Victorian motoring organisation, the RACV, has defended the introduction of its ‘Tow Pack’ roadside assistance package for larger caravans and motohomes.
The organisation has rejected claims that many of its grey nomad members with bigger rigs may be unaware that they are not properly covered by ‘Total Care’ and ‘Extra Care’ options.
Both of these options provide roadside assistance for vehicles weighing less than 4t, that are less than 2.7 metres in height, less than 2.3 metres in width, and less than 6.7 metres in length.
Grey nomad Brian claims that most Victorian caravanners will need to take out their Tow Pack extra to cover their vans for roadside assistance.
“Most vans fitted with air conditioning on the roof will be too high and those with an awning will be too wide,” he said. “The RACV says it is for those towing large vans, but our 17’6″ Jayco is not covered.”
He says length is measured from front of tow ball to rear bumper, spare wheel or bike racks etc.
However, the RACV says it introduced Tow Pack last December to increase the level of cover available to members with larger vehicles and caravans, saying it will provide members with ‘greater assurance when travelling’.
“RACV Extra Care and Total Care have always had length, weight and height restrictions which have not changed as a result of the introduction of Tow Pack,” said Gordon Oakley, RACV General Manager Motoring & Mobility. “All caravans in Jayco’s 2014 range are covered from a width perspective with the new Tow Pack.”
Nonetheless, the RACV says it does encourage members to check their van dimensions to ensure that they are properly covered.
It says all members with Extra Care and Total Care are being advised of the new product on their renewal notices.
“For the first 12 months, RACV is also allowing Extra Care and Total Care members to upgrade at the time of breakdown and waiving the waiting periods in the event that their van or motorhome exceeds the limits under Extra Care and Total Care,” said Gordon Oakley. “RACV will always make every effort to assist members when in need, irrespective of the member’s vehicle dimensions.”
The extra cost for the ‘Tow Pack’ is $70 for blue card holders sliding to $56 for a Gold 50 card.
Very good article and I believe the RACV should have contacted members with an “Alert” style letter. We have a caravan, live in it full time, that is 9.9 metres from tow ball to rear bumper. Towed with an F250 which is 6.6 metres long and weighs 4.2 tonne. Thank you for this article as I will now contact RACV and upgrade. Being Silver members it is only about $65 per year more but not being a member is not worth the thought.
Our rig has its own cover through Isuzu. We have total care on our car and would have been unknowingly without cover when we towed our old van, even though we specifically took out total care at the time for this – on the advice of the RACV operator!. Seems like a cash grab to me, and they certainly kept it very quiet. Sign of the times, I suppose. The RACV seem to take the moral high ground on so many issues, but they are really no different from any other money-grabbing business.
Why didn’t they just say no van was covered unless with the new policy. All their measurements arre all just below standard widths and heights so as to fall outside their specs. Just another example of insurance companies being greedy.
to me all these so called organisations have lost the idea
they now own all sorts of business to make money but have lost the plot on wat they used to do
look after the motorist and there vehicles
one thing I/we don’t like is the old pollys taking over positions
being paid to much
making jobs for boys etc
just as others have said just greed
What cover for a 5th wheeler?
It needs a special tow vehicle. Some have a turntable & others a towball
RACV would not insure our 5th wheeler, eventually went with Ken Tame & Associates via the CMCA. Roadside assist, towing and emergency accommodation are part of their comprehensive recreational vehicle package.
I am a Towie who “once” worked as a Racv contractor. The problem is simple , will the vehicle fit on a standard tilt tray ? How could a tow truck haul my van ? Obviously tow trucks can’t pull a 5th wheeler . Therefore it goes beyond the equipment Racv contractors use. The max height of vehicles in Victoria (without getting permits) is 4.2m ,the tilt tray height is anything from 1.0 to 1.3m so do the height calculation. Most ra trucks are car carriers only therefore they have a slim tray measuring 2.1 internal deck width whereas some larger vehicles have a wheel width in excess of that . Sure there are plenty of tow trucks that are wider but in rural areas local tow companies are usually a lot less equipped than their suburban counterparts . Now before you demand all trucks be set up for large vehicles consider the costs involved I can assure you Racv does not want to pay every tow contractor extra cash to equip for the remote chance they may be required to haul a large vehicle.
over 9 years on the road did not know that our 25ft that’s cabin size was not covered. had one claim damaged tyre at Babinda 4861 QLD RACQ CAME and could not help as the spare tyre was locked and the key was at our van. signed a form and he left had to drive with damaged flat front fyre to a garage was charged $70.00 to remove my tyre and fit a second tyre.back in Bairnsdale VIC 3875 got a letter from racv we saved you $28 00. we are now stuck in BELENDEN KER 60 KAYS FROM CAIRNS NTH QLD we can get car to cairns to be fixed,now we have no transport no bus or local trains up here. will see if total care is worth 9 years payments.
I have a 6 ton winnebago, and l want to get Road Assist,
Who can you recommend?
You will really see the limitations of total care if you break down is sparsely populated states like NT or WA. Accomodation only covered at the place that vehicle was towed to for repair. Could be a roadhouse 500km from the nearest real town. You will need to stay there for a week while they get the part you need. Ours had a 2 week wait simply from the number of travellers broken down. Forget a hire car, the nearest hire car outlet is 500km away, they will have a 100km daily limit and you are not allowed to drive them after dusk outside a town. A $100 taxi fare would not get you there to pick it up and there are no taxis based at a roadhouse anyway. Get the car shipped home and you will be out of a car for a couple of weeks while they get it back to you. Get it shipped to a proper town and racv then wash their hands of you. No accomodation, no hirecar, etc. Then if you car can’t be readily repaired, you will be responsible for the costs of getting it and you home. If you have a caravan, they class a caravan site as “accommodation”.
If you are drowning, total care is the equivalent of them throwing you a life jacket but not actually pulling you out of the water.
i have a 40 foot Hino motorhome and have been with cil for ten years
had the motor blow a head gasket 75klm west of eucla Wa border
cost $5000 to to motorhome to nearest repairer
couldnt live in it so needed emergency accomidation was told it was all covered because we had nowhere to live as we live in this full time three times by different claims officer but on the fourth contact was told emergency accomidition was only covered if it was an accident cheapest accomidation was $834 per week in Kalgoorlie so im not happy with this as we have been loyal customers for so long
any recommendations on an insurer
cheers Danny
Loyalty means nothing . I found that out after years with AMMI
I have a 9.6 ton 31ft tow little car Winnabago and have been with Ken Tame road assist. They no longer do it. Does anyone have advice who I can get roadside assistance with
I hate travelling with no roadside assistance even though we not needed in 8 years travelling
I know this was listed a year ago but did you have any luck finding a company that would give roadside assist. We have a Winnebago with issues of not being able to find roadside assist.
Thankyou Glen