Good Sam Club

[NevadaCamper]

Is there an advantage to joining the Good Sam Club? Is it more advantageous if you live near a Camping World? Does toe roadside service supplement or replace your AAA coverage. Thanks in advance for your comments?

[SouthCo]

Curious too. We have AAA and don't live near a camping World.

[RDUBYA448]

If you're a Good Sam memeber, you get a 10% discount on all non-sale items you purchase from Camping World and free shipping if you order online and a 10% discount at their affiliated campgrounds. You can go to their website & get a breakdown of what they cover in their roadside assistance program and compare it to what AAA covers. We're members and I think it's very good coverage at very competetive rates, considering the minimal coverage offerred by most insurance carriers.

[Bobx2]

Go to http://www.rv.net/Forum/index.cfm You should be able to find all the answers there. Not to mention another forum to surf in your spare time if you happen to be a forum junkie like me.

[jsundin]

For all those reasons and another.

My father had both AAA and Goodsam. He got stuck with the horse trailer in Nowhere, Texas. He called AAA and gave his state, the highway and the mile marker. Tick tock, nobody came. He called back and they were looking for him in Florida, not Texas. He called Good Sam and they had a local truck there in 15 minutes. He cancelled his AAA and has done Good Sam ever since.

Jeff

PS, the only thing you will miss is getting the free maps from AAA. Stock up on those before you quit the membership.

[clubhouse]

Camping World just opened a new location in my area. They must have some database of currnet RV owners because they just sent me a 1 year free Good Sam Club "Deluxe Member" membership and a $25 gift certificate. Kind of nice to get a free year and see if there is any value for me.

Have never been interested before, I always found CW to be expensive vs our local shop and all the online options. Roadside assistance is covered by my insurance because they were the only ones I found how would support both the TT and TV should assistace be required during a trip.

[NewCamperOldTimer]

After some 25 years with AAA we decided to add towing and RSA to our State Farm policy for less than $5.00 per vehicle per year and joined Good Sam's RSA to cover the TT and vehicles as well.
We found out that our local AAA (AAA of East TN) would only cover our vehicles in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Puerto Rico (although I am still confused as to how we could drive there ).
If we broke down pulling the TT, AAA would only cover the TV and would drop off the TT at the closest "safe" place.
In the past few years AAA has had an attitude whenever we have called for service and response times have steadily increased, so after a lot of research we chose Good Sam's.

[Stevefaync]

We have had AAA for years, and still maintain it if nothing more than tradition. We are life time members of Good Sam and have the Platinum Plus Good Sam Road Side Assistance. They will tow a tow vehicle, the travel trailer and anything else you have, even if they have to dispatch multiple vehicles to do it. They will tow it anywhere you ask, not just to the closest shop, and at no additional expense. I cannot recommend Good Sam and their Platinum Plus roadside assistance package enough. They are awesome, and yes, they have towed one of our class A motorhomes in the past that lost it's brakes. (master cylinder crapped out).

We've been with them 16 years so far.

[Brownie]

There is a CW just around the corner from the dealer where I bought my new trailer - both about 6 miles from my house. I found Camping World to have a much better selection and lower prices than my dealer. So I joined GS to get the discount when I outfitted my trailer. Saved enough on the EMS, Thetford blue tank, and leveling blocks to pay for my membership. If I need non-warrantee repairs, I'll go there too, since their repair shop has a much better reputation than my dealer does. And once my free year of Jayco road service expires, I'll likely sign up w/Sam.

[Ttrav122]

We had to call GSRSA twice this past year. First tow easily covered what it caused me to sign up after the EGR went out on the truck. Second tow was a freebie as far as I'm concerned after losing an injector. Liked it so much that I bought a year for the daughter and son-in-law since they travel with us most of the time. 10% off of daily GS campground rates adds up over time.

[Seann45]

After 30+ years an CAA member I changed to GS. Motor Club does not like to tow you when you are out of state.. also now the GS membership is good for a fuel discount at FlyingJ and Pilot stations..

[cekkk]

I'm no fan of AAA. I needed them twice and their batting average was zero. I have Coachnet and have used their services twice and was very happy with the quick response. Like Good Sam, they understands RVs.

But you asked about Good Sam and CW. The discounts are mostly bogus IMHO. Campgrounds give discounts for AAA and other organizations. CW prices everything so without their discount, you're just paying too much. Most of the small stuff can be purchased online, at Walmart or elsewhere at lower prices.

BUT, we joined a local Good Sam camping club within our first year owning a camper. See if your state chapter can refer you to a club in your area. You not only make great friends, but they've got a lot of hands-on help, advice and information to offer. Our group has about 15 rigs and camps five months plus the state camp out in season and meets monthly for lunch and meeting the rest of the long, cold Colorado winter. That alone is worth the small annual cost.

Happy camping and enjoy the new rig!