Advice on Break Downs

[jreyn114]

Over 2 weeks starting the weekend of the 4th of July my family and I took a trip with the MH to Charleston SC from Detroit. The trip down was great with a stop at Shawnee State Park in OH for a few days.

We stayed on James Island at a county park. It was a very nice stay and Charleston is a great city. The problem started when we were leaving to head to Myrtle Beach for 4 days. We had snaked a 4 day reservation at Ocean Lakes on the beach.

The problems started when we left Charleston. About 10 miles out of town on US 17 going to Myrtle we had a brake caliper fail to release and almost had a brake fire. Lots of smoke but no flames.

One of the problems we ran into was finding someone to tow it. And also finding someone to work on it. I have AAA plus RV and they bent over backwards to find someone to tow and work on it. We finally did get someone but it was far from a dealership-like shop.

Now I was very skeptical about Henry's Garage, but they went over and above to get us moving but it still took 3 days, custom made brake lines, and we ended up having to give up on making it to Myrtle Beach.

There must be a better way of getting Road Side assistance and to a more qualified shop. Henry did a professional job and did get us moving but I think he was in alittle over his head with finding parts. But I ultimately payed $800 for 2 calipers, Severe sevice pads, wheel bearings, custom brake lines, and resurfacing of the rotors. Not bad at all. AAA payed for the towing even though Henry wasn't a AAA tower.

My MH is on a 97' P32 Chevy Chassis. You would think a Chevy dealer would be of some assistance. NOPE!!! None what so ever. They wouldn't even recommend someone or try to talk to GM to try and find us a qualified dealer. Even after I explained to them I'm sitting on the side of the road, It's 95 degrees out, and I have a disabled wife. Great customer service Rick Hendrick Chevy. Yes, the Rick Hendrick NASCAR team owner for Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Dale Ernhardt Jr. and Jimmy Johnson.

There must be a better way.

[puttin]

From my experiences- AAA is purely for cars, and when I had a flat in the m.h. they called a wrecker who had no tools and was unable to do anything. I called them back and they got a guy out to me who works on big truck--he had me back on the road very quickly. As far as real help- get Coachnet...I had this coverage free when we bought our Winnebago and I am considering renewing. If you ever need help- this is a one stop shop...they do all!

[tworootless]

RV = Coach-Net.

[wa8yxm]

For motor homes Coach Net seems to be your best option.. Good Sam's #2 or 3 I suspect. You might also check with GMAC, (they do provide roadside assistance for big rigs if I'm not mistaken, and I may well be mistaken)

I'm amazed that a Chevy dealer would not talk to you about a Chevy chassis motor home, Perhaps a nice letter to the jerk who runs GM would help. (NOTE: The CEO of GM has turned me off on GM products with some statements he made a while back, hence the jerk comment, What did he say, he want's an additional dollar a gallon tax on gasoline to encourage people to buy his Chevy Volt, that's what he said, so my next new car will be made by Chrysler, cause I'm not a ford fan either (Quality of prduct))

(heck, I wanted a Jeep anyway)

I'd go with Coach net. You can get 'em through FMCA if I'm not mistaken. The only issue with them is that like AAA they don't (usually) have their own tow trucks (AAA does, in some markets now, actually do their own roadside service but only on cars) so they call the local HD towing company.. And that company sent me a truck that to be honest was at least one, if not two, sizes too small.. Still, between my strong brain and it's strong back.. We got the job done.. ONly had to rewrite one page of the tow truck oeprator's manual to do it.

[Chuck 1935]

I have both Camping World Roadside, $75 and Coach Net $90. When the whole thing takes a dump I want the Marines to come a runnin !!

[Dave and Jaime]

My belt and suspenders are Coach Net and AAA RV Plus (I have both). Coach Net has been terrific and provides personalized service. You actually get a real person who takes charge of your situation and FOLLOWS UP with call backs from the same person to advise of what to expect and when and/or to make sure your problem has been solved. They also are RV specific so they are smart enough not to send a boy to do a man's job, like AAA. Can't say enough good about Coach Net.

AAA is a little spotty. My wife had a flat on our Class B and called AAA. They dispatched a tow truck who could not change a tire on the road but had to tow to his location and then sold her a new tire. Worst part -- the tow truck would not accept AAA for the tow. We had to pay him cash and then request reimbursement from AAA. AAA initially refused to reimburse because the tow truck was out of network. Mind you my wife did not call the tow truck. She called AAA and THEY chose the tow truck and then tried to duck responsibility. AAA clearly focuses on autos, not RV's.

We dropped Good Sam's assistance years ago because they have a policy of not providing service if you are at a dog show. My wife travels to a lot of dog shows and if there is no coverage for dog shows it sort of defeats the purpose of roadside assistance. Not sure what their reasoning is -- if they have excessive claims from dog show people or if they have concerns about liability for live animals who they are not equipped to deal with. So no more Good Sam's for us.

[jreyn114]

Sounds like all good advice. Seems that the overall winner is Coach Net. I have the AAA plus RV. With them I did get a human and several call backs to keep me up to date.

The first person I talked to was in Michigan, but they later sent the call to Charleston. That made a big difference getting the local knowledge. But telling them that I had a Class A kinda threw them for a loop. I think I'll give Coach Net a call. Thanks everyone.

Jeff

[southland]

A friend that travels with us was going to add the RV to her AAA coverage. She said they would do it but it needed to be on their upgraded plan. Have heard (not sure) that there must be an RV rider added the contract no matter what plan. I bought Coach-Net just to be on the safe side.