Not so Good Sam

I recently had an accident while tow a trailer which caused damage to my 40' motorhome radiator. I was able to get to a home depot and park. Which I might add the people at home depot were wonderful. I needed a tow. I knew the radiator had a hole in the small hole in the core. I do alot of my own mechanical work so I felt that rather than being held hostage by a mechanic I didn't know I would have the coach towed home and I would do the repair. I am 82 miles from home. It is a Friday. I call for towing which Good Sam will only tow you to the nearest repair shop. I told them that I wanted to tow it home they said ok but it cost 6.00 a mile from the near shop. I said ok. Well I sat there all friday nite because they said they could not find anyone to tow it that far but they were working on it Saturday night comes around and still no tow. On Sunday morning I called them and they said we still have not been able to find anyone. I then decided to call someplaces the first one LA Heavey Equipment movers said sure we can be there in an hour. I called Good Sams back and told them what I had found out. They then had me wait another 4 hours and called back and said it was approved and they would be there in 45 min. They did not want to approve a low boy trailer to pick it up so they had to diconnect the driveline and tow it home. Once it got home the driveline could not be reconnect by the driver who disconnected because he said he was not a certified mechanic. hmmm after I had agreed to a price with good sam and the coach was home they called me and said because I had to use a low boy trailer is was an extra 150$ I told them they did use a low boy and then they said the tow company had to use an extra driver to help with the tow and it would still cost 150$ extra. I never saw any extra driver even when it delivered to the house. The hole situation was a nightemare. the radiator repair looks like it going to cost about 1300$ for a new one, probably 2800 if i had it done.

Moved to GS Roadside Assistance forum from Towing.

Roadside Assistance

20 Replies

hermandutchman
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
Bucky Badger wrote:
I guess I don't understand why Good Sam is Bad in all this YOU picked the tow company.
Did you even read what the op posted, GS let him set for about 40 hours and the only reason they finally came was by his own doing.
Bucky_Badger
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
oops
Gale_Hawkins
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
I expect anytime one makes a special request for services outside of the norm of the contract it stresses the system. Good Sam does a lot of good or they would not be in business and supporting this website for us directly/indirectly (yes I can see the ads). These kinds of services for the DIY types can stress us. A person on the ground with a smart phone has more resources to get services, etc for their owe RV that they know inside and out. Clearly many prefer the comfort of a service like GS. Had you let them tow you to the nearest service center I expect it would have been done in a timely manner. Finding some management on the weekend to approve a non approved service would not be easy in many places of businesses.

Like you I would have wanted to get the sucker home to address the radiator issue. Most would not because then they would have had a tow bill to the repair center after they got it home. While I would not have liked to pay $492 to get the MH home at least it would have been home. In your case maybe there was a repair place 10 miles from where you broke down in the wrong direction from your house.

Sorry you had a failure. Do you see how it complicated things when you asked for a service they did not typically offer. Your initial logic was OK but outside I expect of the GS Rep training manual.
roman_traveler
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
If I read his post right, he picked the tow company because Good Sam could not find one.

RT
Bucky_Badger
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
I guess I don't understand why Good Sam is Bad in all this YOU picked the tow company.
iamalienru
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
Sorry if I was not clear in my post I was in a bit of a hurry. The low boy trailer was not used at all. Good sam called me after the tow was complete asked for an extra 150$ because they said the tow company needed to use a low boy to get my coach home. I told them this was not the case. Then good sams called again and to said to me they needed to use an extra driver to get my coach home another words the driver needed help and the tow company wanted an extra 150$ I said no way was I going to pay anymore than what was agree upon. I have not heard anything more about it and my credit card was not charged the 150$

I don't think i would have saved money on having it repaired the labor is considerable and I might be able to repair the old one rather than buy a new one. I have a cummings 325 hp side radiator. I have found that a lot places do not repair radiators anymore due to epa regulations. but I know a few places that still do. The alummium ones are mostly throw aways. Out on the road it would probably be hard to find someone to repair it rather than replace it.
UsualSuspect
Explorer
Sep 26, 2013
I don't think GSERS covers towing for accidents, or at least they did not use to. If it is accident damage you should probably have your insurance carrier reimburse you for the tow.
TucsonJim
Explorer II
Sep 26, 2013
When I signed up for the ERS policy that it clearly states they are responsible for towing you to the nearest repair facility.

You stated that you were in an accident. Wouldn't your comprehensive/collision coverage limit your financial impact for repair to your deductible amount?

It seems you could have saved quite a bit of money and time by having it towed to the nearest repair facility that would have been covered by the GS policy, and having the repairs done and paid for by your vehicle insurance policy.
darsben
Explorer II
Sep 26, 2013
This part makes no sense " They did not want to approve a low boy trailer to pick it up so they had to diconnect the driveline and tow it home. Once it got home the driveline could not be reconnect by the driver who disconnected because he said he was not a certified mechanic. hmmm after I had agreed to a price with good sam and the coach was home they called me and said because I had to use a low boy trailer is was an extra 150$ I told them they did use a low boy and then they said the tow company had to use an extra driver to help with the tow and it would still cost 150$ extra"

So they used a low boy and disconnected the drive-line as well?
2oldman
Explorer II
Sep 26, 2013
You should probably post this in Good Sam ERS forum. Some paragraphs would be nice.

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Not so Good Sam

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