Negative: Good Sam Emergency Road Service

[dcheatwood]

First time I've ever needed them after 7 years membership. Called after a blowout on i-49. Had to give name, vehicle info, location and other information to 3 different people, sat on hold 5-6 times for @25 minutes and they still couldn't find exit 191 on I-49. After 35 minutes with no progress I changed my own flat. They were useless.

[Poper]

That's very discouraging, I just signed up for the first time. Gee on an Interstate too?? Glad you are on your way.


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Poper

[Ford Idaho]

From your other thread about tires I take it you are in Texas?
Could the locals have known the road by another perhaps older number or name?
I am just asking because I have had that happen to me in NC.

I should add out of state people not knowing more than what Google map tells them.

[Emptypockets]

Originally Posted by dcheatwood

First time I've ever needed them after 7 years membership. Called after a blowout on i-49. Had to give name, vehicle info, location and other information to 3 different people, sat on hold 5-6 times for @25 minutes and they still couldn't find exit 191 on I-49. After 35 minutes with no progress I changed my own flat. They were useless.

You don't say where you were located on I-49 - areas of it just opened up in April in NW AR so maybe that could cause confusion.

[Weezer]

FI, Canton, TX is a WELL known town in a multi state area here: LA, TX, MS, AR, OK. The biggest arts and crafts/flea market in the south is there.

I can't imagine anyone that Good Sam would have contacted locally not knowing I-49 and/or exit 191.

DH and I have only been to Canton Flea Market once, and I've no doubt DH could find where dcheatwood was, and we travel there via I-20 West. (DH just said, as I read this to him: I-49 is an *interstate*, a six lane highway. It runs North and South, intersecting with I-20 in the Bossier/Shreveport area.)

[Weezer]

Originally Posted by Emptypockets

You don't say where you were located on I-49 - areas of it just opened up in April in NW AR so maybe that could cause confusion.

He said Exit 191. Check dcheatwood's profile, he was coming from Natchitoches, LA IIRC.

Check out this map: https://maps.yahoo.com/directions/?l...Canton%2C%20TX

[Terier]

Sorry to hear about the poor service but glad to hear you & family are safe.

[DXSMac]

I just carry AAA Motor Club's extended RV service. I also had Coach Net because of purchasing the Forest River, but it's expired now.

[DDC]

Sorry to hear about the lousy experience you had, but, it helped me make up my mind because they just sent me all the great info to sign up with them and I was giving it some thought, I have had coach-net since 2011 but touch would (my head) I've never needed it, think I'll just stick with what I have.

[dcheatwood]

Sorry. I-49 is in LA. Rubs north and south. We were headed to canton, tx. Made it safely. I told the third guy that asked me for a better location description that there's only one I-49 in the US and it only has one exit 191. We're about 10 miles south of Shreveport on the northbound side. He told me to hold on again while he got someone else to help me. I hung up while on hold and changed the flat in 25 minutes with a 12 ton bottle jack. Just seemed like a lot of wasted time. He wanted truck color, RV color and model, etc. I told him we're the only truck and RV at exit 191 and it'll be easy to recognize us. We have a blown out tire on the RV. Sort of comical now. Wasn't then. Lol.

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by dcheatwood

Sorry. I-49 is in LA. Rubs north and south. We were headed to canton, tx. Made it safely. I told the third guy that asked me for a better location description that there's only one I-49 in the US and it only has one exit 191. We're about 10 miles south of Shreveport on the northbound side. He told me to hold on again while he got someone else to help me. I hung up while on hold and changed the flat in 25 minutes with a 12 ton bottle jack. Just seemed like a lot of wasted time. He wanted truck color, RV color and model, etc. I told him we're the only truck and RV at exit 191 and it'll be easy to recognize us. We have a blown out tire on the RV. Sort of comical now. Wasn't then. Lol.

IMHO you owe no one an apology in fact I strongly feel that (not so)Good Sam owes you a very earnest apology.

I feel you should call the head quarters and relate your story to them and express your dissatisfaction.

[dcheatwood]

I will do that. Also gonna keep all 3 1/2 tires and contact that company that warranted them. Can't remember the name but have info with RV papers. Don't expect anything but I had no one to report the other failures to. Also will report this one to safety folks.

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by dcheatwood

I will do that. Also gonna keep all 3 1/2 tires and contact that company that warranted them. Can't remember the name but have info with RV papers. Don't expect anything but I had no one to report the other failures to. Also will report this one to safety folks.

Good.
DOT and (not so)Good Sam need to hear about this as does the tire Co.
I hope the rest of your trip is much better.

Drive safe and enjoy.

[carolinacamper1]

Well here's my story..The wife and I went camping for a long weekend about a hundred (100) miles from here. Here being Charlotte NC and going to Linville Falls Campground. Anyway we had a blow out on the 5th wheel around 1/2 way there on Hwy 321. Good Sam responded by getting a tire service out there and we have the road side asst. too. $458.00 later we were on our way. Back home I can get the tire for $312.00 but I pretty much had to pay the pipper at this point although I knew I was responsible for product and labor it did leave me wondering how much that one service call must have cost including my $458.00 plus Good Sam's part for the service call. So we get going again and about 10 or 15 miles from our destination we had a hose clamp break on the truck going to the turbos. This time we were not in cell range so had no choice but to get off the road as far as possible and let it set. Thankfully a HP trooper showed up, someone called me in actually, and he had cell coverage so we called Good Sam again and told them what was up. Although he wasn't suppose to he and I waited a good hour or more for Good Sam to get me a tow and finally the trooper said that he had to get me off the road so I told him to go ahead. Good Sam was saying that they had no one in the area that would or could tow a 5th wheel. The trooper told then 2 or 3 wrecker services in the area that would but Good Sam said that they didn't have them under contract??? So the trooper called the wrecker service and $300.00 later we were a mile and a half on up the mountain in a parking area where the wrecker folks got us another hose clamp and got us going again. Now I'm over $750.00 lighter and we still haven't gotten to the campsite yet! All was good camping but on the way home on Sunday, you guessed it, not one but two more blowouts! The first one I thought well I don't want another expensive tire when I can get them at a better price once we get home so I called Good Sam and they dispatched the same guys out to us to put my spare on. Well they did and we were once again on our way but we found out that the spare on the camper was a three digit date code meaning this tire although still with the little tits on it was actually at least a 2000 year model! So I proceeded down the road going as slow as I dared, around 40 to 45 mph. No sooner had I gone about 20 miles and bam! another dang blowout. So again I call Good Sam and tell them that I'm setting on the side of the road again. This time I've had it and the camper ain't moving again until it's got new rubber on the ground and the spare. After 3 or 4 hours on the shoulder Good Sam tells me that they can't find load range "G" tires like I need only load range "E". I tell them no that I must have "G" rated tires that this is a heavy camper. So Good Sam says that all the places are shutting down for the day and it'd be around 9:00 AM the next day before they could do anything. Good Sam issues me a number, I suppose some sort of case number and tells me they'll be in touch in the morning. The next morning I get up and call my tire guy and he finds me four (4) tires in the ware house so I pay him and go get the tires myself. I take them back up the road to the camper and call the same folks that changed out our first tire going up and had them come out and mount all four (4) of these tires. This time it cost me $200.00 and the guy took pity on me and told his boss how much help I had been changing all these tires. lol I took the camper straight to Tom Johnson in Concord due to body damage on both sides, dropped it there and finally got home over late in the afternoon. I still hadn't heard a peep from Good Sam so I called them and explained how much of an unhappy camper I was. They sent me a form to fill out and after about two (2) weeks they sent me a check for $500.00. Although they did help me recoup some of my funds I felt somewhat slighted that there was nothing but the check, no apology no free membership extension or nothing. So I can't give them high marks but they did help some and paid what I thought they should. Maybe a score of 6 or 7 out of 10.. Moral of the story, check the date codes on your tires including the spare and it's best to CYA yourself..

[togo444]

Sorry to hear about that trip. I just went to Glacier National Park from Salt Lake City last week and had a fiasco myself. Two tire blowouts and a dead alternator. I don't have Good Sam but went with the road side assistance from my insurance company for an additional $16 dollars every six months and they saved my bacon twice. Luckily there were plenty of small towns on I-15 so we didn't wait for more than an hour from the time of the calls to help arriving. I was pleased with their service. The first one I need to be reimbursed for but the second one was not out of pocket at all. Look into your insurance company's roadside plan if you weren't pleased with what you have now.


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[greyhumpy]

Had a flat on a narrow road; 8 miles to a wider spot in the road. Ruined a tire. Changed it myself, would have taken ??? Phone calls, and ??? Hrs waiting to get to done. If you can do it, get it done. If not God help you. I'm a 27' 5r so not a road warrior, but it works

[reinreb]

Gotta chime in here.
I have had two experiences with the Good Sam system. Both instances met my expectations and I was very pleased.
One was during a winter storm here in New Brunswick, Canada, lots of snow and dark. We were out in the country at a christmas function and the RAM would not start. Good Sam was called and buddy put the truck on the flat bed and drove to where we had bought the truck and left it off for them to check out in the morning. Then he drove us to our front door.....what more could I ask.
The second instance was while camping and all set up on day two of a long weekend we found one of the tires flat, must have picked up a nail on the way in. GS was called, the driver came right up to the site and changes the tire there for us. Next day we were on our way and again happy customers.
Sorry to hear of all the bad experiences.

[Pitcrew18]

I thought Good Same was awsome until my last outing at Hilton Head SC when my wife locked our keys in the camper and Good Sam told us that service was not covered because we could drive the camper to a locksmith. Well it took the second supervisor to understand that with 4 slides extended we would not be driving anywhere, guess what they finally grew a brain and opened the camper end of story.

[Stg1]

I've had multiple experiences with GS. All have been to my satisfaction. It's true, you may have to wait sometimes for help to arrive, but having the peace of mind that help will arrive is worth it. I will not be without my GS Roadside Assistance.