Good Sam question

[Peter S. in Iowa]

Hi all. Merry Christmas (belated) and Happy New Year!
I am looking for some info from those with experience with Good Sam roadside assistance. I changed to them this past year after Coach-Net raised their rate.
Last night, my daughter's car needed a jump. At around 8 PM she contacted Good Sam and was told to stand by while they called around seeking someone who would get out to her. After about an hour, she was told no places were open and therefore, they couldn't send someone to give her a jump.
My daughter tried again this morning at about 6 AM and was basically told the same thing as last night -- no places were open and they wouldn't be able to send someone out for at least a few hours. It's not like she was in the middle of nowhere, but was in a town of about 15,000 at the time.
Question: I thought this was supposed to be 24-7 Roadside Assistance. What gives?? I haven't had a chance to call Good Sam yet, but will certainly do so as soon as I am off of work.
Is this the kind of thing I should expect if (Heavens forbid) I need assistance with an RV or car breakdown in the future??

[Mike Magee]

I am also on a large forum owned by GS - Camping World, and I have read tons of complaints about GS roadside assistance. Sorry to hear that you switched. This might be one of those situations where it is better to pay a little more, and potentially get a lot more.

[stude]

I switched from our BCAA service in Canada as they do not tell the truth when we signed up so we switched from them to Good Sam and I have had the best service in all our travels I have lost a fan belt in Idaho and in about 6 hours was on the road again, starter went in Death Valley that means no AC unit actually nothing! It took to the end of the day to get fixed, first guy came thinking it was the battery but no it turned out to be the starter, 2nd fellow came from Las Vegas and had it fixed by about 4:00PM, as far as I'm concerned they gave us real good service and we were thankful to have them. Also our fan belt in another unit was sloppy and needed a new one so they gave me a fellow in Moab who was a diesel guy but he managed to fix our problem and said to take the other fan belt back to the store as they sold you the wrong one. All I can say is we have had good service from them.
Remeber Monday was Christmas Day and in Canada Tuesday was Boxing day, both Holidays here, they also need some time off as they came to us at all hours.
Stude.

[Kardon]

We switched from AAA after they left us stranded on a quiet highway in the middle of the night, with a flat tire and (unknown to us) a flat spare. It was about the third time they had done this but the other two times we were at home. They never even called to say that they couldn't find anyone. We ended up flagging down a state trooper who managed to find a guy in the area who had a tire he thought would get us home (it did) Also living in an area where frozen batteries and slides into snowbanks are common, I didn't like the limits they placed on calls. We've only used Good Sam once in the last couple of years but they showed up promptly and took us to our preferred mechanic. I've been happy with them.

[Glenn Baglo]

While you are sitting in a snow bank, waiting for a tow, there are likely dozens of others in the same situation.
And, you're not going to recall, or post, those times when AAA or BCAA showed up promptly.
I predict this will soon stray into "lousy service from Good Sam".

[ehoepner]

We were on I-25 North of Wheatland WY when a bearing went bad and the serpentine belt burned up. Took an hour for the truck to come from Douglas, and hour back to Douglas, two hours to get the required parts and install them.

What a great service. Had AAA at one time, never again.

[Huck]

Just a note on Good Sam.

You can enroll in Good Sam Roadside Assistance without becoming a Good Sam member. Separate fees for Roadside Assistance and Good Sam Club.

[dblcola]

I had very good service the 1 time i needed them.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Peter S. in Iowa

Hi all. Merry Christmas (belated) and Happy New Year!
I am looking for some info from those with experience with Good Sam roadside assistance. I changed to them this past year after Coach-Net raised their rate.
Last night, my daughter's car needed a jump. At around 8 PM she contacted Good Sam and was told to stand by while they called around seeking someone who would get out to her. After about an hour, she was told no places were open and therefore, they couldn't send someone to give her a jump.
My daughter tried again this morning at about 6 AM and was basically told the same thing as last night -- no places were open and they wouldn't be able to send someone out for at least a few hours. It's not like she was in the middle of nowhere, but was in a town of about 15,000 at the time.
Question: I thought this was supposed to be 24-7 Roadside Assistance. What gives?? I haven't had a chance to call Good Sam yet, but will certainly do so as soon as I am off of work.
Is this the kind of thing I should expect if (Heavens forbid) I need assistance with an RV or car breakdown in the future??

Your story surprises me. We've had Good Sam Roadside Assistance for many years. We've had at least 8 tows from our house or on the road at all times of the day and evening. We've had a tire blowout on a motorhome and other problems in the 30 years we've belonged to them. We've always gotten service. Just remember if a tow service is not open they can't give you service. They contract with tow services and don't own them. If you want to file a complaint with the CEO of Good Sam his name is Marcus Lemonis. His email is MarcusVIP@goodsamfamily.com Contacting the CEO may help to get more places in line for towing. I'm sure if a cop needed a car towed at an accident they would get service. I'd call Good Sam Roadside Assistance and make a complaint also.

[Kardon]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

While you are sitting in a snow bank, waiting for a tow, there are likely dozens of others in the same situation.
And, you're not going to recall, or post, those times when AAA or BCAA showed up promptly.
I predict this will soon stray into "lousy service from Good Sam".

Since I moved to Northern Maine 12 years ago I have not received decent service from Triple A. They have been very slow', counted one call for service as two (I argued and won on that one) and argued about which mechanic to tow my car to, even though my choice was closer. The tow truck came from the other guy. In California, the service was fine??? I will not use AAA again. Kr

[Glenn Baglo]

I'm not for or agin AAA or Sam.
Mine was a general comment on the interweb and complaints.

[Wayne Collins]

We just toss the GS mailings trying to get us to sign up for Roadside Assistance.
Our Home and Auto Insurance carrier has an emergency assistance service at no extra charge.
I'm surprised that GS would cover cars that are not an RV.

[Cathi]

Roadside assistance often covers any vehicle you are in, even if you are not driving, and even if no trailer when it is Good Sam. AAA covers you, as I recall, even if you are a passenger in someone else's vehicle. Any company may have some kind of limit on the calls per year. Also, Good Sam has a premium level and standard level regarding miles they will tow, and others may have similar.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Peter S. in Iowa

Hi all. Merry Christmas (belated) and Happy New Year!
I am looking for some info from those with experience with Good Sam roadside assistance. I changed to them this past year after Coach-Net raised their rate.
Last night, my daughter's car needed a jump. At around 8 PM she contacted Good Sam and was told to stand by while they called around seeking someone who would get out to her. After about an hour, she was told no places were open and therefore, they couldn't send someone to give her a jump.
My daughter tried again this morning at about 6 AM and was basically told the same thing as last night -- no places were open and they wouldn't be able to send someone out for at least a few hours. It's not like she was in the middle of nowhere, but was in a town of about 15,000 at the time.
Question: I thought this was supposed to be 24-7 Roadside Assistance. What gives?? I haven't had a chance to call Good Sam yet, but will certainly do so as soon as I am off of work.
Is this the kind of thing I should expect if (Heavens forbid) I need assistance with an RV or car breakdown in the future??

Most likely this was simply because of the coincidence of the holiday season. There are a LOT of companies that close the doors during the week between Christmas and New Years so that their employees can travel to visit out of town relatives. A lot of companies also cut their staff back to a minimum that week so the employees can spend time with their families. These inconveniences will continue to happen during that week especially since there are so many people out on the road either traveling or shopping and there are so few service people working that week. Christmas overload, it is frustrating but not worth quitting over since it could have happened to her with any of the towing insurance companies.

[stude]

Kardon made my Memory come back to the worst breakdown we had in Lincoln, Nebraska we had pulled into a pull out to stop and have some lunch and a nap. When started up the road just about to join the Traffic flow we heard this loud bang coming from the engine of our 99 Rexhall, with a V10, and not knowing about 3 plugs not having enough threads to hold the plug in place, we called our Good Sam, We got real lucky they sent the right man to do a man-sized job, He put the 26' Motor Home on top of his deck and hooked up the U-haul trailer with car on it to the back of his truck and away we went all 3 of us in his cab, he tried 4 places this being a Thursday and most were off until Monday then he phoned one Diesel guy and he said sure bring them over I will have them on the road by 2PM Friday and he was right on and the price for the tow, mechanical work was very reasonable and we were thankful that it all went smoothly and we kept working our way to Greenville, Indiana. This was a 100% volunteer thing I did for this fellow as my wife, sister in law and me were on holidays and heading into Chicago to the Museum there for about a week, where we camped at the dunes and everyday took the train up to Chicago to go through that huge Museum and I tell you one would be hard pressed to see it all in one day.
The problem with the engine was the #1plug had blown itself out along with the coil and landed on top of the engine. When we got home I bought 2 more plugs with coils as they would probably go and when we sold it they went with the MH and I explained to the new owner the tool he would need to fix it if goes again and showed him how to do it. He already had the kit as I gave it to him. He was happy to get this 99 26' Rexhall as we had almost rebuilt the problem areas.
Stude.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Wayne Collins

We just toss the GS mailings trying to get us to sign up for Roadside Assistance.
Our Home and Auto Insurance carrier has an emergency assistance service at no extra charge.
I'm surprised that GS would cover cars that are not an RV.

They cover cars since they can be used for towing. They will tow the towing vehicle and trailer. Also a motor home will be towed. Check your home and auto insurance to make sure they will tow you to the nearest facility that can work on your vehicle, not just the nearest facility that could be just a gas station. Also make sure they will tow your trailer and tow vehicle. Many only tow the tow vehicle and your trailer is left sitting. I've heard of it and seen it.

[Glenn Baglo]

What they do depends on what plan you have ( what you pay ).
I have BCAA RV PLUS, which covers the tow and the trailer.
Read the contract and buy what you require.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

What they do depends on what plan you have ( what you pay ).
I have BCAA RV PLUS, which covers the tow and the trailer.
Read the contract and buy what you require.

Good Sam Road Service covers your tow vehicle and trailer on all their plans. They tow to the nearest facility that can work on your vehicle not just the nearest gas station place. The more expensive plan covers more than one RV like I have a trailer and motor home. Before I had 2 RV's they covered everything I had. I have used them several times for breakdowns and a blown tire.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

I have used them several times for breakdowns and a blown tire.

Yup. And, you're not complaining that they didn't tow your trailer when you weren't covered for that.

[ripple]

I have Good Sam's replacement coverage on my 2014 Lil Snoozy, which I bought used in 2016,
The trailer was totaled in a wreck last month, and Good Sam is giving me the full replacement cost of a new Snoozy. If I don't buy a new trailer they will give me about 50% , which is the depreciated value of a "regular" 3 year old trailer. I will probably be a Good Sam customer for life now. I have 6 months to decide on a replacement trailer (it does not have to be a Snoozy).