Car and Trailer breakdown cover.
Car and Trailer breakdown cover.
Author
Discussion

Chassis 33

Original Poster:

6,194 posts

311 months

Tuesday 27th May 2008
quotequote all
Hi folks, posted this in general gassing to no avail. Can anyone recommend a breakdown service that covers me (regardless of which car I'm driving) and also covers any trailer or caravan etc I'm towing. The latter is very important to me, as I was caught out a couple of years ago when my race trailer seized a bearing and I was raped for £180 to get the trailer recovered 10miles to a relatives. don't want to experience that one again.

Regards
Iain

Hybrids

842 posts

272 months

Tuesday 27th May 2008
quotequote all
I had a bit of a run in with the RAC over trailer cover.
The head gasket went on our Disco tow vehicle (while towing our MR2 racer) in Corby and we wanted recovering home.
At first they said it was a commercial recovery and a surcharge would be added, a supervisor then said they would do it with no additional charge.
I phoned the RAC the next day to clarify and they were trying to get me to join the caravan club so it was covered.
They couldn't tell me the max trailer limits etc.
In the end they put me through to someone in the UK and all became clearer:
They have told me the RAC will recover a vehicle & trailer providing the trailer is not over 3500kgs, 7m wide and 25ft long (their own mix of metres & feet ...)providing it's the tow vehicle at fault.
If there is a fault on the trailer they won't assist, unless you are a member of the Camping & Caravan club.

Hope that helps

Chassis 33

Original Poster:

6,194 posts

311 months

Tuesday 27th May 2008
quotequote all
Yeah, thanks, looks like the RAC wont be getting my custom!

Regards
Iain

sniff petrol

13,125 posts

241 months

Tuesday 27th May 2008
quotequote all
Hybrids said:
... 7m wide and 25ft long (their own mix of metres & feet ...
yikes Must be a pain for them to close motorways and stuff.

I had a nightmare stuck in Plymouth with a hired trailer and dead Mondeo last year, ended up having to hire a van to get us and our vehicles back home.

I'd have thought with your skills Iain you'd be able to cope with any breakdown?

Chassis 33

Original Poster:

6,194 posts

311 months

Tuesday 27th May 2008
quotequote all
My general thinking is if I can't fix it at the roadside then the RAC etc won't be able to either, the only option then is to be recovered home. With the trailer the bearing had eaten into the stub axle so that had to be repaired before I replaced the bearing, and road side assistance certainly don't have a welder and lathe hidden in their van!

Regards
Iain

spaximus

4,365 posts

282 months

Tuesday 27th May 2008
quotequote all
I had a similar with the RAC with my motorhome. I rang up and was told it was not covered as it was too long. They went on to say that all their vehicles were too short to recover it on. However if I was a memeber of the Camping and caravaning club (which I am) it would be covered. So i asked on what vehicles they would recover it as they had told me all theirs were too short, dum fker had no answer or understanding of what a dimwit they had been made to look.
Basically the RAC can charge a surcharge if they can get out of it at all by using any excuse that you will accept.
still miles better than the AA who are now an insurance company with abit of a breakdown service tacked on.
And Green flag and their alliance with brake are not ever going to get my money.

Hybrids

842 posts

272 months

Tuesday 27th May 2008
quotequote all
sniff petrol said:
Hybrids said:
... 7m wide and 25ft long (their own mix of metres & feet ...
yikes Must be a pain for them to close motorways and stuff.

I had a nightmare stuck in Plymouth with a hired trailer and dead Mondeo last year, ended up having to hire a van to get us and our vehicles back home.

I'd have thought with your skills Iain you'd be able to cope with any breakdown?
Oops
Should have read 3m wide

Hybrids

842 posts

272 months

Tuesday 27th May 2008
quotequote all
Chassis 33 said:
Yeah, thanks, looks like the RAC wont be getting my custom!

Regards
Iain
Unfortunatly, they appeared to be the best of a bad bunch thats why we changed from the AA to RAC

megamaniac

1,062 posts

245 months

Tuesday 27th May 2008
quotequote all
The camping club part is only £35 per year more though .i thought it was a bargain ,plus being a motor trader they are one of the few recovery services that will cover me.
My headgasket went at knockhill many years ago ,they recovered me within an hour and took my van and trailer 600 miles quicker than i could have driven .If i'd had to pay it would have been £600.
Pay the money iain it 's bugger all really.

Edited by megamaniac on Wednesday 28th May 09:48

Chassis 33

Original Poster:

6,194 posts

311 months

Wednesday 28th May 2008
quotequote all
Righto, so the consensus is join the RAC and the Camping and Caravaning club? Cheers folks will get that sorted.

Regards
Iain

Kickstart

1,119 posts

266 months

Wednesday 28th May 2008
quotequote all
My experiences of breaking down in a van and trailer - with full AA cover have been a nightmare - the breakdown services are just not equiped to deal with it - the AA could not find any suitable lorry to recover the van and trailer with a driver who had sufficient hours left to get us home - result maybe 10 hours waiting and we had to return to collect trailer from compound near the breakdown.
Years ago was with RAC when tow car died on the M1 - exactly the same result in this case the lorry tow bar was just too high for the trailer which meant that they could not tow it.

Aside from not breaking down the only answer is to call out a mate with a tow car to recover the trailer and get the AA/RAC to recover the tow car/van

woof

8,456 posts

306 months

Wednesday 28th May 2008
quotequote all

Years ago i was in the highlands with a Quad Trailer - the axle went, but the RAC loaded it on a truck and took it the 700 odd miles back home for me. Didn't have to tow it myself - result !

Piglet

6,250 posts

284 months

Wednesday 28th May 2008
quotequote all
I'm not sure how much this helps....

We have a large camping trailer (just over 3m long) and have breakdown cover with Green Flag as an add on to Privilege motor insurance.

We broke down twice last year, both at race circuits, both with the trailer - once on the outskirts of Stavelot next to Spa!

Green Flag recovered the car and the trailer with no problem at all on both occasions. It maybe that the difference is the size of the trailer or it may be that a camping trailer - however huge - isn't in any way commercial.

jellison

12,803 posts

306 months

Thursday 29th May 2008
quotequote all
is it a 1 or 2 axle trailer?

Chassis 33

Original Poster:

6,194 posts

311 months

Thursday 29th May 2008
quotequote all
Brian James two axle.

Regards
Iain

jellison

12,803 posts

306 months

Thursday 29th May 2008
quotequote all
Chassis 33 said:
Brian James two axle.

Regards
Iain
Same as us. (Minno though as our car is short) - will widen it for the TVR if ever built.

If this happened again (seizure), could you not take the wheel off the frozen end of that acle and drive home slowly.

Think we gave up on any trailer insurance years back - not sure what our race cover would cover but have it anyway.

Chassis 33

Original Poster:

6,194 posts

311 months

Thursday 29th May 2008
quotequote all
We thought of that but it was the rear axle the way the weight distribution was that rear corner would sagged too much, and with 150miles to home it was a no go frown

Is there some trailer cover that comes through with some of the MSA literature, I can find a copy of it now.

Regards
Iain