Good Sam or Coach-Net ??

I am still wayne_tw wrote:
Coach Net without a doubt!

Neither GS or CN..:(

Check out - US Rider. (No hay burners necessary)..:C

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Hi all! Here's a different spin on things... It was time for me to re-up with my roadside assistance. Originally had GS for several years, then went to CN for several years. This time was thinking GS again UNTIL I discovered that the upper-end CN now INCLUDED emergency evacuation "insurance" that I had been paying about $100/year for thru GS Travel Assist. So all told, it saved me $$$ to get the upgraded Coachnet plan vs paying GS for both ERS and Travel Assist. The GS plans don't include utility trailers or car dollies, only boat trailers at the lower level plans. All are covered by the CN plan, FWIW. So I'm back with Coachnet! ST

I've been a CN member for years and only needed them once. Had to be towed from and RV park to a repair facility when the sending unit in the fuel tank went out. AND it was a holiday weekend but they had a tow the next morning which towed me to the nearest facility and in one day I was back on the road and it only took that long because I had to wait overnight for the new part to be delivered to the facility. All I had to pay for was the repairs to the MH. I've heard really good things about GS as well.

In many cases it does not matter.. For example, In the Greater Detroit, MI area coach net has a contract with a towing company (Gouch and Sons if I recall correctly) who operate a fleet of heavy duty trucks.

Good sams.. Also has a contract with an HD tower.. Do not know if it's Gouch & Sons or one of the other HD towers. But it very likely is the same tow truck no matter which service you have.

One difference. GS likes to tow to Camping World... I don't.

joelc wrote:
Just a thought. Did you check to see if your insurance company offers one. I have a 5th wheel and my insurance company, Progressive, has road side assistance attached to the policy.

Might want to check exactly what Progressive covers compared to CN or GS..It didn't cover everything those two did a couple of years ago and what they did cover cost more than the CN or GS cost, even if you had home and car insurance with them, (I know from experience).

GS or CN, either one, both do the job, I'm with CN because they got us out of a situation that I won't forget for a long time, so will stay with them for a while.

we've had GoodSam's coverage for several years and unfortunately have had to use it .... over the years their service has improved but isn't without issues .... much depends on the quality of the service rep who happens to take your call .... without being overly unkind, I'm surprised that the last one was able to make it to work, much less provide assistance to callers .... we were literally on the beltline around Raleigh, NC when the truck broke down .... I called and a little while later she called back .... I knew things weren't going to go well when she informed me that there wasn't a wrecker service in/around Raleigh who could handle a rig out size .... I called the repair facility where the truck needed to be take and they gave me a business name/phone number .... eventually I was able to give her the info and eventually our truck was towed .... when she called back the last time to make we were OK, she said she'd overlooked the name of the wrecker company

Jim

Never used GS. Never used my Coachnet for 9 years, but when I did need it, I was 120 miles from the closest diesel garage. They sent a lowboy, loaded me on with care, hauled me 120 miles and had an appointment for me on arrival at the Freightliner facility. Unloaded, into a bay and 2 hours later back on the road again with a brand new fuel pump and absolutely no towing money out of pocket.

Coach-Net for me!

I have Coach-Net and they provided me with pretty good roadside assistance. I was traveling 75 mph north on I-75 near Tampa, FL pulling a 40' Redwood 5th wheel when a van pulled up beside me and motioned for me to look back at my driver side trailer wheels which were smoking. I quickly pulled off at an exit that had a newly paved area behind barrels that we weaved into and stopped in a protected area. I noticed that the most rear driver's side tire looked turned out about an inch and when I raised the camper on the leveling legs, the wheel just fell off, only connected by the electrical brake wire. I contacted Coach-Net for roadside assistance and they sent out a tractor trailer/RV mechanic in about an hour and his assessment was that the wheel bearings had failed and had torn up the brake shoes and that the brake shoe assembly, bearings, brake drum all had to be replaced. The wheel rim and tire were fine. We thought we would be stranded for weeks, but he threw the broken parts in his truck and said he would be back in an hour with replacement parts. He was and he had it fixed in about an hour. All total we were down about 5 hours, but we just put out the slides, turned on the generator and air conditioner and had lunch. Considering that it could have been a major highway accident involving multiple vehicles when our tire came off and rolled down the highway hitting who knows what, we felt very fortunate that we got to the side of the road before anything drastic happened.
We tried calling an RV dealership whose sign we could see across the street but after being put on hold, referred to "the right man" in the repair department who wasn't in and never called back until we were repaired, we felt like Coach-Net was a good investment.
We have tire PSI and temperature sensors on all 10 tires of truck and trailer, and they gave no indication that the wheel was ready to fall off.
We are heading for Alaska this summer. I'm going to have the remaining 3 bearings sets checked and replaced. Only about 15,000 miles on the trailer. Why one failed is a good question, but I feel the cotter pin that holds the drum retention nut in place broke allowing the nut to unwind and the drum and attached tire to put so much pressure on the bearings until all failed. The cotter pin is the "weak link" in this system.
I now look in my rear view mirrors often.
Whistler

I've got nothing bad to say about Good Sam as I've not used them. I got CoachNet free for a year with the purchase of our motorhome. I've kept renewing since then. I've needed them twice. Each time my call was quickly answered, and I was talking with an RV technician within a few seconds. They were familiar with my coach, asked good questions, and decided a tow would be needed. Nearest authorized service was about 50 miles away. 15 later the biggest tow truck I'd ever seen pulled up, disconnected our drive shaft, and towed 'er up toe the service center. I called to make sure they would be open and the receptionist said that Coach Net had already called and they were expecting me. We got there and service started right away (Friday afternoon). The tow truck disconnected and said I didn't owe anything....he dove off and I never got any kind of a bill (other than for the repairs of course).

Second time was with my car sliding off the road in the ice and needed a mechanic to come and change a tire. That worked fine too.

One reason I have stayed with CN is knowing that I can get to an RV mechanic - they are more than just a tow service.