think those tires had dry rotted. That happens a lot on vehicles that are not used often, including campers.
5-6 years is the life span, whether you roll on them or not. Even if they look good, they are not. keep track of the date code on all your vehicle tires, especially the ones you don't drive often. your situation happened to my brother on a camping trip. wrecked the whole weekend.
I had tires that were only 4 years old and had very few miles go bad from sitting in the sun. I won't make that mistake again.
I'm really happy I found this video. Just today I was thinking about Good Sam Road side assistance as a gift for my brother and his wife because I've sat along side the road with AAA for 3 stinking hours only to learn that a tow truck company five miles down the road would have towed my vehicle 15 miles home IF AAA would have just called them. Wow. Three hours. But with my brothers health conditions neither Good Sam's nor AAA fiascos would be acceptable. Uuuuugh
Thanks for an informative and useful video. One thing to think about with regards to using roadside assistance via your automobile insurance company. It's my understanding that if you call the insurance company for roadside assistance for any of your vehicles (RV or otherwise) they will treat this as a claim that goes on your insurance claim history that may result in raising your rates. Multiple claims (say for multiple flat tires, tows, etc.) may significantly affect your insurance premiums. While we have roadside assistance with our RV insurance, we will always use AAA (RV coverage purchased at additional cost to the AAA membership) to avoid insurance claims and higher premiums. Now matter how much the insurance companies try to make it look like they are you friends, rest assured they are not.
I had the same problem with Good Sam last winter. They seem to take your money and don't have a group of people to back up what they are selling us. I proceeded to drop them. I had AAA and they have always helped me.
We have a 38 ft. class A diesel pusher. . We broke down in Sacramento, Ca. on March 19, 2019 about 11 am. We started losing water when we stopped to have our tires checked. We decided to head to the Caterpillar dealership that was about 20 miles away. We got about 2 exits down and it started over heating. We got off the freeway and pulled into a card lock place. It was in the 90’s but we couldn’t run the air conditioner while we waited because we lost all of our power. We were in a not so good area of town. We called Good Sam and they had us send photos before they would order the truck to tow us. We were in contact with them about every 45 minutes until just before dark. The tow truck driver showed up around 5 pm. Good Sam had ordered a tow truck that was too small to tow us. The driver had to argue with GS. He had to send pictures to show him. He was finally able to get them to let him call for his company’s biggest truck. He happened to be an hour away. Good Sam didn’t want to pay for a bigger truck and argued about it. The tow company said they would tow us but told GS that they had to have certified funds transferred into their account first. We had them tow us to a diesel repair shop that was less than 4 miles away. We had to threaten to get our lawyer involved. The worst experience ever. (FYI -you never want to have to buy a new radiator and starter for a diesel pusher.) I posted on my FB page about the incident and I think on the Good Sam page. They called the next day and apologized and extended our coverage for an extra 6 months. Yeah!
The tow company said Good Sam is really bad at paying. We told them we were going to check out Geico because we have our car ins with them. He said Geico is one of the best for RV roadside. Good Sam is not so good.
I had a similar experience with Good Sam. I was on the side of the road for about three hours engaging in multiple calls to Good Sam. The conversations were similar to yours. I finally called a local tow company and they were able to be there within about twenty minutes and solved my problem. It was my first time calling Good Sam for help after paying for the insurance for several years.
Just spoke to my State Farm rep, You will have roadside service BUT it does log as a Claim on your insurance report. (if used)
And that "Claim" means higher insurance premium for 5 years, with State Farm.
I have had AAA since about 1986 and plus since whenever it came out. I check tire pressure and do up keep on my vehicles so I have not needed them much for roadside and when I have called it has been a mix. In about 1990 they towed me in Wyoming 100 plus miles to get to a town, the tow driver said unless I had AAA or paid upfront with a credit card he would not come out to get us. About 2005 in the middle of Minnesota's lakes my truck would not start in the morning, it was around -35 AAA had no one they could send. Called the service station in nearby town he came out with 5 gallons of gas he had sitting by the heat vent to add to my frozen gas tank, jumped it to keep my battery from going dead. $25 cash later I was running, no receipt for AAA to reimburse though. I stopped at the station when leaving and filled both tanks to get a good run on the day. I used AAA the most riding with friends in college and they would break down on the road trip. I have kept AAA and my daughter is on it but when she had a flat by Chicago I spent 30 minutes trying to get her help, she can change a tire she rotates her tires herself, but she was in a bad spot. The Chicago transport truck came and helped her change the tire out and looked at her other tires to see if they had picked up any road junk. AAA had not even found someone to help her yet. So if AAA did not have other benefits to me I doubt I would still have it.
I am so glad for your honesty cause I am 51 yrs old and will be traveling alone and I am not in physical shape for doing much
Long as it is not on Sunday and is near a big city. My wife is a home care nurse, her patient lives in a mobile home down three miles of dirt road. This morning her relief nurse was late, her car broke down half way down the dirt road. Cell service is spotty for most, my wife's Virgin mobile account being the only one that is reliable, so it was a while before the woman found someone to take her to the home. Once there she used the land line to call AAA. No local tow trucks were available, one had to be sent from 40 miles away. This is north Florida, not Wyoming. On top of that she had to be taken back to her car, the tow operator would not pick it up without her being there. My wife had already worked her 12 hour shift and the two extra hours waiting for the nurse. The patients mother had to bundle the child into her van to take the nurse down to wait because my wife has to be back at 8:00 pm and had to come home to get a little sleep.
AAA Plus has served us well. How about two calls in one day? Changed a tire in a dangerous spot then two hours later a motorcycle t-boned the trailer. Both services were perfect.
Good Sam lost me the 1st time I needed them. Drove from KC to Alabama to purchase our rv. Tyranny went belly up 10 miles after hook-up and departure. GS couldn't get any vendors to us because Alabama was playing a "big game" that weekend, so we spent our first night in our rv stranded at a rest area off the interstate (thankfully). We made other arrangements the next morning. GOODBYE GOOD SAM!
Y'all are 100% right about tire changing. I think most of us that aren't from the current generation used to view changing tires in 100 degree temperatures, on the side of a busy highway with zero protection from oncoming traffic, something that "a real man" does. Now we are smart enough to realize that we are paying for the coverage anyway so why worry about some knucklehead that's busy texting about the latest water cooler gossip, running you over and then telling everyone how TRAUMATIZED they are from your death...........
We went on the road in 32 ft motor home in Nov. 2017. We started out with Good Sam for Road side assistance. Never had a need to use them but saw a couple of videos where some RVers had problems. We did not renew, and went with FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association). Had a flat tire while we were parked in a campground and called them. The first thing they asked was if we were in a safe place which made me feel good. The tire guy came out in a reasonable time. Was quiet happy with them. We needed a new stem so with our spare on we took the tire to be repaired at a shop down the road. The local tire guy was wondering why he was not called since they deal with Big Rigs. From what I understand the services need to be pre approved before FMCA sends them. Imagine Good Sam is the same way. Don't know who is in charge of selecting services and how they go about it. Anyway am happy with FMCA and will stay with them.
I also have fmca after a breakdown and finding out my towing insurance covered $75 maximum what a joke it was $150 for 7 or 8 miles. That was thru Hartford. I dropped them for progressive and saving about 40% with 4 rigs.
Took my 26 ft Salem and my Yukon pu. We got a hour from home and as we were going down a 90 degree hill that had a no trucks allowed, to late for us to turn around. This is my son's first experience driving pulling a heavy trailer. I learned a lot from you and the taking foot off has to stop tail sag was the best! Weight distribution is another issue i did not have quite right. Long story short half way down this steep hill that was a straight shot into a big lake in NH, the break line popped and we had no breaks! We missed the part where u can control the trailer breaks from the trailer breaks control box! Somehow we sailed through a stop sign didn't flip over going around the corner and stopped right exactly in the best spot. Scared out of our wits both shaky g like a leaf! Called my newly acquired WAS for RV! $150. Put of the box. Called and requested 2x 2 separate tow vehicles 1 for yukon, one for the camper. All this happened at 4:30pm. 1 day ago.
Took 2 hours for first tow, and he said he didn't know anything about 2 tow vehicles. St trooper stopped and talked to us, very nice. Until we began having trouble finding tow truck for the rv. AAA, found some guy in Hampton NH, and I was in Alton Bay, NH. He showed up at 10pm.
I got home at 11pm. And his back up skills were not so good, almost took out the rear side of the t.v. On a tree. So AAA , doesn't listen so great, but we eventually got home.
On a side note, I did weigh the truck and camper at a cat, scale at a Irvings truck stop. While thing came in at 15,300 lbs! I had a feeling we were heavy and should have turned around and gone home and hauled half that stuff out! But, maiden voyage wanted to go to mountains and go!d prospect for a week. Figure out what we need and don't to get to Oregon . I guess I don't need a lot of stuff I was carrying not only in the camper but in back of the truck. Survival, border\camper wanna be! I don't like minimalism, I like having my stuff, but this has scared the junk out of me!,
We had a similar problem with Good Sam Roadside assistance. It was the first time we ever used it. Our truck broke down at the side of the freeway. We needed it to be towed along with our 5th wheel. We could not leave these on the freeway shoulder. I had to find my own towing company after spending hours on the phone with Good Sam. Eventually Good Sam reimbursed me for my out of pocket towing costs because they did not do their job. Very poor service indeed!
My exp, of well over 30 years, tells me your NEED some kind of road side service unless your willing to pay the bill. Now the bill may be 85 bucks or it may be 1000 or more. We broke down outside Laramie in the middle of no where two weeks ago. We have AAA Plus, thank heavens. We needed a tow, back to Laramie which was over 100 miles, for the truck and 31 foot fifth wheel. AAA was great!!! The tow company, I80 towing out of Laramie, went out of their way to get the truck to the repair facility and took our camper to the KOA so we had a place to stay. That one tow probably payed all our past and future roadside assistance insurance.
As for running on a flat or almost flat tire. I would advise to get off the road as soon as possible. Do not run a few miles unless you have to. When a tire goes flat or almost flat it transfers the entire weight of that side of the trailer to the one tire that is still inflated. This will probably over stress that tire, unless you have a very light camper and make it extremely unreliable. We had a blowout and I stopped immediately. Goodyear warranted the G614 tire and when I told them of my concern about the other tire they replaced that one also. The also took care of the body damage to the camper. This to my knowledge is only for the G614 tires. Not cheap but considering a bargain.
Oh by the way. Check to see what speed your tires are rated. Running faster than the rated limit is asking for a trouble. Also check your tire pressure cold every time you hit the road. You will be surprised how temp and altitude will change your pressures. I check and adjust every morning.
We had Good Sam's in the past and the one time we needed to use it they dropped the ball. On I95 in Georgia we had a blow out on our class"A" motorhome. Being the outside dually we limped to the Flying J that we planned on as a fuel stop. My wife got on the phone right when the flat happened. So I got out to fill the fuel while she was on hold. Georgetowns came with a new spare but no rim. I got to talking to a tire guy at the truck stop and he offered to swap the tires and install it for $60. Now I know that that was a great price. He did his thing and I gave him a tip. I jumped in the seat to continue the trip and wifey was still on hold with the crappy elevator music. My wife let then have it when they finally came back to the phone.
My wife and I have traveled many miles on the Gold Wing (motorcycle) pulling our tent trailer, so I've had AAA+ for a long time. It also assures me they will tow to where YOU want, instead of wherever the closest shop is
I also had a very bad experience with Good Sam roadside assistance a couple years ago, and I have now switched to Family Motor Coach Association of which I have used twice, to tow my truck in to the shop. Everything went smoothly so no complaints so far. You have to be a member of FMCA in order to purchase roadside assistance but there are lots of percs with membership. But never would I go back to" good Sam".
I have had Good Sam for over15 years and have used them a few times with no problem yet... but after your experience, I am considering a change. Like you our insurance is with State Farm, both Truck & 5th Wheel, however I have never felt comfortable with them...
@@agems56 agree. I loath All State. "Good hands" until you have an issue, then all you get is the middle finger.
We had a similar instance a few years back now, where we had wheel bearings go out on our twin axle trailer. It was getting close to dark in the late afternoon, and a call to AAA told us that because we didn't have 'triple A PLUS' that they couldn't help us....after an hour on the phone with them! We called our own tow truck, who took us a whopping 22 miles, and charged us $420. for the tow of the trailer! We where down for 4 days, as it was a small town, and the small garage the tow truck took us and trailer to, had to 'order in' a new axle! Good grief, one would think AAA could say, well, if you want to pay X amount for the PLUS, we'll send someone out..but no, they didn't do that, nor did they re-imberse us! We DO now have the PLUS, and of course have never needed it...but, have gone from truck/slide in camper & pull behind cargo trailer, to a Class A motorhome...which now pulls the trailer, so I really should double check that all is covered, after hearing this story! Good old Seamore....has taken you on more wonderful vacations than most people get in a lifetime...how can you beat that! Thanks for the video, drive safe you two!!
You have to have plus for 7 days before they will cover anything. Otherwise everyone would just wait till they had a problem and then sign up.
Had a similar experience with Good Sam also. Got stuck in the mud in a campground and a tow was declined due to being an off road condition.
Now you tell me! Yup. I went through the identical same thing with, Good Sam. Over a month ago. Just before you did this video.
I started RVing, as soon as I got my first Chevy Van. In 2012, I got my, 30 foot, Fleetwood, Southwind, motorhome. I had some problems with that. Good Sam did their thing.
Having to take care of my 95-year-old mother. The motorhome got stored. It's been stored. It's staying, stored. But I'd maintained by Good Sam, roadside assistance plan.
Coming home one Saturday night/Sunday morning. 2 miles south of Austin, Texas. Off of one of their main streets at the corner of another main street. My Chevy van engine blows a cylinder, Rod, piston, whatever. Completely blew. It was terrifying. The engine stalls. I lose the power steering and power brakes. I managed to get off of I-35, in front of a closed restaurant.
It's very hot. I had no air conditioning. I was already overheated and getting panicky. I suffer from Multiple Sclerosis, I'm not supposed to get overheated. I don't care if the car does.But it's dead. I'm an old woman. All alone. I'm 63. It's 2:30 AM. I'm looking at open gas stations in front of me a few hundred feet away. I'm so overheated I don't have the energy to walk anywhere. Just out of my reach, 7-11 Across the Hwy. Everything is still open, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Taco Cabana and they tell me they can't find anybody. I'm going to just have to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow??!? Excuse me?
I tell them that is not an option. I said this is not what I'm paying for. I'm in distress. I'm going to sue you for everything. They put me on hold. My cell phone charger is dead. My battery is going low. And I'm on hold for 10 minutes. Finally... they have located a towing company.. Though? It might cost extra? They will only accept cash. Fine. And how much extra? Likely about $62 am told. That's about what I have.
As promised. About 1 1/2 hours later, the tow truck driver shows up. It's now almost daylight. I've been up for 20 something hours and terribly overheated and debilitated.. And as the tow truck driver is driving me southbound, on, I-35. He informs me the additional charge in cash will be, $280. $280!?!?!? I don't have $280 cash on me. He starts to pull off the highway. I panic. I'm freaking out. I tell him to get on the phone to his manager right now! And he does so. And two minutes later. He hangs up and starts driving again. I asked him what the charge will be? He tells me nothing it's been taken care of with someone else's credit card.
Here's the kicker, folks! I lament about Good Sam. And the pulling of teeth to get him. He tells me he's not from Good Sam. When I inquire what towing company, he's from? He tells me, State Farm Roadside Assistance. I think Good Sam just lost a, 7 year customer. And maybe so did, Camping World? Because that doesn't cut it. I was mortified and truly disappointed. And that's the problem. I was almost mortified. As in Morte'. As in dead. From overheating with Multiple Sclerosis. Or maybe just a heart attack at 63? Or maybe being murdered at 2:30 AM in front of a dark clothes restaurant? So I think it's Good Sham. And such a shame that Sam is a Sham. Like spam in a can. Because they could and can.. They were spam. And they wanted to spam me. With more spam. Sam in spam. With the Sham Can with Spam. And no Good Sam Spam. So I shan't be Spamming Spam with my, can. And no more Good Spam Sham Sam.
Not in my can.
Remy
The only time I called Good Sam, I was stuck more than 50 feet off the road. Good Sam refused to respond. AAA Plus sent two tow trucks!
This is very good to know. I have always used AAA and they have never been more than an hour to get to me. Often within 30 minutes. And it's dirt cheap insurance.
We have Roadside Assistance coverage with auto/motorhome policy. Cost is less than $5 a month per vehicle. We have used it twice (for motorhome) $500+ each time. Huge 18 wheeler style tow truck
Insurance paid 100% and I didn't have to wait for an 800 number answering machine.
I’ve had AAA RV Plus for almost 20 years with no issues (knock on wood). They’ve come through for me even when I needed a 100 mile tow for my vehicle and camper and didn't charge any additional fees. My regular auto insurance wasn’t much help that time even though both my vehicle and camper have their own policies. Because of my experience with AAA RV Plus I also added all the kid’s vehicles on our plan. Not cheap, but comforting for my circumstances because AAA is everywhere. YMMV.
Was just considering changing my road side service .... thanks for the heads up. Strike Good Sam.
Have had Good Sam for twenty-seven years. Had to use them four times. In the first we were several miles outside of Dallas. They sent an over the road wrecker. He towed our one ton with the fifth wheel still attached back to my sisters house, off loaded the RV, then towed my truck to the transmission shop that we wanted. Outstanding service. The third time I was stranded in the mountains east of Cloudcroft, NM with my mustang. Barely in cell phone range. They tried for two hours to find someone to come out. They all said no. I was too far out of their service area. I also called all of the towing companies in our area and got the same answer. Finally, with not much phone battery left had to call my family to get a Uhaul, and come out and rescue me. The last time they came to our house and towed the truck to my selected repair shop in Alamogordo. Three out of four outstanding experiences. Do not have the truck, or RV any longer. But still have Good Sam.
I knew there had to be good justification for not renewing my good sam membership. Thank you for sharing that experience.
A similar incident happened to me. A law enforcement officer stopped to check on us in California. He asked who we had for towing. When we said Good Sam, he was disappointed and said they would string us along for three hours then say they couldn’t help us. That’s exactly what happened. Fortunately we had another tow company for the truck and we had to pay out of pocket for the trailer. The tow driver said Good Sam did call and only wanted to pay for the tow on one vehicle. He said towing the truck was one tow and towing the trailer was another tow = two tows. Since they wouldn’t pay for two, he refused the job. It was July 4th and we spent five to seven hours on the side of the road in triple digit heat. I think it was seven hours but I can’t remember. It was on the US 395 outside of Bishop. We got our money from Good Sam within a month.
Thanks for the video. I do have a redundancy in coverage - AAA Plus, Good Sam and GEICO, but I will definitely drop Good Sam now that I 've heard about your sad experience with them.
Like your Seemore, I also have an F-250 Diesel truck (Awesome!), but it has a 100 gallon Diesel fuel tank on the truck's bed to prevent your experience of running out of diesel fuel when towing a trailer. Regular gas stations, even if they carry diesel fuel, don't really have any space accommodations for towed travel trailers. Your best bet is to go with gas stations which can accommodate "the big boys" (semi trailers). The 100 gal tank gives you the range to find them without any worries as well as saving $$ by buying Diesel at the lower priced stations.
If you're not into 100 gal tanks - I would suggest at least two 5 gal containers, which should give you an added 140 mile range before you totally run out of fuel.
Also had a bad situation (stuck on busy interstate on a weekend with two blown tires in 95 deg heat) with Good Sam 'unable to find help' for us. Luckily we had GM Onstar service that found a tire shop within 30 miles that would stay open to fix our problems. Excellent, caring customer service.
Last year we bought the Escapees Roadside Assistance, but haven't needed to use it yet (yea!). It covers both our truck and our trailer whether we're towing or not.
Same here.
I recently had a blow out with a tire on my camper. I thought I had coverage with AAA but my wife had dropped the coverage since we were not using the trailer. The nice lady on the phone said sorry we can't help you since its your trailer as it was in your experience. I did remember that we also had state farm road assistance. The nice people on the phone at state farm could not pull up my policy even with giving them my #'s . This process went about an hour until I said fine and we found our own tire guy to change the tire. The guy says he would be there in 15 minutes and 2 minutes later the road side assistance from state farm shows up unannounced by state farm. I called the other guy back and canceled he was not happy but it saved me $185 he was going to charge me. I don't know if there is a perfect system in place , my agent called me later and said they only cover up to $100 and I might be getting a bill but none has come. I need to have a more in depth conversation about what is covered exactly with state farm. I do know that you only get a certain number of calls with AAA before they give you the kiss off as well.
Hi guys, I saw this and had to click on it. I use to work for Good Sam roadside assistance. I was located in one of the call centers in Texas and I could tell you that yes, one tow is worth it. I've personally seen it cost from $1000 up to $5000. The weekends are the toughest to find someone to go out there. The real problem is the RV Techs that we, as in the people you speak to, have to ok the price for out of network providers. The example you used was perfect. Some times none of our in-network providers want to do the tow because either they don't have the equipment or you are too far for them. So at that point, we start looking for out of network providers. We basically call anyone that is close to you and then get a quote and talk to the RV Tech's to approve it. If they don't approve the price, then we keep calling other providers. It's a pain in the ass. Their job is to save the parent company, Allstate, money. I'm not kidding when I say we exhaust every single resource that we have to find someone. 50% of the time the RV Tech's have to bite the bullet and pay the $500 bucks for a tire change. It's absurd but it's the truth. And as far as your incident, some states cannot triple tow. California is probably the strictest when it comes to towing vehicles. Another point I wanted to make is that you have unlimited use, but some people do take advantage of the service. If you are in danger, DON'T CALL ROADSIDE, CALL 911!!! Nothing makes me angrier than a customer hearing they feel in danger and calling us, we are not EMERGENCY DISPATCHERS!! Another thing, we are not insurance!!!! You pay a YEARLY payment, that does not mean it's insurance. I know my car insurance will cover my car if I get into an accident and will cover anything that happens to it. Good Sam does not do that. If my car breaks down and get it towed, Good Sam will not cover the cost to fix it. It's not difficult guys, Good Sam is roadside assistance, not insurance. Ok, rant over. I feel like I did an AMA lol. I don't work there anymore, it kinda sucked. One last thing before I go. If you have a class A, B, or C get roadside assistance. Nothing costs more than using a tow truck to tow a diesel pusher.
Need a hero to come through like Mighty Mouse? You already know his name. Marcus Lemonis. I had a serious blow out/stranded incident traveling through southern Utah which was caused by negligent work done on my Class C at Camping World. Good Sam got me through it but upon our return home Camping World gave me the runaround. As luck would have it we had just received an advertisement letter from Camping World with a note in it from Mr. Lemonis saying something to the effect that he wanted to hear about any experiences his customers had with his company. I wrote him a detailed description of our problems, including photos and that my complaints were being ignored by the local Camping World. Well, Lo and Behold, very shortly after that I received a call from the manager of Camping World and the way his lips came through the phone you would have thought it was Christmas time and I had mistletoe hanging from the back of my belt. All repairs were made, reimbursements came for the expenses incurred, and they tried to set the world record for apologies. Apparently Marcus took a big bite out of somebody's ass.
lol, it appears that Lemonis didn't know the reputation of his company.. If he's THAT proactive, he must be dumping bricks to see the many negative reviews .