towing, AAA, and roadside service, or lack thereof
12-28-2007, 05:45 PM
#1
towing, AAA, and roadside service, or lack thereof
as i had referenced AAA a couple of times, i thought i would post this for those of you foolish enough to try towing... for the record, i don't think they cover the duct tape required to hold the maglites on the fenders either...
while i don't have the towing hitch on the '45 yet, it will be there soon. thought i would relay my recent experience with AAA, since it might save someone else a problem. bought AAA for my wife, mostly, since i travel ALOT, but also thought it might come in handy for me on a trip. with the late, unlamented cayenne, i was covered under the porsche roadside assist until i ran out of warranty, but my other car is a miata, and both of my wifes cars are long out of warranty.
so, bought AAA membership for both of us, the premier membership so i wouldn't be caught light on towing distance. then, the first usage comes up, my wife is on the way back from a friend's in the tundra, hauling a load of hay on the flatbed.... and flat tire on the flatbed. i happen to be in town, but am in the middle of a billing cycle, so i can't really leave the office without everything coming to a stop. so...have her call AAA. whereupon we hit a major snag..AAA premier doesn't cover trailers of any type. they do, however, send someone out, but she has to pay herself as it is not covered under the plan. after a long talk, mapping out exactly what i need, i get the premier RV plan, which the gal on the phone says will cover any trailer, just will not cover towing the rig in with the horses still in the trailer. fine. the tire change costs about 50 bucks (which was cheap at twice the price compared to what leaving the office would have cost me) and everyone is happy.
fast forward to a year later (today). my wife calls me up (now i AM out of town) with a flat on the horse trailer. "no prob" says i. "just call AAA". she does, and 5 minutes later, she calls me back. not only does the RV policy NOT cover trailers, they will not even send anybody out to change the tire for a fee, either. after several calls to AAA, i finally figure out the gal from a year ago was probably trying to get the trip to hawaii for the best performance in sales, and was lying through her teeth. my wife changes the tire herself (she by no means is helpless) and is on the way by the time the supervisor from AAA calls with a company's phone number to change her tire for her. she suggests something physically impossible to him, and calls me up to tell me it will be a snowy day in HADES before she calls AAA again. so, i have failed in my husband's obligation to protect my wife (not that she needed it that much) and been paying AAA dues for a year thinking i was covered on everything. one further call to cancel AAA and i am done for the night.
i guess the message here is to read the fine fine print, and don't listen to a word they say. supervisor asked if i had the name of the gal i talked to from a year ago, like i would still have it written on my forearm?
currently looking at USRider.org, which seems to have all the good things of AAA plus actually doing horse trailers. any other suggestions?
while i don't have the towing hitch on the '45 yet, it will be there soon. thought i would relay my recent experience with AAA, since it might save someone else a problem. bought AAA for my wife, mostly, since i travel ALOT, but also thought it might come in handy for me on a trip. with the late, unlamented cayenne, i was covered under the porsche roadside assist until i ran out of warranty, but my other car is a miata, and both of my wifes cars are long out of warranty.
so, bought AAA membership for both of us, the premier membership so i wouldn't be caught light on towing distance. then, the first usage comes up, my wife is on the way back from a friend's in the tundra, hauling a load of hay on the flatbed.... and flat tire on the flatbed. i happen to be in town, but am in the middle of a billing cycle, so i can't really leave the office without everything coming to a stop. so...have her call AAA. whereupon we hit a major snag..AAA premier doesn't cover trailers of any type. they do, however, send someone out, but she has to pay herself as it is not covered under the plan. after a long talk, mapping out exactly what i need, i get the premier RV plan, which the gal on the phone says will cover any trailer, just will not cover towing the rig in with the horses still in the trailer. fine. the tire change costs about 50 bucks (which was cheap at twice the price compared to what leaving the office would have cost me) and everyone is happy.
fast forward to a year later (today). my wife calls me up (now i AM out of town) with a flat on the horse trailer. "no prob" says i. "just call AAA". she does, and 5 minutes later, she calls me back. not only does the RV policy NOT cover trailers, they will not even send anybody out to change the tire for a fee, either. after several calls to AAA, i finally figure out the gal from a year ago was probably trying to get the trip to hawaii for the best performance in sales, and was lying through her teeth. my wife changes the tire herself (she by no means is helpless) and is on the way by the time the supervisor from AAA calls with a company's phone number to change her tire for her. she suggests something physically impossible to him, and calls me up to tell me it will be a snowy day in HADES before she calls AAA again. so, i have failed in my husband's obligation to protect my wife (not that she needed it that much) and been paying AAA dues for a year thinking i was covered on everything. one further call to cancel AAA and i am done for the night.
i guess the message here is to read the fine fine print, and don't listen to a word they say. supervisor asked if i had the name of the gal i talked to from a year ago, like i would still have it written on my forearm?
currently looking at USRider.org, which seems to have all the good things of AAA plus actually doing horse trailers. any other suggestions?
