AAA vs Good Sam RV Emergency Protection

[dfchelbay]

It's time to renew again and was wondering if one was better than the other. Does anyone have Good Same Emergency Road Service for their RV, or AAA RV Emergency Services.

What are the positives and negatives of each. If you had to choose, which one would you choose? We currently have both and really only need one. Just trying to decide which one is a better choice. I'd like to especially hear from those who have had to use the emergency services. Was is totally covered, or did you pay something out of pocket? What have you found to be something you thought would be within your plan, but was not covered. Did you have to pay first and wait to be reimbursed, etc. Thanks in advance for all your help/suggestions.

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

We bought the Good Sam membership when we first got our RV. Luckily, we never had to use it. My biggest complaint was all the junk mails and emails that I continually received from them. When our membership was about to expire, I called AAA and asked about their RV policy. Since we were already AAA members, we didn't have to pay much to add the RV membership. The one thing I remember them telling me is that AAA will tow your vehicle to the place of your choice not to exceed 100 miles (I think). I think Good Sam will only tow your vehicle to the closest place. I'm sure there were other pluses for AAA, but I can't remember them right now.

 

[mnsprk]

Had AAA for our first MH and they couldn't provide any one 30 miles West of Indianapolis or in Peoria Illinois for a tire change. Paid for one year and then dropped them.

Now have coverage with Progressive and also through RT 66 Network, luckily we haven't needed them so we'll see how they do if the need arises.

 

[Disneylitch]

We have towing on our standard Rv/car insurance.

 

[Disney John]

I have had very good luck with Allstate RV Roadhelp. about $90 bucks a year and gives you 1 year of KOA club included. Had to use them twice and both times were fast responses.

http://www.koa.com/rvroadhelp/

 

[becky1960]

We had the opportunity to use AAA RV towing service last fall and had to have Rv towed. AAA informed us there was a Portal to Portal cost that they didnt cover that cost was $ 150.00 per hour no matter what the distance. That charge cost us about $ 400.00 to tow about 10 miles..

 

[retired and happy]

We have Good Sam and unfortunately have used them several times in the past few years. Always good service except the time they sent someone who didn't have a wrench to change a tire. Waited nearly an hour for him. Then they sent out someone else and we only waited 15 minutes. A couple of times we had to have two tows for one occasion, which was done with no problem. And a couple of tows were for around 50 miles. Overall we're very satisfied.

 

[tlh0726]

We have Good Sam and unfortunately have used them several times in the past few years. Always good service except the time they sent someone who didn't have a wrench to change a tire. Waited nearly an hour for him. Then they sent out someone else and we only waited 15 minutes. A couple of times we had to have two tows for one occasion, which was done with no problem. And a couple of tows were for around 50 miles. Overall we're very satisfied.

Sorry that you had to use the service but glad to hear that you were satisfied. We too have Good Sam.

 

[des1954]

We have AAA for the RV. We had to use them one time years ago when an older "fixer-upper" died on us. Fortunately, there was a towing company close by that had the equipment to tow a MH and we didn't wait too long.

We have the AAA Plus - not basic AAA - and supposedly, they guarantee they will find someone to tow your RV. You might have to wait a long time before one arrives, but they guarantee it. The company that towed ours was one that was equipped to tow buses and large equipment. Those types of businesses aren't on every street corner - no matter what road service company you go with.

 

[gmflanigan]

We have always had Good Sam. We have used it to be towed to a campgroud then put in contact with a repair service to contact on Monday. We have also had them send someone to the side of the road when we lost a hose. Had to wait for more than an hour because it was on Sunday but they got us going and we got to the campground. Then DH spent 2 days fixing the original problem--we were at the campground and went back and forth to the local parts dealer. Overall, Good Sam would be my pick.

 

[steve47c]

I worked in the heavy duty towing industry for a number of years. Not only did I actually tow the vehicles, but I also worked on the sales end of the industry.

Most of the companies listed above, contract with the same tow services. So whether you have GS, AAA, or Coachnet in a particular service area they will likely contact the same tow company to provide the service. Not every tow company has heavy duty service, so the companies providing the road service contract are somewhat limited and cannot always hold the heavy duty towers to high standards. In areas that have one or two heavy duty towers, they are at the mercy of the tower who may not have the best customer service.

Another problem is the amount the road service company pays the towers for service. They typically are on the very low end of the spectrum. When it comes to which call a tower will handle first, a motor club is almost always last. When a tow driver is on commission, he may not be very happy to provide service for a fraction of what he would make doing a normal paying call.

Read the contracts carefully, consider what is listed as your responsibility. It can get expensive when you have to pay for response time, particularly if you are in an area far from the service provider. The closest repair facility can be the absolute worst, so give that consideration. Consider where you travel the most, and what contract best suits those circumstances.

Unfortunately, you can have a bad experience with any road service company.

 

[kimber23ks]

we are new RVers so please forgive if I seem out of touch...we have AAA for our autos and did get RV insurance that has coverage for "towing and labor"...do you still need additional road service "just in case"...

Kim

 

[clkelley]

I have Good Sam and have used the service a couple of times. Once was when I ran out of gas, the other was an actual towing situation. My previous truck blew a radiator hose on a Sunday afternoon. Sent two trucks. One took me and my camper to the closest campground and the other took my truck to a repair place. The next morning, the repair place picked me up from the campground to finalize fixing my truck and everything worked out great.

I was a regular AAA member before that and was paying about $75 a year for all four of us. When I asked about uprading it would have been $165 a year to add the camper. Good Sam is 109 a year for all four cars and the camper. I kept a single AAA membership for $47 a year just for the Disney resort discounts.

 

[steve47c]

we are new RVers so please forgive if I seem out of touch...we have AAA for our autos and did get RV insurance that has coverage for "towing and labor"...do you still need additional road service "just in case"...

Kim

Kim,

Most insurance companies will reimburse you for your expenses less deductible with a receipt. Typically, the towing company will want their payment up front and it is your responsibility to follow up with a claim.

That being said, there are some insurance companies that actually contract with the road service companies so that you get similar services through them. In that case you would not have to pay up front and the whole claim would be handled for you.

It is worth a call to your agent or insurance company to find out how a breakdown/tow would be handled, and exactly what your coverages are.

Good luck, Steve

 

[3gr8kids]

I had AAA just for our cars up until last month. AAA does not offer RV towing in Massachusetts so I had to switch. Have you looked at coachnet? They are GS's biggest competitor & came highly recommended on other camping sites. They cover you & your spouses cars, rv, & trailers for $110 a year. That's less than I payed AAA just for me & my wifes cars to be covered.

Sent you a pm

 

[LarryJ]

It's time to renew again and was wondering if one was better than the other. Does anyone have Good Same Emergency Road Service for their RV, or AAA RV Emergency Services.

What are the positives and negatives of each. If you had to choose, which one would you choose? We currently have both and really only need one. Just trying to decide which one is a better choice. I'd like to especially hear from those who have had to use the emergency services. Was is totally covered, or did you pay something out of pocket? What have you found to be something you thought would be within your plan, but was not covered. Did you have to pay first and wait to be reimbursed, etc. Thanks in advance for all your help/suggestions.

I've had AAA for like 20 years (the plus version) and had the RV endorsement, but when I got our current trailer it came with a year of CoachNet and after doing some research I decided to keep the CoachNet and drop the RV part of the AAA so now I have both CoachNet and AAA Plus.

Here are my reasons which I think a valid, but maybe not:

1. CoachNet is nationwide and knows what to send since it's designed around RVs and protects your RV and TV both.

2. AAA is mainly an auto towing type setup and have read many, many horror stories of them sending completely inadequate equipment and I blame that on the AAA people communicating with the tow company.

3. AAA membership is thru one of the nine regional clubs which are state based and I think I have heard of some of the regions not even offering the RV endorsement so if you have a problem in another region you might be out of luck.

4. With what I have now and I've never used it for an RV related problem I would use CoachNet to get my TT and TV to a safe place like a CG and then I would decide where I wanted my TV say fixed and then use the AAA to get it to where I wanted it repaired.

5. The AAA does get you discounts like at FW and other places so it's good for that at least.

6. All this is just like insurance ... it costs me around $200/year and just like Vehicle and Homeowners Insurance I hope I never have to use it, but have it for just the insurance reason.

Larry

 

[CCIntrigue]

Recommend CoachNet. Have been very satisfied with their service. AAA won't handle our coach plus flatbed trailer.