Good Sam's info

[gilunionhall]

hi guys we are thinking of purchasing our first motor home and had some questions about Good Sams -

1. it seems like the roadside assistance coverge is well priced - i think it will be actually cheaper than doing AAA for our cars. For those of you that have had to use the service - is it a good program?

2. the salesman on the phone mentioned that it would also cover our regular cars as well - so i am thinking that i could get rid of AAA if that is true - any experiences with that aspect of good sams?

3. i had gotten quotes from good sams as well as progressive for insurance and just read some posts on one of the forums about National Interstate - any other suggestions there as well?

gil

[smiller]

1. Good Sam Road Service (and RV Roadhelp by Allstate, and there are a few others) all use the same contract providers so the likelihood of local problems with any given tow won't change much no matter who you choose. Good Sam dispatch representatives will be more familiar with the needs of an RVer though, so it is a popular choice. In my research the main difference between these services and AAA is that AAA has one big advantage and one big disadvantage: the advantage is that they will tow you to any destination of your choice (vs. just the closest service provider) and the disadvantage is that RV towing has a 100-mile limit (the others are unlimited miles to a service station capable of servicing the vehicle.) It's true that most tows will probably be under this, but then again in the west it wouldn't be all that hard to exceed it and that would likely be very expensive... and I want a towing service for peace of mind, not to have to worry about distance limits. So while I'm attracted to AAA for the first reason I think I'm going to have to pass on them based on the second.

2. Any of the towing services will handle your other vehicles just fine.

3. Best insurance rates are going to depend on your state of residence so recommendations for others based on price won't help you much, unless they come from someone in your state. In Texas I found GMAC to have the best rates (I was a Progressive customer but they were 30% higher for the same coverage.)

[mfire1339]

We have a 200mi limit on our AAA.




Mike

[smiller]

Originally Posted by mfire1339

We have a 200mi limit on our AAA.

Looks like you are in SoCal, and you might want to check the AAA web site:

Roadside Assistance - Automobile Club of Southern California

200 miles for cars and light trucks, 100 miles for RV's and motorcycles, even with 'Premier' service. Same as my local AAA in Texas.

[Gary RVRoamer]

If you get the GS Roadside Assist coverage, you should not need your AAA anymore (my opinion, anyway). The first year for GS Roadside is attractive, but it goes up after that.

In my opinion Coach-Net, a division of National Motor Club, is a superior service for RVs, but it costs about $109/year (may be a discount available for FMCA members and some other RV owner clubs). Besides towing and tire service, yoou get access to RV techs via telephone for ANY sort of problem. You can call about your water heater or your tail lights or... I also feel they have better subcontractors, especially for larger rigs.

See NMC | Roadside Assistance - RV Plans for more info.

[GaryKD]

Hi gilunionhall,
Good Sam and Coach-Net are the giants of motor coach roadside assistance. Both call the same trucks. If price is a consideration, upon renewal, I let them know what the other guy's first year rate is and all of a sudden their rate comes down to the same rate for my renewal. If they don't match the price I just switch. While Gary makes good points about Coach-Net, for me these offerings are a commodity. When purchasing a commodity, price floats to the top of the check list.

[scenic route]

I don't remember for sure, but I don't think there is a mileage limit with my CoachNet policy...anyone know if there's a limit? Might make a difference in choosing who to go with. Bob

[GaryKD]

Both GS and CN have no mileage limit on towing. However, they tow to the nearest qualified service facility. That may or may not be where you want the coach towed to.

[buck62]

After a lot of researching I decided on Coach-Net and I droppd my AAA road service since Coach-Net includes all your cars. Coach-Net is the service that the chassis manfacturer's use as their your warranty service provider. Towing a motorhome can get real costly quick especally if you are towed beyond your policy range like AAA's 100 mile. Coach-Net will tow your motorhome to an authorized service center like a Cat, Allison or Cummins dealer. To me this is another biggie, I do not want to be towed to the local garage or truck repair center, I only want a factory authorized service center. When I signed up I was told that CAT, Cummins, Allison factory service centers are located in most cities and towing to them should be pretty easy.

For insurance, it really depends on your state location but personally I have found Progressive. GEICO and GMAC not able to beat National Interstate's costs which I compare them apples to apples and I go line by line of my current policy. GMAC will tell you how you can drop to partial coverage during the storage months which will save you money. But, we use our motorhome year long so this is no benefit for me. Just do a little comparison shopping to find the insurance rates.

[smiller]

Originally Posted by GaryKD

Both GS and CN have no mileage limit on towing. However, they tow to the nearest qualified service facility. That may or may not be where you want the coach towed to.

I agree that's an important factor but so is a potentially huge bill if you need a log tow, as could reasonably happen with AAA if you broke down out west and it is more than 100 miles to a proper service station. But I guess unlimited towing and 'tow it where I want it' will never be combined for obvious reasons, you just have to pick your poison.

[smiller]

Originally Posted by buck62

Coach-Net will tow your motorhome to an authorized service center like a Cat, Allison or Cummins dealer. To me this is another biggie, I do not want to be towed to the local garage or truck repair center, I only want a factory authorized service center. When I signed up I was told that CAT, Cummins, Allison factory service centers are located in most cities and towing to them should be pretty easy.

If you happen to be in a city that has such a facility then yeah, and probably the same with Good Sam. But will they tow past a capable truck repair center willing to work on the vehicle to an authorized service center even if there is a significant difference in miles? If so I'd get that in writing. And speaking of that... I can't find any details in writing on the CoachNet site about their plan, just generalized bullet points. Does anyone have a better link?

I'm not trying to be picky here but I'm in the market for a service provider and just trying to explore the options.

[ottffss]

Originally Posted by smiller

....will they tow past a capable truck repair center willing to work on the vehicle to an authorized service center even if there is a significant difference in miles?...

Help me understand why you would choose a "capable truck repair center" OVER a factory (Cummins/Allison/etc) authorized service center?

BTW - I see no reason why you couldn't arrange with the tow operator when they arrive to tow to the closer location. The tow operator already has the payment paperwork from Coach-Net in hand. I am sure the tow operator would be happy to oblige and Coach-Net won't know or care. Just cancel the appointment Coach-Net made with the authorized center.

Not sure if this link helps you with more details or not...

http://coachnet.coach-net.com/cnet/GoldBG12-15-06.pdf

[mfire1339]

Smiller, Well we used to have 200 on the RV. Had a 148mi tow from NC. to GA. three years ago.




Mike

[smiller]

Originally Posted by ottffss

BTW - I see no reason why you couldn't arrange with the tow operator when they arrive to tow to the closer location.

Closer... likely no problem, with any service provider. Further away is the question.

And thanks for the link, it was just what I was looking for. And FWIW, Coach-Net's policy is 'to the nearest qualified repair facility, as determined by Coach-Net'... exactly the same as Good Sam or Allstate.