Jeff and Pam.....I carry both AAA and Good Sam. I've used both, and both have come through for me on separate occasions. Several years ago I was exiting HWY 99 in Bakersfield to fuel up my prior class c motorhome when the starter suddenly engaged, and burnt itself up (I had some sort of short in the ignition wiring in the steering column as it turned out). I was stuck in the left turn lane on the access road on a Sunday morning. I called AAA and got through right away and they dispatched a large flat bed semi to move me out of the road and to someplace where I could get my problem fixed. Knowing it was Sunday and that most repair garages were closed, I also called Good Sam, but was put on hold for quite a long time. I had asked AAA for a referal for repair, but they had none for a Sunday. I asked Good Sam for a repair facility referal, and they only had places that worked on large trucks open on Sunday. By the time the AAA dispatched tow vehicle arrived I had already been moved off the road by 6 strong fireman who were passing by and physically pushed me onto the shoulder, so I really didn't need a tow, but needed a place to get the starter replaced. The driver referred me to a mobile service and they arrived within 30 minutes with a new starter, and rigged me up so I could finish my vacation (the solenoid was stuck in the on position due to a short in the ignition system so the repair guy showed me how to connect and disconnect the solenoid to start the motorhome). We ended up only losing about 3 hours and got to Yosemite just at dusk. The replacement of the ignition would have been an all day job, and involved a lot of labor, so I chose to have that done after our vacation.
My second need came just after I bought my 1982 Newell. We were on our way home from Arizona State where my daughter had just graduated, when the left front tire exploded about 80 miles west of Mesa, AZ. I got through to Good Sam and AAA quickly. AAA just wanted to tow me somewhere to have it fixed, but Good Sam dispatched a truck tire service from Mesa, AZ. It took about 2 hours, but they arrived with the correct tire, and had me on my way in 30 minutes. All I paid for was the tire (about $350). I have not idea what the travel time cost, or labor cost was, but can imagine it was a lot. Good Sam paid that part. I cranked up the satellite dish, turned on the genset and watched a Laker playoff game, and ate lunch while we waited.
Anyway, that's the long version of why I carry both.
|