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Old 08-12-2010, 06:28 AM   #1
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Roadside assistance

I asked this in another thread then realized it was a borderline hijack so I'll start a new thread.

I have no spare on my new-to-me Solaris. My wife is concerned that I will aggravate an old back injury if I plan to change out tires myself. That means if I get a blow-out, I'll have "to call the guy."

Anyone else use this plan? How did it work out for you?

Teach
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Old 08-12-2010, 07:42 AM   #2
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Hi Teach,

In many years of towing, I have experienced two tire blow outs. One on the trailer and one on the truck. I had Good Sam ERS and called them both times. In the first instance, we waited a while and then changed the trailer tire ourselves. When I called GS back to cancel the call, I was told they had no record of the order (and they had called back to check on us after the initial call!). The second time, we were towing our Sunline and the left rear tire on our F250 blew out. It was Friday rush hour on a busy highway. Not much room to safely work on that tire. I called Good Sam again and explained the situation, and told them what equipment we were driving and towing. After an hour wait, they sent a "Pop A Lock" representative in a car, with no tools or emergency lights. He had never changed a truck tire before, so I sent him away. We called the local police to help protect us from traffic and again changed the tire ourselves (actually, a fellow RV owner stopped and helped too).

I switched our coverage to Coachnet this year, but haven't used them yet. I hope their service is better. I've read many posts about good experiences with Good Sam but we didn't have one.

I would suggest that you get a spare tire for your Sunline, even if you don't change it yourself. It would hold things up considerably, if the road service company had to find a tire and wheel to fit your trailer, before coming.

Good Luck,
Bart
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Old 08-12-2010, 08:45 AM   #3
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With my old motorhome I had the occasion to need a tow because of an unknown electrical issue which stranded us up in VT. I was using Allstate road service at the time....it was a Sunday and a BIG tow truck found me on a country road and towed me back to his garage and found the alternator had died. He replaced it Monday morning ( no easy task) and I was back on the road by afternoon...fantastic service! His cost to me about $200 for parts/labor...nothing for the tow.

Again I called to have a flat tire changed on this motorhome, this time in my own driveway...they send a tire guy with a tire service truck out and he jacked it up and muscled the inner rear tire off and put my spare on...no charge and very timely as well.

Both instances of a situation in which I would not be able to handle the repair myself. In my opinion no one traveling in any vehicle, especially camping people, should do so without this roadside service support from one of the providers...I currently use AAA.

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Old 08-12-2010, 09:23 AM   #4
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Even if, due to medical conditions (or in my case laziness), you can't change the spare, it still is a good idea to have one travelling with the trailer. It also doesn't hurt to have all of the tools you need to complete the emergency repair.

I still would call the emergency service to change it for me. But, when they arrive, everything they need is already with me. And if they take too long, I can do it myself. Or in your case, you may be able to find a helpful soul to do it for you.
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Old 08-13-2010, 08:54 AM   #5
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I use Allstate, got it thru KOA for $75 first year. This year I got the notice to renew for $110. Called them up and said I was thinking of swithing to Good Sam and they lowered their rate to $71/yr

Allstate Motor Club - Welcome to RV Roadhelp


I called the service once to tow my truck when the brake lines leaked on Memorial Day. Tow truck showed within 1/2 hour and got a confirmation call that all was well.
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Old 08-13-2010, 09:54 AM   #6
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I have always had some type of road care that will cover my rig. Sure most of us can change a flat tire, but when something more happens we need additional help, and that could come at a might high price "IF" you don't have road care. Hauling your rig takes special equipment, compared to towing a pkup, so that equals $$$$$$$. My road care MORE than paid for itself on this one occasion:


Some kind of road care, well "don't leave home without it"

Good Sam did this service, and now we have Camping World Road Service. Basically the same, I just jump back & forth to always get the lower price. I never renew at the regular rate. OK, call me "cheap"
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Old 08-13-2010, 06:01 PM   #7
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Teach

RT stated this so to my thoughts that I'll 2nd it. Or is it 3rd or 4th now...

I myself have Good Sams. Never used it yet and have not had the need to. I hope it stays that way....

Quote:
Originally Posted by RTplusTT View Post
Even if, due to medical conditions (or in my case laziness), you can't change the spare, it still is a good idea to have one travelling with the trailer. It also doesn't hurt to have all of the tools you need to complete the emergency repair.

I still would call the emergency service to change it for me. But, when they arrive, everything they need is already with me. And if they take too long, I can do it myself. Or in your case, you may be able to find a helpful soul to do it for you.
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Old 08-14-2010, 07:38 AM   #8
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Well, John, I decided that a spare was a good idea so I went to the RV dealer where the trailer is stored to get the size of the tires and buy a tire, rim and carrier. While wearing my reading glasses (important detail)and kneeling down close to the tire to read all the info, I noticed three of the four tires had very noticeable cracks running around the sidewalls, right where the radials flex. Also, they are Carlisles, dammit!
So, I go inside and order 4 new tires (either Maxxis or Marathons), one rim and a spare tire carrier. I'm glad I didn't pay much for the trailer as I have had to spend close to $1500 to bring 'er up to snuff.
As to emergency coverage, Kitty's suggestion sounds good. Once we start travelling farther from home, I'll look into it.

Thanks all,
Teach
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Old 08-14-2010, 02:35 PM   #9
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I'd get a tire cover too, so that fourth tire doesn't get cracks soon.
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Old 08-15-2010, 05:16 PM   #10
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I use Good Sam road service, have since 2001 when we got our SunLine, in 2006 we had a rash of tire failures, 2 on the right and 1 on the left, on the big I-75 just outside of Ocala then in Ocala. The rear left went first on -75, took the guy 1½ hours to get there but it was Easter weekend so I understood, he got it fixed and we got another half mile down the road and the right rear went, luckily the truck was right behind us so it didn't take too much time, I had 2 spares at the time. But then as we were coming off -75 the left front gave up the ghost, I called Good Sam back and they asked if we were alright after 3 tires going out and I said yes and asked if the repair truck could bring me a new tire when he came out, he did and I paid $75 for it, a good deal if ya ask me, so we went on into Starke FL and stayed 2 nights so I could get 5 tires replaced and now had 6 new tires.

One thing I always do is cover my tires with covers when we are camping or stored and use white covers on the spares, I had some black covers and a tire man said they were almost as bad as no covers, they absorbed the heat more than white. In addition to covers I spray each tire heavily with Armorall before I put the covers on no matter where we are at, it seems to keep the ants off too.
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Old 08-22-2010, 07:28 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kanyonkitty View Post
I have always had some type of road care that will cover my rig.
WOW. Where was that big rollback truck when you coulda used it last October?

We have had Good Sam ERS for about nine years. Our experience with it has been mixed. It seems like the farther out from civilization you are, the less likely ERS will be to have a proven contact. We had one no-show, but the worst was the guy they sent us to when the Sunny burnt out a wheel bearing and we lost the entire wheel. The guy did an OK repair job, but futzed around for a week trying to order a replacement axle. It took me less than half an hour to order an axle from Dexter and have it drop-shipped to him. The guy charged me three hours of shop time for his labor in attempting to find the part. I reported this to ERS and he's now on their do-not-use list, but since they didn't pay for the repair, I just got stung.
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Old 08-22-2010, 07:40 PM   #12
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Kitty,
I will not call you cheap. I call that SMART, and I'll store away that idea for later use.
Roar
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Old 05-24-2011, 08:38 PM   #13
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I am bumping this up as I want to add some RV roadside coverage soon. Anyone have any recent experience - or see any great deals?

THANKS!
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Old 05-25-2011, 05:18 AM   #14
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Still very happy with Allstate, see info above in thread.
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Old 05-25-2011, 05:05 PM   #15
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As I posted earlier I have the Good Sam but I have taken the same route that Mark does and tell them I need a lower rate to stay with them. I got one,

Now, as to service, back a few years I had a flat tire in I-75 during Easter Break weekend beginning and called and it took about 1½ hours for them to get to me but back then I was in such bad shape I almost couldn't change my mind and needed them.
Since then I have had a few more tires and other problems and GS has always been Johnny on the spot, they have towed my wife's car in when the radiator blew here in town. So they aren't just for big rigs and on the highway problems, they also do locked out calls and battery jumps and replacements if yoou want.
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Old 05-25-2011, 05:11 PM   #16
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Now as to spare tires and wheels, I picked up 2 when I was having trouble back in 2006 and haven't regretted it since. Many times I have just put the spares on the ground to get more use out of all 6 tires.

One thing I noticed was when I put 2 tire carriers on the rear bumper on my 280 was that it wanted to tear ollse after a few trips so I went to my favorite welder and had him weld the bumper to the brackets all the way around and then weld a piece to the frame that came out under the bumper to help strengthen it. Helps a lot.
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Old 05-25-2011, 05:21 PM   #17
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What everyone needs to understand is that Good Sam, Camping World, etc provide you the service of "Finding a Provider" that can take care of/deal with your rig and the problem. They might have to call 1 provider or several before they find one that can handle your issue. his service is pretty much something that we can't do when we are broke down on the road on Apache Trail. I see many posts about the amount of time involved before "help" arrives. This is NOT your Road Service fault, you are waiting for the provider than can handle your issue to show up. Your ERS makes the arrangements, keeps in contact with you, BUT they DO NOT physically provide the flat tire change, tow truck or roll back. When I had that bearing go out in KS, it took a LONG while before they found a provider that could haul my truck & Sunny. But, it was a lot better than me having to pay what that tow bill would have cost without ERS.
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Old 05-25-2011, 09:58 PM   #18
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I understand! I worked for an answering service in my teens and we actually dispatched for AAA, but only in certain areas, there was a lot of territory wars involved, it was crazy!

We have emergency road service through our insurance carrier (Nationwide), which I have been quite pleased with . . . I've called them for a jump and also a flat tire. But they won't take care of the camper. Since at this point we haven't gone out of state with the camper I've always figured I could call in my brother to tow home the trailer if needed. But we are heading to VA, and I'd like some additional insurance.
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Old 05-26-2011, 10:41 AM   #19
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Like KanyonKitty says, ERS always gets aprovider that can handle YOUR needs, even on a Easter weekend someone who could handle changing a tire on my trailer came, not a locksmith or anyone else. That is always important when you are towing a trailer or are in a Clacc C motorhome, you need someone who can handle the emergency you have.

Diane you need a good road service that can handle what problems you could have with a trailer. And don't always think your B-I-L could shake loose to come and get you, maybe his truck is having problems.
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Old 06-01-2011, 02:03 AM   #20
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i have AAA Rv-Plus,it covers my 3 trucks and the camper, i needed it this past March when the driveshaft dropped out of my truck while towing the camper on Rt.78 east of Hamburg,Pa.they worked good for me. tow truck took me to Outten Chevy and they let me store the camper there while the repairs were being made and i even got a free rental truck from chevy.
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