One night stuck at the beach

[Campfire RV]

We left the house late Friday night for a quiet weekend camping and fishing on the lake. We made it the lake a little after 9:30 and the lake was much lower than it was just 3 months ago. I drove the motorhome and found a spot near the water so I decided to turn around so our entry door would be facing the water. Unfortunately, when I began going in reverse I felt we had sunk and going no where. I jumped out to take a look and, well the photos say the rest.  :'(

We called our roadside assistance (Good Sam) and they said they got in touch with a tow company and they would be on site in about an hour. We received a call from our insurance around 10:30 with news that the tow truck had broken down on his way to us. They called another company and they said we would have to pay for it being late at night. So we said we would wait for the morning which our insurance said the tow truck would be there at 8am. We had to call our insurance again Saturday morning at 8:30 because no tow truck showed. When we called, Good Sam said we were supposed to call them when we were ready.  ???

Well, we were really becoming annoyed now and Good Sam said they would contact another towing company. While we waited for the call back from them we called our other insurance which we have roadside assistance with as well. The first thing they ask is how far away from the road we were? I said we are less than a 1/4 mile and we can see the road clearly from the RV. They respond back with "We are sorry sir, but if you are more than 20ft from the road we can't provide towing service to you because you don't have off road roadside assistance."  At this point I'm boiling and I yell at the agent and say "Why do I even pay for this service? I will make sure I don't renew this service with you in September! 

Well, Good Sam calls back finally and says the tow truck will be here in about an hour and a half. The tow truck finally arrives around noon (4 hours after we were told last night the truck would be here this morning). The driver informs us our insurance only pays the first two hours and we will be responsible for the additional hour of $250.  we call Good Sam again and they speak with the driver and Good Sam finally decides to pay the entire bill of $750 for a job that took 15 minutes and 2.5 hours drive.

At least Good Sam finally decided to pay the full amount but it was hell dealing with them. After everything was finished and we were out of the hole, we were just fed up with everything and decided to not stay and go home. Well, so much for a fun relaxing weekend at the lake. I was really looking forward to getting out in my kayak again after so long out of it.

Well, that is my story of this past weekend, hopefully our next adventure won't be as stressful.

 

[nvrver]

You said "the photos say the rest", did not see any photos.  Dick nvrver

 

[OLDRACER]

OHHHHHM---OHHHHHHHM---OHHHHHHHM---OHHHHHHHM

You were towed out by noon and  GoodSam paid the whole bill! Can't  beat that, would have been $750 otherwise.

Did you tip the driver?

 

[blw2]

bummer.....
at least you have a story to tell that you'll laugh about.... someday.


I actually imagined a similar thing
Down here where I am in Florida, some of the beaches are open to car traffic.  Folks drive out on the beach, hauling out there chairs and whatever....
My wife and kids love the beach.  me not so much, so it popped into my head once I should drive the RV out there so that I could enjoy the AC &/or the awning while at the beach.
Now I would never seriously consider doing that because of the salt and sand, but I also imagined getting stuck out there and what sort of headache that would be!

 

[Just Lou]

I'm in OLDRACER"S camp on this one.  Driving an RV onto a lake bed that had been under water just three months ago is beyond risky. (Foolish comes to mind.)

I think you were extremely lucky, and have absolutely no one to be "annoyed" or "fed up" with, except yourself.

In my humble opinion, there is at least one insurance company owed a big thank you, one owed an apology, and a driver owed a good tip.

 

[blw2]

I've gotta stick up for campfire rv on this one Lou.  Nothing said he was on the lakebed.... assumption on your part.
and we don't know the local conditions, soil type, wetness or dryness, etc........ surrounding areas might have been dry and hard as pavement for all we know.

 

[Rene T]

I've gotta stick up for campfire rv on this one Lou.  Nothing said he was on the lakebed.... assumption on your part.
and we don't know the local conditions, soil type, wetness or dryness, etc........ surrounding areas might have been dry and hard as pavement for all we know.

And why tip the driver. He was doing his job and probably got paid pretty good where it was the weekend.

 

[Just Lou]

........ surrounding areas might have been dry and hard as pavement for all we know.

I missed the part where he got stuck on ground as hard as pavement.  My bad :

Let's see those promised photos....

 

[Just Lou]

And why tip the driver. He was doing his job and probably got paid pretty good where it was the weekend.

You're right.  My bad, again. :-[  The driver probably doesn't have a family, probably didn't have other plans for HIS Saturday, probably "got paid pretty good" where it was a weekend.

How could the driver possibly deserve a tip for driving two and a half hours to deliver the exact vehicle needed to extract the OP from the lake mud?  What was I thinking

 

[Campfire RV]

Alright, I just updated my original post with the photos which I forgot. Well, there were a few other RV's parked closer the water than we were where we actually got stuck. I have camped at this lake several times each year with my family and we have always parked about 30 feet from the edged of the water with no problems. One thing for sure is we haven't had any rain at this location in a while and the temps have been in the 100's for a few weeks now and in this area the ground dries up quickly.

 

[RobertB]

I never go to the beach without a bucket.

I've seen to many people get stuck on the beach and have helped numerous people out with a bucket of water. 

If you find yourself with wheel slippage.  Stop . Get out. And start hauling water . Pour the water around the tires. (Front and back) . Make yourself a lil runway so you can build up momentum.  Get in the auto and drive. Don't stop till you are back on solid ground.

 

[JudyJB]

I have been told that there are places in Texas where you can camp on the ocean beach.  However, I have never considered doing that after an incident long, long ago in Florida when my future husband and I and another couple that was with us got stuck driving on the beach when we discovered the battery in the car was dead and the tide was coming in.  Just barely got towed out in time.  Was my father's car that we had borrowed, unfortunately, and he did not bother to tell me about the electrical problems and battery that needed replacement. 

Don't want to repeat with a really heavy motorhome.

 

[RobertB]

I have been told that there are places in Texas where you can camp on the ocean beach.  However, I have never considered doing that after an incident long, long ago in Florida when my future husband and I and another couple that was with us got stuck driving on the beach when we discovered the battery in the car was dead and the tide was coming in.  Just barely got towed out in time.  Was my father's car that we had borrowed, unfortunately, and he did not bother to tell me about the electrical problems and battery that needed replacement. 

Don't want to repeat with a really heavy motorhome.

I live on the Gulf coast and can't tell you how many cars we have dug out of the beach. Buy dug out I mean having to use a backhoe to recover a total loss of a vehicle. Just the slight wave action from a calm sea will sink a car up to the windows in the sand at the beach.

 

[NY_Dutch]

You should likely consider yourself pretty fortunate that Good Sam elected to even dispatch a tow truck, much less pay for it,  to your location since "sand beach areas" are specifically excluded under the "Service Limitations" of your ERS subscription benefits.

"Vehicles NOT COVERED by the Good Sam Platinum+
program include but are not limited to:
...
? Vehicles in a repair facility, off-road area*, sand beach
area, or any unattended, unlicensed, or abandoned
vehicles.

(Applies to all level plans)

Member Benefit Brochure

 

[blw2]

I have been told that there are places in Texas where you can camp on the ocean beach.  However, I have never considered doing that after an incident long, long ago in Florida when my future husband and I and another couple that was with us got stuck driving on the beach when we discovered the battery in the car was dead and the tide was coming in.  Just barely got towed out in time.  Was my father's car that we had borrowed, unfortunately, and he did not bother to tell me about the electrical problems and battery that needed replacement. 

Don't want to repeat with a really heavy motorhome.

I was in High School, had an old 1966 Ford Bronco with a homemade chopped top to make it into a pickup truck like thing.  Not a spec of paint on her, 100% primer.  Had the little inline-6 250CI engine. 
No telling how many hundreds of thousands miles on it, The engine was so weak, you could park it on a hill in gear and it would roll down.
Anyway, skipping class one day and drove it out on the beach.
Once I cleared the dunes and reached the soft sand, it nearly bogged down.....barely made it to the wet sand where I had hoped to be able to build some speed..... did but just barely.
I had visions of the tide coming in on me.  Couldn't face Dad 
Didn't dare stop....
about a mile down the beach I think it was and finally had enough speed built back up to dare to cross.  Waited for another pass through the dunes and dashed for it.....
WHAT A RELIEF!!!!!

 

[driftless shifter]

There is a beach in Barnstable MA that even allows Class A on it. The trick is to let a lot of air out of your tires before you get stuck. To see pics google images "motorhome sandy neck beach barnstable ma". Some disastrous results along with nice beach camping.

Bill

 

[Molaker]

I have been told that there are places in Texas where you can camp on the ocean beach.  However, I have never considered doing that after an incident long, long ago in Florida when my future husband and I and another couple that was with us got stuck driving on the beach when we discovered the battery in the car was dead and the tide was coming in.  Just barely got towed out in time.  Was my father's car that we had borrowed, unfortunately, and he did not bother to tell me about the electrical problems and battery that needed replacement. 

Don't want to repeat with a really heavy motorhome.

We used to live near Padre Island, Tx. several years ago.  There was access to the beach and we took our little Dodge class C out on the beach a few times.  Then a group of yahoos with big tire 4WD pickups started chewing up the beach each afternoon after a lot of folks had driven out on it.  Come time to leave, they would nearly always get stuck in the chewed up sand.  There sat 4 or 5 big tire 4WD pickups just waiting to tow them out for $20 a pop.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

Like most of use do here in the state for travelling sandy beach along the river we drop the tire pressures way down like 15-25 PSI it allows you to walk with a wider foot print also prevents you from digging in. Ask around at the beach area you find folks that drive the sand on a daily trips will tell you to drop tire pressures.

But as for taking a RV out on the sand I really don't think that is a good idea. Even as a young kid I remember my Dad taking the Dodge Jamboree out on the beach needless to say he got stuck as well. It all about spread the weight of the vehicle over a wider foot print. Most RV's have narrow tires so they have small catch patch with the ground so it doesn't take much and the ground moves from under the tires and the vehicle sinks.

 

[Campfire RV]

The ground at this lake isn't sand at all, it is all hard dirt which is all we get in our desert lake regions.

 

[Tinmania]

The ground at this lake isn't sand at all, it is all hard dirt which is all we get in our desert lake regions.

The pics look like wet sand or mud and not hard dirt. Perhaps Lou was right: in that it was lakebed, uncovered due to the receding shoreline.

I also agree that you were lucky Good Sam covered it. I didn't think they covered such a thing--and apparently they do not (at least not officially).




Mike