Emergency Tow Insurance

[Voyageur]

Curious what is out there in terms of roadside assistance plans...specifically plans that offer towing insurance. After hearing the tale of a nearby traveler in ID and their 50+ mile tow expense out of the backcountry it has me looking at plans that offer unlimited towing distances. In my research I've run across Good Sam Roadside Assistance and it sounds decent. Any of you have suggestions/experience with Good Sam or others?
Thanks.

 

[Weldor]

Not sure about offroad, But I do know here some outfits won't even go on a dirt road to retreive a vehicle. AAA is good for regular roads.

 

[def90]

AAA.

If you are looking for an insurance service that is going to go in to a forest service road or any other high clearance road to get you out you can probably forget about it.

 

[Amos Moses]

I had a friend who was part of Colorado 4x4 Rescue and Recovery. Seems like they’re a good contact to have saved.

 

[Marble]

And I would add, when you get to the area you are hunting and want tow info, just call around to see who has a 4x4 tow truck. Some also have tracked recovery vehicles. That way when you call AAA you can tell them who to call.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Weldor]

That's good advice, also look for forest service contract tow company in your area. These are the guy's who tow camper trailer etc that are left more than 14 days. Our guy makes a fortune doing it. Plus he will come get you in 4x4 tow rig for a fee. Good number to keep in your phone (if it works out there).

 

[CamoPirate]

Weldor and Marble got it; I don't know if AAA would cover another company coming to get you. I bent my strut housing out in AZ, they wouldn't leave pavement, even for the county graded dirt road.

 

[Weldor]

Weldor and Marble got it; I don't know if AAA would cover another company coming to get you. I bent my strut housing out in AZ, they wouldn't leave pavement, even for the county graded dirt road.

Yeap. 8 miles of forest serive road to the house. Maintained by the county, usually in good shape. AAA or anyone else won't come til you are at hwy. (stupid) That's why it needs a tow. Don't ever have the need for your SXS to be towed out that's a nightmare. I have thought about making up a Can Am XT pro into a UTV tow rig. Just a dead battery and your walking out. I always carry a inverter for that reason.

 

[5MilesBack]

My wife and I got stuck near the top of a pass on a 2-track on the MT/ID border one July 4th weekend several years ago (Cooper Pass). It still had about 5 feet of snow from the winter on top. We would have made it, but I tried to drive around a blow down instead of removing it, and the back end of the truck slid into a tree well where the snow was mostly melted. I ended up hiring a guy with a front end loader to go up (about 12 miles) and clear the road out (100-200 yards maybe).......just to get to our truck, and then pull us out of the tree well. USAA covered it as a tow.

 

[IDVortex]

That's good advice, also look for forest service contract tow company in your area. These are the guy's who tow camper trailer etc that are left more than 14 days. Our guy makes a fortune doing it. Plus he will come get you in 4x4 tow rig for a fee. Good number to keep in your phone (if it works out there).

I'm going to have to make some phone calla and find who does this I'm areas I'm going to. Never thought of that!

 

[roadrunner]

Had AAA, switched to Good Sam.

 

[Voyageur]

Had AAA, switched to Good Sam.

@roadrunner what were your reasons for the switch?

 

[Cedarsavage]

I used to have AAA but the few times I needed roadside assistance I didn’t have good enough service to call, so I figured it out on my own. And needed a tow a few times but it only covers I wanna say five miles so I still paid for the remainder. Long story short every time I could have used it, I had to take care of it myself. After that I dropped it and decided it wasn’t a good roi compared to just having a rainy day fund.

 

[roadrunner]

@roadrunner what were your reasons for the switch?

Better price with extended coverage for my household.

 

[.204smokechaser]

Haven’t found one yet. Dropped AAA after they wouldn’t get me from a maintained USFS road. Usually the local tow companies here charge upwards of $1000 to tow rigs out of the woods here. Last year a guy fly fishing had a flat with no spare on a rental and it was a $1700 tow bill

 

[Weldor]

Haven’t found one yet. Dropped AAA after they wouldn’t get me from a maintained USFS road. Usually the local tow companies here charge upwards of $1000 to tow rigs out of the woods here. Last year a guy fly fishing had a flat with no spare on a rental and it was a $1700 tow bill

I think they call it Offhighway robbery.