Coach-Net Experiences

ok heres how it works between coach net and aaa as far as when they call us (towing service) as a aaa service provider we have a specific are we cover, now being we have trucks to tow anything and everything we can handle any rv that breaks down in our area, BUT say your in a area that the tow company doesnt have a big truck, well then aaa will call the nearest aaa vendor that does have one, now this process may take awhile, now we are always happy to go out of our area because aaa will pay our own rates for rv service (aaa pays very poorly on car services but make up for it in volume kinda) now when you have coach net they will call a few tow companies around where your broke down and ask how much for what you need done (tow, tire change, whatever) then they pick the cheapest one, thats why sometimes you get long wait times or poor service from the tow company, because they picked the cheapest company. now some tow companys will not do any towing of rv's becasue they are a pain to tow most of the time and dont know how to charge accordingly or just dont care to do it.

OP here...

Thanks all for the replies. Like I said - AAA has been great, but we've never heard great things about them dealing with RVs, which is why we went with Coach-Net.

We found it odd that Coach-Net couldn't find anyone who has heard of them in our local vicinity. That gives us pause on expecting to find service traveling across the country.

When talking to them they said they would pay if they couldn't find anyone. But - in my case last year I had to wait about 2 1/2 hours for them to even find someone. They said they wouldn't pay if I gave up sooner and called someone myself.

It looks like most of the time (probably not in the middle of the night) Coach-Net has done a good job... And gbopp may be correct that we may be best served by carrying both AAA and Coach-Net.


I do realize after reading many reports from folks with different roadside assistance providers that the responding local company is often the one to be happy with or cranky at. But - if they can't even find a local responder that knows who they are and will work with them, that scares me.

When this rig was new it came with Coach-Net included... I used them once.

Coach net promptly called a local service provider, A company I know well. They kept me advised.. The Local provider sent a truck 2 sizes 2 small (They also have trucks two sizes 2 big, like I said I know them well) this was not Coach-Net's fault but my counterpart's (I was a tow truck dispatcher for a competitor at the time) fault for the dispatcher decides which truck to send.

So we put my strong mind together with the tow truck's strong cable... Re-wrote the book a bit on how to do the job.. And got it done.

(not the only time I had to tell a driver how to do his job, and I was not a Driver, just a dispatcher but I have a degree in science, including physics, so I knwo about angles and thrust and things of that nature so I know how to make the most out of the tow truck's hardware)

you should have seen the gate at the tow yard where I worked before I worked on it (Pretzel) and after (Looked like it had just been installed) I used a front end loader (Immovable object) and a tow truck's cable (Irresistable force) to straghten the bent pipes. Applied Physics.

The problem with AAA is they are not one outfit providing service throughout the US and Canada. They are a grouping of regional clubs who are supposed to provide reciprocity. However, if one club does not offer RV Plus coverage, and some don't, you will not get that level of service from another club leaving you on your own.

AAA is outstanding for automobile coverage but not as well equipped to handle RV's, especially big ones. AAA has started to morph into an insurance and travel store with less emphasis on road service.

Howdy!

As fulltimer's we have Coach Net and have used they three time and have had great service. The first time our Smart Car has a blowout on rear tire. Smart Cars don't have Spare tires so CN up us up and towed us to a tire dealer of our chose. We have a large MDT to tow our 5er and the starter went out in Newfoundland, CA. CN towed our MDT to the International truck repair in St John Newfoundland no problems. My LW parked our Smart Car in a parking garage in the medical center in Houston and on return had a dead battery. CN came into the Parking garage and started the car no problem. Great service w0uld not be without them.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

We've used coach net 3x for the RV (twice in one trip) and once for my wife's car in the past 10 years. They are always professional, will call you back to check on you and to see if you're satisfied.

Our last tow with Coach net they were aware of special towing procedure with my Coach and faxed the instructions to the tow truck operator. He told me he would have had no idea how to tow it without the instructions. He was very thankful for the information.

We also have AAA and have used them with the cars. We did wait 2 hours for a tow, but I don't blame the provider for the wait, they are at the mercy of the tow trucks and what's available.

I'll keep Coach net, they've saved us a bunch of money on tows.

FYI, if they can't find a company who will accept their reimbursement they will tell you to just pay who's the closest to you and they will reimburse you.

We've used coach net 3 times in about 15 years. One time it took a long time for the tow truck to arrive. It was a saturday night on central coast of California. Other 2 were very quick. Two of the emergency response guys responded to calls both, from coach National and good sam. I didn't ask the third one. I think most emergency road services respond to any and all companies that call. Because you have a different service does not mean you will get different road side help.

We have had AAA for 18 years. We've used them many times over the last 18 years. We've had the RV package for about 10 years and have used it a few times to deal with the RV (trailer and motorhome). When we bought our Hybrid Travel Trailer it came with a year of Coach-net free. We signed up even though we had AAA. During our first year with the HTT, the fuel pump in our Tow Vehicle died on the side of Route 1 just outside of West Chester, PA.

We called AAA, they found a driver, but it would be a few hours because he was at the Jersey Shore towing some to PA. He was the only driver they could find that could tow the TV, the HTT and the 4 of us. So we waited. I decided to call Coach Net. The located the same driver to help us and told us the same thing about the wait.

The main difference was that AAA would tow us to our destination, Hershey's High Meadow Campground, while Coach Net would only take us to the nearest campground and GM dealer. Coach Net would not allow us to pay the difference to go to our destination. I told Coach Net to forget it.

When the driver arrived, he told me that he has done a handful of jobs for Coach Net, but had not been paid for any of them. He said AAA was much better at paying.

When we bought our Motorhome, it also came with a year of Coach Net free. We didn't bother setting up an account.

AAA has never let us down. We have used them outside our region more times than in our region and have never had a problem. They did have trouble locating services when we had a blow out in the Motorhome a couple months ago, but they did eventually find someone. The tire place charged AAA $250, that's almost $100 more than AAA costs us. We have AAA Plus with RV for 2 drivers.

I have heard people say that AAA is not a good provider in certain areas of the USA, but so far for us, up and down the east coast, they have been very good.

-Michael

All of the insurance companies have to farm the work out to a local company. Coach-Net won't have any better luck, or worse luck, finding a local company to work with than any other provider.

You said that the Coach-Net people were nice and informative, keeping you aware. That is all they can do. Everything else is the local jobbers. If I was going to dump a provider, it would not be over that.

Bad experience with Coach Net. They couldn't find service for me on highway 101 in Washington on the Olympic Peninsular on a weekday. So far I'm happy with my two calls to Good Sam. Flat on the car, it took much longer than AAA but still less than 1 hour. (in Los Angeles) A RV problem, they found a knowledgeable truck technician to work on the hydraulics...other RV's fix the problem before the truck was due to arrive and we canceled the call. Still, they found someone. (out in Indio on a Sunday). I just renewed my Good Sam but my insurance company on the car includes roadside assistance, and I will probably call that first for the car.