Emergency Road Service

[dale farley]

Do most of you have an emergency road service such as Good Sam, Explorer, Camping World or AAA? I've had AAA on my automobiles for 35 years but don't know how they compare to other services for RVs. I wish I'd subscribed to some service last year when I blew a tire on the rear of my American Coach. The tire destroyed an air bag and left me stranded for a while.

[Jerry Winchester]

We have both CoachNet and AAA. I have used CoachNet and it was okay. They weren't much help, but then neither were the three largest RV dealers in Phoenix, so about all you can hope for is towing or jumping or some related item.

The best thing is to have Jon's phone number and a computer :eek:

[Orren Zook]

I have Camping World's (Affinity) RV card and have used it three times in the last 4 years: two tows and a flat repair/tire delivery. One tow in VA was better than could be expected, the other tow (NY) could be catagorized as the rip off of the bus owner - but a great photo op for the towing company, they dispatched a second wrecker with more bling to be photographed with the bus on the back. The flat tire dismount, tire delivery, remount and balance took about two hours in GA - not too bad of service. I figure that I'm still way ahead dollar wise for the cost of the membership vs road service used, they also cover all vehicles in your household but I still have AAA for the family truckster.

[dale farley]

Has anyone actually used AAA for a tow or flat on a coach? I am wondering if AAA is savy enough to send the proper tow vehicle to haul a bus. I did use them one time over 30 years ago to pull a converted 4704 bus, and they sent a toy wrecker. I couldn't believe the driver even hooked up; but he did, and his wrecker went down instead of the bus going up.

[BrianE]

We have used the AAA road service for many years. When we got our first coach we shopped for other services but came back to AAA because we felt they had a superior coast to coast network. In the past year we have unfortunately had to use them twice for tow service. It immediately became apparant however, that you must carefully explain your tow and/or maintenance requirements. Don't rely on the insurance service rep. You must also follow up with a call (it may be a three way conversation with your service provider included) to the tow/maintenance vendor. You must make it clear that you need a heavy truck service facility familiar with towing a bus. Make sure they are aware of your weight, dimensions and drive train requirements. Once that is established they worked with us for a good result. The learning curve for getting good service, for us at least, was very steep and resulted in serious delays on our first tow.

At POG II Jon talked about our brake systems and how the spring brake actuators can be "caged". This is a good example of being familiar with your bus systems and being able to explain your basic needs to a tow/maintenance vendor. Understanding the basics of your problem is essential to a successful experience, NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE INSURED WITH. Another part of the process is to determine where your vehicle is to be towed. An hour on the cell phone BEFORE arranging for the tow can save many Lewbucks. AAA for instance, will only tow the first 100 miles without charge. Would suggest that any tow after the first one is on you and that a 200 or 300 mile tow to the right facility might save money in the long run. As a part of this process, make sure the tow rate doesn't change when you start paying, tow rates should be charged on mileage not on time. Establish the tow fee before the fact. Use your resources: call Prevost, the nearest Detroit/Allison dealer, your coach convertor, or anyone else (Jon, JDUB) you have knowledge of to help you determine your course of action before getting the tow.

Reading this over now makes it seem pretty basic. Too bad I didn't understand the basics a little better when broken down and feeling slightly panicked on the side of the interstate.

BrianE
94Liberty XL

[Jon Wehrenberg]

After our bus fire the trooper called the next tow service in line. The insurance company had approved the tow to Prevost so all I had to do was insure the truck and driver were capable.

I sent the first guy on his way because he had never towed a bus, and his truck did not have enough reach to allow his truck to turn without crunching our front corners.

When truck number two showed up it was obvious it was capable, and it was also obvious the driver was experienced. What is important for owners to realize is that they are the boss and just because a driver acts like he does this every day and everythihng is OK, you still must protect your interests. In my particular case I insured the bar that extended under the front axle was extended far enough so a sharp turn would not allow the truck to jack knife into the front of the coach. I also was careful about how the driver strung the wires for the remote tailights and the air hose to keep the bus air up. The bus air only keeps the emergency brakes off and does nothing else.

One thing Brian did not touch on but every owner needs to understand clearly. If you can easily repair your coach, avoid a tow. Brian touched on this when he mentioned caging brakes. Tow only as a last resort, and for a distance no greater than your coach can handle. There are often comments about buses losing air in the air bags. As an example, if you have a coach losing air, a tow could be a disaster unless you make the driver understand the situation and he deals with it. If you are on the end of a hook and your rear air bag loses air, he will never know it and you will not only have to repair that which caused the tow, but you will have to repair whatever damage followed the collapse of the rear air bag.

There are reasons to be anal.