AAA verses Good Sam

[Chris Z]

We have had AAA plus for many years but received offer from Good Sam which looks better to me. Wondered if you guys had thoughts.

Chris


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[Darwin Maring]

Good Sam will tow you 100 miles. Most other plans will tow to the closest repair facility. Check it out and let us know.

[Bob Miller]

My AAA, with RV endorsement, will tow me and/or my RV up to 150 miles to the destination of my choice. Three years ago, when a transmissions seal blew on my mini-motorhome, the came and towed it from my driveway, to the transmission shop of my choice, 50 some miles away.

[cpaharley2008]

AAA is state dependent on coverage, GS is not.

[Bob Miller]

If you need a service in another area that's not normally provided by that AAA, you will be reimbursed for any additional charges. I have yet to run into any problems using my SoCal Motor Club AAA card in other states. But yes, you may have to put something on your credit card while waiting for reimbursement.


AAA Membership renewal is one of the Christmas presents I have given my son & DIL every year for the past 14 years, it's a gift that lasts all year long and they always appreciate that gift because, esp by my sweet DIL, it get's used a lot.....

Good Sam has good reviews as well, but I just prefer, after 40+ years, to stick with what I know works every time.

[Stretcher]

AAA of MA does not offer RV coverage so we carry Good Sam. We had two occasions to call Good Sam with our 1984 Mobile Traveler Class C RV. The first took them several hours to get to us and then overnight to find a repair place to tow us to. Fortunately our brakes had failed just before the Delaware Welcome Center and we had no problem staying there overnight. The second time was Easter night and after a several hour wait, the first tow they sent was too small to tow us. Another couple hours later, a suitable tow arrived and got us to the tow company's yard where we were allowed to spend the night. The next morning we were towed to the RV's final resting place. This was included in the Good Sam covered tow.

I don't know if the size of campers (this one was 21', relatively small in the RV world) makes finding tow vehicles more difficult. Our previous experiences with AAA, only with cars, had always afford much faster response times than either of our Good Sam experiences. We have not called Good Sam for service on our other vehicles.

[mary and bob]

Good Sam will give you a good deal for the first year to suck you in, price goes up after that. It is like AAA too in that there are different levels of service. That said, I have AAA Premier with the RV endorsement, but I also have the Good Sam service. Haven't really used either one, other than to get free campground books from AAA. But as one who has had to deal with either locating, or providing myself, road service on lease trucks, a lot depends on who the service provider is, not what company (AAA or GS) is making the phone call for you.

[cpaharley2008]

I had AAA in Maryland but when I relocated to Pennsylvania found out AAA will not cover a non motorized RV here in Pennsylvania. Thus the switch to GS. My point being, suppose you break down, with AAA, in a state that does not cover a trailer, for example Pennsylvania, then what???!!!

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I had AAA in Maryland but when I relocated to Pennsylvania found out AAA will not cover a non motorized RV here in Pennsylvania. Thus the switch to GS. My point being, suppose you break down, with AAA, in a state that does not cover a trailer, for example Pennsylvania, then what???!!!

See Post #5, at least that's how my AAA works. Others may be different.

[Almost There]

I've used Paragon for years now with complete success.

Roadside Assistance, Emergency Roadside Services | Paragon Motor Club

The reason I started with them was because of my RV in the US. Now that I'm back in Canada but still travel regularly to the US they are the most convenient for me as well as having provided stellar service over the years.

I started with CAA years ago but then found that while travelling in the US they left me to my own devices to find a towing service - they would reimburse me but I had to locate service then submit the bill. This didn't sit well with me, particularly one dark and stormy night in the middle of nowhere when a state trooper had to come to my rescue to locate a towing service for me.

I understand that AAA does the same thing if you're from the US and travelling in Canada.

I also had trouble with them because I had "too many service calls" - maybe they've changed their policy but they had a limit to the number of calls they'd do. I had a couple of flats and a mechanical breakdown on the Class A and they were done!

With Paragon I call them no matter where I am on the continent and they contact a local towing company for me. It does take a little longer for them to locate me on the mapping system when I'm in the middle of nowhere in northern Ontario... but they've always come through.

[Bob Miller]

Can't say I have ever heard of Paragon.


But, it least in the past 5 years I have had visitors from Australia, Canada and England, that had AAA affiliated club memberships from their home country, all used AAA services while taking extended vacations in the US. Everything from books and maps to tire blowouts on the road to Perdition, ooops I mean the road to Branson, MO. LOL

[EllPea in CA]

I've had AAA for years, and it is always TripleA service. That said, I haven't had to use them out of state.

I was just digging into GS while looking into Camping World, and wondering about RV park discounts, etc. The customer reviews I read, on their own site, were about 50% in either direction. Either people had excellent experiences, or people had no help and felt completely scammed. A major complaint listed several times was that people on the phone didn't seem to have a realistic view of the problem, or were not able to locate the customer's location on a map.

LP

[mary and bob]

Many times the people answering the phone for whatever road service have no clue about geography or mechanical problems. I dealt with this issue many times when I worked for a world wide truck leasing company Their job is to determine where service is needed, then locate a service provider closest to the broke down vehicle. Often times the caller isn't sure of their location, they just know they were traveling from point A to point B and are somewhere in between. For awhile it got really bad when the answering service was farmed out to a company that was not in the USA. Only good thing was they would check in frequently until told the problem was resolved.

[Ken C]

Good info
RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Good Sam Roadside Assistance

[Tom Trostel]

By the way, RV.net belongs to the same company that owns Good Sam. And, Camping World.

[Sheryl M]

If you join GS, expect to get lots of junk mail.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Sheryl M

If you join GS, expect to get lots of junk mail.

Unless you tell them not to send you any promotional emails. I did, and I haven't received any junk mail ever since.


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[Mike Magee]

Good link from Ken. I'm a member of that other forum also, and it is filled with complaints about Good Sam Roadside Assistance. Everything from slow response to wrong response to no response, for people who tried to call for help.

[Byron Kinnaman]

AAA premium plus RV seems to work OK for us. I haven't had to use it when towing, I've used it a number of times when NOT towing. At least my plan will tow where ever I want and the first 100 miles is on them. I had a vehicle towed a 110 miles once, cost me $30.00
I believer both GS and AAA use independent towing companies. Courtesy and professionalism is a product of the independent towing companies. I don't know about GS but towing companies have to approved by AAA.

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by Almost There

.I started with CAA years ago but then found that while travelling in the US they left me to my own devices to find a towing service - they would reimburse me but I had to locate service then submit the bill. This didn't sit well with me, particularly one dark and stormy night in the middle of nowhere when a state trooper had to come to my rescue to locate a towing service for me.

I understand that AAA does the same thing if you're from the US and travelling in Canada.

SInce we purchased our trailer we've had AAA coverage. Before we went to Labrador I called AAA and asked if we were covered. Yes was the response. I told them I'd call the next day. Check up the chain of command. The response back was a strong yes.

Two years ago in Newfoundland we needed AAA service. They (CAA) were there in less than 10 minutes and got us going. CAA and AAA are tied together to provide service. Ours is a real world experience.

I also suspect if I call AAA that they will tell me service is included in PA.