AAA Road Service - What they don't tell you

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goldstar

goldstar

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Several weeks ago I was having coffee in the morning with some of my cronies when an AAA sponsored tow truck pulled up to tow a stalled work van, similar to mine. The tow truck driver told the van owner that he isn't authorized to tow these types of vans. Soooooo, I thought I'd place a call to AAA today seeing as how I've been a member and have been paying annual dues for about 12 years now. This is how the conversation went :

Me : Hi, I've been told by one of your drivers that you will not tow my work van if I'm stuck
AAA : What type of van do you have ?
Me : GMC Savannah 2500
AAA : Yes, we will tow that van
(pause)
AAA : However, if it is over-weight or has been modified in any way we will not tow it.
Me : I have metal shelving in the van with material and wire along with 2 ladders and my tools
AAA : Yes, we will tow that
(pause)
AAA : However, if you have ladders on top of the van we will not tow it
Me : Are ladder racks considered a modification ?
AAA : Yes
Me : I can take the 8' ladder off and put it inside my van but the extension ladder will not fit
AAA : If you have any ladders on the van we will not tow it
Me : If I'm stuck am I supposed to throw the extension ladder away so that you can tow me.
AAA : I'm not telling you that, all I'm saying is that we cannot tow you with ladders on the van
Me : What is the reason ? (This is classic)
AAA : Ladders have a tendency to come loose during towing and can become projectiles
Me : My ladders are tied down with ratcheted type straps that hold 500 lbs. and not with bungie bands
AAA : We cannot tow you with ladders on the truck
Me : Is there any other reason(s) I cannot be towed ?
AAA : Yes, there are height problems when we tow with a flat-bed
Me : OK, I can understand that. How about if you tow me with a wrecker ?
AAA : Same issue

The conversation was much longer than this but I'm sure you get the drift. There wasn't anything I could say that would convince this individual that my van was "tow worthy". If there is anyone in the State of NJ that is using another road service company that is reliable and will tow my size van would you please share that info here in the Forum ?

Also, for those of you that are in other states with an AAA membership and believe they will tow your work vehicle I would place a call to verify that they will, in fact, tow you in an emergency.
 
Call State Farm and see if they have the same issues. They use any towing service, not AAA sponsored. State Farm is also great when it comes to paying claims. You shouldn't have been charged for something they didn't offer. If it were me, I would change to someone else.
 
I've had AAA for about 25 years. I've always known that my membership does not apply to commercial vehicles, only my personal vehicles. Nevertheless, I have called them twice for my service truck recently. Once for a tow when I blew a tire and once when I stupidly ran out of gas and they brought some gas to me.:dunce: I didn't tell the operator it was a work truck and the tow drivers generally don't give anyone a hassle (especially if you tip them).
 
I did not know that. I will be calling them today.

So then how are you supposed to tow service vans if the tow truck won't do it? Or I guess this is a AAA nonsense?
 
edward said:
I did not know that. I will be calling them today.

So then how are you supposed to tow service vans if the tow truck won't do it? Or I guess this is a AAA nonsense?
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You can just call a tow company directly. They will tell you if they can handle your commercial vehicle or probably give you a referral to someone who can. The only issue here is the rules of the auto club membership.
 
edward said:
I did not know that. I will be calling them today.

So then how are you supposed to tow service vans if the tow truck won't do it? Or I guess this is a AAA nonsense?
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I'm guessing that "Joe's Tow 'n Go" isn't a good target if something pops off the van while under tow. AAA has deep enough pockets that some slip and fall lawyer would take the case regardless of merit.
 
You have to admit that there are lots of contractors out there (not just ECs) that have enough stuff piled on their roofs and held with a couple of bungee cords to give everybody a bad name. If you're driving and something comes flying off it's your problem. But if you are being flatbedded or towed it becomes the towing companies problem. AAA likely learned that lesson the hard way once so now they have that policy.

I suppose if you are being flatbedded you could remove your ladder and slide it under your vehicle on the flatbed. But then you will need to think about how to secure it.

-Hal
 
Once had AAA flatbed my jeep. When I got to the shop shortly afterwards the town driver said a golf ball from the golf course hit your jeep. I said what where you doing by the golf course it's on the other side if town. His response was I had a errand. I asked if he was going to pay for the broken light. He said no. The golf ball was laying on the deck of the tow truck.
They refused to pay. I was going to make a big to do but it was not worth it for a 8 dollar headlamp.

AAA eventually took away their franchise.
 
hbiss said:
AAA likely learned that lesson the hard way once so now they have that policy.
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That's fine and I'm OK with that. But I have been towed by them before when I had my Ford E250 van. My gripe now is that they've been taking my $100+ membership dues for many years now so, if they had a policy change why am I just finding out about it now ? And, why did I have to find out about it purely by chance ?
 
goldstar said:
That's fine and I'm OK with that. But I have been towed by them before when I had my Ford E250 van. My gripe now is that they've been taking my $100+ membership dues for many years now so, if they had a policy change why am I just finding out about it now ? And, why did I have to find out about it purely by chance ?
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They probably did send a policy change that is two pages long and is comprised of words that no one understands. Besides who reads policy change letters anyway, I know I don't. It goes straight to trash.
 
AAA is not who is towing you, it is a towing company that AAA has approved. If the company wants to charge more because it is a commercial vehicle or because you have that ladder involved, AAA rejects the claim.
 
Coppersmith said:
I've had AAA for about 25 years. I've always known that my membership does not apply to commercial vehicles, only my personal vehicles.
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I dont believe that to be the case. AAA doesnt actually cover a vehicle, it covers a member and whatever vehicle he/she is in. I dont recall ever seeing anyone check the registration of the towed vehicle. My truck is owned and registered to to my LLC and it has been towed.

kwired said:
AAA is not who is towing you, it is a towing company that AAA has approved. If the company wants to charge more because it is a commercial vehicle or because you have that ladder involved, AAA rejects the claim.
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Actually I believe that in some metro areas, AAA operates their own trucks.
 
electrofelon said:
I dont believe that to be the case. AAA doesnt actually cover a vehicle, it covers a member and whatever vehicle he/she is in. I dont recall ever seeing anyone check the registration of the towed vehicle. My truck is owned and registered to to my LLC and it has been towed.
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As I said above, I too have had my commercial vehicle serviced. The tow drivers won't usually give you a hassle, however:

I used to tow for a living, my wife still does: Regular AAA and AAA-Plus does NOT cover RV's, duallies, commercial trucks, lowered or lifted vehicles. If possible, I would usually tow them anyway if I could. You need AAA's RV coverage, like grnthmb has.
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http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f18/aaa-dropped-a-bomb-on-me-today-4907.html

On Monday, all of you can call AAA to confirm I they do, or don't
 
In my conversation with the AAA supervisor never once did he mention adding an "RV" sub-script to my subscription. He simply and flat-out said they wouldn't tow my vehicle with ladders on top. Just to be clear, about 5 years ago, when I had a Ford E250 (basically the same size as my current GMC Savannah 2500) I was towed several times by AAA and never took my ladders off.
 
I have the American Motorcyclist Assn's Roadside Assistance Plus- "AMA Roadside Assistance Plus includes unlimited service calls a year for all vehicles registered to your household. It includes motorcycles, cars, trucks, trailers and RVs. It does not cover commercial vehicles or commercial trailers."

Likely that most comm'l vehicle insurance policies probably have a towing rider for an extra cost, just have to ask about it.
 
zbang said:
I have the American Motorcyclist Assn's Roadside Assistance Plus- "AMA Roadside Assistance Plus includes unlimited service calls a year for all vehicles registered to your household. It includes motorcycles, cars, trucks, trailers and RVs. It does not cover commercial vehicles or commercial trailers."

Likely that most comm'l vehicle insurance policies probably have a towing rider for an extra cost, just have to ask about it.
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If you are a traveling salesperson or some other similar job where you drive a "car" for your work, isn't that vehicle technically a commercial vehicle? Now drive an SUV instead and you have a vehicle that is technically in a trucks and vans classification and they may scrutinize the claim more then for a regular sedan used for same purposes.

Bottom line is the insurance industry is about profits first, especially for the top officers or any investors, then try to get out of as many claims as possible on technicalities.
 
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