Any thoughts on either one of these? Experience good or bad?Thanks KC

AAA is regional, and not all regions offer the same services. Also, carefully compare the details for any towing distance or cost limits, etc. We found Coach-Net was a good fit for our needs, with GS second, and AAA not even in the running.

Dutch_12078 wrote:AAA is regional, and not all regions offer the same services. Also, carefully compare the details for any towing distance or cost limits, etc. We found Coach-Net was a good fit for our needs, with GS second, and AAA not even in the running.That about sums it up in the real world of RVing.

I have found that GS and AAA have one very different aspect that makes one better for some circumstances and the other better for other circumstances:GS - they will send out a mobile mechanic first and they will not send out a tow truck until they make contact with a repair shop AND that repair shop is willing to accept your RV. AAA - they will send out a tow truck, but it is your responsibility to decide where to have your RV taken.What this means is that if you are broken down on a Sunday before a holiday, GS will have difficulty getting you towed. They aren't going to be able to reach the repair shops to get a "Yes, we will take the RV" easily in this type of situation. In the same situation, AAA will send out a tow (usually quicker), but you will need to tell them where to take your RV. This is much more effective if you are fairly close to a familiar area (hometown, frequent vacation spot, etc.) and have a shop (or home) in mind to drop the RV at.If you break down on a weekday afternoon far away from home and/or in an unfamiliar area, then GS will be able to confirm the repair shop and send out a tow pretty easily.In the same situation, AAA will send out a tow truck, but you will have to do a lot of legwork to figure out where to take your RV.If your breakdown is fairly simple and parts are easily obtained, GS will send out a mobile mechanic that will get you back on the road without needing a tow. The more hard to find parts are, the more complex the problem, etc. and this will slow down the amount of time you spend waiting to get that tow (GS won't usually tow unless a mobile mechanic has been dispatched first and can't solve the issue).For me, I have both. I figure for an extra $100, it gives me that much more security. Neither is terrible; neither is perfect. It just depends on the particular circumstances.

Read the policies carefully. Most will only tow you to the nearest approved facility. If you have a specific shop in mind and it is further away, the additional charges will be on you. Usually not an issue when travelling but when your car breaks down near home and you want it towed to your favorite mechanic, it might cost you extra. Some policies will give you a mileage limit but make sure that it is for where YOU want to tow to, not to the nearest shop. I think Good Sam now has an extra cost policy that allows for this. I plan to look into it next month when my AAA policy expires.

We have had Coach-Net, Good Sam and AAA. I have had GS and AAA respond to problems in "out-of-the-way" places. I prefer AAA because the people manning the phones are more helpful (they listen!), and so far I have found the service people that AAA sends more professional. Some good and bad with all but the bottom line is don't RV from home without one of them.

Good Sam Roadside assistance vs AAA RV premier | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

PawPaw_n_Gram
Explorer
Mar 05, 2015
NC Hauler wrote:

hmmmm, never heard of it...I have CN and have all the above for 109$...learned something new.

Check your CN documents. The CN Premier + towable plan is $139 per year and the motorized coach plan is $159 per year.

All the ERS companies have multiple levels of service. I would not recommend the basic level plan of any company. The CN plan that came with our rig was basically worthless the one time we needed them. However, I strongly recommend the highest level plan available from any company.

For example - folks talk about CN "unlimited" towing, but their fine print says

Unlimited Towing
No mileage or dollar amount limits – no out of pocket expense when towing your disabled vehicle to the nearest qualified repair facility.
COnative
Explorer II
Mar 03, 2015
We have AAA plus with RV. A few years back on a Sunday night about 7:00 pm my truck died (smoke billowing out of tail pipe) on top of Vail pass. I was towing a 23 ft travel trailer at the time. AAA came within an hour, loaded truck and hooked up trailer and drove me 85 miles to a local dealer in Denver, 5 miles from my house. He unhooked the trailer and then put the truck in dealer lot, then hooked back up to trailer and towed it to my house. He then backed it onto my RV pad on the side of the house. Was home and in bed by 10:30. I gave that guy a good tip... Truly awesome service!
NC_Hauler
Explorer
Mar 02, 2015
bee_46 wrote:
NC Hauler - That is for the premium+ level service which includes towing up to 100 miles at our request, which is the same service we paid for with AAA. We don't take the 100 mile towing for the RV particularly, but for our other vehicles so we can tow them to our preferred repair facility near our home. Yes, we have used that service more than once.

GS has two other levels that are cheaper and will include spouse and all vehicles.

hmmmm, never heard of it...I have CN and have all the above for 109$...learned something new.
bee_46
Explorer
Mar 02, 2015
NC Hauler - That is for the premium+ level service which includes towing up to 100 miles at our request, which is the same service we paid for with AAA. We don't take the 100 mile towing for the RV particularly, but for our other vehicles so we can tow them to our preferred repair facility near our home. Yes, we have used that service more than once.

GS has two other levels that are cheaper and will include spouse and all vehicles.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Mar 01, 2015
RGar974417 wrote:
We have Good Sam.Toadtoes said they will send a mechanice first and Sundays could be trouble.That wasn't our experience. We broke down on a Sunday and they did send a tow truck and they towed us to a GMC dealer.
Now that was 10 years ago and maybe that's changed.We were very happy with the service.

My experience was last year. To be clear, I didn't mention it to put down GS - I mentioned it because no service is 100% perfect.

GS will tow you to the nearest shop willing to work on your RV. That works great as long as they can find a shop - until they do, you wait.

AAA will tow you anywhere you want to go. That works great if you have a place in mind within the distance limitations (and they also have a cost limitation, so if the tow truck required to tow your RV costs more per hour, then your distance will be reduced accordingly).

For me, I see the benefits of both. Around home (or areas I'm familiar with), AAA works great because I can get my RV towed where I want rather than another shop I'm not familiar with. In unfamiliar areas, GS works great because they will find a repair shop for me and get my RV there. IMHO, in the scheme of having an RV, an extra $80-$140 for the secondary service is well worth it.
RGar974417
Explorer
Mar 01, 2015
We have Good Sam.Toadtoes said they will send a mechanice first and Sundays could be trouble.That wasn't our experience. We broke down on a Sunday and they did send a tow truck and they towed us to a GMC dealer.
Now that was 10 years ago and maybe that's changed.We were very happy with the service.
NC_Hauler
Explorer
Mar 01, 2015
bee_46 wrote:
We just gave up AAA for GS. We had the highest coverage for AAA and found sometimes the response was good, (in nowhere Wyoming - 45 minutes) and other times it was poor (just south of Key Largo - 2 1/2 hours). Both for flat tires. The cost for AAA was about $233 for both my husband and I and limited to a total of 8 calls/year. GS is about $180 for both of us with unlimited calls and each would tow 100 miles if requested. As for how reliable GS is I cannot answer that as our service just went into effect today. Hopefully we will never need to find out.

Both sevices covered all of our vehicles. I will miss the maps AAA provided.

How come GS ERS is $180 for both you and your husband:h When I had GS, cost was only around $99-109 a year, and that covered both the wife and I, both vehicles, camper, etc....also will map out routes for you. I have CN now and it's $109 a year, covers the wife and I, both vehicles, (towing), the 5er (towing), lock-outs, fuel delivery, fix flats, etc....and there is no limit to the calls anyway...that's a bit confusing.....
bee_46
Explorer
Mar 01, 2015
We just gave up AAA for GS. We had the highest coverage for AAA and found sometimes the response was good, (in nowhere Wyoming - 45 minutes) and other times it was poor (just south of Key Largo - 2 1/2 hours). Both for flat tires. The cost for AAA was about $233 for both my husband and I and limited to a total of 8 calls/year. GS is about $180 for both of us with unlimited calls and each would tow 100 miles if requested. As for how reliable GS is I cannot answer that as our service just went into effect today. Hopefully we will never need to find out.

Both sevices covered all of our vehicles. I will miss the maps AAA provided.
pnichols
Explorer II
Mar 01, 2015
2-3 years ago AAA would not change a flat on the inside tire on one of the rear duals on our motorhome WHILE IT WAS PARKED IN OUR BACK YARD!! The dispatcher said it was not their policy to work on dual tire sets ... they assumed I was to drive the rig on the good tire and get it repaired myself.

I had been with AAA for at least 35 years at that point. Needless to say, I changed from AAA in short order ASAP after that. AAA never even contacted me for feedback afterwards to "see why such a long term customer had abandoned them".

I now have Coach-Net's highest level of ERS service on the motorhome ... which also automatically covers all of our other vehicles. I figure that RVs are the main reason for Coach-Net to be in business ... where it appears that with AAA it seems that RVs are an afterthought market that they're not really interested in.

Which type of ERS for your RV would you rather be signed up with?
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Mar 01, 2015
We've had good luck with Coachnet, the one time we needed it years ago. I think their are good and bad stories to be found with all the providers. Or RV insurance is through Progressive and if you choose roadside assistance, you get Coachnet. Seems to be OK, can't comment on the others.