Roadside Assistance

Never needed tech support. If so, I could call the appliance manufacturer or ask my camping next door neighbor. :)

2gypsies wrote:
Keep in mind that you can also tack on a rider to your vehicle insurance for a very reasonable rate of $25-$50/year for roadside insurance including towing. We've done that for many years. You don't have to go with the big roadside insurance companies.

You do if you want all of their benefits. Can you call your insurance company's RSA for tech support 24/7 when your fridge, furnace, etc. is failing?

Keep in mind that you can also tack on a rider to your vehicle insurance for a very reasonable rate of $25-$50/year for roadside insurance including towing. We've done that for many years. You don't have to go with the big roadside insurance companies.

Generally for me the value is beyond the call for service. It is the peace of mind knowing that ALL my vehicles are covered for ALL my family members. One service call could pay for the entire year of coverage. Having them knowing which repair facility in Broken Axle Nowhere is approved and available is also well worth what you pay.

We have been AAA members for 18 years. 15 of those years we have had AAA Plus and for 12 of those years we have had AAA Plus with RV. Our premium this year for AAA Plus with RV for both my wife and I was $185. We had a blow out earlier this year on our Motorhome, inside rear tire. The cost to AAA was $250. The cost to me was $0. It already paid for itself this year and some of next year.

We like AAA because it is usually free every year once we figure in all the discounts we get with AAA from restaurants and retail shops to hotels, car rentals, etc., etc. That's not even including the cost of services that we didn't have to pay for.

Compare that to our Home Owners insurance which is close to $1000/year - haven't made a single claim since we bought this house 10 years ago. Our auto insurance for 2 cars and the motorhome is about $690/year. Haven't had a claim since we switched to Gieco about 7 years ago.

AAA does not offer the same services throughout the country, but whenever we have needed it, it has come through for us.

-Michael

We have Good Sam/Camping World Road Service and have had for a long time. I'm too old to be changing a Dually flat so for convenience I have the service. Maybe there is a cheaper way but I add it to recreation expense.
For peace of mind it is worth it for us.
Marvin

The fees for CAA in Canada for the driver of a car, motorbike and RV is approximately $200. We will be trravelling to the US for 2 weeks in September and the discounts I will get for being a CAA member from various businesses including some of the campgrouds will be approximately $70 Canadian. My point is that the discounts associated with membership will probably cover the cost of it over the period of a year. In my opinion, its a no brainer.

Oldcow

In our almost 30 years of RVing, we've had only one road service, CoachNet, so I can't speak for the others. But here is an example of their value to us.

One Sunday after Thanksgiving, we were returning home from Huntington Beach State Park, in Murrellls Inlet, SC, when our right front brake locked up, as we approached Conway, SC. This was around 7 PM. I pulled into a K-Mart parking lot and called CoachNet. Their first question was "Are you in a safe location?" I responded that we were in a K-Mart parking lot in Conway and gave the street names.

After describing the problem, the person I was talking to said let me check and I will call you back in ten minutes. In less than that amount of time she called back with the following information. "You have a warranty issue, so we need to get you to a Workhorse (the manufacturer of our RV's chassis, service facility. The closest one is more than 100 miles away and, of course, closed." We agreed that our best option was for Sarah to take the dogs home in our toad and I would spend the night in the parking lot.

She said, "I will call the K-Mart to tell them what the issue is, but please go in and talk to them, yourself. I will call the Conway police department and tell them about the issue. We will call you in the morning and tell you what the arrangements are. How early will you be up?"

The next morning, I was called around 7:30 and told that a tow truck would be at my location at 8 and that the coach would be towed to Whiteville, NC, about 44 miles away. The tow truck showed up at 8:05 and at 8:10 I received a call from CoancNet asking if the tow truck had arrived.

We would not travel without CoachNet.

Tom

I broke down on a Sunday in March of 2015. I was 170 miles from home. Would I have been able to contact a towing company off hours? Maybe. AAA, and other RSAs have those relationships and can get in touch with towing companies any time of day or night. They got someone to call me back in 10 minutes. They were busy so it took them a while to get to me, but they took care of me.

I also don't have to worry about my wife if she gets a flat when out and about while I'm at work. It's all taken care of.

MWOwner wrote:
I see alot of posts about the different roadside assistance plans but never very much about how much benefit they really provide versus just looking up a towing service or repair service on your phone and calling them yourself. Not to say the plans are not worth it but can someone tell me why they are better than just doing it yourself?

Perhaps the part you're not seeing is that not only does the plan provider contact the tow service, they also pay for it...