Community Forums

Murf2u · 04-07-2016, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianC

Ran across this thread while looking for alternatives. GS is worthless....

I wouldn't say they're worthless ...... They cost me $5,000 when they towed my coach with the driveshaft still in place.

After leaving me on the side of an Interstate for 4 hours in a snow storm with no heat.........

Motor7 · 04-12-2016, 05:59 AM

A couple of years ago I had a front bearing grenade on my camper van. I called GS & a wrecker showed up in 45 min and towed me into town to an O'Reillys where I attempted repair. The driver was competent & I was glad to have GS that day.

Kickenrock · 04-12-2016, 07:39 PM

Below is a post I made on another thread in July 2014. I was satisfied with the service at that time. That tow did not cost me a cent, although I did give the tow truck driver a $20 tip.

In September 2015, we were at a campground near Montreal, Canada when I ran over a wheel chock and blew a outside rear tire. I called GS and was told that they do not assist with tire problems in Canada. They would arrange for a tow to a tire repair facility if I could find one nearby. Or if I could find assistance myself and if I would send in the bill for the repair they would pay for the delivery of the tire to the campground. The tire shop I contacted, sold me a new Michelin matching my tires, around $400 and they sent a service truck to the CG within one hour. I raised the MH on the jacks just until the tire was off the ground. The service guy removed the damaged tire without removing the wheel and installed the new tire and inflated it. Perfectly done. I gave him a $20 tip.

Post from July 2014:

We have a 2005 Itasca Suncruiser 38' W24 with J72 Park Brake. August 2013 we were travelling on the northern peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada when our park brake engaged and would not release. We were stranded on the side of the highway. Put out my warning triangles and called Good Sam Roadside Assistance. They connected me with a technician to try to help me release the brake. Unfortunately he knew more about the J71 than the J72. He told me it was cable applied and to release the pin on the cable. I told him it was definitely hydraulic, so he told me to undo the hydraulic line and it would release. In trying to un-screw the "corroded" fitting of course it twisted off. As I now know the brake is spring applied and hydraulically released. So now definitely no way to release the brake. Good Sam called a tow truck. The tow operator called me and asked if I had a solid front axle and the length of my rig. Said he would take about 2 hours to get to me as he was coming from about 210 kilometers (130 miles) away. He arrived about 10:30 PM with a tandem axle tow truck with rear stinger for towing big rigs. With flashlights I helped him hook up my MH. Most posts above refer to "removing" the driveshaft. All that needs to done is to disconnect the driveshaft at the rear differential and secure it up to the chassis. My MH had to be towed 290 KM (180 miles) to Deer Lake, Newfoundland where a truck service center had to remove my park brake as they did not know how to get it released. I would like to give kudos to Good Sam and to Pittman Motors towing service of Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland for a job well done.

Anyway to answer your initial question: Disconnecting the driveshaft at the rear differential is the only way to tow safely with no damage to transmission or park brake. Also a tow truck capable of lifting your MH by the front axle is absolutely necessary. Hope this helps.

Mr_D · 04-12-2016, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kickenrock

Anyway to answer your initial question: Disconnecting the driveshaft at the rear differential is the only way to tow safely with no damage to transmission or park brake. Also a tow truck capable of lifting your MH by the front axle is absolutely necessary. Hope this helps.

Actually it's one of two ways. The preferred way is to remove one axle and cover the resulting hole with a cover plate. The secondary (and most used) is to remove the driveshaft.

Kickenrock · 04-12-2016, 08:14 PM

Removing one axle is fine if one happens to have a cover plate to reseal the end of hub.

It is not necessary to entirely remove part of the driveshaft, simply disconnect at the rear differential and tie the driveshaft securely up to the chassis.

Kickenrock · 04-12-2016, 08:17 PM

I not familiar with the drive arrangement on a DP, perhaps the axle removal is probably the best solution.

BobGed · 04-12-2016, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murf2u

I wouldn't say they're worthless ...... They cost me $5,000 when they towed my coach with the driveshaft still in place.

After leaving me on the side of an Interstate for 4 hours in a snow storm with no heat.........

I'm not trying to be confrontational but I have a couple of comments and a question that may be of interest to you and possibly others.

Good Sam simply contacts supposedly RV qualified towing companies. What actually happens on scene is out of their control. Since you mentioned you were caught in a snow storm, I would imagine that all the towing companies were pretty busy. It sounds like the tow truck operator was not familiar with the procedures necessary to tow a motor home.

I realize you have now learned a lesson the hard way that the drive shaft needs to be disconnected prior to towing, and I'm sure that you will make sure that happens should you ever need to be towed again. However this is something that every motor home owner should be educated on, as well as other possible requirements if it's diesel pusher.

Now IMHO the towing company should have been responsible for any damage caused to your coach because the driver didn't disconnect the drive shaft. It's not rocket science, it's simply common sense.

Did you attempt to contact the owners of the towing company to seek reimbursement for the damage caused?

If you did and didn't get any satisfaction, I would suggest posting your experience over on RV.Net forum RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Good Sam Roadside Assistance I would think that you would receive a reply from someone in their Good Sam Care Team.

My other minor question is, why didn't you have heat? We've been stuck in traffic during the winter months, usually due to bad accidents, and have always done fine running our generator for electricity and propane for heat.

Mr_D · 04-12-2016, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murf2u

After leaving me on the side of an Interstate for 4 hours in a snow storm with no heat.........

You couldn't run your furnace or, in our case, the AquaHot to keep warm, or the generator and electric heater?

mwwade · 04-13-2016, 02:08 PM

After reading all the comments on this thread, I decided to make several calls to different roadside insurance companies. I found all that I called have basically the same coverage for a bad tire. They will bring you a tire, or tow your vehicle To the shop for repair.

Ray,IN · 04-13-2016, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murf2u

I wouldn't say they're worthless ...... They cost me $5,000 when they towed my coach with the driveshaft still in place.

After leaving me on the side of an Interstate for 4 hours in a snow storm with no heat.........

How is that the fault of Good Sam ERS? GS contracts with wrecker services the same as Coach-net, they often contract the same providers.
What did the wrecker driver say when you informed him of this requirement while he was hooking up?
What prevented you from running your furnace that 4 hrs.?