Well I guess it may be regional.....
Last year my wife and I were hauling a 16 ft. covered trailer full of her
grandparent's antiques in mid December (I know... foolish ... but... )
with our '76 3/4 ton chevy van and in blue bird weather did a 180 on I 80 in
Wyoming in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we landed in the median with no
damage to the contents and minor tongue damage to the trailer. Literally 3
minutes afterwards the salt/sand trucks came by. And with nothing more than
a CB radio we were able to get a trucker to call AAA. The tow truck was
there in another 15 minutes and we were back on our way to the Tow Truck
operators garage. Paid $150 with a visa and got a receipt. Got home and
took it to AAA and they cut a check for the difference between our
deductible and what we paid out all in time for the next MasterCard payment.
All in all an ok experience.
Really haven't got any junk mail and our car insurance is not with AAA, just
have the tow package and take advantage of the free maps.
As an aside.... we have been coast to coast (Chico Ca to Baltimore MD) 14
times in the OLE van, once hauling my wife's grandfather's 56 suburban. Our
record is 53 hours and we owe it to Jolt cola, sunflower seeds, a large ice
chest of food and a little/lot of insanity.
bob in Chico
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jack halton [SMTP:safesix@worldnet.att.net]
> Sent: Sunday, April 04, 1999 2:38 PM
> To: MarkNoakes@aol.com; oletrucks@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: AAA (was Re: [oletrucks] My Not-So-Excellent Adventure)
>
> I don't want to stray off topic here, but old trucks are inherently
> breakdown prone, so roadside assistance is a matter of importance to us
> all.
> Miq, you be the judge.
>
> I have been a AAA member since 1977 and am growing increasingly
> disenchanted. Their newsletter, at least in Florida, is a 30 page travel
> brochure touting cruises, bed and breakfast places, and Vegas gambling
> junkets. I am bombarded with junk mail for all their subsidiaries selling
> insurance, health plans, burial plots and God knows what else. I work near
> their Florida headquarters and as anyone who has ever passed it (Heathrow
> exit on I-4) can attest, it's about the size of the Pentagon, with moats,
> fountains, and the water bill to run the lawn sprinklers alone could
> probably rival that of a small city. Fine, but the last two times I needed
> emergency service I waited HOURS
> and it took dozens of calls to get a tow truck. First time was when I
> threw
> a fan blade in my truck. I told them to send a rollback and what shows up?
> a
> dolly-type wrecker. The driver agreed it would not be a good idea to try
> to
> flat-tow my truck, and called in for a rollback. Waited another 45
> minutes.
> New driver told me AAA no longer contracts with any wrecker services, they
> just use whoever is available, and this is to save money!
>
> Second time, I'm in my daughter's Jetta and a tire goes flat. I'm dressed
> for work, can't figure out the jack (instructions are in GERMAN for
> Chrissake) so I call AAA on her cell phone and TWO HOURS later the guy
> shows
> up, swears he just got the call. This after I call AAA every fifteen
> minutes, get a different operator each time after a menu quagmire of
> "Please
> Hold, your call will be answered in the order received..." In short I am
> thoroughly disgusted with AAA and I pay $160 a year for this( 3
> drivers/cars)? Both of these breakdowns were in urban Orlando, clear
> weather
> and off-peak daylight hours. I know the AAA operates different "Auto
> Clubs"
> in different areas, is it just the Florida club that sucks, or is it like
> this everywhere? It seemed like the California AAA was much more
> automobile
> oriented, they had a magazine with road tests and they operated diagnostic
> facilites where you could get an independent mechanical appraisal done.
> Even
> a lab where you could get engine oil analyzed, telling you content of
> various metals so you would know when you had bearings going bad etc.
>
> If anyone has similar AAA problems, or actually knows of a good
> alternative,
> please let me know. I feel like I really need an emergency roadside plan
> as
> I drive my truck a lot, but it sure seems AAA is going in other directions
> these days.
>
> Thanks, I feel better now!
>
> Jack / Winter Park FL
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: MarkNoakes@aol.com <MarkNoakes@aol.com>
> To: oletrucks@autox.team.net <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
> Date: Sunday, April 04, 1999 2:29 PM
> Subject: Re: Re: [oletrucks] My Not-So-Excellent Adventure
>
>
> >I used AAA when my Suburban's 283 finally went a couple of years ago. .
> .at
> >2AM on the way home from working late. Fortunately I had a cell phone
> with
> >me since I was on a divided four lane and not near a gas station or
> >convenience store.
> >
> >Make sure you emphasize that the vehicle that they should look for is an
> old
> >truck; they went round and round looking apparently for a NEW Suburban
> >before finally stopping to check my "old" truck. . .even though I had
> >mentioned the year in the description on the phone-in.
> >
> >Mark Noakes
> >58/56 Suburban
> >Knoxville, TN
> >
> >
> >In a message dated 4/4/99 4:58:58 PM, you wrote:
> >
> ><<I got AAA plus coverage for this very reason. You get 100 miles of
> FREE
> >towing. I've used it twice (both 70+ mile tows) and it has paid for
> itself
> >in peace of mind and towing bills.
> >
> >Skip Boylan
> >'55-2 big Window Shorty>>
> >
> >
> >oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
> >
>
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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