Roadside assistance is a benefit for anyone driving a personal vehicle. The concept is the same for any car, truck, SUV, travel trailer, sports trailer, or motorhome. If your vehicle experiences a mechanical failure, roadside assistance provides the needed help in the form of a towing service or onsite technician to return your vehicle to working order. Or at least it will take you to a shop with the means to do so.
Why, then, are there multiple plans for different vehicles? Good Sam Roadside Assistance offers customers six unique plans, and it can be difficult to know why or which you should buy.
All Good Sam Roadside Assistance plans are designed to best serve the customers’ needs–and those needs differ, both in cost and the extent of the coverage needed. Let’s look at the main differences between roadside assistance for autos and RVs–the two main categories differentiating protection for Good Sam Roadside Assistance.
What is roadside assistance?
Roadside assistance provides help to drivers whose vehicles have become stuck. Often, this is caused by mechanical breakdown but could be caused by something logistical yet significant, such as a lost key or running out of gas.
These minor incidents can be expensive and time-consuming for a driver on their own. Just consider the difference between running out of gas and having to walk miles to the nearest gas station versus having gas brought to your location. A roadside assistance plan ensures you have access to independent towing and technical service providers. Plans are typically annual, and standard coverage includes services like:
- Battery jumps and/or replacement
- Tow truck service
- Flat tire replacement or repair
- Emergency fluids (gas, oil, coolant)
- Loss of keys or keys locked in your vehicle
Good Sam Roadside Assistance includes all of these services, but their plans don’t stop with the basics. Instead, their six unique plans differ based on what our customers want.
What does RV roadside assistance provide?
Good Sam offers unique RV Roadside Assistance plans: Standard, Platinum, and Platinum Complete. But these plans don’t just include coverage for RVs. Instead, these plans offer different types of protections for both recreational and non-recreational vehicles, with coverage differing in the specifics of who and what is covered under the plan.
Standard
Standard Roadside Assistance plans include coverage for owned vehicles, specifically: cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, boat trailers, motorcycles, and one travel trailer (toy hauler, travel trailer, or pop-up camper trailer). Coverage also extends to your family–spouse, domestic partner, dependent and children under 25.
All Good Sam Roadside Assistance plans provide 24/7 coverage and connect you with over 30,000 independent towing and service providers across the country.
Platinum
Along with all Standard plan coverage, the Good Sam Platinum Complete plan includes coverage for multiple recreational vehicles, including motorhomes and fifth wheels. In addition, all vehicles covered in the Platinum plan still have coverage if they are leased or rented.
Platinum Complete
The Good Sam Platinum Complete plan is a perfect example of Good Sam providing just about every coverage possible for travelers interested in comprehensive coverage. Along with the same coverages as the Platinum plan, Platinum Complete offers two distinct benefits:
- Tire and wheel road hazard coverage
- Emergency travel & medical assistance services
Together, these two additional services ensure you’re covered for almost any unexpected event on the road.
What does auto roadside assistance provide?
While all of the RV Good Sam Roadside Assistance plans offer auto coverage in some form, the auto-specific Roadside Assistance plans exist to offer protections for drivers who won’t be using recreational vehicles but want protections for their autos. This allows them to pay less for their plan because it covers fewer types of vehicles. Auto Roadside Assistance is offered in three different plans as well: Platinum Auto, Platinum+ Auto, and Platinum Complete Auto.
Platinum Auto
Similar to the Standard RV Roadside Assistance plan, the Platinum Auto plan provides roadside coverage for all owned cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs. Coverage is extended to the member’s family as well–spouse or domestic partner, and dependent children under the age of 25.
Platinum+ Auto
The key upgrade with the Platinum+ Auto plan is that coverage is extended to borrowed, leased, and rented vehicles, and it includes coverage beyond cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs to include:
- Motorcycles
- Sport trailers–including boat, ATV/motorcycle, PWC, and snowmobile trailers.
Platinum Complete Auto
The most comprehensive Good Sam Roadside Assistance plan for autos is the Platinum Complete Auto plan. Similar to the Platinum Complete plan for RVs, this plan includes tire and wheel road hazard coverage and emergency travel and medical assistance services.
Why Good Sam offers six roadside assistance plans
Along with coverage for different types of vehicles and different ownerships, these six plans allow Good Sam to provide drivers unique added benefits, such as discounts on repairs, rentals, hotels, and even assistance buying or selling a vehicle. These are added-value services, but not every driver is interested in these additions, so the plans make customization possible for a range of different customers.
Learn more about Good Sam Roadside Assistance, compare plans, and learn more details about coverage to find what might be best for you.