Good Sam Roadside Assistance
- Thread starter Bonanza53
- Start date
szewczyk_john
Well-known member
I have had reason to use my service 4 times. In all four occasions I had to wait longer than I thought it should have taken to get help. The first time I was on I-80 and after waiting for 1.5 hour they called back and stated that they were still looking for a provider. Another half hour went by and she says that I need to call the state police as no one was willing to come get me. I called the state police and with 25 minutes 2 trucks show up, a flat bed for the two vehicle and a 5 ton welding truck for the trailer. The operator tells me that he got a call from GS 1.5 hours ago asking him to go get my truck and trailer for some insanely low fee, he refused and then when the state police called he should right up. What I learned was, all the roadside assistance do, is call around and offer the job for very little money. If they local operators have nothing going on, they might take the job and put your tow/emergency on their list. If not they simply say no. I got both units off the road and the operator fixed my truck the next day and everything was ok. I had to pay him and then submit for reimbursement which came months later.
I will continue to have the coverage for the piece of mind, but I realize that if I am sitting too long, you can also call the service back and tell them that a police officer is forcing a tow under police order and a reimbursement will be sought. Also keep in mind that many insurance companies include towing with your insurance and you can also submit for reimbursement from them also. I mentioned the towing to my State Farm agent and he got me an allowance, not the whole bill, but it was something on top of what I was reimbursed.
I will continue to have the coverage for the piece of mind, but I realize that if I am sitting too long, you can also call the service back and tell them that a police officer is forcing a tow under police order and a reimbursement will be sought. Also keep in mind that many insurance companies include towing with your insurance and you can also submit for reimbursement from them also. I mentioned the towing to my State Farm agent and he got me an allowance, not the whole bill, but it was something on top of what I was reimbursed.
beasleyrl
Well-known member
We have had both Good Sam and Coach Net. Unfortunately, we seem to have to use it 1-2 times per year due to leaf spring failure on our prior Cyclone. Our experience has been much better with Coach Net. It seems like Good Sam takes an excessive amount of time to identify a service provider and when they do, they can come from long distances. Coach Net seems to move quicker and the service providers don't seem to complain about how little they are getting paid. From our experience, I won't go anyplace with our rig and not have it... In fact, just renewed Coach Net last week.
mlpeloquin
Well-known member
Yes Good Sam merged with Camping World I think a year or two ago.
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
I think it was much longer ago than that . . .
jmgratz
Original Owners Club Member
I have had Good Sam towing for a number of years now and have had to call them several times with mixed success. The last time I called them they refused to come to my assistance saying my RV was in a safe location (it was at a Ford dealer while the truck was in the shop). I wrote up a negative review on their site and they gave us 1 year free which is currently in affect. One time they took so long I changed the tire myself. Two other times the service that showed up did not have a jack that would work and they had to use my jack. I would recommend having a service but still cannot recommend Good Sam ERS. I have heard much good about Coach Net.
beasleyrl
Well-known member
Yes - since the late 90's. Look up Affinity Group (now operating under Good Sam Enterprises I believe because Affinity had some issues around 2010).
sjs731
Well-known member
I had Good Sam. Had one good experience and two not so good. The latest was last year. I had a wheel bearing go out to the point I took the wheel off without removing the castle nut. Luckily got stopped before the wheel flew into oncoming traffic. Anyway it was a Sunday and I was on a 2 lane highway. Called them and they told me there was nothing they could do since it was a Sunday. Luckily a resident near by saw what happened and I limped the rig into his yard. Good Sam called me back and said the local RV dealership could come and get it the next day. Until I said I wouldn't be there. I had to be there. The homeowner being home wasn't good enough. They wouldn't even have the dealership call me to get a CC # for payment. Needless to say I hung up on the guy. The homeowner helping me was nice enough to let me leave the rig in his driveway for as long as I needed. I called the local RV dealer the next day and they went and got it and fixed it. I repaid the homeowner with a nice gift card for a local establishment and let my Good Sam Roadside expire.
Steve
Steve
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
It was a Sunday afternoon during the first weekend in August when we ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska (story in my post above).
Took them an hour and a half to get there, but at least we didn't have to walk!
I was just happy that we had cell service out there . . .
I'm thinking about digging out one of my old CB radios for those times when the cell just won't cut the cheeze . . .
Every call will be handled differently due to the fact that all towers are private contractors. Some auto clubs like AAA have their own fleets, but only a a very few select areas. The service provided is usally thru contracted rates, unless there are no providers in the area, then the "clubs" will start shopping via phone for anyone that will take the call. Unfortunately you have some people that aren't familiar with larger units like RV s trying to help without the correct resources. Other times it's just some service guy trying to make any money he can. I was a service provider for many years, towing, repair and body shop, not many towers have the ability, knowledge or experience to fix or repair RV s the ones that do, seldom have the parts. I have Good Sam and AAA both have their good points, AAA will only help with the disabled vehicle, but many times they don't have the equipment or knowledge to handle a fifth wheel or large motorhome. Again the service you receive all depends on the service contractor in the area your stranded and the information given to that service contractor. Many times if you can get a direct phone number for the service provider and explain your situation in a clear and direct manner it will help you get the correct response and equipment.
Charlie263
Member
We ran over a nail and heard the hissing as we were pulling into our campsite on the way to the smokies. Called good Sam and they had them come out first thing next morning. We're a little late, but no biggie. Oh and one other thing, they said they were going to text me the name of the repair co, but never did.
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
avvidclif
Well-known member
That's why I
1. carry a 5 gal can of diesel in the truck,
2. Most importantly watch the gauge.
Ducking and running, smile John.
wdk450
Well-known member
John:
Have you ever thought about a 2 meter "Ham" walkie talkie? There is a system of 2 meter repeater/boosters throughout the U.S. Another ham listening to the repeater can get your message on the phone system. The 5 watts of an 2M handheld is about 1000 times the power of a cellphone. When I was working in Sacramento, I used to walk outside with my 5Watt 2M handheld and bring up a repeater on Mt. Rose Nevada, 110 air miles away (and 10,000 feet up).
The test fee is nominal, study guides for test questions are easily available, the is no morse code requirement, and the short test is easy common sense mainly about not interfering with other RF services. A new 2M handheld can be bought for about $100.
CB is limited to about 5 miles range (normally and with legal equipment).
Have you ever thought about a 2 meter "Ham" walkie talkie? There is a system of 2 meter repeater/boosters throughout the U.S. Another ham listening to the repeater can get your message on the phone system. The 5 watts of an 2M handheld is about 1000 times the power of a cellphone. When I was working in Sacramento, I used to walk outside with my 5Watt 2M handheld and bring up a repeater on Mt. Rose Nevada, 110 air miles away (and 10,000 feet up).
The test fee is nominal, study guides for test questions are easily available, the is no morse code requirement, and the short test is easy common sense mainly about not interfering with other RF services. A new 2M handheld can be bought for about $100.
CB is limited to about 5 miles range (normally and with legal equipment).
JohnD
Moved on to the next thing...
I fixed the problem by getting a bigger gas tank . . . in my new truck!
boatto5er
Founding VA Chap Ldr (Ret)
Been there, done that!
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