RV owners take a lot of pride in being prepared for any situation. After all, that is the purpose of owning an RV–to be able to turn almost any location into a comfortable living space.
As an RV owner, you’ve likely taken precautions and have prepared for the event of a roadside breakdown. You complete preventative maintenance like oil and fluid changes, inspect your tires and engine belts before departing, and keep tools on hand like a roadside tire emergency kit in your RV.
In some ways, you are prepared for a roadside breakdown–as much as you can be. But a lot is out of your control when your tow vehicle, motorhome, travel trailer, or fifth wheel suddenly experiences a breakdown. A host of major factors can cause a breakdown, and, realistically, you’re only prepared to handle a couple. A roadside assistance plan provides travelers help when a breakdown of any kind leaves you stranded.
So what do you do when the breakdown is more than you can manage on your own? And what roadside assistance plan is best for you?
What a mechanical breakdown looks like without roadside assistance
A mechanical breakdown in the middle of a trip is a major problem for even the most engine-savvy traveler. Diagnosing the problem is one thing, but trying to fix a problem on the side of the road is both dangerous, unlikely, and difficult. In a situation like this, getting towed is an unfortunate cost that can’t always be avoided. And that’s when a roadside assistance plan gets to work.
Finding a towing provider can be difficult, especially for an RV. We don’t plan when or where breakdowns occur, and it’s common to happen in an unknown area, where finding a towing service seems unlikely. When you have a Good Sam Roadside Assistance plan, it only takes a single phone call. Call the Roadside Assistance emergency helpline in the event of a breakdown, and Good Sam will coordinate a towing service provider with the equipment necessary to tow you to a service center, 24/7, from wherever you are.
What a flat tire looks like without roadside assistance
In the event of a flat, tire repair and replacement is actually one of the more approachable roadside recovery tasks you can complete on your own without professional help. There are a few tools and items you need–a tire repair kit, for example–and you should practice replacing a tire at home before attempting during a roadside emergency.
But for the inexperienced, changing or repairing a tire yourself can be daunting. Not only are you concerned with replacing the tire correctly but you have the added element of loud traffic, uneven surfaces, often a limited set of tools, and a mistake could cause extensive damage to your RV. In these cases, the better option is to seek out professional help in the form of a roadside mechanic or towing truck. But both options will be expensive without a roadside plan.
Each of the Good Sam Roadside Assistance plans provides tire and wheel assistance wherever you need it in the form of tire replacement or repair. Sometimes that might mean a tow in the event the wheel or axle is damaged, but you don’t pay. Whatever it takes, we get you back on the road and back to your trip safely.
What towing expenses look like without roadside assistance
Footing the bill for towing service on your own gets expensive–especially for an RV. The average RV towing charge is between $4 and $7 a mile, often with a minimum payment for local tows. Without a roadside assistance plan, it’s estimated that a 40-mile tow will cost you in the range of $200-$300, and prices go up depending on the distance. All for one incident.
With prices for comprehensive plans ranging from about $65 a year to $120 a year1, Good Sam Roadside Assistance pays for itself and more with a single incident–not to mention the other protections and services included with each plan. And if you’re just looking for auto roadside assistance, plans start as low as $50 a year1.
What traveling looks like with Good Sam Roadside Assistance
Traveling with Good Sam Roadside Assistance means you have peace of mind. The road feels a lot better knowing you have 24/7 guaranteed help no matter where you are. Learn which plan might be best for you and your rig. You can even get coverage for leased, rented, or borrowed RVs with some plans, which means you’ll never be at risk of being stranded.