nccamper
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Post by nccamper on May 26, 2019 7:58:17 GMT -8
Do you have any experience with Good Sam, AAA, Allstate? Good? Bad? Ugly?
We have had Allstate for years on our cars. The last time my wife called them we were not impressed.
I have no experience with any of these services while towing a vintage camper.
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roadtripper
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Post by roadtripper on May 26, 2019 20:00:37 GMT -8
We have had 3A for decades. Always good. Last year when we lost a wheel on the trailer in Oregon the couple that had 3A in that area were amazing. They spent literally hours getting us back together and then followed us to our campsite to make sure all was ok. Every other car problem I’ve ever had where they were involved was very good too.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on May 27, 2019 7:18:12 GMT -8
I absolutely hate AAA and wouldn't even consider using them for any of my vehicles much less towing a trailer. My stories are long but to say the least, I have had terrible experiences with them when traveling outside my own area. They have cost me a lot of money and heart ache... My answer is anything but AAA...
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on May 27, 2019 11:17:14 GMT -8
I wondered if the Good Sam network is more camper focused?
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65callie
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Post by 65callie on May 27, 2019 13:19:24 GMT -8
Anything but AAA. We have been sitting on 285 in Atlanta for over 2-1/2 hours. Nothing but incompetence and lying from dispatchers and tow truck driver. Story to follow if we ever get home. Currently towing a new camper not vintage. We have AAA Premier + RV account.
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kudzu
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Post by kudzu on May 27, 2019 16:27:58 GMT -8
Had a 2.5 hour wait with AAA but we were in the middle of no where and they only had one tow service in the area that worked with AAA. That is a lot of the issue. Many service providers in the past few years have quite quit working for them due to low rates and hassles.
Had another issue once where they told us that they couldn't find anyone available in the area. Just left us on our own.
My insurance will pay for towing so I just call someone in the rare case I need it and turn in the bill to the Insurance. My wife insist on keeping AAA but I swear it costs more than we get back from it. They pay for less and less each year. Plus the aggravation when it goes wrong too.
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Post by vikx on May 27, 2019 20:52:33 GMT -8
Good Sam is owned by Camping World. They are in it for the money, honey. Still might be worth checking out...
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jeremiah
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Post by jeremiah on May 28, 2019 4:15:18 GMT -8
We have both AAA and Progressive roadside assistance. We have used both at least 10 times over the years. I can say nothing bad about either of them. They helped us and got us off the road. Even dropped us off at a local motel. 5 star service. Hauling vehicle or vehicle and trailer
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on May 28, 2019 6:35:55 GMT -8
I’ve had AAA since I started driving 50 (omg!) years ago. Never had bad service, although there have been a few hour plus waits. We put our camper and boat on our coverage in May or June depending on when we do our first trip, and take them off again in October. It saves a lot on the coverage, and we get what we need. It was a AAA agent who suggested this, so I was a little impressed.
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on May 28, 2019 6:53:48 GMT -8
Good Sam Towing is owned by Camping World? Interesting. We're hoping to go out west again this summer and the thought of breaking down on a highway 50 miles from a real town worries me. I have visions of the nearest towing service charging us $200 to get to his garage where we are at his mercy to do the repair. With that said, Allstate recently left my wife stranded with a dead battery at an airport parking lot (11pm) by saying "the local towing service under contract with us isn't answering their phone". So I guess we can only break down near a big city during banker's hours?
Thanks Allstate...for nothing
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on May 28, 2019 8:07:51 GMT -8
The best insurance you can have is preventative maintenance. I maintain my vehicles very well so I just don't break down. And when towing I do a complete walk around every time I stop. That has saved me from disaster more than once as shown in some of my videos. I also don't allow my tires to age more than 5 years. That's a biggie... To top it all off I carry a lot of tools with me just in case and they have saved me a few times as well. My auto insurance pays for towing up to $100 and so far the two times I've had to be towed in my life never cost more than $100. Perfect....
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on May 28, 2019 19:20:42 GMT -8
Mobiltec is right, the beat insurance is maintaining a vehicle (or trailer). We have a 1993 VW Eurovan that we can’t bear to part with... original engine will nearly 500k.miles, original transmission and almost ready for its third clutch. But AAA came in handy recently when I somehow picked up a nail in the sidewall. In my younger days I could change a tire, but I’ve graduated from that!
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on May 29, 2019 2:58:08 GMT -8
"AAA came in handy recently when I somehow picked up a nail in the sidewall"
That's the catch...some problems can't be anticipated. A cinder-block in the road, a nail in a tire, tow vehicle electronic ignition failure, etc. With that said, on long trips I carry two full tool boxes and a small jack. But I'm not replacing a clutch at a rest stop in Kansas at 7pm. I'm getting towed to the dealership, dropped off at a Holiday Inn Express and ordering a Pizza.
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65callie
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Post by 65callie on May 29, 2019 7:34:10 GMT -8
Well, we made it home 4-1/2 hours after breaking down on 285 in Atlanta. Anyone who is familiar the area can knows how dangerous that was. But we didn't get hit and made it home with everything intact. The main problem was the AAA dispatcher didn't dispatch the correct equipment, which we caught on the app and corrected them. Then the tow truck was rerouted to an "emergency" which basically means they didn't want to do the job. Then twice the app showed the truck arrived but it was still 1 hour away. Once the tow truck arrived, they were able to load our truck and tow the camper and just deducted 1 tow service from our account. I realize I was expecting too much, but after all the wait time in 100 degree heat with vehicles zooming by at 80mph, we got very frustrated.
We had towing through our State Farm policies but that didn't work our well, several years ago when my husbands work van needed towing, so we went back to AAA.
As far as the vehicle, my husband is a mechanic and always travels with a floor jack, lots of tools, and maintains our vehicles very well. The last time we broke down camping was in 1990 in the Cali desert in 110 degree heat. That time it was two blown tires and we only had one spare. This time it appears to be an 02 sensor problem. Some things just can't be anticipated.
We are just so glad it was on the way home, not on the way to camping. We enjoyed 5 days at Amity Campground on Westpoint Lake. It was a gloriously perfect long weekend.
We are still looking for another vintage camper. The new one we have is nice but just not the same as our 65 and 62 Shastas. I still read all of your posts and appreciate being allowed to stay here while our search continues for our next canned ham.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on May 29, 2019 8:38:58 GMT -8
65callie you can check out any time you like.... But you can never leave...
Glad it all worked out well. You are describing the kind of problems I had with AAA. If I told you my story you would be flat out shocked. I won't go into it now. Perhaps another day but it was so bad that when I finally got home, I walked into my local AAA office and asked to speak to the manager. When the lady said I could say anything to her that I had to say to the manager I laid into her with both barrels and THEN she called the manager out. Not to deal with my problems but to call the police and have me arrested... The police came, I wasn't arrested and I tore my card up right then and there and left the pieces on the floor.
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