Emergency Roadside Assistance adventures

robgendreau

Explorer
Since this is where we discuss what happens when we break down, I thought it might be the appropriate place to post some info I found regarding emergency roadside assistance, which for most of us is towing.

I was a member of the Northern California/Utah AAA. And I have a Sportsmobile, an E250 weighing in at about it's GVWR of 8700 lbs. With a fridge (turns out to AAA that's important).

I had a friend who blew his tranny between Hawthorne and Mammoth Lakes, so we had to get a tow. We learned a lot.

First he tried State Farm, which offers towing as part of his RV insurance (duallie with fifth wheel). Turns out they contract with an outfit in Miami, as do many of the companies offering towing. Big pain; they'd tow him to the nearest repair shop. In Mammoth. But a call to the repair shops nearby revealed they had never worked on his tranny, and basically it seemed rather beyond their capabilities. Tough luck, in sum, said the towing company. My friend said he wouldn't even require them to tow the trailer, and that they should tow him about 100 miles to the nearest tranny shop in Gardnerville. Nope.

We then turned to AAA. A friend with us had a card, and they said since it was RV+ coverage they'd tow 100 miles anywhere he wanted. Success! Turns out that the service you pay for with AAA runs with the cardholder, not the card, unlike some towing benefits that exist as part of your vehicle insurance. AAA's term explicitly INCLUDE duallies, so the guy came, they got it up the ramp, and good to go. The RV+ also covers motorcycles and trailers.

So we got to thinking, and a group of us began comparing our coverages. I called, and was told my camper van WAS NOT covered by my AAA Premiere membership. Well, I asked, how 'bout adding RV+? No dice said NorCal AAA, we only offer that in Utah. ?? I explained that I knew other NorCal AAAers who had their vans towed. So they checked; they asked if it had a fridge (yes, but NOT propane). I gave them the weight; the AAA person said it was over one ton (I guess she confused cargo capacity and gross weight). Verdict? no tow. I went around and around with others at NorCal via email and phone (they take forever getting back to you) and was variously told it wasn't an RV but not eligible, or was an RV and therefore wasn't eligible. Never could find anything in writing that specified whether it was or wasn't covered. The website said they offer $300 in reimbursement to NorCal AAAers for RV towing (that doesn't get you far, BTW), but was told my van maybe now isn't an RV. Sigh. Given this lack of assurance, I bailed on them.

But it turns out each AAA branch has it's own policies. And you can join other AAAs. So I joined SoCal AAA (I got the name of an agent down there, Rob Sara, and he contacted me immediately and gave me more specific info in one phone call than all the NorCal AAA droids I talked to in two weeks; contact info below). I got the RV+ coverage for the van and it cost less than what I was paying in NorCal. The downside is that when you call a dispatcher, you get the SoCal person, and it will likely take them more time to find a tow if I break down in NorCal. But for us, BFD: we're probably most gonna need this outside our home area anyway. Some language in their terms of service seems to say they'd only reimburse you for tows outside your home area, but he said that's not what SoCal AAA does anymore.

We also compared this with another member's Good Sam coverage. They run their coverage with vehicles. So even if you aren't with your ride, the relative who is can use the coverage. Different than AAA. They tow with their best package to a facility that can fix your rig, if it's an RV. The irony here is that the dude with this coverage had a Class A bus; he'd get towed farther than any of us without extra charge, and by a specialized wrecker, because in the boonies there aren't that many shops that can even get one of those beasts on a rack. Life ain't fair. I was informed by a guy who worked in the industry that Good Sam contracts through Miami as well, and it can take them longer than AAA to dispatch a tow. But their coverage extends to basically all the vehicles you own, and unlike my NorCal AAA they were very transparent about their terms.

We delved a bit deeper into the terms. There are sometimes some interesting exclusions, like "forest roads" or snowbanks with some companies. Or modified vehicles (eg your rig is too tall to carry on the flatbed sent to rescue it). Some, like SoCal AAA, explicitly mention extrication/winching; they will pull you out if you're one a normal road. Some limit that service to the use of only a certain number of wreckers.

A point to remember is that the person who shows up with the tow vehicle has some say; one Sportsmobiler was refused because he was at the height/weight limit of the tow vehicle. But the guys who show also wanna make some money from the tow, so they may be much more flexible than the terms of your policy might suggest. But as in my case with NorCal AAA, I don't wanna run that risk.

So I'd recommend you take a look at your ERS terms of service and maybe verify that you're gonna get what you paid for if an emergency happens. And compare the coverages; some things like trip insurance and other benefits (pet transport!) are now covered with ERS as well.

If you're interested in AAA, as I said the fellow in SoCal I dealt with was very helpful:
Rob Sara
Sara.Rob@aaa-calif.com
714-734-4476

Good luck, and hope you never need it.
 

Jr_Explorer

Explorer
That is a well written, extremely interesting AND informative post! Thanks. I subscribed as I'm sure I'll never find it when I need it.
 

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
great info...
I have AAA in Arizona and when I had my Sportsmobile it was covered by Farmers Insurance.
Never any tow issues and great service.
Thanks for prompting me to look deeper into my coverage just in case.
 

Guri

Explorer
My disable truck experience.

My three month old Toyota Tundra didn't start in the morning when I was supposed to go back home from the campground with my 17 ft. Toy Hauler.

I called Toyota to come and pick up my Tundra (part of the new car service). No problem but they will not cover the tow trailer. Since I know that I have RV assistance with AAA.

That morning my wife left early from the campground in her car to go to work. When I was ready to warm-up my truck it wouldn't start. I had bad luck because I had no telephone service at the campground, I had to walk to the top of the mountain and then I had a little service. So I call my wife, she was in town working, and she called AAA. The lady who tried to assist my wife with the problem asked: “What is wrong with the trailer?” My wife said, nothing, the problem is the tow vehicle is disabled, the operator said: “well, sorry if nothing is wrong with the trailer I can't assist to you”… but… but… do you understand that the tow vehicle is not able to tow the trailer at home, and the assistant said “yes”, but if nothing is wrong with the trailer I can't help you, sorry. At that moment I had my two kids, my dog, my truck and trailer with me and no phone service(unless I went to the top of the mountain). My wife was working and she did the best she could with AAA and AAA wasn't very cooperative. I call a good friend and he was able to go and pick up my trailer at the campground, fortunately for me I was only 80 miles from home :)

Later in, I realize that my truck had a problem because the dealer installed an aftermarket alarm (before I bought my brand new Tundra) and the connection came loose and killed the power of the whole truck.

The next day (more relaxed, with kids, dog, and camper at home) I called AAA and the operator (In California) told me that I was in my right to get service, he apologized and told me: “If you find that the assistance is wrong, hang-up and call again”.

My conclusion is: “The coverage always depends of the dispatcher in charge”

Is not the picture you want for your truck :-( But any way no to bad, it's the first time in ten yeas that I need assistance and be tow to the dealer.

.IMG_4529.JPG
 
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Antichrist

Expedition Leader
I've always just paid out of pocket.
I've so seldom needed a tow in the last 40 years, 4 times I think, that I'd have paid a lot more in premiums than in tow fees.
Now that I've said that, I'm sure I'm screwed.
 

robgendreau

Explorer
Tom, self-insurance might be a decent idea. But the overages for my friend's tow in Mammoth Lakes were $7/mile. That would eat up 7 years of SoCal AAA RV+ service ($700). So you'd still be ahead, even if you needed a max tow of 100 miles each time. And again, check your insurance policy. It's often included and you may not need to pay anything extra for that. Dealing with the State Farm contractor in Miami was a PITA, but they did seem to get a good rate on the towing. Might be that the insurance would pay for some and you pay for some, but still get a better rate than just calling a wrecker.
 

LR Max

Local Oaf
I've had my 109 towed a few times by AAA.

When they ask, I say it is a 1993 Defender 110. Its in their database, so they know what to do. Also stay vague.

If you have a pickup truck, don't tell them it has crap in the back. They won't come get you due to being "overweight". Just FYI.

I don't have RV's or trailers, etc so AAA has been good to me. I use AAA North Carolina. They've bailed me out as I've had a few pickles. Also this year I've used them to simply get my rig to the shop. When you are on a schedule, having a rollback come at 7:30am and take it to the shop for you is extremely convenient.

If you want a rollback, inform them that you have tire trouble and 3 out of 4 of your tires aren't road worthy. I actually had this happen to me, in the span of 3 miles three out of four of my tires experienced broken belts. I said I needed a rollback because my car couldn't roll on its own.

Just because you have a front recovery point doesn't mean they have the brain power to use it. Out of the six times I've had my truck towed in the past 2 years, only once have they used the shackle hanging off the front bumper.
 

BillTex

Adventurer
Yes AAA are independant Clubs, each with their own guidelines. Here in New England there is no RV coverage. I did not know that untill I called them and started asking some very specific questions a few years back.
Because we tow (AirStream) or haul (TC) we would be out of luck if we needed assistance...in New England.

Some AAA regions ("clubs") do offer RV coverage, and you would be covered-in that region.
If you happen to travel oustide of a AAA region that offers RV coverage...well...good luck.

When we started towing/hauling and travelling greater distances across this beautiful country-we left AAA and joined Good Sam.

We have NOT needed asistance when we have had an RV behind us...but my Wife did use GS twice for her sedan (pot hole= broken wheel, accident) and the response was fairly quick. So no complaints with GS.
In fact, they seem to have less exclsuions than AAA.

We will be sticking with GS.

As the OP mentioned...you should check your policy and be sure of what is covered. It may not meet your expectation.

B
 

robgendreau

Explorer
Just to clarify, if you do get RV+ from AAA they will at least reimburse you for towing in other areas. The key to call your local AAA where you are a member; if you just call the AAA office where you're at you're maybe SOL. They do a super poor job of explaining all this (again, with the exception of SoCal AAA), and you have to consider if you'd trust them.

Good Sam even has a ERS subforum over on rv.net if you want to ask questions; they're very responsive They oughta be, they're the rv.net title sponsor. I asked about SMBs; Good Sam covers them as RVs (they have a car ERS as well, and camper vans would NOT be covered under that).
 

BillTex

Adventurer
Just to clarify, if you do get RV+ from AAA they will at least reimburse you for towing in other areas. The key to call your local AAA where you are a member; if you just call the AAA office where you're at you're maybe SOL. They do a super poor job of explaining all this (again, with the exception of SoCal AAA), and you have to consider if you'd trust them.

Good Sam even has a ERS subforum over on rv.net if you want to ask questions; they're very responsive They oughta be, they're the rv.net title sponsor. I asked about SMBs; Good Sam covers them as RVs (they have a car ERS as well, and camper vans would NOT be covered under that).

Keep in mind...if you are trying to get RV coverage from AAA...you will have to buy it from one of the clubs that supports it (as you noted above-you had to go to AAA Socal). I was not even able to purchase RV coverage from the New England AAA-they offer no such option.
 

G35Vortec454

Adventurer
When I bought my 26ft motorhome near Boise Idaho, the motorhome broke down 3 times on my way home to Phoenix, Az. With my RV+, I had AAA each time tow it to the nearest Autozone, where I did the repair.
 

psykokid

Explorer
FWIW a few years ago we were camping up just south of Lassen National Park near Chester and my wife's uncles suburbans power steering packed it in with an RV in tow just as we hit pavement . They had the foresight to add the RV+ to their SoCal AAA coverage. They explained the situation to the CSR representative and they sent out a flat bed to tow the burb as well as hook up the RV and drive it down the mountain from Chester to the Chevrolet dealer in Chico. I think a lot of it depends on the CSR you are talking to. If all else fails escalate the call to their supervisor and see if you cant come to an acceptable resolution that way.
 

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