Broke down on the road, what's your insurance experience?

[Bowti]

Just wondering what your experience has been. I have a RV rider on my policy, but they just say save your receipts and turn them in for reimbursement. I am curious as to how you even know who to call when you are broke down in the middle of no where. It can be even worse if no cell phone service and its after closing time. Not looking for horror stores, just how did you get taken care of. I know many have AAA or Good Sam, is that the best way to go?

[jkwilson]

Bowti wrote:
Just wondering what your experience has been. I have a RV rider on my policy, but they just say save your receipts and turn them in for reimbursement. I am curious as to how you even know who to call when you are broke down in the middle of no where. It can be even worse if no cell phone service and its after closing time. Not looking for horror stores, just how did you get taken care of. I know many have AAA or Good Sam, is that the best way to go?

If you don't have cell service, it doesn't matter what you have. You'll have to rely on a passerby to send help.

There are 24 hour towing places, and the police will generally help you get in touch with them. And they won't steer you to somebody willing to accept a lowball price for towing.

[toedtoes]

Honestly, they all have their pros and cons.

1. Good Sam and Coachnet will FIRST find a shop willing and able to take your rig. THEN, only after they confirm that, will they then locate a tow truck to get you there. This can cause delays.

If you break down during the night or on a weekend or holiday or in a very rural area, you can spend a long time waiting. Repair shops are often only open on weekdays, so the GS/Coachnet agent can't get that confirmation from them. If they can't confirm a repair shop, then there is no reason to send a tow truck - they have no where to tow you.

On the other hand, if you are far away from home, GS/Coachnet will do the work for you to find a shop willing and able to work on your rig. This saves you a lot of work.

2. AAA will tow you anywhere you want to go. They will simply locate a tow truck and send it out. Delays are most commonly due to requiring a medium duty wrecker or larger tow (not every tow service has them and so they are often busy on other jobs) or because you want a long tow (if you state you want it towed to your home 150 miles away, you will get fewer tow companies willing to take the run than if you want a tow 50 miles away).

However, this doesn't work as well if you are far from home as you have to figure out where to be towed.

For the cost, I recommend getting one of each type. Get AAA and get GS or Coachnet. This allows you to pick which one will work best in each actual situation. And, if one fails you, you can call the other.

I do notice that Coachnet's prices have gone up from a few years ago.

[wildtoad]

I too used Progressives coverage and they were good. But they are only as good as the local service companies which is true for all providers. If there is only one tow company within 30 miles that’s who you get and they may be busy.

[MarkTwain]

Bowti wrote:
Just wondering what your experience has been. I have a RV rider on my policy, but they just say save your receipts and turn them in for reimbursement. I am curious as to how you even know who to call when you are broke down in the middle of no where. It can be even worse if no cell phone service and its after closing time. Not looking for horror stores, just how did you get taken care of. I know many have AAA or Good Sam, is that the best way to go?

Look at Good Sam or Coach net. AAA does not offer complete coverage in all states or areas and AAA's primary coverage is for cars and not RV's. I have had Good Sam Platinum policy and GS Travel Assist plan 30 yrs. and recommend them. The Travel Assist plan is for emergencies if you are some where and medically are unable to drive your RV home, GS will provide a professional driver to drive your RV back to your home and fly you home.

[dedmiston]

We were camping out in the desert near Ridgecrest, CA in November and one of my buddies needed to leave early but his truck wouldn't start.

He has AAA and called for a tow. The company nearby gave him a few bits of bad news:

1. They were having staffing problems and their main driver for the day (this was a Monday) was hungover and called out sick. It took them most of the day to get another driver in from Barstow.

2. They don't do dirt. If you aren't on the highway, they won't touch you. That seemed reasonable to me, but I had to tow him a few miles from camp to get him to the highway. (I took some pictures, but didn't want to be a jerk and show a RAM towing a Chevy to the road.)

3. After he was hooked up on the flatbed, the driver told him he could get him MOST of the way home, but not all the way because of the CHP scales. He claimed that the Chevy dually put him overweight and he couldn't chance it with the scales. Luckily my buddy found a shop just outside of town and it worked out fine.

I was pretty surprised that AAA took him as far as they did. It was probably 150 miles back from camp, but the driver didn't flinch (except for the part about the scales).

My buddy was really steamed about the slow service, but I think he made out pretty well compared to some of the horror stories I read here.

I was glad to have a recovery strap to tow him out to the highway. It's one of those things you hope you never need, but it's golden when you need it.

[Walaby]

I use Coach Net. Had one instance. Broke down middle of nowhere. They took care of everything.

If i used my regular insurance, I believe I would have to find tow truck company, call, and then get reimbursed.

Ajriding, I don't think having a claim for towing would impact your insurance rates. At least not with any insurance company I've ever had. Neither does having a claim for cracked windshield.

Mike

[ajriding]

I preferred the non-insurance co services like AAA or Goodsam because it kept my insurance co from seeing I had any sort of claim.

AAA worked ok for me a few times.
Once I was at the end of the year's policy period and had a minor issue on truck so just had it towed the 5 miles home rather than fix it in the store parking lot.

Once I was out of state and it took 3 days to get a tow truck. They sent 1-ton sized tow trucks (for cars) a few times despite me saying it had to be a big flatbed tow truck. At least I was in a camper. Not the best camping experience either in a noisy parking lot.
I finally had a family member come to get me and to tow the trailer while the Truck camper and truck was put on the flatbed and towed to the shop.

Yes, they paid for it all, but towing a big rig or camper or having a trailer attached is still mind boggling for tow companies.

A lot depends on the willingness of the tow truck driver to do stupid stuff, like tow a truck with a trailer attached to it, or to tow a big class-B using a small tow truck (the tow truck's front wheels were literally coming off the ground that time), or to bring a flatbed tow truck and then tow a trailer at the same time.

Be careful. Even though I discussed and was assured by AAA that the policy covered both the truck and the trailer it actually did not one time. I had to pay the driver to tow the trailer as he had the camper on a flatbed.

Maybe Goodsam is a better choice in that they are oriented towards RVs moreso than AAA or your ins co.
The covdhoax shut me down so I am not traveling non-stop as before so i do not have a road side policy currently.

[IDman]

Back in the "old days" before cell phones, you simply raised your hood so others would know you needed help and good samaritans or a police officer would stop and help. Then they would either radio for help or drive to a phone and call for help.

That 'system' actually worked but I wouldn't count on the samaritans today, since society is not as civil now. As you are then a sitting target on the side of the road, you must also be prepared to protect yourself from the less civil element that shares our roads.

[Dutch_12078]

I'm currently using the $22/year roadside service I get with my Progressive insurance. The one towing event I've had so far using it was quite positive, and would have been a "sign and go" experience except that the NY Thruway requires that roadside service must be dispatched by their own dispatchers using only providers with special permits. I did have to pay up front that time, but it only took a few days to get a complete reimbursement from Progressive.

[fyrflie]

Your going to get answers all over the board with this one.

I have National General for insurance Good Sam for Roadside Assistance and have had good luck with them. Twice with my RV and twice with my personal vehicles.
With Good Sam you contact a call center ( number is on your card ) and give them your situation. They then contact a local tow company to come help you. Wait times may vary based on your location and how busy the tow company is.
You pay for the tow and submit receipt for reimbursement.

I know you have an RV Rider on your policy, but double check to make sure it covers your specific vehicle. Good Sam switched up RV plans a few years back and the cheapest plan did not cover Motorhomes but covered tow trailers for roadside coverage. It was all over the forums and I think they finally got it figured out.

Some RV riders do not include roadside service for RVs, from what I have learned here on the forums that’s why I say to double check your policy.

If you don’t have cell service, then that’s a whole different problem.
I always have a tow vehicle with me so I can go get help or cell service if needed.