Why We Don't Recommend AAA RV Roadside Assistance

In this video, we discuss why we don't recommend AAA roadside assistance. It may be great for certain RVers, but for those who travel long distances or have larger RVs, there may be some pitfalls.

Do you find value in videos like this? Want to support RV Miles and fact-based journalism? Consider the following:

* Subscribe to the channel, give this video a thumbs-up and share on your social media.

******************************
Connect with RV Miles:

#RVs #RVNews #Camping #RVlife #fulltimeRV #RVMiles

[robertroth]

Got stranded on I-95 in Georgia towing a fifth wheel. Fortunately, we had AAA RV towing service specifically for that purpose. They never found a tow truck for us and left us stranded at night for hours despite repeated calls to them. We ended up calling on our own to get a service truck. Never again would I use them for an RV.

[marykaywiessner]

We had a HORRIBLE experience with AAA last year! We were 80 miles out of Ely, NV when our pick up broke down while pulling our 33 ft 5th wheel. We were stranded on the side of the 2 lane busy highway for 28 hours. AAA could not locate anyone to tow us! The tow company that could tow us wouldn’t deal with AAA. AAA said we were on our home! I finally located someone about 18 hours later that would tow us and then waited overnight for someone at AAA to approve. It was really a nightmare.

[telfairf]

Too funny! Halfway through the video an ad came on for AAA 😂

[andrewfidel]

AAA left me in the lurch twice, done after being a customer for over 20 years. Went with Coachnet and the experience was SO much better than the last few times I used AAA even not counting the ones where they left us holding the bag.

BTW it was AAA of the Carolinas that screwed me over both times. There's nothing more useless to me than a service that doesn't actually help me when I'm on the side of the road.

[lindadurst]

We have used Good Sam Roadside since 2011 and they have saved our bacon twice in the middle of nowhere. It also covers our car/truck.

[bignate]

I've worked for AAA for the last ~6 years. The change you're referencing affected members who Upgraded to RV on or after 04/01/2020. Anyone before that got an additional year of the previous coverage, before being ushered into the 500$ per call cap up to 1000$ total coverage. Working closely with both sides of the house, I can assure you, YOU'RE RIGHT! If I owned an RV, I would go with Good Sam. I've talked to many members who still use us for ERS coverage for their vehicle, but use other companies for their RV because of the hoops AAA made them jump through for the coverage. I do enjoy the informative way you made the video and read the disclaimers verbatim. Well done and keep it up!

[iluvthekjv]

We've had AAA for about 3 yrs. We have used them 3 times when we broke down on the interstate, no problems with so far.

[horizonq]

I’ve had Coachnet since May 1999 when I bought my first Class A
22 + yrs.
Also, Coachnet covers all your family vehicles (cars) for the one fee too.

[EatTravelHappy]

We paid extra for RV coverage with AAA. We were very clear asking them what they would cover in different situations. We needed to be towed about a half mile off a road in South Dakota. They said they would only tow us if we were on a road. Even if we were right next to the road, they wouldn't help us. They never said that originally when we signed up with them. Long story short, we found other RV'ers that could tow us. We cancelled AAA. So far we have never been in a situation where we haven't been able to get out of with the help of another RV'er.

[brucefay]

We have been with CoachNet for years. Have 40 foot bus conversion. Towed a couple of times. Great customer service.

[bobsawhill]

Good video and explanation of limitations and potential headaches with AAA for RV's. I learned some new points from this video, and few on my own the hard way. I've been an AAA member for decades and happy with their services in general (autos, flat tires on trailers, etc.). Yet, recently learned to read the fine print better when shopping for roadside assistance for RV's, and hence, added another service in addition to AAA premium plus for RV's. In our case, we had a 5th wheel and our truck died on I-5 in northern California. We had no idea what was wrong and towed it to the closest shop to diagnose the problem (one large tow truck towed both the truck & 5th wheel together). That counted as 2 tows 1 for the truck and 1 for the trailer. It turned out that the problem was severe enough that the repairs couldn't be done there, and we needed to tow it again another 98 miles to the closest truck dealer (still >200 miles from home). The second tow, for the same incident, also counted as 2 additional tows, and now our 4 tows for the year were maxed out for remaining 9 months of the year. In exploring our second tow options, we found that we could get the truck towed 200 miles, but the trailer only 100 miles. If we wanted to go further or all the way home, and the additional cost is $10/mile/per vehicle. As well, they would tow the trailer to the truck dealer, but not to a RV storage facility or a campground. So, after the second tow, we got home in a rental car, and went back a few weeks later to retrieve our rig. With that said, the AAA cooperation, dispatching, tow service, and timeliness were all fine. The two tows (2 x 2 = 4) were covered, and it got the job done. So, we learned about the AAA policy limitations, and are seeking better RV coverage to supplement AAA. Now, I worry about the fine print in the other services that I may have overlooked this time, and maybe I will I need stuff-happens supplement for my new supplement to my AAA coverage. happy trails...

[enr]

Several months ago, my son was involved in a no-fault 3 car accident out of state (in IL). While the other 2 cars (both IL plated), were hauled off for repair w/in 1/2 hour, it took AAA over 4 hours to provide roadside assistance. The problem is when you are involved in an accident in one state while having initiated service in another, the Club from the state where the accident occurs needs confirmation from your state where you originated the service. Apparently, after 15 or so calls to both our home state (VA) and IL, they finally managed to get confirmation and let out a contract for towing, but only after we pleaded w the tower to act before he was in receipt of the AAA contract to assist. During this time, my son was subjected to a hostile tower elsewhere that forced his way into the car and took my son's phone after threatening to call the police. All this information was shared w AAA Customer Service and their Executive Group. I wanted to cancel our service, but apparently, they will not allow that. How illegal is that? Buyers beware, look elsewhere. AAA is not what it used to be. They have become grifters!!!

[laurieprovencal]

So, we just broke down in New Mexico. In addition to the points you covered. AAA has changed their RV Plus and RV Premier tow plan. Apparently as of 2020 they only cover $500 for a tow...any tow. Although the AAA Sites on all say 200 miles there is as you point out a small asteric. You have to dig into the site to see the limitation. My agent didn't know about the change, so the training has not trickled down. Our first quote was $3600 to get us off the highway. You are correct about the different clubs. We broke down in Lordsburg New Mexico, near the border or Arizona and the New Mexico club said the closest heavy tow was San Antonio. We were WAY closer to Tucson but they wouldn't let me talk to the Arizona tow group because I wasn't over the border. 20 miles away. My husband was able to temporarily repair the RV and we slowly drive 30 miles until we broke down again. This time in Arizona. Three hours later we had a heavy tow. We were told our out of pocket would be $350. After getting to the Cummins Service Venter the bill turned out to be $1089.00. Working to get some reimbursement from AAA

[VidJunkie]

Thanks for sharing ... As a long time AAA member, I will need to review their terms of service. We have had great experience with them when we needed them, but that was years ago.

[nancyskean]

In the New York (Long Island) area, AAA wasn’t even an option for a Class B van. They told me there was no coverage offered!

[kxrv]

We have both AAA RV Premiere snd SafeRide. We have been AAA members for over 40 years for our cars and they have gotten us out of some weird jams over the years.

We had our first RV assistance last January when we had a flat on our left outer dually at a rest area in West Texas. Not only did it take 2 hours for the tow truck to arrive the mileage for the truck to get to us exceeded the $500 cap before they even touched our flat. So we had to pay the difference out of pocket. Yes, we were reimbursed without question by our Home Club.

We also called SafeRide but it was going to be 90 minutes for them. Next time we’ll try SafeRide first.

[lorilake]

I have been a Washington State AAA premeire RV member since 2012. I'm in the far northwest region of the state. In 2019 we had a heavy snowstorm. The next day the county plowed the road. I got stuck in my truck at the end of my driveway from the berm left by the snowplow. I dug it out but was still stick. I called triple AAA for the first time ever. The women who answered the phone told me they were too busy and refused to dispatch a towtruck to my location. She said to call again tomorrow and she'd see if anyone was available. I was furious. I cancelled my policy the next day when I was told once again there was no one available to come to my house and tow my truck three feet. My friends came over after that and we got my truck out in thirty minutes by shoveling all the ice and snow out of the berm left by the snow plow.

[AcmeRacing]

I've got the AAA RV coverage. I have a small travel trailer and a motorcycle. One of my road services was for a dead battery on the bike. I made it to within a few miles of home, and had the driver bring me home where I fixed it myself.

[gregoryhenriksen]

Progressive RV Insurance took care of us. I was real pleased with their service.

[sherriweber]

Thank you Jadon for this news. It’s great know who’s best for Rv insurance just in case something happens while on the road. We used have AAA years ago for our cars. But it’s good to know there’s options out there to get roadside assistance that are better for Rvers from other companies. Thank you again Jason!