[A/S] Re: rv emergency insurance

["overlander_64" <overlander64@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have carried AAA RV-Plus for more than ten years and regular AAA 
Plus for ten years before acquiring my Overlander in 1995.  While I 
haven't had to utilize its RV coverage as of yet -- I know that it is 
just a question of time as Murpy (of Murphy's Law fame) is my constant 
traveling companion.  They have towed my tow vehcile once (the coach 
was already in an RV park) and my personal cars more times that I can 
count over the years.  

While they have been very responsive (I have contacted their service 
via cell phone since 1992 while traveling) - - their phone dispatchers 
don't always accurately transfer the message about the type of tow 
truck that is needed - - there isn't anything quite like the 
experience of a light-duty 1-ton tow truck trying to carry a 5,000+ 
pound Cadillac Edlorado Convertible on its boom (I am sure that there 
were a few bumps where the front wheels of that towtruck left the 
ground).  I now make it emphatically clear the size vehicle that I am 
driving and won't permit the driver to load my vehicle on his truck if 
he isn't positive that the truck has the capacity for the vehicle I am 
driving.  The last time that my '75 Cadillac had to be towed in, the 
towtruck driver was misinformed about my Eldorado (the operator had 
reported that it was a 1994) and had to go back to his shop for his 
heavy duty tow truck (took less than twenty minutes).  Last summer, 
when I had my '94 S-10 Blazer Tahoe towed due to a cracked radiator, 
the dsipatcher gave me the towtruck driver's cell phone number so that 
I could talk to him before he left the shop so that it would be 
possible to be sure that he had an appropriate towtruck.

My longest tow was in 1992 when the crankshaft in my '84 Eldorado 
Biarritz Convertible disintegrated.  I was just outside of South St. 
Louis, and they towed my car 103 miles to my regular mechanic - - the 
charge was $9.00 for the three miles beyond the 100-mile limit of the 
policy.  I carry a supplemental policy through my regular car insurer 
that will cover up to an additional 100 miles, but it didn't seem 
worth making a claim for the $9.00 charge for excess miles (the cost 
was only $5.00 in '95 and is only $9.00 for a year's coverage today).  
My current premium for the AAA Plus-RV was a little more than $90 - - 
I received a premium/dues notice a few weeks ago and believe that the 
premium was set to go up about $10.00 per year.  Well worth the 
expense for me as I would be out of commission for several days if I 
had to change a flat or try to remedy a temperamental tow vehicle.

Kevin D. Allen
WBCCI/VAC/Free Wheelers/Computer Club #6359
1964 Overlander International/1999 GMC K2500 Suburban (7400 
VORTEC/4.10 Differentials)
1978 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre/1975 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible (8.2 
Liter V8/2.70 Final Drive)