Insurance ?????

[kjborawski]

Hi All,
Well the " new " 2005, Newmar Northern Star is in the driveway, I don't have to punch a clock anymore and, as soon as the house gets sold, me and Ma will be out there to start meeting you all.
Took the advice of the folks on this forum and got rid of the pickup and the jet ski and bought a 4x4 Ford Explorer.
Need some more advice though! We've joined Good Sams, Passport America. Newmar Kountry Club and got the National Parks Pass. When we contacted USAA [ our insurer for a bunch of years ] we got a policy written by Drive Line. I'm not sure it is the best policy for full timing as it doesn't seem to have too good a coverage on road service, which I think is going to be a major concern especially with tire repairs on the road. GMAC was considerably higher and I'm in the process of getting a quote from Good Sams, which brings me to another point. Do you full timers have a seperate policy strictly for road service and, if so , who do you all feel is the best and easiest to deal with?
Who do most of you have your insurance with?
Also, to answer a question someone had a while back about the Newmar Northern Star, it's 12'10" tall, is in the same class as the Newmar Dutch Star and definetly IS NOT for short people.

One other question. How many of you find having a CB as a nessity?

Thanks Again and Hope To Meet
You all This Year on The Road,
Ken

 

[DL Rupper]

Re: Insurance ?????

CB is fun if you like to hear dirty, foul mouthed truckers. However, they come in handy when there is a problem on the road. The truckers are usally telling each other what to look out for up ahead. A cell phone up front is a must.

By sperate road service do you mean emergency road service. If yes, I use Good Sams Emergency Road Service. It costs about $100/year, but I have never heard a bad remark about it. They will send someone out to change a tire, tow you in, or bring fuel. I have only used it one time when I locked myself out, but would never travel without it.

 

[hertig]

Re: Insurance ?????

Yes, there are several types of insurance.

The first type is equivalent to your auto insurance. Since the unit is a trailer, you don't need vehicular liability insurance; that is covered by your tow vehicle. However you do (probably) need collision in case someone runs into your trailer and comprehensive in case it burns down, is stolen or a tree crashes over onto it. For ease of use, your auto company may provide this, but generally you can get better (or at least RV oriented) coverage from specialty companies who provide RV specific insurance.

Since you won't have home owner's insurance any more, you probably want to look into some kind of personal liability insurance in case someone falls off your steps and breaks their leg. Also, contents coverage for your stuff, unless it is all covered under the 'vehicle' policy (some of the RV policies might cover some or all of the contents in the RV).

The next type is emergency road service. Good Sams is one of the better ones; I've also heard of Coach Net and there may be a few more lesser ones. These are usually about $100 a year and provide services such as towing and changing flats. Well worth it, as towing a RV is not cheap. AAA also has a plan like this, but by the time you add up all the required fees and upgrades to cover the RV, it is rather more expensive than the others.

Then there is tire insurance. This covers the cost of fixing or replacing tires, but is fairly pricey. $700 a year if I remember correctly. Pretty much the same caveats as the extended warrantee, below.

Finally there are 'extended warrantees'. These allege to make repairs, if you follow all the rules to the letter and pay the deductable and your problem is actually covered and they haven't gone out of business and the repair shop will accept it. As you can see, these often are more problems than they are worth and less value than they cost. They save some people a bundle, but more often do not return the value paid.