Attention: TDR Forum Junkies I wanted to alert you guys to a potential issue with this coverage. As a disclaimer I have had AAA for 8 years and have been very satisfied with it. My wife, daughters, and I have used it for batteries, flat tires, 5th wheel blowouts and towing. However, I recently learned of an issue with dually trucks. AAA will not cover or change the inside rear tires. This makes no sense to me. Here's how the issue arose.
A friend of my wife was traveling in her Class C to a dog show in Asheville, NC and suffered a blowout on one of her inside rear tires. AAA refused to change it and put on the spare and offered instead to tow her rig (with all the dogs in it) to a repair facility-citing that their technicians lacked the special knowledge to do so. She declined and called another service to change the tire for almost $300.
I found this to be incredible and wandered the AAA website and member brochure and found nothing that excluded this from coverage. The next day I called AAA and spoke to the Roadside Assistance folks. They confirmed that they will not cover the inside tire on any dually period. Even if it is just sitting in your driveway. They will instead tow the truck and if necessary the trailer to a repair facility. Again, this representative cited lack of technical knowhow!
I mentioned to the representative that the same 8 lugs hold both tires, and I couldn't undertand the policy. When I added RV coverage 8 years ago this is not what I thought I was buying. I bought it because my wife is not capable of changing any of the tires on any of the vehicles or the 5th wheel. I can, but at times because of circumstances, I may not. I would have been surprised and angry to learn this the hard way.
My wife was taking our Class C to the same show in Asheville, and I wanted to be sure that my wife had adequate assistance if necessary. Consequently, I went with Good Sam-Platium plus. I spoke extensively to the representative before purchasing it to be sure it covered what I needed. Noone there had heard about the same issue with them. Now, I'm not necessarily trashing AAA and promoting GS, but not changing a tire is an issue with me and may be an issue of which many are unaware. AAA will tow it and the trailer to a facility where presumably you can pay for the service. In my wife's case towing a vehicle full of dogs is unacceptable and in my mind unnecessary.
Knowledge is king!
A friend of my wife was traveling in her Class C to a dog show in Asheville, NC and suffered a blowout on one of her inside rear tires. AAA refused to change it and put on the spare and offered instead to tow her rig (with all the dogs in it) to a repair facility-citing that their technicians lacked the special knowledge to do so. She declined and called another service to change the tire for almost $300.
I found this to be incredible and wandered the AAA website and member brochure and found nothing that excluded this from coverage. The next day I called AAA and spoke to the Roadside Assistance folks. They confirmed that they will not cover the inside tire on any dually period. Even if it is just sitting in your driveway. They will instead tow the truck and if necessary the trailer to a repair facility. Again, this representative cited lack of technical knowhow!
I mentioned to the representative that the same 8 lugs hold both tires, and I couldn't undertand the policy. When I added RV coverage 8 years ago this is not what I thought I was buying. I bought it because my wife is not capable of changing any of the tires on any of the vehicles or the 5th wheel. I can, but at times because of circumstances, I may not. I would have been surprised and angry to learn this the hard way.
My wife was taking our Class C to the same show in Asheville, and I wanted to be sure that my wife had adequate assistance if necessary. Consequently, I went with Good Sam-Platium plus. I spoke extensively to the representative before purchasing it to be sure it covered what I needed. Noone there had heard about the same issue with them. Now, I'm not necessarily trashing AAA and promoting GS, but not changing a tire is an issue with me and may be an issue of which many are unaware. AAA will tow it and the trailer to a facility where presumably you can pay for the service. In my wife's case towing a vehicle full of dogs is unacceptable and in my mind unnecessary.
Knowledge is king!
