Roadside Assistance Plan or Self Insurance?

[Jdmalibu]

I just got my first Class A Motorhome. Will probably travel a good 6000 miles per year over 4-5 weeks. I’ve always avoided AAA for my auto, and it’s paid off....only one incident in 20 years where I needed help with a lockout. Cost was $70. Now I am thinking along the same lines for the Motorhome...just pay as I go, if I have a breakdown I’ll just deal with it myself.

It looks like $200 avg per year for a roadside assistance plan. My question is weather or not this cost will payoff in the long run?

So for you experienced RVers how often are you needing emergency outsourced repairs?

I should mention my RV is 10 years old, 22k on a gas Ford triton v10.

 

[Oldchinahand]

Related questions are posted periodically. Since you asked opinion please take mine as such, and not as actionable advice.

I have a poor opinion of ANY type of insurance. And zero positive opinion of extended warranty plans. Gained through personal experience. We are self insured except as required by law (i.e. auto liability). However, being self insured requires a ton of self control over a period of time to build up the needed financial reserves. (Sounds like a two day seminar there, but retired now) Here's a previous thread discussing extended warranty plans http://www.winnieowners.com/forums/f265/motorhome-service-plans-350682.html

Having said all that, since your rig is new to you, you may not yet have intimate familiarity with all the myriads of things that can go south on you. $200 may be reasonable for piece of mind for the first year while you acclimate.

Fair Winds and Following Seas

 

[rk911]

we have roadside assistance on all our vehicles including the MH. has it paid off financially? nope but neither has our homeowners or personal liability insurance. not quite an apples-to-applies analogy but we have roadside asst. more for the convenience.

 

[SueW]

When you get hit with your first $500+ tow bill you will be kicking yourself and the hassle of finding someone to tow you. A Coachnet policy or Good Sam ERS policy gives great peace of mind.

 

[BCam]

I'm not a proponent of extended warranties but I do think a good roadside assistance policy is a good idea. Not only are they reasonably affordable compared to extended warranties, they also have relationships with tow companies and others so they can arrange for tow or roadside service much more efficiently than you can on your own. You make one call and they do the work. This is a much bigger issue than with a car since a normal sized tow truck isn't going to cut it.

 

[Meridian42e]

I've had to get every RV or tow vehicle I've owned towed for some reason - some being brand new For me, its just worth it to have it covered. We use Good Sam now, but have had Allstate and AAA before.

I had to be towed over 40 miles on Labor Day out of downtown Denver a few years ago for a coolant leak caused by road debris - it took a 3 axle rotator and they had to pull the drive shaft. I don't want to know what it would have cost, but it did cost $0.

 

[Sarah_W]

I assume the OP is regarding roadside assistance and not an extended warranty policy. That said, I would not be without roadside assistance on a motorhome. Towing and other roadside issues are best handled by those equipped to do so, and a single tow is not cheap. We have used ours once in the past 5 years, for a flat tire on our toad. Small price to pay for peace of mind.

 

[al1florida]

I just got my first Class A Motorhome. Will probably travel a good 6000 miles per year over 4-5 weeks. I’ve always avoided AAA for my auto, and it’s paid off....only one incident in 20 years where I needed help with a lockout. Cost was $70. Now I am thinking along the same lines for the Motorhome...just pay as I go, if I have a breakdown I’ll just deal with it myself.

It looks like $200 avg per year for a roadside assistance plan. My question is weather or not this cost will payoff in the long run?

So for you experienced RVers how often are you needing emergency outsourced repairs?

I should mention my RV is 10 years old, 22k on a gas Ford triton v10.

You didn't mention the length of your RV. The larger and heavier it is the larger tow truck it takes to tow it.

Do you really want to be sitting in the side of the road, calling various tow companies in a strange town and trying explain to them the size of your rig.

How do you know, or even have any idea of what a normal & reasonable charge is for the tow. We are kind of flying blind on what is the going rate. Especially if you are stuck on the weekend.

As others have written, one phone call and a tow truck, should be on the way.

Even if the tow truck doesn't show up, you still only have to call back to your service and tell them to do the work to get the tow to you.

Sometime peace of mind is well worth the couple of hundred a year.

 

[BCam]

I had to get towed on our first trip a few months ago. The cost for the tow was about $750, my cost was a little over $100. I'm not really sure why, it had something to do with a maximum cost limit.

I could amortize this over several years and justify not having a policy but this was after 5p and it took Progressive several calls and negotiations to find a suitably sized tow truck that could get to me in a reasonable amount of time. Even so, it took several hours before the truck arrived. I know it would have taken me much longer sitting alongside a country road 30 miles from the nearest town.

 

[BillB100]

When we started going by RV in 1972 things were easy to fix. Every time we buy a newer rig there is more things that can go wrongI feel like we can still fix most of what goes wrong figuring the trouble out takes time. We bought a GOOD SAM ROAS policy years ago and have used it a few times. WHEN YOU NEED IT you will be glad you have it!

 

[jerrybb-WO]

For me it's a no-brainer, especially when a plan like FMCA for $70/yr covers all my vehicles. It's a fair cost and not the ripoff of extended warranties. I've only used it once in quite a few years but still worth it for the peace of mind.

 

[Teamfoxy-WO]

We were very happy we chose AAA+RV earlier this summer when we broke down in the middle of nowhere on the Florida Turnpike. The tow company came from 80 miles away to take us off the highway.
AAA will tow you anywhere you want within 100 miles, so at first we were calling around to find a shop that could help us. No luck! But the tow company had a 24 hr mechanic and an arrangement with a parts supplier to get parts after hours. We were on our way again at 8pm on a Friday evening. AAA paid 100% of the tow and we paid for the part and the 2 hours labor to repair the engine.
I would not be without Roadside Assistance.

 

[BCam]

Just remember, like any insurance product, the company is going to make money on the deal, spread over all its customers. For each one of us who has a story about how much we saved, there will be many, many more who will have paid premiums for years without any significant return. We just don't hear those stories on our forums.

You're paying for convenience and value-added in terms of arranging the tow/service.

 

[Teamfoxy-WO]

We have had AAA since 1994 and used to use the trip routing service and get maps all the time. With GPS, we no longer need that. We've been locked out and had minor mishaps a few times, and have had trailers ramp trucked off the highway three times now. I can think of at least four times when we self rescued ourselves.
The RV coverage from AAA is fairly new and we have already used it in a tough situation. If you find yourself needing a tow, and don't have RA, the best thing you can do is call the State Police because they do have contacts and arrangements with tow services to clear accidents and road hazards.
If you don't travel a lot, and/or don't go far, you may not ever use RA. But, if you travel a lot, even with the best preparation and maintenance, sooner or later you will break down.

 

[Wetstuff]

I am old ...my impression is that AAA's usefulness peaked in my father's time when they were a good source for maps. I perhaps need a clarification of benefits*, but State Farm added 'roadside assistance' for an annual fee of $8.80 for my old coach.

Jim

*perhaps a phone call from Malaysia; "We are sure sorry that happened to you, but there is nobody available to help you this week."

 

[SueW]

I agree with you about AAA. We are members but soley to get maps. I have tried to read about their RV coverage but it appears to be lacking in details. Your $8.80 is way below what roadside assistance normally is, I would question State Farm as to what it covers. Better to know now than to find out too late.

 

[Wetstuff]

Claro, Sue... Here's a copy/paste from the relevant page.

"How Emergency Road Service Coverage Works

If you have Emergency Road Service coverage, and your vehicle breaks down or becomes disabled, we'll pay for reasonable, emergency services, including:

Mechanical labor at the breakdown site (up to one hour). Towing to the nearest repair location if the covered vehicle is not drivable.

Towing if the covered car is stuck on or immediately next to a public road.

Delivery of gas, oil, battery, or change of tire (but not the cost of these or similar items) necessary to return a covered vehicle back to driving condition.

Locksmith labor to unlock a covered car if its key is lost, stolen, or locked inside the car (up to one hour)."

I bet the person who wrote those terms never changed an inner rear tire. Cheers.

Jim

 

[SueW]

I think I'll stick to Coachnet, they have served us well and none of this 1 hour business.......