# Nightmare Camping Non



## sheplady (Aug 24, 2010)

Hi All,

Just had to blow off some steam here and I've finally got a moment to write this all down. My hubby and I tried to go on a nice romantic road trip to the Catskill Mountains in NY last weekend only to have our tow vehicle break down about an hour away. We broke down in a very isolated area with (you guessed it) very limited cell service. AAA was useless! We do not have AAA trailer insurance...did not know we needed it! Could not upgrade to it because our auto club does not offer it! So long story short they would not help us. Being stuck late at night in a questionable area we had no choice but to get Tow Company out to us quickly. The campground we were trying to get to was nice enough to look in the phone book and give us some towing companies. We finally found one that would come and get us and we wound up spending the night in the auto repair shops parking lot!!!
Just got the bill...$400.00 for the towing and $850.00 to fix the vehicle! The repair to the van is what we were expecting but the towing ridiculous IMHO! Oh the tow driver did offer to discount the tow if we could find someone with AAA trailer insurance&#8230;like that is going to happen!!! After this nightmare I will NEVER use AAA again and am considering joining Good Sam Club. Anyone want to suggest something else? I'm shopping around for other roadside assistance programs that will cover all vehicles including the trailer!
Not the way I wanted to end my season!

Linda


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## CdnOutback (Apr 16, 2010)

We have Good Sam but have never had to use it... I have spoken to others that have had to use it and have had great experiences.... or at least as good as can be expected considering the circumstances...


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## W5CI (Apr 21, 2009)

Good Sam road Ser worked great for me, wont leave home without it.


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## Braggus (Aug 8, 2010)

Have not had the chance to use them but I have Geico.


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## Grover (Jul 19, 2010)

I cancelled AAA and went to Good Sam on April 1 of this year. On April 9 my Jeep lost a drive line and I needed to be towed 5 miles back to my home. Called GS dispatch and was told 45 minutes. I had to walk a mile to find a cell phone spot. 90 minutes later I hiked back to the site and there was a message from the tow company to call. He said he would not accept GS because they were very slow pay. He would take AAA. Long story short I had him come out and tow me home. He said he gave me the "contract rate" of $95.00 which I paid and filed for reimbursement with GS. I now carry both cards. This company is listed as a contract station for both. You change cards, not tow companies.


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## mmblantz (Jul 1, 2007)

We have Good Sam ERS. My wife and I both get cards as well as both of our daughters. It covers all 5 of our vehicles as well as any towing on the camper. I think it's like 119 a year and they give discounts for multiyear and early renewals. That means if one of my girls is halfway accross the state at a ballgame they can help themselves if I can't get to them and to be able to get the camper towed if I have to is huge to me. Kinda strange that a tow service would accept a call from Good Sam for the job but then try to get you to pay another way. Seems to me that if they are on the list...they accept the terms of payment. I've used GS for a tow 1 time when a power steering pully slung off. All I got fro the driver was have a nice day---Mike


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## Troy n Deb (Aug 31, 2009)

Check auto ins. they may cover towing. State Farm does. They paid for my truck and pop up to be towed once.


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

Under Progressive you can buy Towing for both the truck and the camper. I used it once just for the truck since the camper was in a safe place so I'm not sure how it would work with towing both. Only problem with any towing service is that they will only tow to the nearest repair dealer and I believe that they will only tow the camper to the nearest safe place. Around here there are several towing places. Needed to have my old Dodge 3500 towed home from 35 miles away. One place wanted $195 and the other did it for $80 which my old insurance company paid me on the spot. Sorry for what you went through. I know how bad it is to break down in the middle of no where and not know who to trust.


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

Absolutely positively SWEAR by Good Sam. I have had to use them 3 times so far while towing. Fast courteous service for a great price. Last Tim I had to use them they sent two trucks. Flat-bedded my Ford, booked up my 31RQS, drove the truck to my local Ford dealer and paled the camper in my yard. I was an hour away from home, on 495 during rush hour in Massachusetts. They got to me in 30 minutes.

I HAD AAA. After being abandoned by them twice and the slow to pay stories I heard from the towers I wont go back. I called and wrote them. No apology no compensation was offered. I need something I can depend on. I can't wonder if I am going to be left out in the middle of no where.

Every business is going to have those that have a bad experience. I think in the case of Good Sam, the overwhelming majority are very Happy and would recommend GS to friends and family. Just my. 02.

Eric


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## Beachnut (Nov 9, 2010)

I have AAA insurance, and AAA club towing for our cars, and truck T.V. but when I checked into AAA insurance for our new 230RS Outback, they did NOT have contents insurance for the trailer, at all, not offered, Period! I checked with Progressive and not only do they have contents insurance for a stated value, (you choose how much), and it was less expensive than what AAA offered for trailer insurance even though I have our home, and 3 vehicles insured with them... So I have Progressive on the trailer, with $4K worth of contents insurance which will cover anything "locked in or to the trailer" so the Honda Generators are even covered when they are locked up outside to the trailer! (I take a picture of them locked up every time we camp so I have photo proof they were locked up). *With Progressive, they WILL also pay to have the trailer towed as part of the road side assistance included with the policy!* I think they even said it would cover towing the T.V. too!!! Too bad Progressive could not match AAA's auto and home rates as they would have had ALL my business!!!

So you might check out Progressive Ins. as they sure had a good trailer policy/ price at the time I bought mine. Oh, I called Good Sam, too, and they could not match the Progressive price either. (They were higher than AAA even, but DID have contents insurance).

Beachnut


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## OutbackerTim (Oct 5, 2011)

I have a AAA plan that covers TV and travel trailer towing. It is an upgraded package from the standard roadside assistance. Just FYI, AAA is actually a series of separate entities, so coverage may be offered in one state and not another. AAA Michigan offers the travel trailer and TV option.


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## mommy2boyz (Feb 3, 2010)

Grover said:


> I cancelled AAA and went to Good Sam on April 1 of this year. On April 9 my Jeep lost a drive line and I needed to be towed 5 miles back to my home. Called GS dispatch and was told 45 minutes. I had to walk a mile to find a cell phone spot. 90 minutes later I hiked back to the site and there was a message from the tow company to call. He said he would not accept GS because they were very slow pay. He would take AAA. Long story short I had him come out and tow me home. He said he gave me the "contract rate" of $95.00 which I paid and filed for reimbursement with GS. I now carry both cards. This company is listed as a contract station for both. You change cards, not tow companies.


Since you're in California too, I have heard on this site that AAA might be better for our state (vs. Good Sam being preferable in other areas of the country). I have regular AAA Emergency Road Service for our 2 driving vehicles. Do you know if we have to add something special to have the trailer covered under this as well? I did sign up for GS ERS as well, just to be on the extra-safe side







.

Thanks!
Linda


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## Grover (Jul 19, 2010)

Your best bet would be to contact AAA and ask them. I kept both. GS has a more liberal payment arrangement. I had to keep AAA because I have auto insurance through them. No road service insurance, no auto insurance.


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## Japam (Nov 11, 2009)

sheplady said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Just had to blow off some steam here and I've finally got a moment to write this all down. My hubby and I tried to go on a nice romantic road trip to the Catskill Mountains in NY last weekend only to have our tow vehicle break down about an hour away. We broke down in a very isolated area with (you guessed it) very limited cell service. AAA was useless! We do not have AAA trailer insurance...did not know we needed it! Could not upgrade to it because our auto club does not offer it! So long story short they would not help us. Being stuck late at night in a questionable area we had no choice but to get Tow Company out to us quickly. The campground we were trying to get to was nice enough to look in the phone book and give us some towing companies. We finally found one that would come and get us and we wound up spending the night in the auto repair shops parking lot!!!
> Just got the bill...$400.00 for the towing and $850.00 to fix the vehicle! The repair to the van is what we were expecting but the towing ridiculous IMHO! Oh the tow driver did offer to discount the tow if we could find someone with AAA trailer insurance&#8230;like that is going to happen!!! After this nightmare I will NEVER use AAA again and am considering joining Good Sam Club. Anyone want to suggest something else? I'm shopping around for other roadside assistance programs that will cover all vehicles including the trailer!
> ...


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## Japam (Nov 11, 2009)

We used to have AAA until we had to use it once. We were told they would tow us five miles and any excess miles were on us. After about five seconds of thought we switched to Good Sam which covers all our vehicles with no limit on miles for towing. I think you will be happy you changed.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

I'd also suggest looking into Coach-Net now known also as National Motor Club Coach-Net

Coach-Net used to be mostly for Motor home owners, however in the past 3 years they have widened their focus to pretty much any RV. Besides a good roadside assistance plan they have something that the others don't, RV technical assistance. So you're out camping and you can't get the fridge working their techs will work to walk you through getting it working.

Happy Trails!


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