If I need to be TOWED to a mechanic?

[CosmickGold]

I read in the forum that Good Sam Towing is great because they charge a fair price for a year, during which time they will tow you to the nearest mechanic from ANYWHERE in the USA (plus) regardless of the distance at no extra cost. But when I tried to sign up, we discovered I my van doesn't fit their vehicle rules.

I have an extended-length 1998 Chevy Express 3500 1-ton passenger van, which I self-converted into my home. They said that is a commercial vehicle and that they don't provide service for any commercial vehicles, but I could have it re-classified as an RV so they could tow it.

But my problem is that legal reclassification as an RV would require things like a built-in toilet and refrigerator; things I neither have nor want taking up space in my home on wheels.

So what is the best I can do to be prepared for a possible tow to a mechanic? Does anyone else have a reasonable "any distance to nearest mechanic" agreement?

 

[Gr8ful]

Is it titled as a commercial vehicle? I could see it as a van for a large family thus a reg title. I bought a sweetheart E350 ambulance & it was very quick & easy to change the title & registration to an RV. They asked if it had a place to cook & use the bathroom which I have a coleman stove & a porta potty. They didn't mention black tanks, gray tanks or portable but all states are different. It probably didn't hurt that I made the appt 1/2 hr before closing. The insurance co did want a pic of the rear & was fine with it. The state didn't need to see it or a pic just the $$$.

 

[VanFan]

My van is titled and insured (liability and roadside assistance only) as a passenger vehicle through USAA. No problem with service, but have never needed a tow from a Forest Service road, for example.

 

[CosmickGold]

Is it titled as a commercial vehicle? I could see it as a van for a large family thus a reg title. I bought a sweetheart E350 ambulance & it was very quick & easy to change the title & registration to an RV. They asked if it had a place to cook & use the bathroom which I have a coleman stove & a porta potty. They didn't mention black tanks, gray tanks or portable but all states are different. It probably didn't hurt that I made the appt 1/2 hr before closing. The insurance co did want a pic of the rear & was fine with it. The state didn't need to see it or a pic just the $$$.

My van is titled and insured (liability and roadside assistance only) as a passenger vehicle through USAA. No problem with service, but have never needed a tow from a Forest Service road, for example.

I appreciate both your your ideas. Each sounded good, but when I did some google searching (and also let the Bing AI find answers) I learned neither of your plans can work for me. ...But I do appreciate your efforts.

Finally, I joined AAA which includes towing 100 miles. So I think I'm well covered now.

 

[jacqueg]

I appreciate both your your ideas. Each sounded good, but when I did some google searching (and also let the Bing AI find answers) I learned neither of your plans can work for me. ...But I do appreciate your efforts.

Finally, I joined AAA which includes towing 100 miles. So I think I'm well covered now.

AAA is great, and I wouldn't be without it. That said

Two caveats -

1) AAA drivers will not go "off-road" to collect you. Now there is clerly some wiggle room here, as they will come to the LTVAs in Quartzsite, which are mostly off-road, in the sense of not being paved. However, they are mostly hard-packed gravel/rock.

2) In southern California, you will be dealing with the Southern California Auto Association, which has somewhat different rules. They would not tow my van, because it has no passenger seats, although I have had my van towed in other states and in northern California with no issue. For this association, their definition of a commercial vehicle is the lack of passenger seats.

Dunno what would happen if you titled your van as commercial and paid commercial rates. One of the many things I intend to look into someday...

 

[NctryBen]

I finally got a non commercial plate… but even with I got my truck hauled with truck camper on by my insurance. Towing is a cheap add on…

 

[Gr8ful]

I've had the 6x 100 mile towing with Allstate thru AARP I think for about $70 a year & was hauling equipment & blew a trailer tire. The 100 miles wouldn't get me home but they put the trailer on the rollback & dropped it at discount tire in Battle Creek who had to order a rim anyway so it was a $600 tow & I've never had to even sign anything. Payed for itself every year. The tow co wasn't supposed to tow a trailer but didn't want to lose a nice tow. You'll like it.

 

[Cajunwolf]

I have AAA Premium with 250 miles of free towing for $9.95/month, can't beat it with a stick. I have a 1994 Cherokee, a 2000 Grand Cherokee (my toad), and a 1988 Mallard C RV on the account. I've had to tow my 2000 GC once, a couple of flats, and gas over the years, and have called twice for the RV, both times for flat tires. I'm in Texas, but I've traveled a good bit of the country with no problems. I've been a AAA member so long I don't even remember how long; I'll be 70 in December.

 

[Sage]

I read in the forum that Good Sam Towing is great because they charge a fair price for a year, during which time they will tow you to the nearest mechanic from ANYWHERE in the USA (plus) regardless of the distance at no extra cost. But when I tried to sign up, we discovered I my van doesn't fit their vehicle rules.

I have an extended-length 1998 Chevy Express 3500 1-ton passenger van, which I self-converted into my home. They said that is a commercial vehicle and that they don't provide service for any commercial vehicles, but I could have it re-classified as an RV so they could tow it.

But my problem is that legal reclassification as an RV would require things like a built-in toilet and refrigerator; things I neither have nor want taking up space in my home on wheels.

So what is the best I can do to be prepared for a possible tow to a mechanic? Does anyone else have a reasonable "any distance to nearest mechanic" agreement?

I have had State Farm with a towing clause in my regular insurance for about 40 years with 20 years of that traveling long distances as part of my job. I've never had any problem with them towing. They do take it to the nearest dealership for the vehicle brand. Sometimes (when my husband, an excellent mechanic) was living we paid the extra 10 miles (or sometimes only a mile..depending on which dealership) to our home for repairs. (I worked in a very large county in which I could travel well over 200 miles a day with only two dealerships in the county)

With my second husband, a farmer, he had AAA and we learned the hard way what a mess that could be. He had an accident close to our farm on a US Hwy. We called them. An hour wait. We waited the hour and some and called again to learn that AAA had canceled the tow truck. We had other issues I don't recall specifics of the incidents with AAA. I will not recommend them under any circumstances.

The state I live in licensed our VW campmoble (Westfalia) as a trailer before we bought it. They wanted to license it as an RV for us which would have cost us 3 to 4 times as much as a car or van ( it was only about 15-16 feet long). It was a big fight over licensing it. Finally going through the state office in the capital it was licensed as a people hauling vehicle of some sort (car, van) instead of a RV. The local DMV office head said it was an RV because we could sleep in it. I told her I could sleep in my little Datson, too, or a pickup truck. The VW didn't have a toilet or stove therefore I reasoned it could not be a RV. That is why we got the state involved.

 

[Sage]

I've had the 6x 100 mile towing with Allstate thru AARP I think for about $70 a year & was hauling equipment & blew a trailer tire. The 100 miles wouldn't get me home but they put the trailer on the rollback & dropped it at discount tire in Battle Creek who had to order a rim anyway so it was a $600 tow & I've never had to even sign anything. Payed for itself every year. The tow co wasn't supposed to tow a trailer but didn't want to lose a nice tow. You'll like it.

I have some issues with AARP, one they are funded by our tax dollars, and 3. nothing I checked out they advertised would save me money over what I had found by myself. Also, # 2. AARP is politically motivated and push their politics on anyone who uses them and reads their magazine.

 

[Gr8ful]

Sage, when I learned AARPs agenda we cancelled also & plan on signing up with AMAC.

 

[Sage]

Sage, when I learned AARPs agenda we cancelled also & plan on signing up with AMAC.

I signed up with AMAC. They do a nice comparison of both political sides. Not pushing one.

 

[CosmickGold]

. . . . he had AAA and we learned the hard way what a mess that could be. He had an accident close to our farm on a US Hwy. We called them. An hour wait. We waited the hour and some and called again to learn that AAA had canceled the tow truck. We had other issues I don't recall specifics of the incidents with AAA. I will not recommend them under any circumstances. . . .

I'm saddened that you had those problems and hardships. But I had already paid for AAA towing and auto insurance, so that's a done deal. But I think it would be helpful to know WHY AAA cancelled your tow truck, and did so without even calling you back to let you know you can stop waiting and make other plans. That seems irresponsible of them. My representative with AAA assured me he will be there for me and I can call him any time I need to.

 

[WanderingRose]

I have had AAA for over 20 years and have used them a number of times without issue.

In addition to towing, the membership gets discounts on many things.

 

[tx2sturgis]

With a smartphone you can easily look up the nearest towing service, call them, and get an estimate.

Gone are the days that we actualy needed roadside and towing insurance.

 

[Gr8ful]

In my case I always saved a ton of $$$ with towing insurance like the 100 mile $600 tow I described above & still could have 5 more tows that year. It also covered lockouts, flats, fuel, etc & even if I was in someone else's vehicle.

 

[WanderingRose]

With a smartphone you can easily look up the nearest towing service, call them, and get an estimate.

Gone are the days that we actualy needed roadside and towing insurance.

I think that most of us actually do need roadside and towing insurance.

With AAA, you pay upfront for the peace of mind, should you need towed, or a tire repair, and they will also send a locksmith if you should break your key.

Ask me how I know this.

You pay upfront, and when you have an emergency they call their people and send them out.

I wouldn’t travel without it.

 

[Sage]

I'm saddened that you had those problems and hardships. But I had already paid for AAA towing and auto insurance, so that's a done deal. But I think it would be helpful to know WHY AAA cancelled your tow truck, and did so without even calling you back to let you know you can stop waiting and make other plans. That seems irresponsible of them. My representative with AAA assured me he will be there for me and I can call him any time I need to.

I have found through the years they I am better off sticking with my auto insurance and that saves me a lot of money. My husband had payed AAA for many years and his auto insurance for towing and the first time he needs to use AAA they cancel the tow on him. They could not give us a reason for canceling, just that it was done. We canceled AAA as soon as we got home. We had sat on the side of the road for three hours in the heat of summer on July 5h. Needless to say we were not happy with AAA.

 

[WanderingRose]

An awful experience, Sage, and I hope you made a complaint at the appropriate level for being left like that.

 

[USNvet]

I've never signed up for AAA as my auto insurance company, State Farm, has served me well since 1965. Several years ago my agent asked if I wanted to add their tow/emergency roadside option to my policy for $2 every six months, so I bit the bullet and went for it on multiple vehicles. I'm sure the cost has inched up since then, but the one time I had to use it I saved many times what I paid in.

That one time was the year before Covid hit, and I was in my van on my way from Cali to visit friends in Missouri for Thanksgiving. After a looong day of driving I stopped at a rest stop near the Texas/Oklahoma border for the night, but the next morning the van was totally dead, and would not start. I tried jumping it with a house battery to no avail, and used the State Farm phone app to contact them. They did pass me off to a closer representative, and it did take several hours for a flatbed truck to arrive from OK City, but the insurance rep kept in contact with me every hour or so to make sure I was alright. Turns out the tow they sent was the only one in the area large enough to load my Sprinter, and the company was doing a brake job on it when my call for help came in. The tow driver even called a couple of times on his way down to check in. It must have been around a hundred mile tow, but the driver took me to the Sprinter dealer in OK City after closing hours, so the next morning I must have been first in line for repairs. They ended up replacing part of the wiring loom, which seemed to be the main culprit, the battery, which was aged and had a couple of week cells anyway, and alternator, but I made it to my destination that evening.

Bottom line is, I have nothing but praise for the tow service offered by State Farm, and it is way cheaper than AAA which I've heard good and bad about over the years.

Wow, I'm not sure I can afford my tow option, Coverage H, anymore. I just looked at my most recent insurance bill for my car, and H has skyrocketed from $2 to $4.18 per six month billing period!