Roadside Assistance Plans: AAA or Good Sam

[hobo]

Shopping for a plan and have heard many people rave about Good Sam but also have seen many, many reports of poor customer service and then many folks being "dropped" by Good Sam after only a couple of routine calls for assistance.

 

Would like to know from the Oliver community which they prefer and why.  Will explore other options too if someone has strong suggestions.

 

Thanks

[John E Davies]

I researched both, and decided that I wanted AAA’s Premier RV plan for its 200 mile towing limit. I don’t think Good Sam has a program to match that. I am occasionally in very remote areas, like central WY or southern ID, and it can be a long way to a repair shop.

 

https://wa.aaa.com/membership/plans/premier-rv?zip=99019&stateprov=wa&city=liberty+lake&devicecd=TB

 

I have been happy with AAA forever, the only problem is that the wait time for a truck can be excessive, and if there are a lot of slide-off accidents due to inclement weather, you may never get one. In that case, you get whoever you can to haul you in, pay for it and get reimbursed later. That is painless. I never run out of gas, I carry a lithium jump starter box, my tires rarely explode, so I normally never use their services, but I do feel better having it available in case of collision or sliding into a ditch.

 

The long tow range comforts me when I am in the boonies in my Land Cruiser. If my stuck truck is located on or close to a forest or ranch road that the tow truck can get to, they will come and get me. I may be completely out of cell coverage, in that case I can use my inReach to get my wife or daughter to send a truck to the gps coordinates.

 

OTH I use the AAA 10% discount lots of places, like NAPA and at all motels. Check the various plan discounts to see if there are any you might use often, and buy that plan, all other things being equal....

 

I think many campgrounds have Good Sam discounts, that may be a factor for you to think about. I rarely stay in a commercial place unless forced to by really bad planning or by worse luck.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[topgun2]

Like John I also researched both.  However, I went with the Good Sam program.  While there were a number of reasons for this choice the bottom line was that they were cheaper, my limited experience with AAA had not been very good and the towing limits that AAA imposed were also not very good.  Good Sam will tow you to the nearest repair facility regardless of distance versus the "premier" 200 mile limit that AAA imposes.

 

However, I would strongly recommend that you research both as they apply to your situation (where and how often you travel) and then pick the one that you hope you will never actually need to use.

 

Bill

[SeaDawg]

I got a mailer from good Sam's today, so checked their website. They have some great cyber week specials on towing insurance.

 

We've only had to use them locally with our daily drivers, but I've known others who had to have both tug and trailer towed with good Sam's....

 

You may want to check their website for the holiday special pricing. We carry the platinum  rv coverage, as it covers us in rentals, too, in Canada..... just in case....

 

The standard rv plan is only $79.95 right now, covers all your owned vehicles in your family, for all the household drivers.

 

Goodsamroadside.com

 

Sherry

[Ray and Susan Huff]

Here's the thing:

We have never had a roadside plan for any of our vehicles, daily drivers or RVs; our auto insurance roadside assistance pretty much covers our cars.  Now, with the prospect of traveling across the US to pickup our Oliver I'm wondering if we should have a plan: AAA or Good Sam.

With our campervan, where chassis mechanical failures can (and did) occur, we had M. Benz roadside assistance as it was still under warranty.  I'm not so concerned about a trailer breakdown that would prevent us towing it to a shop (brakes, axels, tires, tongue/hitch) but rather if the pickup breaks down and we have to have it and the trailer towed.

What we do have is State Farm Insurance with roadside assistance, which will pay up to $100 if the vehicle that is being towed has an RV that also needs a tow.  I believe there is a mileage limit, but I'm not certain of that; will have to check.

Am I correct: the AAA and Good Sam RV memberships also cover the tow vehicle?  Whether you are towing the RV or not?  If this is true then is there a coordination of benefits if you also have roadside assistance with your regular auto policy?  Or could that coverage be dropped if double coverage is not allowed? (I'm not sure this is an option; as it might be built into our premium.  If not, it is only $2-3 per month)

If the Good Sam towing is as far reaching as they claim - ie: will they go off paved roads?  With no mileage limit?  This is better than AAA which allows up to 4 tows a year, with one up to 200 miles; additional up to 100 mi.  And, if the pickup and trailer require towing, does that count as 2 tows??

AAA does have trip planning (don't know if we'd use it though) and paper maps (do they still give you these free?) as well as discounts at some hotels/RV parks. (although lately we've received a 10% veteran discount at most every place we've stayed 😀

I guess my question is:  is it worth it doing the membership thing, or better to just self-insure, get your own help, and take whatever reimbursement your auto policy allows?

 

[gatorewc]

We had been with AAA for probably 15 years and they were great.  We always paid for our plan  and both our kids.  Even though we had road service with our regular coverage, we felt like with 2 teenage drivers we wanted as little action on our policies as we could.  (My son ran out of gas and locked his keys in the car in 30 minutes time is one example of multiple call outs)

Last month we went with Good Sam because it had better RV coverage and was around $60 less.  I got the 3 year plan with a 6 month $20 add on for traveling benefits.  ( covers some airfare issues and what not) for I think $379.  This is the premium plan.   Over the years with much travelling on the road we have used AAA numerous times and they were great.  I also went with GoodSam because our Oliver coverage is with their sister company,   It covers all our cars and trailers.

[SeaDawg]

We've had Good Sam's for over a decade. I've only used it on the vehicles, not under tow, with good response times and followup. The operator has called me about every 20 minutes with updates on my cell. 

Friends used it years ago for trailer and TV. That's the difference. What good does TV insurance do, if the trailer sits at the side of the road? The tow for both is covered to the nearest qualified repair facility,  no matter the distance, is our understanding. Even in Canada, on our plan. Other perks, too. Take a look. Maybe it will answer your questions. 

https://www.goodsamroadside.com/faq/index.cfm#q3