Roadside Assistance

[Novicenomads]

Hello,
Didn't find a Roadside Assistance thread since 2017.
Our Forest River plan is about to expire. Thinking about switching to Good Sam.
I have AAA for the tow vehicle but have to check as I do not think it covers the camper.
What do you guys use in case of flat tire, towing, or in the worst case an accident involving your trailer / camper?

Leaving for our longest trip yet in about 2 weeks and want to cover all the bases.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[PopUpSteve]

I believe AAA will cover you but check your plan to make sure.

 

[NLB]

My State Farm trailer coverage includes roadside, theft, fire, towing. Cost is $130 per year.
(Full disclosure; they also cover some of my cars, and homeowners.)
I have found rates at Good Sam, and USAA higher.
(And I have a vehicle also insured by USAA but they won’t write homeowners here in Florida).

 

[Anthony Hitchings]

AAA for both

 

[jmkay1]

When I first got my camper I discovered myAAA did not have an RV coverage in my state but other nearby states seemed to have it. Didn’t understand that myself. I ended up going to Good Sam at the time. Sadly times got tough and had to let it laps And haven’t looked back into it, I should though.

 

[Snow]

One thing to know is AAA/CAA don't provide rv service in all areas..

 

[Everett Bartlett]

A little story about about break down service. Up in Virgin Valley, NV a number of years back some folks came in with a motor home that broke the springs on the rear axle of the unit. When it broke it took out a bunch of the systems on that side of the rig, including taking out the bottoms of several drawers including there eating hardware. AAA would not come out from Winnemucca to get them because they were 140 miles from town, and back in 10 miles on a county gravel rd. Good Sam sent a easy load trailer out from Reno 450 miles one way to pick up the rig and hauled it back to Reno for repair.
Check your policy and make sure that your covered for where you go.

P.S. Virgin Valley is in the Sheldon Antelope Refuge in the North West NV.

 

[vagov]

You need AAA plus extra charge for rv plus.

 

[Everett Bartlett]

As i said be very careful what you use, Some of the companys will not go off the pavement. This includes county, state gravel roads. I know that some will not put a wheel onto dirt, and if they cant reach you with a cable, they will leave you sitting. The only one that will get you anywhere is the Good Sam club. This is not a advert for them because I think that they charge too much. For AAA check with a tow driver, not the sales people.

 

[Snow]

Actually for me Goodsams plus the exchange rate is cheaper by about $8 over what CAA charges for what I feel is inferior service.. CAA won't provide towing services for a utility trailer.

 

[nancylc]

Hello,
Didn't find a Roadside Assistance thread since 2017.
Our Forest River plan is about to expire. Thinking about switching to Good Sam.
I have AAA for the tow vehicle but have to check as I do not think it covers the camper.
What do you guys use in case of flat tire, towing, or in the worst case an accident involving your trailer / camper?

Leaving for our longest trip yet in about 2 weeks and want to cover all the bases.

Thanks,
Sean

AAA won’t come to most parts of Arizona, Colorado. I know this bc we just had a flat on my pup, at 1230 night on the side of the road with my two children and two dogs.

 

[Novicenomads]

Thanks for the replies.

After some research one of the primary complaints of Good Sam is they take forever and people end up calling AAA. I upgraded my AAA account to include the camper.
Our trip is to the Adirondacks in NY.
Hopefully we won't even need it.

 

[Snow]

I have actually had really fast service from Goodsams, since they don't actually contract any specific company, if the first company can't get there in a timely fashion the get a second tow company..

 

[Sjm9911]

Where up there are you headed?
I had good sam, they kept sending me stuff to upgrade. TBH, have no idea if it was a renewing policy or if its paid up. Because of the constant upseeling and things that look like bills for the upgraded service, I just toss or ignore what they send me now.

 

[Sjm9911]

Ok , just checked and its still good , lol. My card says expired in 2020.

 

[Novicenomads]

Where up there are you headed?
I had good sam, they kept sending me stuff to upgrade. TBH, have no idea if it was a renewing policy or if its paid up. Because of the constant upseeling and things that look like bills for the upgraded service, I just toss or ignore what they send me now.

Rollins Pond, Cranberry Lake and Lake Harris. 4 nights at each.

 

[Sjm9911]

Nice.

 

[kitphantom]

It seems that whether AAA/RV or Good Sam is better can depend on the contractors in any specific area. Also, check to see if AAA offers the RV add-on in your area.
For a while, when I was driving solo back and forth from NM to OH, I carried both. Right now, I just have AAA/RV.
With our first popup, so probably a dozen years ago, I had a blow out an hour out of Albuquerque. I didn't have the RV add-on, but we could have paid extra for a call-out. After 45 minutes, AAA still didn't know "if they even had anyone to respond". By that time, I'd managed to get hold of my husband, who came to our rescue. (My friend and I grabbed what we needed out of the camper, went home to get a tent to do the trip, and left my husband to deal with the camper.) On that trip, we talked to a ranger at North Rim who had waited 8 hours somewhere on the road in AZ for a tire call-put. Last time I needed a battery call, in town, it took 2+ hours.
When we had a bearing go on the TT on a Sunday morning, 20 or so minutes on the road from Alamosa, CO, we called a tow company directly. We had the map from the KOA we'd stayed in the night before, with the tow company's ad on it. We were able to stop in a parking lot in a tiny town, we had to unhook so my husband could drive to get cell service. The tow company was great, storing our trailer overnight until the repair shop they recommended opened the next morning. We threw supplies into our truck to stay in one of the KOA cabins, and the shop had us on the way by late afternoon.
I've heard of some who just use the smartphone and search close to where they are having issues. Given the wide-open space we go, that's not always an option, but it did work for us that time.

 

[tfischer]

My TV came with 'free' roadside assistance that also covers a trailer. We used it once when we had a trailer tire blowout and didn't have a jack with us.

I don't know if they would tow the trailer somewhere, I kind of doubt it. I consider that (hopefully small) risk something I can self-insure for.