AAA pros and cons

[Chainwright]

How many here swear by AAA? could one do without it? Is it a must have? what are some of the Absolute Pros? are there any Cons?
Thanks for sharing.

[JimboBillyBob]

In mid-August we were headed to the coast pulling our 30-foot fiver. 90 miles into our trip our tow vehicle had a major breakdown. We have AAA plus RV. Phone rep was very nice, and quickly had a rollback there to take the truck to the nearest dealer, 12 miles away. She continued to hunt for someone to tow the fiver. She found a tow company approx 2 hours later. When it was verified that my truck would take a significant time to be repaired, I asked if I could just have the fiver towed home. She approved the tow (90 miles). When the tow truck arrived (a Kenworth wrecker), he told me that he'd already used 90 of "my miles" in just getting there. Upon arrival at my home, he gave me a bill for $280 to cover 70 miles. I paid the bill and filed a complaint with AAA . They denied my claim, saying that my tow was a convenience tow since there was nothing wrong with the camper.
Also, they say two people can ride with the wrecker. Neither of the two tow vehicles that responded to us had two seats available. Also, dogs cannot ride in the wrecker. They must ride in the vehicle being towed. On one of the hottest days of the year? Ain't gonna happen. AAA Gives good service to the general motorist, but we've found the RV service to be lacking. We've decided that AAA won't get our business again.

[Paul_Clancy]

Coach-Net seems to have the best plans for unlimited towing miles and no problem paying for 2 trucks if needed for truck and 5ver. We've got more than our money's worth from them over the years. Btw because they say something (like your cat or dog has to ride in the trailer)doesn't mean the truck operator is going to stick to that... ours didn't or we would have paid someone else.

[CavemanCharlie]

Passin' Through wrote:
Yesterday morning as we were preparing to break camp in De Smet, South Dakota I found only 34psi in one of our 5er tires (should be 80psi). I spotted a nail in the sidewall and decided to call AAA to change the tire. I Have a Premium membership to cover the trailer. After 5 minutes on hold, I gave DW the phone and started to get out my jack, etc. Ten minutes later and DW is STILL on hold. I told her to hang up, as it would only take me another ten minutes to finish the job and we could be on our way.

We wondered how long we would have had to wait for AAA to get someone out there to change the tire.

You should have just hung up and tried to call again. Those computer answering systems can get screwed up. Not just for AAA but, any other place you call.

[steveh27]

I have AAA insurance and RV+ road service on my small car and Class B Xplorer 230XL. They have towed my RV at least 6 times in 4 states, and done it well. I did get the RV+ to be able to have 100 miles free towing. It has worked well for me at a reasonable price and response time.

[pnichols]

After 40 years or more of membership I dropped AAA like a hot potato after they refused to change the inner flat tire on a dually set of our motorhome when it was setting right in the back yard before taking off on a trip. The AAA dispatcher on the phone said that they did not change flat tires on dual sets. They said that we were supposed to drive to a repair location on the remaining good tire!! (That would have been at least a 70 percent overload on the remaining good tire for many miles on mountain and city roads.)

We now have CoachNet Premium coverage .... because I assume that they understand RVs and know how to deal with them everywhere in the U.S. and Canada. We've used them just once so far, and I was impressed by their fast service, friendly and understanding dispatcher - and by the fact that I didn't have to tell the dispatcher where we were ... they already knew by triangulating from cell phone towers.

AAA needs to make it crystal clear in their brochures and on their WEB page that they do in fact have special plans available for RV owners that offer consistent uniform coverage across the U.S. and Canada. Do they ... by the way???

[toedtoes]

If you have free roadside through USAA, check with them and see how they handle the RV.

If they are similar to AAA, then go with Good Sam or Coachnet. If they are similar to GS/CN, then go with AAA. That way you'll get both styles for one cost.

Coachnet and Good Sam are the major players for their style. Good Sam does appear to have more issues with their telephone operators. Coachnet's reputation is better for the most part. But Coachnet is different in some areas - so check into that. Lots of old threads comparing the two.

Any service will take longer than if you change the tire yourself. And if you're in a safe location (e.g., not on the side of the freeway), it can take even longer.

CN/GS will also send out a mobile tech before they send a tow truck. This can be good as you can get on the road quicker if they can fix it where you're stopped. However, it can slow things down if it's something a mobile tech can't fix. AAA will just send a tow truck.

[Passin__Through]

Yesterday morning as we were preparing to break camp in De Smet, South Dakota I found only 34psi in one of our 5er tires (should be 80psi). I spotted a nail in the sidewall and decided to call AAA to change the tire. I Have a Premium membership to cover the trailer. After 5 minutes on hold, I gave DW the phone and started to get out my jack, etc. Ten minutes later and DW is STILL on hold. I told her to hang up, as it would only take me another ten minutes to finish the job and we could be on our way.

We wondered how long we would have had to wait for AAA to get someone out there to change the tire.

[mgirardo]

We've had AAA for almost 20 years and AAA with RV for about 10 years. We've had several break downs of TV where we also needed the TT to tow. AAA covered the tow. One time we waited for about 3 hours as the nearest wrecker that could handle the tow and had room for the 4 of us was a good ways away.

I like AAA because it covers the person. I can be in anyone's car or truck. If they break down and I have my card, AAA will cover it. I also like that they will tow me where I want to go. We had CoachNet free for a year when we bought our Hybrid TT. We needed a couple tows for TV and HTT. CoachNet would not tow us where we wanted to go, because there was a campground to drop the camper and a GM dealership to drop the TV that was closer. We were on our way to a camping trip, meeting family. AAA covered the tow. I even offered to CoachNet that I would pay the overage to tow me where I wanted and they said no.

That was a deal breaker for us. We've gotten a free year of CoachNet with the next 2 RVs that we bought, but never bothered. AAA Plus with RV worked well for us. The only time I had a problem with AAA was when our Motorhome had a blow out on I-95 passing by Savannah, GA. It took AAA 2 hours to locate a mobile tire repair to put our spare tire on.

We live on the East Coast where AAA coverage is good. We've used the service in our area and outside our area without a problem. Outside the East Coast, I have no experience with AAA.

-Michael

[Dave_H_M]

So do you all carry AAA in addition to the standard type insurance on your RV eqpt?

just asking, I have my roadside assistance through my normal insurance company where everything is bundled - USAA.

[Tvov]

We've absolutely great service from AAA for our cars and pickup trucks. Never had an issue on the road with our camper yet that required towing.

[Chainwright]

Chainwright wrote:
How many here swear by AAA? could one do without it? Is it a must have? what are some of the Absolute Pros? are there any Cons?
Thanks for sharing.

Also:

So would Y'all say that Coach Net, Good Sam and AAA are the Top 3 or are there any others that top the list?

[Chainwright]

So would Y'all say that Coach Net, Good Sam and AAA are the Top 3 or are there any others that top the list?

[Chainwright]

toedtoes wrote:
This is my breakdown of pros and cons:

AAA - they will come and tow you any time day or night, holidays, etc. It is up to you to determine where to be towed. This means if you are on the road in an unfamiliar area, you may have a hard time identifying a shop that can work on your vehicle.

GS/CN - these companies will tow you once they have contacted a shop and received confirmation that the shop can handle and accept your rig. This means that if you are stuck at night, on a holiday weekend, etc., you could be waiting hours or longer for the actual tow. But they will do all the calling to locate a shop.

Both have their benefits, both have their negatives. For me, I found that for an extra $100 a year, I could have both. That way, if one fails me I can call the other. I've actually had to do that.

One piece of advice, find out what type of tow truck is required by name. When you call, specifically say "I need a Xx tow". In my case, that's a medium duty wrecker. Telling them I need a medium duty wrecker is a lot quicker than just telling them I have a "1975 American Clipper". One time had standard tow truck arrive - the driver suspected he wasn't going to be able to tow my clipper so he had their flatbed tow show up also. Unfortunately, my clipper wouldn't fit the flatbed either. So they had to have the medium duty wrecker show. The next (and last) time I needed a tow, I asked for a "medium duty wrecker" and it went much easier.

Great advice, thanks

[Chainwright]

rk911 wrote:

Chainwright wrote:
How many here swear by AAA? could one do without it? Is it a must have? what are some of the Absolute Pros? are there any Cons?
Thanks for sharing.

if you mean for RV road service i think that AAA is vastly inferior to most all other RV road service providers. it's not available in all states; you have to locate, call and pay the service provider and then seek reimbursement. both coach-net and good sam now cover your autos as well.

Wow, Good to know. thanks so much