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If you were enroute from Wisconsin to The Fort, and your tow vehicle was unable to be driven, what would you do?  

We have AAA Rv so if we need a tow for the Jeep and the camper we are covered there. But what after? If we we only made it halfway where do you get a vehicle for towing the rest of the way? Just want to plan ahead. My Jeep Commander has 135000 mi and while it not let us down yet, it's getting on in years and we are just being cautious.

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I had vehicle trouble on the way home from a campout several years ago. It was a Sunday evening. Good Sam towed my vehicle to the nearest service station, and dropped me and my T@B at the nearest campground. Monday morning, I called the service station, they gave me a quote and repaired my truck. (Broken radiator hose), then picked me up and I headed home Monday. I was within half a day's drive home, so worse case, we could have arranged to park the camper somewhere, and family pick us up to get us home.

I think some of the towing plans have upgrades such as trip interruption insurance, medical emergency insurance, and all other kinds of insurance to get you home should the worse happen. (i.e., another Fiend told me she has insurance should her husband get sick and can't drive the rig, they will provide a way to get all of them home).

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25 minutes ago, mastergracey said:

If you were enroute from Wisconsin to The Fort, and your tow vehicle was unable to be driven, what would you do?  

We have AAA Rv so if we need a tow for the Jeep and the camper we are covered there. But what after? If we we only made it halfway where do you get a vehicle for towing the rest of the way? Just want to plan ahead. My Jeep Commander has 135000 mi and while it not let us down yet, it's getting on in years and we are just being cautious.

That’s a tough one. Because so many things would affect what I would do.  

First thing I would do, before my trip, is have my mechanic change the oil and check everything out.  Just let them know you will be towing an RV thousands of miles and you want to make sure everything is in working order before you leave   

Then if it does breakdown on the road and the mechanic told me they could have it fixed in a day or two I’d get a hotel and wait.   Or just stay in the trailer for two days  

If it was going to be longer I might get a rental car and continue on and change my campground reservation to a hotel reservation. And pick up my vehicle and RV on the way home. 

If the vehicle was beyond repair, I would probably buy a used truck in the town I was in.  I know that’s easier said than done.

I don’t buy new vehicles and I drive what I own till the wheels fall off.   And as soon as I buy a new(used) vehicle I start saving up for my next vehicle to replace it. That way I never get caught with my pants down. And I never have a car payment. 

And it won’t hurt to pray before you leave. 

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I'd probably do the same as Ray. It would all depend on the situation, my RV insurance has trip interruption coverage as well as towing. My first step would be to see how bad the truck was and how long or if it could be fixed, then decide from there. Either try to find another tow vehicle or figure something else out and try to make the best out of the trip and stressful situation no matter what ultimately ended up happening. 

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8 hours ago, caveat lector said:

I've never looked into it, but do any of the rental agencies rent super duty pickups?  If so, that's my first call. I hold my vacation time so precious, I would spend whatever to minimize impact.

I know none of the normal rental companies due. But maybe Hertz commercial , Ryder, or U-haul.

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This got me curious so I looked it up, looks like Enterprise trucks rent trucks for towing. Looks like it starts around 300.00 a week for a 1/2 ton  500 miles free and .20 each additional mile, with a possible extra charge for towing. Up to starting at 600.00 for a 1 ton and .15 each mile with possible extra charges for towing. This was just a general search in my area with random dates. So it could be done but could be pricey. 

I think uhaul does it to but not sure.

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1 hour ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

This got me curious so I looked it up, looks like Enterprise trucks rent trucks for towing. Looks like it starts around 300.00 a week for a 1/2 ton  500 miles free and .20 each additional mile, with a possible extra charge for towing. Up to starting at 600.00 for a 1 ton and .15 each mile with possible extra charges for towing. This was just a general search in my area with random dates. So it could be done but could be pricey. 

I think uhaul does it to but not sure.

I am surprised about Enterprise,  I had always been told they would not allow towing  

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Just now, LONE-STAR said:

I am surprised about Enterprise,  I had always been told they would not allow towing  

When I googled truck rentals for towing this article came up. http://m.autorentalnews.com/news/261623/enterprise-to-rent-pickup-trucks-for-personal-use

Looks like the rentals for personal towing are a fairly new thing and handled through the truck division and maybe not the everyday rental agency. When I searched the prices it was through the Enterprise truck rental website. www.enterprisetrucks.com/truckrental/en_US.html

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Keep in mind if you do get to rent a truck will it have a brake controller, I know most of the new trucks they do if equipped with the tow package, also this would only work if you have a travel trailer as I have never seen rental trucks with a 5th wheel hitch. Now do keep in mind with a tow package they might have the pucks in the bed but that is a lot of what ifs? Just food for thought in this matter.

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22 hours ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

I'd probably do the same as Ray. It would all depend on the situation, my RV insurance has trip interruption coverage as well as towing. My first step would be to see how bad the truck was and how long or if it could be fixed, then decide from there. Either try to find another tow vehicle or figure something else out and try to make the best out of the trip and stressful situation no matter what ultimately ended up happening. 

 

14 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

I know none of the normal rental companies due. But maybe Hertz commercial , Ryder, or U-haul.

My parents have had to use rental trucks before but it was paid for by the dealership.  Their duramax had problems years ago and the first dealership caused bad problems resulting in the truck being out for months, the second dealership took great care of them but were slow, so they paid for a rental truck anytime they needed it, but it was so expensive they asked they swap it out for a smaller truck when not towing.  I can't remember if it was Enterprise Trucks or Hertz but it was one of those and it had a gooseneck ball in it, not a fifth wheel hitch.  It was a 3/4 ton gas GMC if I call correctly.

WBI

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I've often pondered this as well with 147K on my truck.  Depends on where we broke down ad what the bill was going to be I guess.   With bringing the dogs, we'd prob just rent a car and drive home if close enough until it could be fixed.  Lets all hope we don't need to find out. 

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10 hours ago, PGHFiend said:

I've often pondered this as well with 147K on my truck.  Depends on where we broke down ad what the bill was going to be I guess.   With bringing the dogs, we'd prob just rent a car and drive home if close enough until it could be fixed.  Lets all hope we don't need to find out. 

You have a v-10 your good for a long time. My work Truck has 184,??? Miles on it and runs the same as the day we bought it. I have known several guys with over 300,000 miles on the Ford V-10. Now it likes to stop at every gas station.

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17 hours ago, mastergracey said:

Thanks for all the replies. It looks like Enterprise is the way to go in case something goes awry.....

Agreed. I can  make more money, but vacation days with my family Have a limited shelf life. Can't get them back.

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14 minutes ago, LONE-STAR said:

You have a v-10 your good for a long time. My work Truck has 184,??? Miles on it and runs the same as the day we bought it. I have known several guys with over 300,000 miles on the Ford V-10. Now it likes to stop at every gas station.

I agree with that. I only drive about 7 miles to work so I don't worry about it too much. It's an amazingly smooth and quiet engine though.  

I work for a construction co in the summer and we have 150 or so pickups, 99 percent ford. I think only a handful have less than 100k and several with over 200k, and one in particular has 385k as of last I drove it! These are 5.4 and 6.2 versions but in the same family. 

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My truck broke down halfway on our 550 mile tow. We spent the night in the camper at a truck stop. I called a friend to pick up our fiver and put the truck on a rollback back to my shop. Cost me a day and a little over $1k. We continued on in a different vehicle and stayed with in-laws. Having the truck fixed locally wasn't an option because my shop could handle it for the cost of my time only. 

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2 hours ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

My truck broke down halfway on our 550 mile tow. We spent the night in the camper at a truck stop. I called a friend to pick up our fiver and put the truck on a rollback back to my shop. Cost me a day and a little over $1k. We continued on in a different vehicle and stayed with in-laws. Having the truck fixed locally wasn't an option because my shop could handle it for the cost of my time only. 

Time for that f450 or you could buy a small house.

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  • 5 months later...

There are tow services that would transport your camper, for a price.  We were in Michigan and my lift pump on my truck was acting up.  I was not sure if or when I could get it fixed and contacted a few of these transport services to tow my 5er back home in case I couldn't get my truck fixed in time.  Thankfully I found a great diesel shop that removed the old lift pump and put in an after market one for a few hundred.

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