Best Roadside Assistance

[LivingToo!]

I am finding so much information on here and am loving it, but I am not seeing anything about who is the best company to get roadside assistance with..? The ones I have googled have pretty poor reviews and I'm reading that AAA doesn't meet RV'ers needs. Anyone use a company that has more than 2 stars? Thanks!!

[SWharton]

Coachnet and Good Sam are popular.

[LindaH]

7 minutes ago, SWharton said:

Coachnet and Good Sam are popular.

We've had -- and used -- both with good results.  We're currently with CoachNet.

[LivingToo!]

ok... Good Sam was one of them with 2 stars... I know it's usually the negative people that give reviews (more often than not), but it concerned me. 

Thanks!

[Kirk W]

I too have used both Good Sam & CoachNet road service and while I currently have CoachNet, in fairness I must say that GS was ok, what little I used them. We also had coverage from Continental Car Club through our insurance for a time but never had occasion to use their assistance. 

[TexasPSDX]

We have GS Roadside Ass't.  Have called them twice and both times had good samaritan stop and give assistance.  Called back and cancelled both times.  We continue to sign up with GS because we have the GS credit card.  We pay for the Roadside Assist with points earned by using the CC.

[Mike and Claudia]

I believe the problem is that CoachNet used to be absolutely wonderful!  The price was good, they provided GREAT service.  When you would ask that question "back in the day" when I first started, it was CoachNet, with NO debate.  THEN, I believe they were bought out, people started having trouble, and all of a sudden, there wasn't much difference.  

 

IMHO this is why its hard to get a straight answer.

[Dutch_12078]

Coach-Net is now, and always has been, a division of National Motor Club, a dedicated ERS provider. Good Sam is not an ERS provider. They contract with various ERS providers, currently Allstate Motor Club, for the rebranded ERS plan they sell. When you call Good Sam for breakdown assistance, you're actually calling the Allstate call center. When you call Coach-Net, you're actually calling the Coach-Net call center.

[richfaa]

The best way to rate the various roadside services is to ask a few service providers tow truck operators etc  which one they prefer. We have had all of them over the years I think allstate now and received good service from all of them.

[trailertraveler]

In my way of thinking, none of the mentioned ERS plans are actually ERS providers. They all rely on private contractors to do the actual service work. There are only so many actual service providers in any area and many contract with more than one or all of the ERS plans. If you took the time, you could likely locate the same service providers and cut out the middleman. What you are paying for is the service of locating and scheduling the roadside service. In the case of towing, onsite response fee, tire change, jump start, etc. you are charged a set fee per year whether these services are needed or not just as you pay for insurance every year whether you file a claim or not.

We have had Allstate and Good Sam and been satisfied with the services provided by both. We have also used the GM roadside assistance program with vehicles under warranty and they were by far the best as they towed the vehicle to a dealer (not just the closest facility) that could perform the work, provided a loaner vehicle and paid for out of pocket costs incurred because of the breakdown. For a vehicle under warranty, my first consideration is always the warranty services.

[JimK]

I am not sure if you are a full timer but I have AAA and have never had a problem.  One year we had some car problems and had to have a couple of tows.  I had a flat tire on the RV over a 100 miles from the nearest garage.  I had about a 2 to 3 hour wait but otherwise no problem.  I am not sure what we pay but it is fairly expensive, over $100 per year, for the premium plan that covers RVs.

[Kirk W]

About Coach-net/National Motor Club

[RangeMaggotBob]

15 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

Coach-Net is now, and always has been, a division of National Motor Club, a dedicated ERS provider. Good Sam is not an ERS provider. They contract with various ERS providers, currently Allstate Motor Club, for the rebranded ERS plan they sell. When you call Good Sam for breakdown assistance, you're actually calling the Allstate call center. When you call Coach-Net, you're actually calling the Coach-Net call center.

Yeah, but they're probably both using the same subcontractors, especially in rural areas. I don't know if that makes any difference or not.

[Dutch_12078]

Of course they all tend to use many of the same sub-contractors, since there's only so many road service operators in a given area with the capabilities needed for our needs. The difference to the consumer is the competence of the call center operators and their ability to arrange for the correct service with the correct equipment with minimal delay. Currently, the Good Sam/Allstate contract seems to be a pretty good match, and Allstate does have a good reputation in the towing/recovery industry, but that contract expires in 2019. Prior to Allstate, Good Sam was using some lower rated call center providers and getting a lot of complaints, so I hope they don't revert back to any of those. Coach-Net has rated close to the top of the satisfaction surveys in the towing industry for years, with Allstate usually not far behind them. Not so for some of Good Sam's previous contractors.

[Kirk W]

I'm not sure just how to say what service is best, but I know that I'll stay with the one that I have had good service from as long as things continue in that way. The only company that I have used that actually towed our motorhome was Coachnet. That experience is the reason we will continue with them since I consider quality to be more important than cost, as long as I can afford it. 

When our motorhome was towed, back in 2010 I learned a great deal that to me is important. The first was the quality of service, but there are also some interesting facts. Our location was at a COR lake in Kansas and the truck Coachnet sent to us came from Salina(93 miles), even though there were several towns with large tow trucks closer to us.  Our RV was towed to the nearest Ford Truck dealership in Manhattan(40 miles) and then the tow operator had to return to base, another 67 miles away. In all of this, never did we have any problems in getting things done properly or taken to the shop we asked for. The truck was clean and neat as was the driver. I later took the time to send a letter of commendation to the company and commented on how far the truck had come. The reply from Coachnet was that the driver was the closest to us who met their standards and was under contract as closer companies did not meet Coachnet standards. As a former service tech myself, I judge service people by how neat they keep their tools, how they look, and by the confidence and knowledge displayed as they do their work. The driver met all of my rather high standards.