|
|
Posts: 431
| So you are traveling and experience vehicle issues. Who do you call? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 256
Location: plant earth | Just make sure you have a good spare. Most of us can change a tire some may be older or have a health condition and limiting them from doing strenuous tasks. AAA can handle that. I keep a basic OBD code scanner under the back seat of the truck just to actually know what is causing the problem sometimes just clearing the engine code can buy you a little extra time to make it to a better spot than the side of the interstate and sometimes you are SOL and have to deal with it as best you can. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1516
| AAA. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 8772
| Check with your insurance company. I've got emergency road service/towing/rental car coverage on all my vehicles, and it costs practically nothing. |
|
| |
|
| Depending on age of vehicle, you may have roadside assistance through your new car warranty. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1710
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | Maintain your vehicle at home so that you don’t have roadside issues. Preventative maintenance is the best roadside insurance. Tires, brakes and brake lines, bearings, antifreeze, trans fluid, differential lube, lighting, etc. Too many people I have fished with let problems linger and then complain when stranded. Two that I fish with regularly told me until I worked on their boats, everything didn’t work. Why this mentality is more normal baffles me. Fix all and any problems at home so they don’t snowball into something larger. |
|
| |
|
| RyanJoz - 5/15/2021 9:28 AM
Maintain your vehicle at home so that you don’t have roadside issues. Preventative maintenance is the best roadside insurance. Tires, brakes and brake lines, bearings, antifreeze, trans fluid, differential lube, lighting, etc. Too many people I have fished with let problems linger and then complain when stranded. Two that I fish with regularly told me until I worked on their boats, everything didn’t work. Why this mentality is more normal baffles me. Fix all and any problems at home so they don’t snowball into something larger.
I agree and practice preventive maintenance but unfortunately today's vehicles depend on a lot of electronics and while they rarely fail, not anything you can do to prevent. My Yukon had less than 20,000 mile on it when it suddenly went into limp mode and I got a message to stop driving and get to a dealer. It was some sort of air sensor and it did allow me to drive to the dealer at 25mph. I was in town and close. Would hate to have been driving across the plain states and have that happen. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 63
| My insurance company (Farmers) got me and my boat off the road from a blown wheel bearing 40 miles north of Duluth. They found me a place, north in my direction of travel, and were there within 90 minutes. 24 hrs later with some real good luck and awesome Harley-loving dudes at the shop, we were back on the road. I loathe paying insurance premiums but I drive my boat and truck 15K a year so I bring the max coverage available on both and change my wheel bearings every February. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 253
Location: On the water | Now that's a great insurance company!!! I'll have to check out Farmers. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | North of 8 - 5/15/2021 8:59 AM
Depending on age of vehicle, you may have roadside assistance through your new car warranty.
Its likely he ignored the call to re-up his cars extended warranty.... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 7037
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Take it from the guy that has gone through 4 trailers in the last like 7 years: get AAA GOLD. It's like $100 a year and they offer free towing, including flatbed towing for your boat/trailer. Probably saved me $3K in towing fees in the last few years. |
|
| |
|
| 14ledo81 - 5/17/2021 7:59 AM
North of 8 - 5/15/2021 8:59 AM
Depending on age of vehicle, you may have roadside assistance through your new car warranty.
Its likely he ignored the call to re-up his cars extended warranty....
LOL! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1516
| Slamr - 5/19/2021 9:54 AM
Take it from the guy that has gone through 4 trailers in the last like 7 years: get AAA GOLD. It's like $100 a year and they offer free towing, including flatbed towing for your boat/trailer. Probably saved me $3K in towing fees in the last few years.
I agree AAA Gold is they way to go. I busted a leaf spring on I 380 in Cedar Rapids. Had to have the boat and trailer towed on a flat bed. That’s quite a sight seeing your rig up on a flatbed going down the interstate |
|
| |
|
Posts: 199
| jdeezay74 - 5/14/2021 5:43 PM
Just make sure you have a good spare. Most of us can change a tire some may be older or have a health condition and limiting them from doing strenuous tasks. AAA can handle that. I keep a basic OBD code scanner under the back seat of the truck just to actually know what is causing the problem sometimes just clearing the engine code can buy you a little extra time to make it to a better spot than the side of the interstate and sometimes you are SOL and have to deal with it as best you can.
Does clearing the code if its something major fix the issue? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 630
Location: Duluth | I too have used AAA Gold on many occasions, worth every penny. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1264
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | Muskie Gal - 5/19/2021 4:33 PM
jdeezay74 - 5/14/2021 5:43 PM
Just make sure you have a good spare. Most of us can change a tire some may be older or have a health condition and limiting them from doing strenuous tasks. AAA can handle that. I keep a basic OBD code scanner under the back seat of the truck just to actually know what is causing the problem sometimes just clearing the engine code can buy you a little extra time to make it to a better spot than the side of the interstate and sometimes you are SOL and have to deal with it as best you can.
Does clearing the code if its something major fix the issue?
NOPE |
|
| |
|
Posts: 8772
| Clearing the code only helps if it was an intermittent "glitch" - faulty reading from a sensor for example. As with all things electrical, every so often they can and do "f - up" for no apparent reason. Usually this is a warning sign that whatever component, though technically "working" probably isn't long for this world. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 3863
| Ditto on the suggestion that you should take steps to prevent problems even before you hit the road. When I was poor and towing a 14' aluminum boat all over creation (and to Dead/Panic shows) I learned to make sure my tires and bearings and trailer lights were perfect. Considering how many miles I ran it meant replacing the tires and bearings every other year and the wiring harness every third year. Except for mounting the tires I did the work myself; tires, bearings and the wiring harness cost about $120 total. Cheap insurance. Then, when I traveled I brought all necessary tools, a new spare tire, an extra set of bearings and grease, wire and light bulbs, etc.
If I still traveled like that it would be with AAA help for sure. But I would also still be ready to solve the common problems right there on the side of the road. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 8772
| And old friend gave this advice: "dude... Don't buy cheap tires. Don't buy anything but the best tires unless you aren't keeping the car. I'm telling 'ya. Don't F around with tires, man. If they're starting to get bald, change them. If they have good tread but they're old, change them. If they have any cracks, even tiny ones, change them. Alignment wear? Well first off, get an alignment. Then change the tires! Oh, and change out the spare, too. I know, it's never seen the road. Your truck is what, 10 years old? So's that tire. I'd bet you don't even check the air in it!"
(Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You sell tires, I get it.) I did check the spare later that day. Yep. Flat. Huh.
Told my dad: "Hey, you're driving down to Florida in a couple weeks, right? Maybe you ought to get new tires before you go."
DAD: "Ahh they're fine, they got plenty of tread! Only 25k on 'em!"
ME: "Yeah, that's about what I have on mine too, but my truck IS 10 years old and those ARE the original tires..."
DAD: "There ain't nothin' wrong with em!"
ME: "Yeah, that's kinda the way I'm leaning. But Jim said.."
DAD: " Jim sells tires for a living!"
Two weeks pass...
Phone rings. Dad. Halfway to FL, pulling a camper. "You ain't gonna believe this #*#*!..." We figured it was a fluke. Who ever heard of tread flying off a perfectly good tire? Then he lost another one...
That day I went out in the garage and took a look at my "perfectly good" tires. Yep. Plenty of tread, no uneven wear, always kept them properly inflated, rotated about every 10,000 miles. Huh. Look at that, there's tiny little cracks between the treads. I'm going to Canada in a few weeks, maybe I ought to... Tragedy narrowly averted, apparently. The guy at the tire place showed me what happened when they took them off the rims, and it wasn't pretty. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 199
| Slamr - 5/19/2021 9:54 AM
Take it from the guy that has gone through 4 trailers in the last like 7 years: get AAA GOLD. It's like $100 a year and they offer free towing, including flatbed towing for your boat/trailer. Probably saved me $3K in towing fees in the last few years.
Why have gone through 4 trailers in last seven years? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1258
| I've used my AAA Gold card about 4 times in the last 30 years. A couple times it would have been a very spendy charge. Probably haven't broke even on it, but when you do need it, it feels like a get out of jail free, card. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 3863
| "Tragedy narrowly averted" - Bob Weir introducing Monkey and the Engineer at the Radio City Music Hall 10/27/80 show. Hear it on the 1981 live double album Reckoning. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1144
Location: Minnesota. | Juhas - 5/14/2021 5:09 PM
So you are traveling and experience vehicle issues. Who do you call?
I've often wondered about that regarding my 2012 Ranger Trail oil-filled bearings... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 8772
| Ranger - 5/23/2021 12:57 PM
"Tragedy narrowly averted" - Bob Weir introducing Monkey and the Engineer at the Radio City Music Hall 10/27/80 show. Hear it on the 1981 live double album Reckoning.
"From a song about tragedy impending, uhh we're gonna move swiftly to a song about tragedy narrowly averted. It's another in our long list of tragedy songs..."
I'm surprised somebody caught the reference, but not surprised it was you! |
|
| |
Stranded on Hwy