RV Insurance & Roadside Assistance
Dear Friends .... Hope that you'll, take the time, and be able to assist this Senior citizen with this matter? If it has been approached before, if you will, just tell me where to go? First time RV...
Forum Discussion
Roadside Assistance:
The biggest names are Good Sam, Coachnet, and AAA.
Good Sam and Coachnet are comparable in features. AAA works a bit differently. What I have found is:
AAA - they will tow you where you tell them. They have a limit of max miles AND a cost max. The max miles is 200 miles, the cost max is based on a standard tow truck. If you need a flatbed, medium duty wrecker (that's what my C requires), or other bigger tow truck, then the hourly rate increases and AAA won't pay for the full 200 miles. I had a tow from them for my C - it was about 90 miles and cost me out-of-pocket $500+. But they towed me to my regular shop and not the nearest shop.
Good Sam/Coachnet - they will tow you to the nearest repair shop that agrees to service your RV. That means that until they FIND a shop and the shop AGREES to take your RV, you will sit and wait. You will not pay for the tow, but you go to wherever they send you. They will also send out a mobile mechanic first. This is great if you have an RV with easily found parts. For my 40 year old rig, it is extremely unlikely that the mobile mechanic will have spare parts handy to fix it on the side of the road, so I don't put much faith in this. If I had a newer class C, I would consider the mobile mechanic a much better option.
My take on these differences using a few scenarios:
1. You break down in or near your home town. AAA is better because you can get towed to your regular mechanic rather than a strange shop.
2. You break down far away from home. Good Sam/Coachnet is better because they will find a shop willing to work on your RV - you don't have to call around.
3. You break down on a holiday weekend or late night. AAA is better because they will tow you regardless. Good Sam/Coachnet won't send a tow truck until they send a mobile mechanic who determines (s)he cannot fix your rig, and then they have to contact shops until they find one that answers and agrees to fix your RV. How many shops do you know who answer their phones after hours? If you're lucky the tow truck company will agree to service your RV, but that doesn't always happen.
4. You break down on a weekday during the day. Good Sam/Coachnet is better because, again, they will send the mobile mechanic, stores are open to get needed parts, and if the mechanic can't fix it, they call the open shops and get one to agree to service your RV.
For me, I have both AAA and Coachnet. I had Good Sam and tried using them - there were issues, but Good Sam made good on them after the fact (I ended up using AAA to tow me). When my renewal came up, I decided to give Coachnet a try and see if I would be happier - so far I haven't had to use them. It costs me about $230 per year for both. I figure that's cheap insurance to get a tow and if one fails, I have the other to fall back on.
The biggest names are Good Sam, Coachnet, and AAA.
Good Sam and Coachnet are comparable in features. AAA works a bit differently. What I have found is:
AAA - they will tow you where you tell them. They have a limit of max miles AND a cost max. The max miles is 200 miles, the cost max is based on a standard tow truck. If you need a flatbed, medium duty wrecker (that's what my C requires), or other bigger tow truck, then the hourly rate increases and AAA won't pay for the full 200 miles. I had a tow from them for my C - it was about 90 miles and cost me out-of-pocket $500+. But they towed me to my regular shop and not the nearest shop.
Good Sam/Coachnet - they will tow you to the nearest repair shop that agrees to service your RV. That means that until they FIND a shop and the shop AGREES to take your RV, you will sit and wait. You will not pay for the tow, but you go to wherever they send you. They will also send out a mobile mechanic first. This is great if you have an RV with easily found parts. For my 40 year old rig, it is extremely unlikely that the mobile mechanic will have spare parts handy to fix it on the side of the road, so I don't put much faith in this. If I had a newer class C, I would consider the mobile mechanic a much better option.
My take on these differences using a few scenarios:
1. You break down in or near your home town. AAA is better because you can get towed to your regular mechanic rather than a strange shop.
2. You break down far away from home. Good Sam/Coachnet is better because they will find a shop willing to work on your RV - you don't have to call around.
3. You break down on a holiday weekend or late night. AAA is better because they will tow you regardless. Good Sam/Coachnet won't send a tow truck until they send a mobile mechanic who determines (s)he cannot fix your rig, and then they have to contact shops until they find one that answers and agrees to fix your RV. How many shops do you know who answer their phones after hours? If you're lucky the tow truck company will agree to service your RV, but that doesn't always happen.
4. You break down on a weekday during the day. Good Sam/Coachnet is better because, again, they will send the mobile mechanic, stores are open to get needed parts, and if the mechanic can't fix it, they call the open shops and get one to agree to service your RV.
For me, I have both AAA and Coachnet. I had Good Sam and tried using them - there were issues, but Good Sam made good on them after the fact (I ended up using AAA to tow me). When my renewal came up, I decided to give Coachnet a try and see if I would be happier - so far I haven't had to use them. It costs me about $230 per year for both. I figure that's cheap insurance to get a tow and if one fails, I have the other to fall back on.
