Good Sam vs Allstate Motor Club RV roadside assistance

[marquette]

I've been a member of Allstate roadside assistance for my vehicles or years with decent service when I needed them. They offer a rv plan but trying to get any specific information from their overseas call center is impossible. Basically someone that doesn't have a clue about rv's or how big say South Dakota is and how far it is to get service. Hence I started looking at one of the many GS brochures I receive weekly about their roadside assistance. Anyone have experience with Allstate's rv plan? There are many posts on here loving or hating GS so I have concluded they are not a slam dunk for good service or bad service.

[creeper]

dieharder wrote:

creeper wrote:

marquette wrote:
Does Coach.net cover your everyday cars and spouse also or just TV + rv?

Covers you, your spouse and personal cars. My wife has used Coach net when her clutch blew.

Personal cars meaning not only those you own, but even one you borrow. Essentially, anything you, your spouse or dependents 24 and under could be driving. That's at the premier ($159/year) level. Anything lower and this "All Inclusive Coverage" is not included, so I believe then it will be only you and your RV.

Must be a change, we had the basic for years and it covered all our cars. Only this year did we get the premier since we now have a tow dolly. Have yet to use the premier service.

[dieharder]

creeper wrote:

marquette wrote:
Does Coach.net cover your everyday cars and spouse also or just TV + rv?

Covers you, your spouse and personal cars. My wife has used Coach net when her clutch blew.

Personal cars meaning not only those you own, but even one you borrow. Essentially, anything you, your spouse or dependents 24 and under could be driving. That's at the premier ($159/year) level. Anything lower and this "All Inclusive Coverage" is not included, so I believe then it will be only you and your RV.

[lonewolf80]

Even though I have Good Sam, I do believe that Coach Net is the best RV road service out there. Sounds dumb, I know but the darn auto renew gets me every year because it comes at the end of February and I'm not camping until the end of April at the earliest. Ok, that being said I have used GS service four times. Twice to flat bed my motorcycle home, once to flat bed my sons car who was coming to visit our campground and once to change a tire on the RV and install the spare I carried on my old rig. On the last occasion service was timed perfectly to checking out and having the rig in an out of the way parking lot. Problem was the service truck came with huge bottle jacks for a semi that wouldn't fit under my axle, I had to raise the tire with my hydraulic jacks, next mechanic didn't have a 15/16" socket to fit the lug nuts, so I let him use mine, he also didn't have a 1/2" ratchet so I let him mine, but he did have one helluva big breaker bar that fit over my ratchet! Anyways the kid was embarrassed he wasn't sent out from a Travel America Service Center with the right equipment but did do a speedy change over and mounting the bad tire onto the outside bumper mount, I had it under the bed, darn those tires and wheels are heavy! Ninety Four degrees outside and humid I tipped the tech $20. So I am very satisfied with the service I did receive from GS over a 3 or 4 year period.

[creeper]

demoon wrote:

By the way, the provider that towed us out of the hills of PA, disconnected my drive shaft to be sure no damage was done to my transmission and reconnected it when he reached the Ford dealership.
Anyhow, safe travels and may we not have to call our service providers.

Disconnecting a drive shaft is far different then what our tow guy had to do. He was very happy to have the interaction on how to reassemble the e-brake assembly that had to be remove in addition to the driveshaft.

[demoon]

Creeper, my "simply not true" was in response to a previous statement, which I quoted in my post.

"My guess is that Allstate is aimed mostly at car problems, but I'd bet that very few have the equipment to raise a MH off the ground to change a tire. Both of them can bring you a can of gas".

I have no quarrel/reservations with Coachnet and if/when I have a hiccup with Allstate I will be heading their way.
By the way, the provider that towed us out of the hills of PA, disconnected my drive shaft to be sure no damage was done to my transmission and reconnected it when he reached the Ford dealership.
Anyhow, safe travels and may we not have to call our service providers.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

I called GS yesterday. Got up, and a TV tire was at 30 lbs, after I had checked the pressures Saturday - at 75. Was in Gladewater Texas. But it took 2 1/2 hours for the truck to get to me. By then I had changed the tire and moved the TT off the pad (the RV park wanted the spot because someone was coming in at noon).

Fellow said he was delayed because it was Sunday. They are a '24 hour' towing service, but don't dispatch on Sunday until after church services.

I wanted him to make sure my lug nuts were tight on the spare that I put on. He checked those, verified all the TV pressures were where I had set them, verified the TT tire pressures, checked all 8 tires for possible damage / deformation.

Then asked me to sign the work order as completed. I wouldn't because he had listed me as a Coach Net customer.

"All RVs are Coach Net. Nobody else covers service to RVs" he said.

Told him to call his dispatcher because I had Good Sam Platinum. He did. Wrote out a new work order with me as an Allstate customer. The dispatcher said GS contracted with Allstate for the actual RA assistance.

[creeper]

demoon wrote:

Simply not true. Allstate RV Roadhelp has a solid provider list. We have used their service for towing twice and in both instances they sent a heavy duty wrecker. One tow was on an interstate about five miles from a major city, the other was on a very rural route leading to a rather secluded campground. Call to arrival was reasonable in both instances.

We have never encountered any problems with communicating with the dispatch service. They have always inquired if we were in a safe location before gathering other information.

You do not have to Allstate insurance to become a member.

We should remember - depending on where our problem arises - there may be a limited number of service providers, and very likely, most or all providers have the same ones to use. And, yes, I suspect there could be a case where no provider is available. If that happens and we CAN locate help, they will reimburse.

Is Allstate better than Coachnet? I suspect not. Is Coachnet better than Allstate. Same answer. We should go with feels right AND, if it ever starts to not feel right - time to change.

Simply not true, Coach net is primarily a RV tow specialist. With available RV techs to help you work through an issue. Calling all state or others they just don't have the experience or the available techs.

For example: my 2008 destination allison transmission was stuck in tow haul mode. It had to be towed in a specific manner with abnormal instructions. When the driver showed up, he has a print out of instructions that Coach-net had faxed them. He admitted he has never seen a Gas pusher coach before and was very happy to have the instructions on how to disconnect and reconnect the e- brake system. It's not just about having a list of providers as many of those providers are not RV specialist.

Now I've had AAA for many years and have used them. The service is no where near the same.

1st when you call AAA they don't even ask you if you're in a safe place. That's the first question coach-net asks you. If you're not, they you call is expedited .

2nd, when waiting for my AAA wrecker ( fuel pump on my VW TDI) AAA never called back to see the status or if there was anyone they could call for you.

Coach net not only called us back when we used them, but called us back repeatedly to check the status.

Clearly in my experience Coach net stands well above the others.

[creeper]

marquette wrote:
Does Coach.net cover your everyday cars and spouse also or just TV + rv?

Covers you, your spouse and personal cars. My wife has used Coach net when her clutch blew.

[WILDEBILL308]

marquette wrote:
Does Coach.net cover your everyday cars and spouse also or just TV + rv?

I think you should go read about Coach Net
https://coach-net.com/About-Us
and hear.
https://coach-net.com/More/Helpful-Tips
Bill

[TyroneandGladys]

Have GS and have had to call them from some remote areas and was not a problem with getting service. Did learn from the first time they dispatched someone to a remote area the directions got mixed up. Lesson learned is that after they have called me back to let me know service is being sent I ask who and what the number is to the service provider and then I call the service provider to confirm directly with them my location and the problem I am having.

[marquette]

Does Coach.net cover your everyday cars and spouse also or just TV + rv?

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

The most important thing about Roadside Assistance for an RV is to never get the basic level of the roadside assistance program.

Always go for the Platinum or highest level of service. It cost a bit more, but

1) the cost difference between plans is minimal - choose one which the customer service folks seem most competent (someone mentioned not being able to get information from an overseas call center - that's a strong NO WAY for me.)

2) all the RA companies will almost certainly use the same service providers. i.e. the actual tow truck and person who show up to your rig will be the same no matter which company/ plan you have. They contract with the multiple RA companies. In some remote locations there is only one choice.

3) if you travel to remote campgrounds, remote highways away from big cities, you NEED the highest level of service possible. A 50 mile tow limit doesn't help you when the nearest provider on I-10 is 90 miles away.

4) where you are when you need assistance and the date/ time you need such assistance is more important in relation to response time than the company you have.

If you are sitting at Big Bend National Park with the nearest tow company 130 miles - they aren't going to get to you fast.

If you are sitting on I-95 near Washington D.C. on a holiday weekend, the demand for assistance means you likely won't see a tow truck for a couple hours or more.

If you are on I-40 in the middle of an empty stretch of Tennessee at 2 am - the tow truck likely won't be there for two or three hours.

[demoon]

Jim Shoe wrote:
My guess is that Allstate is aimed mostly at car problems, but I'd bet that very few have the equipment to raise a MH off the ground to change a tire. Both of them can bring you a can of gas.

Simply not true. Allstate RV Roadhelp has a solid provider list. We have used their service for towing twice and in both instances they sent a heavy duty wrecker. One tow was on an interstate about five miles from a major city, the other was on a very rural route leading to a rather secluded campground. Call to arrival was reasonable in both instances.

We have never encountered any problems with communicating with the dispatch service. They have always inquired if we were in a safe location before gathering other information.

You do not have to Allstate insurance to become a member.

We should remember - depending on where our problem arises - there may be a limited number of service providers, and very likely, most or all providers have the same ones to use. And, yes, I suspect there could be a case where no provider is available. If that happens and we CAN locate help, they will reimburse.

Is Allstate better than Coachnet? I suspect not. Is Coachnet better than Allstate. Same answer. We should go with feels right AND, if it ever starts to not feel right - time to change.

[RAS43]

marquette wrote:
Allstate is $99 1st year and $114 after. GS Platinum is $114. So price difference is not much of an issue.

And my renewal for the Platinum now is $139.95 vs $69.95 for Allstate thru KOA. Same coverage! Let's see :h !!
And for that price it is cheap insurance as I also have never used any ERS.