AAA changed their Towing Policy on “conversion Vans”!!!

[Steve Hunt]

Originally Posted by ucsundog

Hey Guys,


So i spent about 30 minutes discussing/arguing with another supervisor in Roadside-assistance on what is the clear definition of a “RV conversion”, and there seem’s to be a mis-understanding or to the very least a need for clarification on what they mean by the following statements on their Terms and Policy page…. Take note of the last sentence below in their Terms/conditions below…

“ Vehicle Eligibility for All Emergency Road Services

Commercial vehicles are not eligible for AAA Emergency Road Service including, but not limited to the following:

Vehicles registered to a partnership, corporation, company, commercial entity, or used for commercial purposes
Taxicabs, limousines, shuttles and vehicles used for fee-based car or ride sharing (excluding passenger vehicles being rented by a Member for the Member’s personal use) and other vehicles for hire
Box trucks, box vans, cube vans, van or truck cutaway
Commercially configured vehicles, flatbeds, landscaping vehicles, school buses (including RV conversions)”


Take Note of the words “(INCLUDING RV CONVERSIONS)”. It seems like the Supervisor and the tow dispatcher like in my case are making a judgement call as to what is an “RV conversion”, and hence making a mistake and denying my tow. Also, the sentence states “school buses(Including RV conversions)”, where the words in the parenthesis are just clarifying what kinds of school buses are NOT included, which in this case are the types that have been converted into an RV. The sentence DID NOT state, “school buses, RV conversions”.

In any case, I filed a complaint and the supervisor did also say that I can pay for the tow at my expense and then request for a review for re-imbursement, which is BS!

You were essentially arguing grammar and sentence structure at that point and unfortunately that’s a lost cause these days. Nonetheless, you’re correct in what it actually says and that is no school buses that have been converted to an RV.

My speculation on AAA pushing the “RV” upgrade onto vans is indeed the Van Life thing since that landscape is dominated by Sprinters and the like. A high top Sprinter/Transit with rooftop air (maybe add 4x4) all on the deck of a roll-back wrecker and you got to be pushing 13’6” which is max legal un-permitted height. As a “RV” I’m sure they would send a super heavy duty wrecker designed to pull the RV. On a real RV does that mean they would have to disconnect the drive shaft?? I guess on our Econoline 4x4 conversions you could flat tow a short distance just putting the transfer case in neutral??

I have my coverage thru AMA American Motorcycle Association as a Life Member and it covers truck/trailer/motos/RVs whether they’re registered to me or not (of course I have to be there). I tested it once and all went well. My buddy was driving his 1 ton Dodge pulling a 20’ enclosed trailer with our road race bikes and gear. His fuel pump went out and they sent a big enough roll back to carry his truck and tow the trailer about 2 hours home. I did exceed the mileage of what’s covered and can’t remember the details but it saved my buddy $400 ish. The real shocking part was when we hit town the driver happily pulled off the bypass, dropped me at a gas station where my wife was waiting then continued to my buddy’s house dropped off his trailer then went on to drop the truck at the Dodge dealership….all on a Sunday!!! You guys should join the AMA, pay for Life membership just to get the $29.99 / yr coverage I got….you’ll probably save money.

[velo47]

For those who might have their rigs registered to an LLC in a state like Montana, also notice the exclusion of:

"Vehicles registered to a partnership, corporation, company, commercial entity, or used for commercial purposes"

[ucsundog]

Originally Posted by Steve Hunt

You were essentially arguing grammar and sentence structure at that point and unfortunately that’s a lost cause these days. Nonetheless, you’re correct in what it actually says and that is no school buses that have been converted to an RV.

My speculation on AAA pushing the “RV” upgrade onto vans is indeed the Van Life thing since that landscape is dominated by Sprinters and the like. A high top Sprinter/Transit with rooftop air (maybe add 4x4) all on the deck of a roll-back wrecker and you got to be pushing 13’6” which is max legal un-permitted height. As a “RV” I’m sure they would send a super heavy duty wrecker designed to pull the RV. On a real RV does that mean they would have to disconnect the drive shaft?? I guess on our Econoline 4x4 conversions you could flat tow a short distance just putting the transfer case in neutral??

I have my coverage thru AMA American Motorcycle Association as a Life Member and it covers truck/trailer/motos/RVs whether they’re registered to me or not (of course I have to be there). I tested it once and all went well. My buddy was driving his 1 ton Dodge pulling a 20’ enclosed trailer with our road race bikes and gear. His fuel pump went out and they sent a big enough roll back to carry his truck and tow the trailer about 2 hours home. I did exceed the mileage of what’s covered and can’t remember the details but it saved my buddy $400 ish. The real shocking part was when we hit town the driver happily pulled off the bypass, dropped me at a gas station where my wife was waiting then continued to my buddy’s house dropped off his trailer then went on to drop the truck at the Dodge dealership….all on a Sunday!!! You guys should join the AMA, pay for Life membership just to get the $29.99 / yr coverage I got….you’ll probably save money.

Hi Steve,

I’m a member of AMA and I didn’t see a link to a lifetime membership. I’ m gonna definitely sign up since i just cancelled my AAA insurance since a case manager looked into my situation and said that they don’t do any camper vans that have been converted like in the case of SportsMobiles or Owlvans or any other van builder.

[geoffff]

I have always had AAA's "RV Plus".

The price goes up every year, and it's now up to $141

[ucsundog]

Originally Posted by geoffff

I have always had AAA's "RV Plus".

The price goes up every year, and it's now up to $141

I’ve had the highest level of AAA roadside assistance but according to their policy change in Jan 2021, they are denying vans like mine where it has a 4x4. The case manager I spoke to said specifically that they will NOT tow “vans” that have been modified by another company like FieldVans. Oh well, I cancelled my membership and now I have AMA insurance that covers towing up 35 miles and I also have State Farm that can do it for another 35 miles, and so I’m at least covered for 70 miles if I get stranded somewhere.

[m3bassman]

AAA is insurance. If you are in a position that you can self insure (pay for the once in a blue moon tow out of pocket) then that makes sense for those people. I dropped AAA years ago when I realized it would be useless on the dirt roads I spend my time on and that I'm capable of changing a flat tire myself.

[JWA]

Regarding the "self insured" option mentioned perhaps the only remaining advantage to having AAA is they're easy to contact and dispatch to your break-down site.

My work-only '05 E-350 extended body with raised roof looks like a simple Club Wagon, totally without any lettering or badging showing it's more of a commercial vehicle and not a people mover. It's an as-stock drive train configuration, no 4X4 or big tires. It does weigh in at 8,400# but that's within most of the dispatched trucks capacities.

My only real concern is the final height of my van if loaded on a flat-bed roll back tow rig. I've not measured its current height on the ground but it might be close to the usual 13'6" bridge restrictions.

[deserteagle56]

Originally Posted by m3bassman

AAA is insurance. If you are in a position that you can self insure (pay for the once in a blue moon tow out of pocket) then that makes sense for those people. I dropped AAA years ago when I realized it would be useless on the dirt roads I spend my time on and that I'm capable of changing a flat tire myself.

^This.

Dropped AAA like the rotten apple they are after they refused to come out to help my wife with her Jeep Cherokee because she was about a half mile from town...but on a dirt road. A smooth, well-traveled graded gravel road actually but since it wasn't on pavement they refused to respond.

[geoffff]

Originally Posted by JWA

Regarding the "self insured" option mentioned perhaps the only remaining advantage to having AAA is they're easy to contact and dispatch to your break-down site.

That's my feeling too. I avoid much insurance when I can and "self insure" the little stuff, but it's nice to have a single number to call for help, especially when I'm at the very edge of cell service and there's no internet.


-- Geoff

[geoffff]

For related reasons, I pay yearly for Binational Emergency Committee https://www.binationalemergency.org/ so I have a single number to call for help when in Baja (medical emergencies, not towing).