When I purchased my RV several years ago I purchased GSRA. After my experience with GSRA yesterday, I will go back to AAA. I had to use GSRA for the first time yesterday when my motorhome threw the serpentine belt. I was 2 miles from a good size town where service probably was available, 40 miles from a 100,000+ population town where I know service was available. GSRA sent me service from a town 80 miles away! This had me waiting 2.5 hours along the highway for the mechanic. You pay for service from the time the mechanic leaves the shop till he returns. I was stranded for a total of 4.5 hours and it cost me way more than it should have because of GSRS. If you are a member and need their service remember to ask, "Is the service local or is it going to be a 100 miles away? I don't believe the Good Sam representatives really care, so you better!

Sorry to hear that. GS ERS has been good for me over the years.

This is a great reminder on how everyone should carry a spare serpentine belt and realize how easy it is to install one.Properly equipped its about a 15 minute job.

If these are the changes Marcus is bringing to GS he will run it into the ground like he did CW. :h

Not to be argumentative, I have question about the OP's situation. I have GSRA also so I want to know.Why would a person pay for a road call mechanic to come out and pay for all his time rather than be towed for free?I have seen several posts this year referring to the same thing and wonder if GSRA would refuse to tow you because it could be fixed on the location of the breakdown? Thus saving them the tow bill but shifting most of the cost to the member. If that is the case you would be better of to put the annual fee in the bank and handle your roadside problems yourself.Or just tell GSRA that your RV is broken and you don't know why?

I would like to believe that this experience was an anomaly and was the result of a "Critical Processing error" by a GS service representative who lacked competent training and/or was just lazy and should be fired yesterday!!!!My experience with GS has been positive for 23 years with only 1 incident when a poorly trained representative suggested I could chain up my broken trailer spring with a rope and drive it 30 miles to a repair shop.:( She said that she could find a RV shop who would have the spring I needed for my specific trailer on a SUNDAY morning and then I could install it while pulled along side of the road. I said "call me back in 15 min. and let me know if you can find the rear spring". She called back and said she could not find the spring!!!!!! and that most of the RV stores were closed on Sun.:):):) On a positive note, a GS tow truck took 1 1/2 hrs to get to our location due to a high number of service calls. I called GS and complained. GS called me back and apologized and sent me a $25 credit card for diesel fuel as a token of their customer service.

Good Sam Roadside assistance not so good! | Good Sam Community

bandalop
Explorer
Nov 08, 2013
Y'all see my new post about GSRA. I was so disturbed over the situation I experienced, I did not Give GSRA an opportunity to correct the situation before posting. My apologies to GSRA.
westernrvparkow
Explorer
Nov 07, 2013
Personally, I would much rather have a roadside repair as opposed to a tow if it was at all possible. It surely would cut the repair time and be a lot easier on the rig. I have a big diesel pusher. Towing it involves removing the drive shaft, finding a wrecker big enough to pull it and hopefully finding someone who has done it before, not always likely proposition. I am going to have to pay for the repair anyway, regardless if it a roadside repair or a repair shop. I have also found that mobile mechanics usually have a lower hourly rate than the big repair shops so the cost may come out fairly close to even. If my roadside assistance can arrange for a roadside repair and get me on my way I am all for it.
MarkTwain
Explorer
Nov 07, 2013
Ok who is supposed to pay him for driving. Is that done for free. Getting there is part of his job.

Good Sam emergency road side is designed to 1. if possible fix minor issues i.e. dead battery, change tires or 2. If the tow driver cannot fix the problem, then his job is to TOW the RV to the RV shop where then the RV mechanic can fix the problem. It was not my understanding that the RV mechanic should DRIVE to the RV broken down on the road side. If a specific Tow service business signed a EMRS contract with Good Sam which included a mechanic going to the RV, then Good Sam should pay. I doubt that Good Sam would sign such a contract agreement.
fla-gypsy
Explorer
Nov 06, 2013
Sometimes people buy services without really knowing what they are purchasing and then are surprised when the service will not do what they want done. Before you make a purchase read and understand what you are buying.
Lantley
Nomad
Nov 06, 2013
Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:
Ok who is supposed to pay him for driving. Is that done for free. Getting there is part of his job.

Getting there to tow is part of the job.
Getting there to perform work on the roadside is not part of the basic service.
While the OP feels GS took too long,In reality having the mechanic perform the service on the roadside was probably faster than being towed to a shop and then having the work done.
I have noticed that many of these Good Sam complaints are the result of the end user not understanding their contract/policy with Good Sam
Grillmeister
Explorer
Nov 06, 2013
kalynzoo wrote:
As mentioned above: Why ask for roadside repair? Simply, I am stuck on the road, the engine light is on, or it will not go, send a tow. As for having a belt: I can put gas in the rig and check the dip-stick.
Previously, when I had CoachNet, and needed a tech to retract my jacks, I had to pay for the service call. As for the distant mechanic...How big is your rig? Many shops will not respond to MH above certain weights. No arguing that Good Sam could have/should have done better. But it is "emergency" roadside assistance, and sometimes it is difficult to triage an emergency. JMHO

Good point about the size of the rig and the distance to a tow truck big enough for the job. I had not thought of that scenario, I guess if the mechanic can drive to you much faster than the tow truck than sometimes that would be the way to go.
Grillmeister
Explorer
Nov 06, 2013
Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:
Ok who is supposed to pay him for driving. Is that done for free. Getting there is part of his job.

You are missing the point, towing is free, why not tow to the shop and save the mechanics drive time.

Just asking for clarification, not an argument :E
kalynzoo
Explorer
Nov 06, 2013
As mentioned above: Why ask for roadside repair? Simply, I am stuck on the road, the engine light is on, or it will not go, send a tow. As for having a belt: I can put gas in the rig and check the dip-stick.
Previously, when I had CoachNet, and needed a tech to retract my jacks, I had to pay for the service call. As for the distant mechanic...How big is your rig? Many shops will not respond to MH above certain weights. No arguing that Good Sam could have/should have done better. But it is "emergency" roadside assistance, and sometimes it is difficult to triage an emergency. JMHO
mockturtle
Explorer II
Nov 06, 2013
The towing is covered with GS ERS.
Jack_Diane_Free
Explorer
Nov 06, 2013
Ok who is supposed to pay him for driving. Is that done for free. Getting there is part of his job.