Wild Blue is even more famous

C

colobear

New member
Looked in this month's BoatUS "Trailering" magazine and what do I see but our very own Jim, Joan, Big Red, and Wild Blue. Seems they needed help in the middle of darkest New Mexico and BoatUS came to the rescue. Wild Blue's crew thanked BoatUS and BoatUS was so pleased that Jim and Joan are there in the magazine in living color. Nice picture you two.
 
I haven't seen it the magazine, yet, Barry. I did write them a nice letter after our road service experience in New Mexico. Someone from BoatUS called shortly afterwards; asked if they could use the letter and asked for a photo of us with the boat on the trailer. Glad to oblige - I was very impressed with the service from BoatUS and the tire shop.

Over 40,000 miles of trailering Wild Blue, that was the first we needed road service. Adding trailer coverage to the on-the-water towing coverage is very minimal... and it sure helped us... 5:00 pm on a Friday.

We do check tires and bearings frequently. That tire was less 3 years old, had plenty of tread left - the steel belts came apart internally.

We are on the road right now, so it will take at least a month or so for our mail to catch up with us. I had no idea what they were going to do with the letter and photo; I assumed it would be something small in the letters to the editor page.

When we get good service, I make it a point to acknowledge it... a note to a repair shop, let the manager at a restaurant know that waitstaff is good, etc. Folks can always use a deserved pat on the back.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Lesson learned here! I shoulda called them, instead of Progressive on the 950 mile trip with THATAWAY in 2011 when we had two separate blowouts. They couldn't even find my policy on a Sunday! I have Boat U S coverage and it didn't cross my pea brain! :oops:

Charlie
 
Great photo. Not to hijack this thread, I just want echo what Jim said about the quality of the Boat US trailer service. We experienced a similar blowout incident 6 months ago, also in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico, and as members of the Boat US Trailering Club we called them wondering what, if anything, they could do for us in that location. The representative at Boat US was great and quickly located and dispatched a service vehicle to us. In about 90 minutes we were rolling down the road again. For the newer folks in our group, this is a wonderful service for a minimal annual membership fee.

Rob
 
JamesTXSD":1e1ymt4r said:
Adding trailer coverage to the on-the-water towing coverage is very minimal... and it sure helped us...
Click to expand...

RobMcClain":1e1ymt4r said:
...as members of the Boat US Trailering Club ... For the newer folks in our group, this is a wonderful service for a minimal annual membership fee.
Click to expand...

I have been considering the trailering coverage so I'm reading this with interest. I'm wondering if this is the same policy that you both have? I mean, for example, does Rob have the on-water towing coverage too, and then the trailering added on? Is it a similar service if you just get the trailering coverage? Not that I can't check with Boat US, but sometimes it's nice to get "real world" info too - especially from folks who have had successful claims experience.

Sunbeam
 
Their Trailering Club is a separate fee from their on-the-water towing service. I think the Trailering Club fee is $15.00 per year. It operates very similar to an AAA membership, if you are familiar with that. I wrote a C-Brats post back in July, titled "Home at Last..." in which I described our experience in New Mexico. Had we not had the Boat US service available I'm not sure what we would have done, since I couldn't get the spare tire off the mount. Not that I want Boat US to know this, but I would pay far more for this service than a mere $15. It provides real peace of mind when on the road. Mary and I think it's a deal and we won't leave home without it. :rainbow

Rob
 
Jim, what kind of roadside assistance do you have for when you are traveling with the 5th wheeler? Ever had to use it? I have AAA with the RV option but never had to make an RV claim.

Warren
 
RobMcClain":1ewamlb2 said:
Their Trailering Club is a separate fee from their on-the-water towing service. I think the Trailering Club fee is $15.00 per year.
Click to expand...

Okay, thanks. I was wondering if one could get it as a stand-alone or if one already had to have the on-water towing to tack it onto. Sounds like it can be purchased separately. I think I would gladly pay $15 per year for that, considering that the service sounds great and not laden with "gotchas," etc.

Sunbeam
 
So the moral of the story is, route around New Mexico unless you have trailer coverage. :shock:

Hey Jim, curious, I up'd the load range on my trailer tires to "E", was "D" from Pacific Trailers. Had severe, and I mean severe, bubbles develop in the sidewall on the original Carlisle tires, like 3-5" in diameter. Separation of the outer layer of rubber. What load range are you running?
 
Alright, Barry, you started this. :amgry We left Lake Havasu this morning, heading for San Diego... About 6 miles south of Quartsite, AZ, we had a blow out on the 5th wheel. We have roadside service through Progressive... less than an hour later, we were rolling again. Superb service once again!

Probably won't make SD today, though... We've been sitting in the busiest Discount Tire I have ever seen.

So, bottom line: last time we needed road service for an RV, it was 1997... still a good thing to have. We had used RV Assist in years past, and a separate road service coverage was around $90. Adding that coverage to our Progressive policy was around $10. Same with BoatUS. They all use the same vendors to get service to you. WELL worth the small additional cost.

Jim B.

PS. Yes, Steve, we upped our tires to E-series.
 
The follow-up is on the Wild Blue cruising thread. And just for discussion sake, RV road service is just as good as boat trailer road service. :wink:

It was a long day.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Barry, check your tires before you leave on that NY trip. :wink:

Jim, et al. Thanks for the insurance new info. I am looking to make a change.
Have had AAA for since I started driving. Getting expensive for what I get.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon
 
hardee":1yer6e1o said:
Have had AAA for since I started driving. Getting expensive for what I get.
Harvey
SleepyC:moon
Click to expand...

Harvey, in 2002 (think that was the year), I trailered the boat (16' Cruiser) behind my Chevy Astro Van to Corning, California to my cousins house. As I entered California, my van started running very rough and I pulled into a small town in the mountains to a garage just before closing time. They "painted a fairly dismal picture of the van's problems", but I noticed they were also a AAA towing company. One week before the trip, I had added the RV feature to my 100 mile plus towing for the grand total of JUST $17.00.
That being said, they loaded my van on to the flat bed tow rig, hitched the boat and trailer behind and I hopped in the cab and they drove me 100 miles. This put me on flat ground again and 30 miles from my cousin's house who then drove up and towed the boat and trailer to his house while I limped the van to his house. The next morning, I sputtered the van to a shop in Corning that belonged to a buddy of my cousin. As I pulled in, the van sputtered its last "breath".
I managed to purchase a used Astro Van (newer model) and at the end of the day was able to happily trailer the boat again.
The next morning, I trailered up to Lake Shasta for a delightful weekend C-Dory Gathering with Jim Gibson, Sea Wolf aka "Shotgun Joe" and his California C-Dory cousins..... :lol:
So, the additional $17.00 saved me a multi-hundred $ bill.

By the Way....The Gathering at Lake Shasta was fantastic!
 
Dave, I think you got your monies worth. Last year my Suby Outback turned toes up, and twice it was flatdecked from Port Townsend to Port Angeles thanks to AAA. I got my monies worth last year too. Probably will not drop it but want to have the trailer and boat with equally useful coverage. Looking at BoatUS for one.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon
 
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