Roadside Assistance

[Todd&Donna]

So.... We've been living in our MH since April, but pretty "stable".....
1 1/2 months at a mobile home park, then at a campground as a "seasonal"

Now we're looking at hitting the road.....
Figuring we ought to get RV oriented Roadside Assistance

Any thoughts on Good Sam Roadside versus AAA?

The Good Sam looks pretty good.....
but, don't know if it lives up to its promises, and AAA is so well established and well known

Really appreciate people's thoughts, experiences, opinions, etc


Thanks
Todd & Donna

 

[Gizmo]

There have been some who have had poor service from Good Sam and others who have had good service. Personally, I would go with Coach-Net, they seem to have a much higher rate of positive reviews than the others. Coach-Net in addition to the typical roadside assistance also can offer some over the phone tech help for RV related issues.

 

[Todd&Donna]

There have been some who have had poor service from Good Sam and others who have had good service. Personally, I would go with Coach-Net, they seem to have a much higher rate of positive reviews than the others. Coach-Net in addition to the typical roadside assistance also can offer some over the phone tech help for RV related issues.

Thanks! Never heard of Coach-Net....
Will definitely have to look into them!
Do you know how their price compares to Good Sam & AAA?

 

[ChasA]

Coach-Net. Excellent service. They know what RVs are and can get you the appropriate service.
RV service through AAA. Forget it, it's not available all over the country.
Good Sam. Owned by a snake, wouldn't trust.

 

[darsben]

The problem with AAA is that it is an association of clubs some of which do not offer RV roadside to their memebrs in their service area, While AAA will get you service in those areas they will not have developed as extensive network of facilities to do towing or other service on your motor home
Good Sam has served me well BUT I READ THE CONTRACT and understand the terms. SOME People do not understand what they are buying and get upset when the service does not or cannot help them.
Also be prepared to wait longer than you may like to get service. The companies (no matter which) are going to shop for the lowest price even if the the wait for you is longer. If you are the kind of person who is inpatient this may be an unacceptable thing for you.
Good sam is about $80.00 bucks (on Sale) right now but you have to agree to autorenewal. You may cancel the auto-renewal almost immediately with no penalty but they are counting on you to forget so do not.
Coach net $250.00

 

[Larry N.]

Todd, many folks find AAA inadequate for RVs, since they are automobile oriented and are apparently a series of associated clubs with rules/coverages that vary from state to state.

I've been using Coach Net for many years, and their tech support folks (24/7 techs for phone help) and helping me find other types of services (not covered by them, but needed by me) have been as valuable to me as their actual road service where they pay for assistance. I've not yet needed towing my RV, but have used CN several times.

Opinions vary, as Gizmo says, about GS, CN, etc. but there have been many threads on the subject and, in addition to whatever responses you get here, a search of this site for "roadside assistance" should bring up a lot of previous discussion.

 

[msw3113]

Highly recommend Coach Net. Cost is $169/yr for motorhome.
We've had it since 2018 and the subscription has paid for itself every year. It even covers other vehicles in our household.

 

[Alaskansnowbirds]

I'm another Coach Net fan.

Had a base plate on our Ford Ranger break which poked a hole in the Ranger's radiator. Called CN and they not only got a tow for the Ranger but asked which direction we were traveling so they towed it to a Ford dealer in the direction we were traveling. They then called the tow bar company and found out if they had any dealers in the area. They then arranged to have a new base plate shipped to that dealer. The Ford dealer had us back on the road by 5pm and the RV dealer where the base plate was sent stayed open until we got there and supplied us with electric for the night. The base plate arrived about noon the next day and was installed that afternoon.

I'm assuming CN had some pull that got us into the Ford dealer the same day and also getting us into the RV dealer to get the base plate installed the next day.

I got a call the next day from CN to ask if everything turned out OK.

I also used them once for a flat on outside dual on MH. Service truck showed up within a half hour.

 

[darsben]

Highly recommend Coach Net. Cost is $169/yr for motorhome.
We've had it since 2018 and the subscription has paid for itself every year. It even covers other vehicles in our household.

Can you show me where I can get the motorized RV plan for $169.00 the coach-net site always tries to get $249.00 from me I cannot find a lower price alternative for a motor home. For $169.00 I really will consider switching

 

[LarsMac]

I have been with AAA for damn-near EVER.
I signed up with them back when I was driving a Tow Truck in Florida back in the 70s.
And over the years, I've never had a problem with their service. But most of that time I was driving autos, not RVs.
The RV option for AAA does have limits on service, and there are areas where they have limited or no coverage.

While Coach-net is twice the annual cost of AAA RV option, They have far better service coverage than AAA.

 

[msw3113]

Can you show me where I can get the motorized RV plan for $169.00 the coach-net site always tries to get $249.00 from me I cannot find a lower price alternative for a motor home. For $169.00 I really will consider switching

$169 is the figure I see when I go to my "renew subscription" page on Coach-Net's site.
If this figure is incorrect for new subscribers, I apologize for the misinformation.
Coach-Net phone number is 1-877-801-0333.
PM sent to Mr. Darsben

 

[JudyJB]

First year of CoachNet is $250, but it goes down substantially for second and further years. I know this because I forgot to renew last year and had to pay the new subscriber fee for this past year. Renewal will be at $169 price shown.

I have used them many times and have been very pleased. It does take a little longer to get an appropriate tow truck, but I don't want someone who is used to jacking up cars to try to jack up my 14,500 lb motorhome! Also, I had a blowout and then a dead battery on a Father's Day Sunday when all the truck places were closed. CoachNet sent someone to change the tire and got permission for me to spend the night in a nearby Home Depot parking lot, sent a second bigger tow truck, called me several times that night and the next morning to make sure I was OK, and sent another tow truck in the morning to take me to a truck repair place. They had called ahead to make sure it had the right replacement battery and the correct tire to sell me!! You would NEVER get AAA to do that. I ended up with three tow trucks for that event--one to change the tire, a really big one to tow me half a mile to Home Depot, and another big truck to tow me to the truck repair place the next morning. Total bill I saw, but did not pay, was $1,300--so I got my money's worth for several years for that one incident.

The important thing is that they take you somewhere appropriate with no limit on distance that I know of.

Also, when you first join, they take down all the info on your motorhome so that when you have trouble, they can serve you better. Also, they have a technical help line that has also helped me solve problems without needing a tow or service call.

 

[TheBar]

You should Google reviews of RV assistance programs. That will give you a better idea of what things are covered by different companies. Like this 6 Best RV Roadside Assistance Plans In 2021: Comparison & Review

 

[Laura & Charles]

Another CoachNet fan here. Not many shops are willing to work on our engine so, when needed, having them locate one and then tow us there (with no mileage limit and no copay) has been super reassuring. And, as others have said, just being able to phone them for help locating resources is great. Coverage for our toad is included in the package.
Their primary concern is making sure your situation is safe for you.
Have had CN from day one and used their services multiple times and have zero complaints.

 

[Todd&Donna]

Highly recommend Coach Net. Cost is $169/yr for motorhome.
We've had it since 2018 and the subscription has paid for itself every year. It even covers other vehicles in our household.

You should Google reviews of RV assistance programs. That will give you a better idea of what things are covered by different companies. Like this 6 Best RV Roadside Assistance Plans In 2021: Comparison & Review

Absolutely going to do that -- Google the reviews-
but really hoping to hear people's real world experiences here

 

[TheBar]

Keep in mind some individual experiences may have been 20 years ago. Companies have been sold or merged so they aren't the same company now. Even corporate restructuring could mean a big change in 1 year. Also consider Good Sam and Allstate are in partnership now. Theoretically that adds to the number of phone operators and extends their provider network, or the opposite could be true although that would seem less likely. Coverage also varies widely by region. Good response in the northwest could be terrible in the southeast.

 

[Kirk]

Like this 6 Best RV Roadside Assistance Plans In 2021: Comparison & Review

I just read that article and would point out a couple of things. The first is that the site is one by a couple of RV folks looking to generate income and after looking at several of their "best of" pages, I didn't find any that I'd completely agree with and highly suspect that their experience is quite limited. I would bet you that there are many on these forums who can give you much better advice.

The second point I will make is that they do not even list some of the best known road-services out there. I will start with Coach-Net but there are several others. Continental Car Club is one that is used by many of the major insurance underwriters, yet they are not mentioned. The same is true for the road-services of FMCA & Escapees. If all of the advice from that site is of the quality of what I looked at, I suggest that you look farther.

I have used both Good Sam and Coach-Net and also observed the results of both services at an RV rally where excessive rain caused a lot of people to use whatever service they had. Based on that I would have to give the clear edge to Coach Net, even though I have since shifted to Escapees Roadside Service though Safe-Ride. Since we no longer own a class A and are back to part-time RVing I changed mostly for the cost savings. Up to now the reports are pretty good, but you do have to be a member of Escapees RV Club to join it. Thus far I have not needed their services.

 

[darsben]

Absolutely going to do that -- Google the reviews-
but really hoping to hear people's real world experiences here

The problem with Googling reviews is that people dissatisfied (rightly or not) tend to post scathing reviews. People satisfied usually do not.
I would suggest and I follow this plan. Read the contracts carefully then pick one of them and as long as you get good service (within the terms of the contract) stick with that company.
Anyone can get bad service from any provider for many reasons. READ THE CONTRACT FIRST!
Also be prepared to wait for service while the service company tries to find a good fit for your problem
Fit equals price first, length of wait second. They are after all trying to make a profit.

 

[Todd&Donna]

You are absolutely right about the limits of reviews - tend to skew negative.

Here's the thing for us.... Budget & $$s!
Coach- Net sounds great, but almost twice as expensive as Good Sam....
That is a real factor!

 

[darsben]

You are absolutely right about the limits of reviews - tend to skew negative.

Here's the thing for us.... Budget & $$s!
Coach- Net sounds great, but almost twice as expensive as Good Sam....
That is a real factor!

Worse right now
Good Sam is $79.00 for first year (with auto renew)
Coachnet is $249.00
over three time as much
After the first year the price is the same