AAA vs. Good Sam?

[Gene]

First of all, both AAA (really a marketing organization) and GS (insurance, retail, RV books) are not primarily a towing organization.

AAA is good for maps and tour and camping books, not much else because they have lots of restrictions about towing. We have the most basic plan and only for one of us. That saves $$. Maps and books from other sources would cost more for all the traveling we do.

Generally GS gets very good reviews for towing to where you need it. Too much junk mail and it gets tossed. We heard stories on the Alaska Hwy of GS towing people hundreds and hundreds of miles to get them to a place where their vehicle could be fixed with no complaints or charges.

We have never had to use GS and haven't had anything towed by AAA for 20 years.

Gene

[bspelce]

I'm feeling better and better that we opted for Good Sam. We hit the road in mid-August and I used Good Sam to route our trip and select and book our campsites. I'm a "special needs" traveler so I need advance planning and reservations that accomodate my circumstances. So far it's all been good from Good Sam and from the camp sites we have contacted.

I hope to be able to report that we did not need any of the Good Sam emergency services at all. If we do need anything, I will let you know the results.

[BillTex]

Originally Posted by Gringo

if you fly into a city somewhere away from home, and rent a car for a week, does Good Sam cover you for any part of that?

Why would you need ERS for a rental?

[pmclemore]

Originally Posted by Gringo

if you fly into a city somewhere away from home, and rent a car for a week, does Good Sam cover you for any part of that?

My regular auto insurance covers me for that ( I assume you are referring to liability and collision, right?) If you are referring to road service, I'd call the rental agent.

Pat

[Gringo]

so.....nobody knows, I guess.

[colonialrod]

Originally Posted by jambie

I'm almost sorry I signed up for Good Sam after getting WAY too many emails and snail mail ads, but their roadside assistance program looks pretty good compared to AAA. Anyone ever use either, or have any personal experience with Good Sam roadside assistance?

Cheers,
Tom

I was receiving those emails and mail ads from Good Sam. I finally called them up and asked them politely to discontinue the mailings as I was aware of their offerings and was not interested at this time. The operator readily agreed and in a few weeks almost all mailings ceased and have not returned.

[kipper]

We have had both , I do hate the GS junk mails , but have never needed either , knock on wood

[pmclemore]

Originally Posted by Gringo

so.....nobody knows, I guess.

Still don't know what your question is. What type of coverage are you asking about? If you are asking about emergency road service, yes - Good Sam will help me out. But - if I had a rental car, I'd expect the rental agent to come and get me with a replacement car. Neither Good Sam, AAA or anyone except family will do that.

Sorry - Pat

[Gringo]

Thanks, I just found their ERS program brochure online. They do NOT cover anything at all with a rental vehicle. Nada. Zip. They won't change your tires, charge your battery, or get you a locksmith, etc.

That was my main question. Whether Good Sam was of any benefit to people in rental vehciles. The answer is no.

[CalamonTin]

Rick, Please forgive if I have confused things. Let me know if this is the wrong person. Sorry.

Originally Posted by RickDavis

After reading many threads I went with Good Sam. I can't comment on whether it is good or not because it hasn't been put to the test

I initially started to buy it through Camping World as their price looked a buck or two better but they wanted to charge sales tax so I bought it direct from Good Sam.

It seems too take a week or so to get it set up so don't put it off till the day before you leave

I have never had RV road service before as I have always been able to cope with most problems I see others using it for but with my advancing age, a 50 year old trailer, and a half million mile truck finally decided to spring the bucks

[CalamonTin]

I am new here so if I need guidance please feel free to provide that which you feel appropriate.

A couple of days ago I filled out the "request a quote" page on the GS site. Later I got a response from GMAC providing me with a quote for ins on my recently acquired 2008 30' Classic. Can someone help me understand if I am not dealing with GS when I get a response from GMAC or is GMAC simply the insurance carrier for GS and the "network" being referred to in this thread is what everyone is talking to when they talk about the great service, immediate response etc. etc?

[pmclemore]

Originally Posted by Gringo

Thanks, I just found their ERS program brochure online. They do NOT cover anything at all with a rental vehicle. Nada. Zip. They won't change your tires, charge your battery, or get you a locksmith, etc.

That was my main question. Whether Good Sam was of any benefit to people in rental vehciles. The answer is no.

Gringo, why would you want good sam or aaa to come to your assistance when the rental company wants you to call them? Plus, they'll put you in a different car - you won't be dead until the first one gets fixed? Is it different on the islands?

Pat

[RickDavis]

Originally Posted by pagill6447

Rick, Please forgive if I have confused things. Let me know if this is the wrong person. Sorry.

It sounds like you are being quoted for vehicle insurance rather than road service.

Road service is one price regardless of vehicle. I think there is also a premium level with a few more benifits.

You should not hear from anyone other than GS on the road service

[SilverRanger]

Good Sam Platinum ERS Service will cover ANY vehicle you drive, AND trailer you pull. I know this from recent experience.

[SteSpot]

We still have AAA for my husband's car and maps. Good Sam for our Airstream and I have Subaru coverage for me. AAA RV coverage depends upon the location and since we travel all over, we think GS is a better choice.

About the mailings, you can request they stop sending that stuff.......I did and they also did not send us our renewal....so watch out for that....we were bare a few months unknowingly......they are supposed to be able to send renewals only......

On our 3 month trip covering 11,340 miles and 21 states we used Garmin and AAA maps along with Woodalls......needed all 3 sometimes.....luckily we didn't need GS.....for any towing. Used our Pressure Pro tire pressure system that warned us when tire pressure was low--two times......probably prevented us from having to use Good Sam. paula

[SARGE/AF]

Originally Posted by pagill6447

I am new here so if I need guidance please feel free to provide that which you feel appropriate.

A couple of days ago I filled out the "request a quote" page on the GS site. Later I got a response from GMAC providing me with a quote for ins on my recently acquired 2008 30' Classic. Can someone help me understand if I am not dealing with GS when I get a response from GMAC or is GMAC simply the insurance carrier for GS and the "network" being referred to in this thread is what everyone is talking to when they talk about the great service, immediate response etc. etc?

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Thats because GS is not an insurance company, like AAA, and others for that they bid it out to see who is going to give the lowest price and the most service. Currently GMAC has that privilage and they are not worth a plug nickle in my opinion either as far as their insurance/credit cards. The car loan company was great though.

Sarge

[SARGE/AF]

Originally Posted by Gringo

Thanks, I just found their ERS program brochure online. They do NOT cover anything at all with a rental vehicle. Nada. Zip. They won't change your tires, charge your battery, or get you a locksmith, etc. That was my main question. Whether Good Sam was of any benefit to people in rental vehciles. The answer is no.

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Gringo,
I drove tow truck and the reason that no one covers rental units is because all your major rental companies which include car, truck, U-Haul, Ryder, ETC, have contractual agreements with towing/repair companies to save them money, also because most of the time a rental company is going to have the tow company bring you a different vehicle if they feel that the repair is going to take more than very short time usually less than 30 minutes and that can be usually determined from the questions they ask you about the breakdown. The tow company I last worked for had an agreement with Enterprise because there was an office in town and our agreement covered an area of 300 miles in a circle and we got all tows that occured in that area. I had to take one to someone who blew the engine on a brand new Cad. It had developed an oil leak after they ran over something and instead of stopping when the check engine light came on they drove it until it quit, I went to the office hooked a replacement veh, ran 275 miles to bring it to them then took the broke one to the airport 75 miles away from them where they had a main office with repair facility, dropped it grabed a replacment for the local office and took it back to them because the car they sent out went to NY and was turned in there. Also Hertz, Enterprise, Alamo, Avis, Budget, National, have their own repair shops and figure that it is cheaper to tow it to their place rather than take a chance on someone who is going to stiff for things that dont need fixed.

Sarge

[twobikes]

not to get all political on us but....I had AAA for 30 years and dropped them when their lobbyists decided to oppose the niggling little federal subsidy that goes to bike paths and pedestrian projects...

i have the Road Care deal from Camper World and they were all over me when the starter failed in the Pine Barrens of NJ. responsive and courteous even when I had to call back and tell them that the local blueberry grower had me running again...

[SilverRanger]

Below is an excerpt from the Good Sam Platinum ERS site. I have used it on my own vehicle three years ago, and on a borrowed vehicle and Airstream this month while in British Columbia. We were over 35 miles from the nearest town and tow service. The truck was there in under an hour, and put the tow vehicle on the flat bed, and towed the Airstream behind it. The tow truck operator delivered us to the nearest campground, put the trailer on a campsite, and then delivered the tow vehicle to a GMC dealership for repair. No problems, and good service.
The tow bill was over $400. I paid nothing.. nada, zip.

Based on my experiences with GS, I see no reason to believe they won't honor their (published) promise to cover rental or leased vehicles.


Emergency Road Service Platinum Benefits - RV Road Service - RoadSide Assistance

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Protection For Any Vehicle You Drive

No matter what vehicle you drive, no matter how big or how heavy, you can count on us to tow you to safety. All owned, leased, rented, or borrowed vehicles are included!

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On a side note, the tow operator said he had towed many rigs in the past several years, but was very impressed with the way the Airstream w/Hensley pulled. He said "This thing stays straight. Those other trailers wag around from side to side." He had a receiver on the back of his truck that moved in about six different directions, making is very easy to hitch up (we nailed it first try) and level off.

I'm pretty sure my wife has pictures, but I'm not waking her up.

[SilverRanger]

1. Hooking up.
2. From the back.
3. The campsite.