Another roadside assistance question

[eldel]

I was daydreaming about that 'post retirement' mega trip when an interesting thought occurred. How do you get roadside assistance when you're out of cell coverage? I can think of a dozen such places within 20 miles of where I live but we're in a sufficiently populated region that you wouldn't have to wait more than 30 minutes for another vehicle who would, hopefully, give you a lift.

But .. how about the Dalton highway or the northernmost highways in Canada? I looked around and found (relatively) inexpensive text only Inmarsat devices that will work anywhere. Assuming you are actually on the earth's surface that is. I sent in a question to coach-net to see if they supported text only help requests and they just sent me the standard droid response "we have an app which will send your location". Yeah - when I specifically asked what would happen outside cell coverage.

So - is this an issue worth worrying about and if so does anyone have any good ideas as to a solution.

Thanks
Derek

[PartyOf_Five]

We worked about this as well, to the point of taking a toad along for the first time on the Alaska highway. There was cars and has starting every hour, and this has been the case on most roads.
Part of traveling requires you to submit to things beyond your control, and being ok with that. I remember being outside Denver in an emergency pullout during the rain, and just deciding to wait a couple hours for the tow truck instead of changing a flat myself- what was my rush? We were safe, had food, drink, facilities, and gas. It wasn't ideal "camping" but better than struggling to rush away. Sure enough the moon can't out and rain stopped by the time the truck came, and did the job in 15 minutes.

[TigerCX]

Look at the SPOT X 2-way satellite messenger with the SOV, save our vehicle, option.
Jerry

[8ntw8tn]

I'll try to keep this short, but it is pertinent.

In 2011, a few months after I first subscribed to Coach-Net, we were on our way back to Iowa after visiting Corvallis, OR. As we were traveling through eastern Oregon the truck broke down. We barely had cellular service but I was able to make contact with Coach-Net and after several dropped calls we had a tow truck on the way. The towed us back 45 miles back too Burns, which was the closest repair shop. The tow bill was nearly $600 but Coach-Net covered every penny. We were out in the middle of nowhere and there was very little traffic, but we did have a couple vehicles stop to see if we needed assistance. I've used Coach-Net twice for emergency tows and 3 times for changing tires and I have nothing but praise for how they handled those situations. I've downloaded the app, but my experience with that has been less than expected. It allows you to enter your vehicle and RV information and I presumed that since my membership information is also entered that would automatically be transmitted along with my location. Didn't seem to be the case. The representative, while pleasant, required me to verbally provide that information. Now, that's not a really big deal, but certainly less than what was indicated in the advertisement. I still do, and will continue to, subscribe to Coach-Net, but there are some limitations. Hope this helps.

[schlep1967]

Look up SPOT satellite trackers. Many in the motorcycle community use them. You can set it up to send a message to someone you know with the coordinates and small selection of messages. Like "need tow truck".

[DrewE]

On the Dalton highway, there will be other vehicles sooner or later. It's not as though there are many other routes for people to take to get to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay...and the same is true for many of the other roads you're talking about. If you're in distress, people will generally be helpful, doubly so as everybody understands that there isn't cell coverage, etc.

The tow bill, or other roadside assistance bill, could doubtless be pretty steep. I'm not sure how roadside assistance companies would do in getting help for you even once you made contact. Some of them don't provide service on non-paved roads, for instance.

My opinion? It's not something worth worrying about excessively, but it is definitely wise to make reasonable preparations to avoid the need for roadside assistance in the first place: make sure your vehicle is in good condition, have a spare, or two, set to go (and also the tools to put it on), have enough food and water and such to be able to spend an extra night or two if the need comes up, etc.

[Blazing_Zippers]

We were in remote Idaho a couple years ago, and NO ONE had any communication at all. It made one think about how folks were able to do anything before dependence on phones. Or GPS.
We made it out alive.
Safe travels my friend.

[gbopp]

Two Hands wrote:
What did we do before God made cell phones?

We got in our car/truck/RV, looked at our paper maps and navigated from the east coast to the west coast. 🙂

[Dutch_12078]

I had a police officer radio in a call request for me when he stopped to assist, and I've also unhooked our toad and driven to a location where phone service was available.

[Two_Hands]

What did we do before God made cell phones? We walked to the nearest phone to call for help or we waved down a passing motorist.

[wa8yxm]

Ham Radio... When all else fails.

www.arrl.org for more information.

[Lwiddis]

Law enforcement patrols. Flag down a fellow RVer. If it’s a truck, SUV, trailer or 5er, learn how to change a tire. Learn at home, in your driveway.

[rk911]

- amateur radio. requires a license but with the right radio/antenna you can talk with other hams around the country or around the world. of course someone has to be listening.

- rent/buy a sat phone

- or as Blanche DuBois said..."...i have always depended on the kindness of strangers."

[midnightsadie]

smoke signal,s but your right they just can,t get a good signal every where,

[ppine]

The only solution is to be self-sufficient. You are dreaming if you think anyone in the Yukon or on the Dalton Highway is coming to help you.

Do people really sit and wait for help to change a tire?