Roadside Assistance Incompetence

[ftrooppilot]

3:30 PM, 8 Sep 2021, On interstate I-81 southbound just over VA border. Left  front tire on Phoenix Cruiser 3100 explodes at 60 MPH.  Control maintained and drifted to right side of highway. 3:38 PM called FMCA roadside assistance. Location established and was told service would be there in 45 minutes. Hours  later after numerous phone calls we were informed service on route to us had departed Washington DC about 7:30 pm with two hours until time of arrival.

8:30 pm, five hours after calling FMCA  two travelers age 83/75 are sitting in a RV running out of gas ( gen running 84 degrees outside), weather is warning dangerous storms in area, big trucks are thundering by, toad  engine running with flashers on - thinking where is our service.

approximately 8:54 pm a small sedan pulls in front of us and the occupant informs us he is there to change tire.  I think he was an Uber Driver who changed tires part time. No safety equipment, no reflective clothing, no lighting system, no flares or reflectors- he removed the bad tire ( coach up on our jacks) and installed the spare using light from his cell phone which I had to hold.  Meanwhile the trucks are thundering by twenty feet away in the rail.

He departed for his two hour trip back to DC. It was 70 miles to our intended campground and we were too physically and mentally exhausted to continue. We drove to the nearest hotel which was maxed out and spent $149.00 for one of the few rooms available.

we are now camping at the same site for three days just to recover from the experience.

 

Edited September 11, 2021 by hermanmullins

[whiteeagle]

You need to send this experience to all the top folks at FMCA.... that's horrible and should be reviewed with decision makers...I'm traveling so can't easily get you contact info but the emails are on the website.

My experience 2 weeks ago with them after being refused emergency service because my motor home went dead after I was hit by lightning while driving (called an Act of God occurrence) was passed on to the decision makers and your experience is even more ridiculous.

.

[hermanmullins]

I have passed both incidents on to the folks at FMCA and the proper people are working on them now.

Herman 

[whiteeagle]

Thanks Herman... I had sent my example and concern that their interpretation of "Act of God" needed review and parameters defined  to the FMCA decision makers and they responded so I know it's being looked at for clarifications.  PS.. motorhome still out of commission but diagnosis in progress..

 

[hermanmullins]

Glad to hear about your Coach. With that happening to your coach maybe we need to get those old ground strap that we used to have two of because it looked cool.

Ed will contract you I am sure of.

 

To all concerned, If you have an issue with any of our Benefits you may voice your concerns here but when you do, I will send you a PM and request your Name--F # and a contact number. This will help me get it taken care of for you quickly.

Thanks,

Herman

[manholt]

It would be nice to see how this gets resolved...."Act of God?"  For a vehicle, that's ridiculous, then refusing to tow you?  I got nailed by lightning once in a boat and the first rescue boat that came along (Sea Tow), threw me a line, 7 hour tow!   

[elkhartjim]

I realize that its customary to mostly see the negatives for a companies service. Since I'm about to renew my CoachNet policy, I would be curious if any members have some positive experiences to share with the FMCA Roadside Assistance.

[rossboyer]

I have used FMCA Roadside Assist twice. Both times were for lock out. First was on New Years eve for motor home. Took about 1.5 hours to get to me and 20 minutes to unlock. I thought response at 6:00pm on New Years eve was reasonable. Second was for dead battery on towed auto. To unlock required battery to unlock keyless entry. Response was less than an hour. 

 

[manholt]

Jim S.

We have Coach Net, not the cheapest, we think that is the reason for good service.  Good Sam had a low cost, good service, until they got overwhelmed with millions of RV's....we have also gone thru a period, where it paid more to not work!  Now, things get competitive again....

We renewed our Coach Net in May..

[elkhartjim]

I will most likely renew with CoachNet and yes its more expensive but they seem to realize the difference in a motorhome and a roller skate.

[charlieiam]

I have had Good Sam Platinum Plus for years and am satisfied with their service.   They cover all my vehicles including the ones I own, rent, borrow, or ride in, including anything towed; for all my family.   They do have cheaper plans for those who are budget conscience.

[ftrooppilot]

Got a quick FMCA response. President letter of concern.  Response contractor refunding cost of our hotel.

I highly recommend Harrisonburg/Shenandoah Valley KOA.  They did not charge us ( deposit) for the night we missed and then came up with a beautiful site for our three day decompression / get new tire. Fabulous hosts . 

[whiteeagle]

Great to know that the top FMCA folks already reviewed this incident for you... suspect there will be more conversations with the parties that didn't perform all that well for you. Safe travels .

[manholt]

I hope its, all's well that ends well.  

[rayin]

Regrettably that is usually what happens when employees are only trained to read from the computer screen. When I get an operator that begins to sound hesitant i  ask to speak with a supervisor, they normally know their business. If the operator says all supervisors are busy, I say I'll wait.

[rossboyer]

I have stated before the President if the provider of FMCA Roadside Assistance said in a seminar there are 2,000 answering services that all if us use. If you don’t think you are hearing what you think you should, hang up and call again to get someone else. 

[julienewmar97]

I have been a Good sam member off and on since the seventies.

I bought a platinum membership for my road service several years ago (before joining FMCA).

I never had any reason to use the "service" until last month when I discovered that my brakes were unsafe and needed to have my class A towed from storage to a mechanic to effect the repair.

I called Good Sam to schedule my tow for the next day and proceeded to go to storage to meet the wrecker for the tow, after it did not come 2 hours late I call GS and was told that they were still trying to schedule my tow.  I told them that I had  a time limit because the garage closed and locked up at 5:30. (my tow was scheduled for between 2 and 2:30)

I cancelled and rescheduled for the next day at 1-1:30.

I was told my first tow was sidelined because I needed my coach towed more than 3 miles and that my out of pocket would be $1200-$1500.

When I told them I would go to the garage that was three miles away after I checked it out if they told me where it was.

The second attempt went pretty much the same way except that the distance limit moved up to 5 miles.

The third attempt was successful after numerous phone calls to various managers in the system as well as a cancellation of the company that ultimately towed my coach.  Finally they were able to get the original company to tow my coach to the mechanic that I had selected without any charge to me.

I had ordered brake parts to be overnighted based on the towing going as expected.

instead the coach got to the mechanic the same time as normal delivery would have taken.

The only positive is that my coach was towed from storage rather than being stranded by the side of the road.

A week is too long to wait for service.

 

I am looking at my options for a different towing service.

 

thanks for listening(reading)

[wildebill308]

Well the good news is you found the brake parts. Who had them?

I have found that most if not all of these so called Roadside Assistance  companies' are no more than a guy with a list of possible providers. 

So did you get the brakes fixed?

Bill

[akadeadeye]

14 hours ago, wildebill308 said:

Well the good news is you found the brake parts. Who had them?

I have found that most if not all of these so called Roadside Assistance  companies' are no more than a guy with a list of possible providers. 

So did you get the brakes fixed?

Bill

So true.  We had Coach Net through Spartan when our coach was in warranty.  Used them once.  Good experience.  Switched to Good Sam after a few years.  Had two horrible experiences.  Went back to Coach Net.  We have been towed three times in 12 years.  In each case we called the road side assistance company, then we found a tow company ourselves after asking around, knowing what to ask for, then called assistance company back and told them our tow was on the way and they had to approve them.  They have in each case.  If we had waited for the assistance company to call back it would have been hours later.  You have to be proactive and then stand your ground!  Good Sam sent a tow truck for our towed car.  The truck had to have been a classic (about 25 years old).  He couldn't get his winch/boom to work and I had to give him a battery boost after I fired him.  Jeeze Louise!

Don

Edited November 10, 2021 by akadeadeye

[willbeeind]

We had good experience with the FMCA Roadside when we had a blowout on a 5th wheel trailer tire on I-74 in Illinois, not far from Galesburg. The technician on the phone was competent, and located a really good truck tire service company. The guy showed up in a half hour and quickly changed to the spare. We were back on the road within 90 minutes of when I made the call. Overall a good experience. I will keep the FMCA roadside. 

By the way, I got all 4 tires changed to new Goodyear Endurance at the next opportunity!

[wildebill308]

12 hours ago, willbeeind said:

We had good experience with the FMCA Roadside when we had a blowout on a 5th wheel trailer tire on I-74 in Illinois, not far from Galesburg. The technician on the phone was competent, and located a really good truck tire service company. The guy showed up in a half hour and quickly changed to the spare. We were back on the road within 90 minutes of when I made the call. Overall a good experience. I will keep the FMCA roadside. 

By the way, I got all 4 tires changed to new Goodyear Endurance at the next opportunity!

Welcome to the forum. Glad you had a good outcome.

Bill

[julienewmar97]

The brake parts is a whole other can of worms.

The coach is on a Freightliner chassis with hydraulic brakes.

Freightliner lists the brake  BOOSTER/MASTER CYLINDER assembly as discontinued.

And they have no idea wh get it or even who made it ( they told me to contact Bosch, I found out it was made by Bendix}

After contacting a large Freightliner dealer online, I was told that the assembly consisted of the mastercylinder, a booster and a pump and they  were available as separate parts.

I ordered the parts and had the coach towed as previously described, only to be told once the assembly was removed that the booster was not the correct one.

I learned through many phone calls and much screen time on the internet that the casting number would help me find the correct part.

The casting also showed that the booster was made by Bendix, not Bosch.

I located a rebuilt booster and ordered it so that the repair could be successfully completed.

Sometimes stubbornness is an asset 

 

[manholt]

Have you spoken to Bendix?  Also try Spartan, Oshkosh, chassis....

[hermanmullins]

We are drifting away from the original topic "Road Side Assistance".

Herman