Emergency Road Service

While sitting on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck to haul away our broken down truck, I pondered the question: I wonder what everyone else on the forum has for towing/emergency service coverage.

Since we did not have any coverage, it cost $400 to tow our vehicle from Winter Park, CO. back to Denver. It would have cost twice that amount had it not been for some good friends who drove their truck to Winter Park and brought home our trailer.

By the way, the problem with our 2005 Ford F-350 6.0L diesel, was a failed Fuel Injection Control Module. Apparently this is problematic in the newer diesels of both Ford and Chevy and causes the truck to lose all engine power due to lack of fuel to the injectors. Luckily we have extended warranty coverage on the truck so that cost very little to fix.

Feel free to let me know what everyone has for road side emergency service/towing coverage.

Thanks!

I have Good Sam, but fortunately, have never had to find out what kind of service they deliver---and hope I never do.

I have towing coverage on my Farmers policy. I've used it a couple of times (once, coincidentally from Woodland Park to C. Springs) and been really happy with it. They cover the insured vehicle and anything that it is towing. My jetski trailer had a problem once and they came out and loaded it on a flat bed and hauled it back into town even though there was nothing wrong with the truck. Both times at no cost.

We have AAA: Plus RV for auto and RV towing.

TC

Good Sam here, havent used it yet though......

Nothing here. I use to carry AAA, but never used it. wildcat came with their own one year assistance, but I never used that either thank God. Most of my vehicles have had factory warranties and come with road side assistance. I figure in what I have save over the years, would pay for one tow out of my pocket. I guess I just can't justify the added expense.

Good Sam ERS for us, never had to use it !! (knock on wood)

We have Good Sam - haven't needed it yet. My brother has Good Sam, and he needed it for his motorhome. He had a major problem, and GS handled everything. They had to lift the back of his MH out of a hole, it couldn't be towed or dragged. They were great!

Tater

I have use Good Sam ERS and it was horrible. Sat there for three hours waiting for them to show, got board and changed my own 'Cat's tire. The tow truck that Good Sam contacted to help me phoned me to say, "Gee, we have never changed a trailer tire before. Do you have a jack or something?"
I wrote a letter to them, but to date, have heard nothing back -- sad.

Dave:

Sorry to hear of truck issue, but glad all made it down the hill. Was the Ford a "no start" or running rough? Was it the wiring harness issue? I have same year and model so want to know what to keep my ey open for.

Regards,

Keith

Keith,

The problem with the FICM is usually caused by overheating. It took 45 minutes to drive 3 miles because of a rally in Winter Park. I believe that the diesel engines do not like ideling for long periods of time.

The symptom was a large puff of blueish/white/gray smoke from the rear and suddenly no engine power. Engine will try and start, and may, but once you apply accelerator the truck will stall. After the truck cooled off, we were able to move the truck from the side of the road to a driveway so we could disconnect and the tow truck could just pick up the truck.

If you google the Ford FICM, you will find that there are several writeups about the issue including a recall on the factory harness which can have issues as well. This time, it was the module itself. The biggest issue is that the truck can lose power at anytime and may( hopefully NOT) cause an accident if you cannot pull safely off the road.

Nothing like a bad experience! At any rate, we are researching a towing option and I am adding an Edge Insight monitor to monitor the trucks computer as well as EGT to prevent any overheating issues.

An ounce of prevention....

Thanks Dave.

I have been watching the Ford forum and keeping an eye n my harness. I have been thinking about guages to watch EGT and you may have pushed me over the edge (no punn intended). I run mine bone stock execpt for an AFe intake and filter, so I was in no rush to get gauges. Found a guy in Parker who will do 3 guages installed for $500. If you get the Edge, drop a note and let me know how you like it.

Hope you folks have had a great summer - maybe we meet down south for some Fall fishing

Keith

Keith,

You may want to research the Edge Insight because it is more in-depth than just the 3 gauges. I was going to go the gauge route until I came across the Edge. Since it ties into the computer, there is less to hook up but it does require purchase of a thermocouple for EGT monitoring as ant EGT will. Its a simple install and with the dash pod, a clean installation. I wish all the turbo diesel truck makers would have included an EGT gauge as it should be standard to avoid overheating.

Summer has been great so far. Fished Arkansas River, Colorado River, Jefferson Creek area, Poudre Canyon and going down south very soon!

Tight Lines!!

We have GS ERS and have used it twice with great results. Once was a simple flat tire that was taken care of satisfactorily. The other time the truck broke down, they towed the truck and trailer to the nearest town. Found a repair shop that could take us in that day, and found a place in the town where the trailer could be dropped off for the day and night in case the truck couldn't be repaired in one day. Very, very satisfied with Good Sam ERS.

We have tow insurance with State Farm (low cost). State Farm considers the Cat as an extension of the TV while on the road, so it is supposed to tow, provided tire service, etc. to the Cat as we are connected. I did collect damages to a prior TT when I blew a tire, and had the TV and TT towed once when my old Blazer broke down. State Farm was ok -- you just have make your own arrangements and then turn in your bill for a reimbursement.

The hassle of trying to locate a tow service in new locations caused me to look into additional service. I talked to a local tow service, which also does auto and RV repair. Apparently Good Sam has changed their dispatch service, and it doesn't appear to be as good as their past service. Therefore, I elected to go with AAA Plus RV. (We had used AAA for a blow out on a TV in May and I was impressed.) I, like others, just hope we don't have to use it.