Sittin' by the side of the road (to the tune of Dock of a Bay)

[dkperez]

I don't know where to put this since I DON'T SEE a forum for "disasters".
Today, about 4 hours out from Death Valley on the way to Sedona, a car pulled up next to me and the passenger gestured wildly and mouthed "Tire".

So, I pulled over - NONE of the tire monitors (truck or trailer) was screaming, but I figured I'd check...

Driver side - good, 2 tires, both rims off the ground. PASSENGER side - Hm... ONLY ONE TIRE. NOT a flat - the whole tire, rim, brake drum, bearings, brake parts, EVERYTHING GONE. Fortunately, we have (accompanied by fanfare) GOOD SAM ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. And if EVER there was a time for roadside assistance, this would be it!

So, I called 'em. And pressed many buttons in response to the robot - at LEAST 3 times as it persisted in alternating between telling me "HOW BUSY WE ARE but WE'LL GET TO YOU WHEN WE CAN" and having it REPEAT the same questions and making me press the buttons again.

Eventually, 18 or 19 hours later - or maybe the 20 minutes JUST SEEMED like 18 hours as the traffic blasted past a foot away, I got someone. Who, when I told him what I had - or rather DIDN'T have any more - demanded that I go TAKE A PICTURE OF THE MISSING WHEEL AND TEXT IT TO HIM!

Which after he insisted that I do this BEFORE HE COULD "HELP ME", I did. Then waited for the call back.

Eventually, he did. And said it seemed likely they'd have to tow the trailer... So, off he went to find someone to tow it the 30 miles to Kingman, AZ.

And eventually called back (a LONG eventually) to tell me he COULDN'T FIND ANYONE. I suggested that MAY NOT be an optimal response from them and he indicated he had 4 or 5 more numbers he COULD try.

I suggested he DO SO... Eventually, he called back again and said, essentially, "nope nobody to tow it". And told me to call 911 because the police MIGHT BE ABLE TO FORCE SOMEONE TO TOW IT TO TOWN.

I asked to speak to a manager. Who told me "yup, nobody to tow it. Call 911." I suggested that washing their hands of the "roadside assistance" situation was LESS THAN OPTIMAL. At which point he informed me that "we've been working on this ONE CALL for almost TWO HOURS." Is there some time limit on how much time they're supposed to devote to resolving an issue like this?

ANYHOW, short answer - if you're PAYING these people for this coverage, and you ever have a major problem, I wouldn't count on them getting it successfully resolved.

And yeah, I'm SURE somebody out there is going to tell me how GREAT Good Sam did when THEY had a problem, but they TOTALLY sucked on this one.

[96 Wideglide]

Are you still there, or did you get this resolved?

Totally rediculous response from G.S !!

[coachkids]

Really sad....guess we won't be renewing that membership. Hope you are safe and well and getting repaired.

[Bahamaniac]

Just spent a week there. Sorry for your misfortune. Hope you got the help you needed!

[UFO Pilot]

I have Coachnet and had a breakdown in January. I was on the side of I 5 Southbound, South of Tracy, CA. They first told me the only repair shop that would take me was in San Jose about an 80 mile tow and not on my travel path. When I said no, they called back and said they found a shop in Turlock that would take me. They then had to find a towing company with the right sized truck that would tow me. It all finally worked out except for the tow truck driver who had no clue how to tow a MH.

I don't blame Coachnet as I realize that they are just a Company that finds repair facilities and tow companies that will accept the job. None of Roadside Assistance companies own their own equipment so they are at the mercy of the service providers they contract with.

I am not happy with the setup but don't know how to solve the problem.

Just my opinion, I am not making excuses for what happened to you.

[TXTiger]

Sorry to hear about your situation. I realize that Good Sam, Coachnet etc are not tow companies and just contract with tow companies but if they are going to take your money and sell you roadside assistance then they should have tow companies in most all areas, especially near major roads, on contract to provide their service and not have you wait on the side of the road for hours while they call around.

[Dutch Star Don]

We had an A/C compressor on our DP freeze up in Camp Verde, near Sedona, last month and couldn't drive the coach. We were looking at having to tow it to Flagstaff. Luckily, I was able to bypass the A/C compressor with a shorter belt and get home.

I know it will probably never happen again, but in your situation, strap or chain the one axle up and drive slowly until you reach a place to repair it. They also could have thrown a dolly under that side of the trailer. Doesn't sound like they tried very hard.

I would cancel your Good Sam plan and demand your full payment back for the yearly plan.

[Beyond]

Originally Posted by dkperez

And yeah, I'm SURE somebody out there is going to tell me how GREAT Good Sam did when THEY had a problem, but they TOTALLY sucked on this one.

Not tell you how great, but I had the same happen to me in the middle of nowhere in Texas. I refused to call 911, we'd already had the local sheriff check on us during our hours stint on the side of the road. I insisted they find a tow company. They did but only if we paid up front. They had to have someone come from an hour away (and tow us 50 miles in the opposite of direction). We had a motorhome and 16' flatbed trailer. They record their calls, so I made a point of saying I would pay and expect reimbursement. Since it wasn't one of their contract tow companies (who sometimes take shortcuts and use less desirable equipment) the company that came out had great equipment and a comfortable truck to tow the trailer and transport us. GS reimbursed all the tow related expenses.

The company owner told us all the emergency tow services work pretty much the same, which is why he demands his money at time of service. He was super. I put it on a credit card and had the reimbursement funds in time to to pay the bill without any service charges.

I hope you have gotten it worked out. I understand the misery of spending 5 hrs on the side of the road getting buffeted every time a car passed. Bottom line I was glad to get the reimbursement. And I keep the GSRA booklet and have been known to read it to the call taker. http://www.irv2.com/forums/images/smilies/banghead.gif

[Bahamaniac]

We broke down leaving Moab, Utah last year. We have A A A insurance. We called and asked for help. It took about an hour for the truck to get there. A A A called every 10 minutes to make sure we were still safe. The driver did the job right and towed us back to town to the Ford dealer. Even reconnected the drive line. It was an A+ service all the way around! And it didn't cost us a dime.

[lonfu]

Wow... I'm surprised... I had a lockout... called GS, less than 20 mins I was on my way... I do have to admit, loading a trailer onto a flatbed truck is almost an impossible task. But a driver should have "strapped up" the axle for you so you could get to kingman, and if you were to afraid to drive it that way, then towed it into town on his truck.

[weredoingit]

Originally Posted by Bahamaniac

We broke down leaving Moab, Utah last year. We have A A A insurance. We called and asked for help. It took about an hour for the truck to get there. A A A called every 10 minutes to make sure we were still safe. The driver did the job right and towed us back to town to the Ford dealer. Even reconnected the drive line. It was an A+ service all the way around! And it didn't cost us a dime.

X2 here, AAA member for 28 years and have never had a problem.

[Whirrlly]

WOW that is just a very rough situation for sure! I would be in 'one of my states' after all that mess

and to lose an entire wheel!!

I hope everything is in fine order now for you!!

[nothermark]

Originally Posted by lonfu

Wow... I'm surprised... I had a lockout... called GS, less than 20 mins I was on my way... I do have to admit, loading a trailer onto a flatbed truck is almost an impossible task. But a driver should have "strapped up" the axle for you so you could get to kingman, and if you were to afraid to drive it that way, then towed it into town on his truck.

Just for grins I watch this YouTube channel. Here is towing a trailer with a bad wheel bearing:

/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rWA6nG6Ggw&t=8s

It's a matter of having the right equipment and knowing how to use it.

[Hit_the_Rhod]

So, as far as we know, dkperez is still on the side of the road posting about Good Sam RSA . . . . I hope they eventually got towed in or the situation resolved safely