Broken adventure

[ConnieKat]

Hi Dadvan,
I was fortunate in not having your kind of problem. But I have keep a trickle charger on mine. We still have not found the drain on the engine battery! I guess with a used van, you really have to watch out.
Mine was listed as being “ completely self-sufficient”,
But prev. Owner had removed the entire propane system-stove, furnace, and all hoses and connections! I’m now trying to get a solar set-up to
replace it, but need help with installation. I’m in south central Colorado if anyone has someone to recommend?
Thanks, and best of luck!
ConnieKat

[Christopher Thwaites]

Dadvan check with your insurance company before getting aaa. They may offer roadside service for less with better coverage. Mine does. Aaa isn’t everywhere either.

[Pidpot1]

Also with AAA tow, check the policy. Ive heard that they service paved maintained roads, not unmaintained or dirt. This will vary by region. After hearing that I checked my own policy and indeed its there. Have been considering a SPOT beacon since, to make use of the SOV option, since.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by Christopher Thwaites

Dadvan check with your insurance company before getting aaa. They may offer roadside service for less with better coverage. Mine does. Aaa isn’t everywhere either.

I have both AAA RV Premier, and also roadside assistance with my insurance (state farm).

AAA because they tend to have the best response times for minor roadside issues (lockouts, battery service etc.) but mainly because of the 100 mile tow home or anywhere else you want to go, or 200 miles with premier. Any other roadside assistance, even the "unlimited" plans, only take you back to the nearest service provider. Also AAA will tow my trailer, sending 2 trucks if needed.

I have coverage through State Farm, because they have no restriction on winch-outs, where AAA only covers terrain accessible from "normally maintained roads".

[ConnieKat]

Hi all,
We’ve had very good luck with “Good Sam”, and yes they will come out on dirt and gravel roads which a quite standard where I live. They came and got mine
and had to take it about 35 miles from where I live. Very quick response time too.
Hope this helps,
ConnieKat

[Orv]

Another AAA issue diesel owners should be aware of is that in some places their policy is to tow any diesel that runs out of fuel, instead of just bringing a jerrycan like they do with a gas vehicle. I ran into this with my '81 Mercedes -- they said that many diesels are very hard to re-start after they've lost prime, so now they just tow them to a shop. I convinced the guy to tow my car to a fuel station that also happened to have a shop, then he watched me re-prime it with the little hand pump.

[JWA]

Because I rarely venture too far outside my own area code any AAA towing I need done would be directed to one particular large, reliable and frequent provider for them here locally. In fact they typically bill AAA TWO MILLION dollars a year. They're that good!

As I've had this outfit two twice for me so far I have a bit of a slight working relationship, have their direct contact phone numbers I can call and get them ready to take the call from AAA. I don't know this would work for everyone but relating to the longer distances they'd be willing to accept AAA's limits of payment and just charge me the additional mileage cost if any would apply.

As I'm almost never more than 130 miles from "home" if the first 100 miles are covered I'm not facing astronomical towing charges. Because this bunch is reliable and I like their approach to business I'm okay to pay them---they're known to me and well worth what they charge.

If you're in a similar situation as me try working with a AAA affiliate tow operator---it might be well worth the effort.

Most likely though the RV+ Premier policy would work best for the SMB-type vehicles---you'd be covered almost regardless what you're driving at time of need.

[shadetreevanman]

With my recent breakdown 200 miles from home, I regretted letting my AAA Premier coverage lapse in recent years. In my VW days I made sure I always had it. With my recently renewed Basic AAA coverage of 6 miles towing, I was worried they may not tow my 10 foot tall van, or object that it was actually an RV. They didn't care if it was an RV inside they said, it looks like a commuter van outside. Of course I had to pay for 194 of those 200 miles out of pocket. I've upgraded back to Premier AAA since that $1000 mistake.