Roadside Assistance plans

I purchased a Good Sam (Camping World) Roadside Assistance just before I traveled across the country to pick up my RV last June. Ironically and unbeknownst to me, Roadtrek provides a 1st year membership to Coach-Net. I also have towing coverage (limited) on my insurance policy. I often travel with a friend that has AAA coverage that apparently would apply should we need it. I'm coming up on the anniversary (aka renewal) of the 2 roadside assistance plans. I'm Pacific Northwest based, planning on principally traveling the west (ie Rocky Mtn states and west) in USA and Canada with perhaps an occasional trip east in future years.

1. What do others use re roadside assistance plans?
2. Do you find a single plan adequately provides service thru your travel areas or do you find it spotty and thus use a 2nd plan as backup?
3. Do you use a "basic" plan or one of the enhanced (aka premium/platinum/etc) plan?
4. What premiums do you pay?

Originally I paid $59 for a year's coverage thru Good Sam, a special at the time. They've already sent me a renewal notice @ $89, with an offer of $139 for their premium (platinum) plan. I see their website currently offering $69 for the basic plan.

FWIW, I did find 2015 Best: Roadside Assistance Plans Review with a table comparing 11 roadside assistance plans, only 6 of which included RV coverage without additional premiums. Basic/Standard premiums, not necessarily covering the same things, range from $49-96/yr. Noting the absence of Coach-Net in the table, I now realize that they apparently are a separate company/division of National Motor Club.

The first thing to realize is that NONE of these services actually own fleets of tow trucks. You are paying for somebody to locate and call a local towing business wherever you happen to be. This means that if you are in a challenging location, you are likely to have the same guy named Bubba show up, no matter whom you are paying. So, don't think you are shopping for good tow service. It will be more or less the luck of the draw in all cases. What you are shopping for is the best-run Bangalore call center. You will find a lot of strong opinions about which company has the "best" service. I personally doubt that there is a whit of difference among the lot. There IS however a lot of difference in coverage and cost. Shop carefully.

Secondly, note that if you have ANY Mercedes warranty, you have free roadside assistance courtesy of the Father Benz. It may or may not be adequate for your needs and comfort level.

Thirdly, if you are a AAA loyalist, you should look carefully before you automatically sign up for their RV coverage. It appears to have many loopholes and limitations.

Fourth, the "sleeper" in this space is Allstate Motor Club RV Roadhelp:

https://www.allstatemotorclub.com/amcc/plans/plans.faces?_adf.ctrl-state=t5vfekp69_9&_afrLoop=3072274621732300

If you think you like "Good Sam's", you really should look at these guys, because Good Sam's are just a reseller of Allstate:

http://www.rvbusiness.com/2012/12/good-sam-allstate-extend-roadside-services/

If you do an apples-to-apples comparison, you will find that if you cut out the middleman go directly to Allstate, you will get a MUCH better deal. Plus, if you have ever had anything to do with Good Sam's, you know that they will fill your snail-mail box with incredible volumes of trash till the end of time. It is really unbelievable.

(BTW: Allstate Motor Club has nothing to do with whether or not you buy your vehicle insurance from Allstate)

But most important in roadside assistance is, are you towed to the "nearest repair facility" (Joe's Garage that won't have an MB specific code reader) or to the "nearest authorized repair facility" which would have to be a Mecerdes dealer that services Sprinters. World of difference, like hundreds of miles in some places in the western states.

Gary

Checked last week on AAA Mileage Plus that I've had for years, covers motorcycles,
gas delivery & 100 miles, no extra fee, to the garage of your choice.

Thought there used to be a Plus RV, but it didn't show up.
They said the 2500 was no problem, 3500 maybe not?

Anyway, thanks for the options to check on....

BluHighway,
Might want to check if the plan you are subscribed to will bring you diesel fuel.
Many will not....only gasoline!
Roger

I will second Avanti's comments... no matter what service you select you will be serviced by the same local providers so shop price and features because ultimately the local service will be the same, good or bad. And yes, read the fine print with AAA... they have a lot of vehicle exclusions and mileage limitations whereas most of the others cover towing everything you drive for an unlimited distance to the nearest capable service center, and this expanded service is usually at a price similar to or less than AAA.

After discovering that our Liberty Mutual Insurance's roadside assistance was basically paying $50 to insure against a $125 expense, I researched the options and decided that CoachNet was the clear winner. If anyone disagrees, I'd love to hear why - I'll change if there's a better plan out there.

cacaw said:

After discovering that our Liberty Mutual Insurance's roadside assistance was basically paying $50 to insure against a $125 expense, I researched the options and decided that CoachNet was the clear winner. If anyone disagrees, I'd love to hear why - I'll change if there's a better plan out there.

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Hmmm. We have had Allstate RV for a number of years now (with zero claims), but intend to take another close look at renewal time. CoachNet is probably the leading contender as an alternative. I owe them an apology in that they advertise their call center as being 100% US based, so apparently my snide "Bangalore" comment doesn't apply to them.

If anybody has done a point-by-point comparison between Allstate and CoachNet, I'd love to see the data. I think they are very similar in cost and on-paper features, but I am wondering if the "intangibles" might actually be better with CoachNet.

I can't really see any substantial difference between CoachNet, Good Sam, and Allstate in terms of services offered. Everyone has their own anecdotal experiences with one or the other ('x is great', or 'x is terrible'), but you know the Internet... nothing is consistent. I've used them all but not enough to form an accurate and objective overall assessment of their customer service. Frankly I think no one really has.

Interesting revelation about Good Sam being Allstate. Camping World professes to offer to Good Sam holders "22 point inspections at any time".....probably more of a ploy to get you into their shop for inevitable "needed repairs/service" work....skeptic that I am. I'll need to drill down further (good grief...another project!) as to any differences in plan features/services/customer interface/rates between Good Sam and Allstate. Also note that at least some of these vendors extend, at no extra fee, the coverage not only to your RV but all other vehicles/trailers you own...check the details.

It also should be pointed out that the table linked in my original post appears to be auto centric, ie you can find that some of these vendors offer several plans some of which are tailored to RVs....and at different rates/features than listed.

I do think that unlimited (or at least > the token 5 or even 50 miles) towing is crucial. I suppose I need to confirm that towing a Sprinter needs to be done via flatbed and therefore ensure that such needs are covered.

Re Roger's comment about ensuring that diesel is furnished (out of fuel), good point.....but also one that begs the question: "how does one restart a diesel after running out of fuel?".....not that I've EVER run out of gas!!!

Russ61 said:

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Re Roger's comment about ensuring that diesel is furnished (out of fuel), good point.....but also one that begs the question: "how does one restart a diesel after running out of fuel?".....not that I've EVER run out of gas!!!

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No big deal. Modern diesels are not much different than a gas engine.

NAS aka NAFTA Sprinters MY 2004 and newer.

Cycle the key on a few times for about 10 second intervals. This allows the in tank electric low pressure fuel pump to push fuel back up into the fuel system. (The fuel pump times out if the engine doesn't start.) The return lines will purge any air back to the tank.

Crank to start. It may take a couple extra crank rotations than normal for the high pressure pump to push fuel up to the injectors.

NAS aka NAFTA MY 2003 and older.

No need to cycle the key. The mechanical low pressure fuel pump needs the engine turning to prime the system.

Crank the engine in shorter intervals with time between to get the pump to move fuel up to the high pressure system. Do not grind the starter for long periods of time. Short intervals help to keep from overheating the starter motor. As long as there are no air leaks in the system (fingers crossed), the system will self prime. It may take a few tries.

vic

cacaw said:

After discovering that our Liberty Mutual Insurance's roadside assistance was basically paying $50 to insure against a $125 expense, I researched the options and decided that CoachNet was the clear winner. If anyone disagrees, I'd love to hear why - I'll change if there's a better plan out there.

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We've had Coach-Net RV coverage for many years and although we've never had to use their services, I'm not planning to try another provider. The price is reasonable, $233 (~$78/yr) if you choose the three year basic plan that covers only your RV. We use AAA for our other vehicles.

I've verified that Coach-Net will tow you to an MB Sprinter dealer for service if that's required, not just a local garage. I'm not sure about the other plans.

smiller said:

I can't really see any substantial difference between CoachNet, Good Sam, and Allstate in terms of services offered. Everyone has their own anecdotal experiences with one or the other ('x is great', or 'x is terrible'), but you know the Internet... nothing is consistent. I've used them all but not enough to form an accurate and objective overall assessment of their customer service. Frankly I think no one really has.

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I agree that the service plans are now very similar (more so than when I shopped a few years ago). But they do vary by price. It is kind of hard to shop, since Allstate and GS only advertise their "introductory" (first year) prices. I dug a little and tried to make an apples-to-apples comparison. I specifically shopped for the cheapest service levels that (a) covers all vehicles (so I don't need AAA as well); and (b) covers spouse and dependents while driving. As best I can tell, here are the annual prices:

1) Allstate RV Roadhelp: $114.95 (this what I am actually currently paying)
2) CoachNet Premier: $159.00
3) Good Sam RV Standard: $114.95 (N.B.: This only covers ONE RV, although it does cover your other vehicles)

Both CoachNet and Good Sam offer multi-year discounts. CoachNet is $142/year if you commit to three years). GS alludes to such discounts but (typical for them), they are squirrelly about revealing them. You need to call. I have not seen multi-year discounts for Allstate.

So, if these numbers are correct, the conclusion is:
Allstate and Good Sam are similar in price, but Allstate does not limit you to a single RV.
CoachNet is significantly more expensive, but they DO have an US-based call center (which might actually be worth something). They also seem to get better reviews, for whatever that is worth.

P.S. -- I mentioned the atrocious junk mail behavior of GS. Proving my point, I found the following on CoachNet's FAQ page:

If I become a member, do you send junk mail all the time?
No. Because you are an RVer, we respect that you may be on the road and away from home and therefore try to limit the number of mail pieces you receive. You can manage the manner in which we communicate with you through your account information in the Member area online.

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I thought that was funny. It is pretty bad if your competitors use lack of junk mail as one of their advantages!

avanti said:

I thought that was funny. It is pretty bad if your competitors use lack of junk mail as one of their advantages!

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True dat. And it's also true that Good Sam's marketing efforts can be pretty obnoxious. I use them now because I also use the membership for other purposes, but if not I'd consider Allstate a good alternate. You can eventually get unsubscribed from most of Good Sam's garbage mailings, but it takes a while. There are so many complaints about this that you'd think they'd 'get the memo', but I guess not.

I have Progressive RV policy. $880 a year for high coverage, low deductible. In two years will be zero deductible for any loss. Includes roadside assistance with no deductible to "nearest qualified repair facility". Of course, while still under warranty will call Mercedes first and have them tow to their nearest Sprinter service center.

avanti said:

.................
1) Allstate RV Roadhelp: $114.95 (this what I am actually currently paying)
2) CoachNet Premier: $159.00
3) Good Sam RV Standard: $114.95 (N.B.: This only covers ONE RV, although it does cover your other vehicles)

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Pete,
I'm jamming to get my renewals in before leaving on a trip extending past expiration dates of current plans. In reviewing options I found:
I can renew my Coach Net Gold plan (replaced by Premiere with a few dubious "enhancements") apparently by virtue of "grandfathered in" @ $109/yr or $299/3yrs. Premiere plan (for renewals?) is $129.50/yr or 3x less $30 for 3 years. Note that your quoted price of $159/yr includes a first year $10 charge, thereafter "list" price is $149......press for further discount.
Good Sam has 3 plans: Std, Platinum, and Platinum plus. Only the Std limits you to 1 RV. The Platinum allows multiple RVs (and other vehicles) but apparently only with you as the driver.

I'm leaning heavily toward renewing my CoachNet membership based on coverage (as listed), premium, and reviews by others here and elsewhere......and hoping that I never need it! I also noted that MB's Roadside Assistance plan covers Sprinters if under warranty (original or extended) for free (not counting cost of Sprinter!), featuring many of the same services as others seemingly.

Called Coach Net this AM to clarify difference in benefits between Gold (old) and Premiere (new replacement) plans. Premiere offers enhancements (see 3rd FAQ). I was dismissive of the Assist America Global Emergency Services feature, assuming it to be just the coordination of such. Coach Net states that AAGES actually PAYS for all of these services including transportation to an "adequate medical facility....capable of providing a high standard of care", get you home after discharge if unable to drive yourself, transport a family member or friend to accompany you (if hospitalized 7+ days), return your RV to home, etc. Probably worth the extra $20/yr.

Note that most policies have a single call out limit, ie ONE service per incident....I'm not sure how that works if the 1st service doesn't fix the problem. I'll have Coach Net as primary coverage with MB's Roadside Assistance, my auto/RV policy's towing ($150 limit), and my usual traveling companion's AAA (auto, not AAA RV) policy as backups.

On to the next project!!!!

Russ61 said:

I'll have Coach Net as primary coverage with MB's Roadside Assistance, my auto/RV policy's towing ($150 limit), and my usual traveling companion's AAA (auto, not AAA RV) policy as backups.

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A newbie question = Why do You feel it is necessary to have another ERS plan on top of the MB ERS?
Thanks in advance

Explore said:

A newbie question = Why do You feel it is necessary to have another ERS plan on top of the MB ERS?
Thanks in advance

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You could probably get away with just the MB ERS during your warranty period. The other providers do have other features that may be useful. I (now) have CoachNet mostly because it covers ALL our vehicles, not just the Sprinter, so it is an adequate substitute for AAA. I see absolutely no reason to carry AAA if you have CoachNet.

Avanti;
Thanks for the reply - makes sense........I'll have to take a close look at what else is offered by C-N, Allstate, etc......to see if the additional bells & whistles + backup ERS to MB
is worth the price since I will not have any other vehicles. Thanks again

Picking up my first sprinter 2006 T1N next week. I feel like a kid. I have been waiting a long time to embark on this journey. But before I get on too far, what I would like to know from any of you Canuks, is, is there an option for emergency issues other than CAA. I have inquired in the US, but since my van will be licensed in Ontario none of them can help. Regular insurance was not a problem because it is a factory made van. Just the other stuff like breakdown etc. Any help is appreciated.