Self insuring vs Roadside Assistance

peaches&cream wrote:
I will say this again: Why not cover your ERS using your Insurance Carrier. I did this for 6 yrs. and it cost me $39 per yr. with Progressive. I used it 1 time with great results and "no, my rates did not go up".

As you have mentioned this two or three times I will try to respond:

Because my insurance company roadside service will NOT tow my travel trailer to the nearest park if the tow vehicle breaks down. They will just take the tow vehicle and leave my house on the side of the road.

Not what I want in a roadside service, regardless of how cheap it is.

Over the years, what would have been my costs for tows and tire service that Coach-Net covered has likely covered my annual fee for at least the next forty years. A recent breakdown on our '95 Coachmen Class A involved two tows, and my cost would have been a bit over $1,100.

smkettner wrote:
Probably the best part of RA is to have a number to call. I called several tow companies before I could get a truck out to me on New Year's Eve. Then got lucky and found a guy to do the work New Year's Day.

On the other hand, they are all basically insurance companies. Ones that are very good at making a profit, that tells me the odds are in their favour, not the customers.

In my case, the first, and last time I called them, that handy 800 number cost me 5 hours on the side of the interstate in a snow storm without heat. Then the delay meant I was stuck for the weekend, paying for a motel and meals while my motorhome sat locked in a shop.

The tow truck driver told me point blank, he COULD have towed me in 5 minutes, not 5 HOURS, but the RA refused to pay full price and in a snow storm he was too busy to take a discounted fee. So I sat in the cold waiting for him to work through his list of full-price jobs.

Bottom line. The $69.95 RA cost me $345 in motel charges, $210 in restaurant food. All because a wealthy corporation didn't want to part with an extra $60 or $70.

That's NOT what I'd call being a Good Samaritan.

I will say this again: Why not cover your ERS using your Insurance Carrier. I did this for 6 yrs. and it cost me $39 per yr. with Progressive. I used it 1 time with great results and "no, my rates did not go up".

The one reason why I carry my GS road side service is that if you need to have road side service you just call the 800 number and they locate and send out the service. If you do it you have to TRY to locate a service, then call them and have the cash ready for the work they do.
Don

Grandpere wrote:
On our 33 foot Southwind a typical tow is $550 to $750, so I would think that your class C would be in the same area. If you are reasonably young and can handle tires upwards of 100 pounds you could change a flat yourself. I carry a mounted spare, an electric impact wrench, an 8 ton jack and jack stands and can change all tires on our mh except for the right front. The configuration of the drivers door step makes it impossible for me to wrestle a 150 pound tire into position there.

On our maiden voyage we broke down 4 times so the money we paid for emergency roadside assistance more than paid for itself. We currently have Good Sam and AAA. Come renewal time I am going to drop Good Sam and go with Coach net, but still keeping my AAA that we have had since 1999.

Why 2 service companies you wonder? Because each one has its problems and with 2 plans I have backup if one happens to one fail me as Good Sam did last Sunday. They could not find anyone to come and change a flat tire on the right front of my mh. I called AAA and within an hour we were ready to travel again. Good Sam is having problems and they seem to be getting worse, hence my changing from Good Sam to Coach net. AAA Premiere costs me $140 a year while Good Sam and Coach net premiere plans are $159 both together are still less than 1 towing bill.

Good luck with your decision making.

Like you I have been carrying AAA non RV PLUS (100mi tow) for as long as I can remember (over 30 years) and the CN gold for several years and have only used the AAA like twice in the last 20 years and never the CN. So I would be BOOKOO $$$ ahead had I gone the self-insured route. However, to carry both is only around $20-$25/mo and I view it as one would any insurance it's there if you need it and I just don't try and manage that small amount of $$ in the overall scheme and cost of RVing.

Larry

Do you carry a mounted spare? Can you change the tire? If so I would lean toward self insure.

Since 2000 I have changed 2 trailer tires, replaced an alternator and once had to be towed (truck only) to a shop to get a new fuel pump. I paid $85 cash for that short tow. And once needed a truck battery. Got a jump and it was under warranty at the local Costco :) (self install) Just saying some stuff can be handled without a tow.

Probably the best part of RA is to have a number to call. I called several tow companies before I could get a truck out to me on New Year's Eve. Then got lucky and found a guy to do the work New Year's Day.

I recently begged three shops to install an alternator, mid week no holiday. Including the Ford dealer. I swapped it myself as no one had the time but O'Reilly had the part and some tools.

You just don't know what you may encounter. Not all RA is perfect either by the posts here. The larger the RV the more it is needed IMO.

On our 33 foot Southwind a typical tow is $550 to $750, so I would think that your class C would be in the same area. If you are reasonably young and can handle tires upwards of 100 pounds you could change a flat yourself. I carry a mounted spare, an electric impact wrench, an 8 ton jack and jack stands and can change all tires on our mh except for the right front. The configuration of the drivers door step makes it impossible for me to wrestle a 150 pound tire into position there.

On our maiden voyage we broke down 4 times so the money we paid for emergency roadside assistance more than paid for itself. We currently have Good Sam and AAA. Come renewal time I am going to drop Good Sam and go with Coach net, but still keeping my AAA that we have had since 1999.

Why 2 service companies you wonder? Because each one has its problems and with 2 plans I have backup if one happens to one fail me as Good Sam did last Sunday. They could not find anyone to come and change a flat tire on the right front of my mh. I called AAA and within an hour we were ready to travel again. Good Sam is having problems and they seem to be getting worse, hence my changing from Good Sam to Coach net. AAA Premiere costs me $140 a year while Good Sam and Coach net premiere plans are $159 both together are still less than 1 towing bill.

Good luck with your decision making.

I can't say what the $ cost would be,but one roadside service and tow bill could wipe out any savings from self insuring.We have used GS roadside service 4-5 times in our 8 years of full timing.I would bet it would have costs us at least twice the amount to pay the tow bills as it has to pay for roadside service.
Others will probably have actual numbers for you.