AAA, Good Sam, etc...

NCJeeplover

NCJeeplover

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Location
Claremont, NC
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with any of these services with what we do. I have older tow rigs and generally carry enough tools to do most any roadside fix, but it would be nice to have the peace of mind that I could get towed if needed.

Do they cover trailer towing even though its not an rv? What if the tow rig has a slide in the bed camper? I would hate to buy something and go to use it just to have a technicality screw it up.
 
It's towing insurance. Comes with a lot of stipulations and fine print. You can always just call a tow truck without paying a yearly membership fee. Do the math and figure out what scenarios you are hedging your bets against.
 
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Good Sam and FMCA seem to be the popular ones. Been looking at some for the RV for our upcoming summer trip. Most only cover towing trailers while using the RV that has issues. I don’t think any cover a car trailer while pulling with your pickup but would if it was pulled by the covered RV.

AAA May be good. But there is no way in hell I’d recommend them, those damn lying, cheatin, thiefs that leave me stranded on the side of the highway. They won’t ever get another penny from me and I recommend anyone else to do your homework with reviews, etc. Did I mention AAA sucks? Since you said you didn’t want to buy something and not have coverage... this was my experience with AAA. I purchased the premium plus coverage or whatever they call it (the best one you could get). I specifically asked if it would cover my SRW F350 crew cab long bed. They said as long as it’s not a dually, this vehicle was covered. It’s not a dually. 4 mo the later alternator craped out on I40. Called for a tow. Nope. They said it wasn’t covered because it was a 1 ton truck, they didn’t care that it was a SRW. Left me stranded on the side of I40 at 10pm. Fawk them. They don’t ever get my $$$. Never again. I’ll pay outright for any towing services needed.
 
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For ‘normal’ people I’m sure AAA works ok. For whatever reason, my in-laws have gifted my wife an annual membership since she started driving. In the 15 years years we’ve been together, think she’s used it once when she ran out of gas and once when she blew a tire and I wasn’t available. The handful of times I’ve tried to use it, apparently I’m the kind of person the stipulations were written for. They don’t seem to want to touch anything large or modified. Beyond that, the few times in the last few years, I just haven’t used one of my own trailers...the tow has always been sub-$200 for the distance I’m going.
 
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A long tow is not cheap. Two years ago we went to Harlan. I was driving my 05 Cummins and hauling my WJ on a trailer. Probably around 17k gross. Broke a ring coming into Harlan on the truck, dropped a cylinder and it went to smoking bad. Might have been able to drive it home but did not want to make it worse or hole a block. Wanted to make sure I could at least rebuild it which I did.

Stupid me then broke an axle on the WJ wheeling. All though I doubt I would have drove it back to NC anyway it would have been a long, slow drive in the WJ. I ended up getting a tow back to NC. He actually hooked to the front of the truck and pulled it and the trailer with my WJ loaded all the way back to Durham, was about $1300 if I recall correctly.

Very few insurance companies would have covered that if any. They would only have covered getting it towed to the local service shop. Would have cost me a lot more to have the engine rebuilt in KY since I did all the labor on it when I rebuilt it.
 
Look into AMA maybe, they might be good to use, I haven't had to use the towing though, its pretty cheap though but I have a membership so I can race as some require it

AMA Roadside Assistance - American Motorcyclist Association

Who’s Eligible?
All AMA members in good standing are eligible for the AMA Roadside Assistance program.* But coverage is not automatic. You must take some simple steps to be covered.

What’s Covered
There are two levels of roadside assistance coverage available through the AMA:

  • Standard AMA Roadside Assistance
  • AMA Roadside Assistance Plus
For details, see additional terms below, but in general here are how the programs differ.

Standard AMA Roadside Assistance includes unlimited service calls a year for covered motorcycles. Up to three service calls a year may be placed for covered non-motorcycle vehicles in your household. Coverage is limited to a total of five vehicles, including motorcycles. Covered vehicles include motorcycles, cars, trucks, trailers and RVs. It does not cover commercial vehicles or commercial trailers.

AMA Roadside Assistance Plus includes unlimited service calls a year for all vehicles registered to your household. It includes motorcycles, cars, trucks, trailers and RVs. It does not cover commercial vehicles or commercial trailers.
 
I've had Premier level coverage for almost 20 years. I spent about an hour on the phone with AAA over the past few weeks trying to throw a dozen different scenarios at them. My questions were regarding RV coverage as upgrading on my account would only be about $60 extra a year, which includes a 200 mile tow plus the other 3, 100 mile tows allotted per year. Two of the reps seemed to be good sports about different vehicle configurations, lengths, weights, classifications, etc. The third rep made me second guess everything the first two had said.

Long story short, dunno if AAA would be able/willing to help with bigger vehicles, trailers, RVs, etc.
 
jeepinmatt said:
It's towing insurance. Comes with a lot of stipulations and fine print. You can always just call a tow truck without paying a yearly membership fee. Do the math and figure out what scenarios you are hedging your bets against.
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I actually have towing on my insurance. I need to check and see if it covers trailers.

rockcity said:
AAA May be good. But there is no way in hell I’d recommend them, those damn lying, cheatin, thiefs that leave me stranded on the side of the highway.
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I've been on the other end of AAA (the vendor end) and know how they work. This doesn't surprise me very much. They TELL you what they'll play and it was around 50% of my normal going rate. If a company gets a call from AAA and they get ANY other call also, AAA is gonna wait.
 
As far as them actually towing, AAA done us good.
When our Honda Ody had the infamous imploding trans imploded 45 minutes from Sevierville TN.
Me: Take us home.
AA & Tow Co.: OK! ... I only had to pay for a 100 miles, but I did have the top Gold Package or whatever.
BUT ---- Use too much and they tell you to hit the bricks. Also happened to us.
We now have Good Sam.
It's OK, But sometimes kinda slow. No dedicated locals. It goes out and whoever grabs the call.
Even with the Premium package, it takes a bit of talking to get it towed home instead of to the closest repair.
They have twice tried to tow to local garages that were either long closed or just tire shops and not capable.

Plus we just have passenger vehicles, soooo ......
 
I've never had to use a towing service, Lucky Me! I think all insurance companies "speak" of towing service, but I think they just reimburse you a set amount. Really haven't looked into it. Same with major credit cards, they "toot" a towing clause. Again, I haven't read the fine print.
 
Check out coach net. May or may not work for OP’s needs.
 
rodney eppes said:
I've never had to use a towing service, Lucky Me! I think all insurance companies "speak" of towing service, but I think they just reimburse you a set amount. Really haven't looked into it. Same with major credit cards, they "toot" a towing clause. Again, I haven't read the fine print.
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State Farm has a towing option. I think it’s $5 a year for all our vehicles. They will reimburse you to $100. Just scan and email them the tow receipt and they send $. Used it twice. Easy.
 
rockcity said:
State Farm has a towing option. I think it’s $5 a year for all our vehicles. They will reimburse you to $100. Just scan and email them the tow receipt and they send $. Used it twice. Easy.
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Farm Bureau is similar. I've used it a few times.

Duane
 
Just curious but whats the main brand leaving everybody stranded?
 
Good Sam is part of Camping World. CW, ironically, is hated in the RV world. Most people that buy or use CW resources either don’t care or is unaware of the general issues around CW.

I rarely, if ever use them. And when I do, it’s for buying parts that I can’t source elsewhere in the time frame I need.
 
rockcity said:
Good Sam is part of Camping World. CW, ironically, is hated in the RV world. Most people that buy or use CW resources either don’t care or is unaware of the general issues around CW.

I rarely, if ever use them. And when I do, it’s for buying parts that I can’t source elsewhere in the time frame I need.
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Aren't all those part of the Marcus 'The Profit' Lemonis conglomerate??? Same dude that bought Gander Mountain, then fought with Mooresville over flying the American flag...then shut down most of the Gander Mountains.
 
rockcity said:
Good Sam is part of Camping World. CW, ironically, is hated in the RV world. Most people that buy or use CW resources either don’t care or is unaware of the general issues around CW.

I rarely, if ever use them. And when I do, it’s for buying parts that I can’t source elsewhere in the time frame I need.
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Even the "mom and pops" are often owned by a huge conglomerates that aren't much better than CW a lot of the time :(
 
rockcity said:
Good Sam is part of Camping World. CW, ironically, is hated in the RV world. Most people that buy or use CW resources either don’t care or is unaware of the general issues around CW.

I rarely, if ever use them. And when I do, it’s for buying parts that I can’t source elsewhere in the time frame I need.
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Screw CW! My worst experience in any kind of dealership was CW. Parts, service, and sales all suck.
 
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