Broke Down in Victorville, CA - Good Sams is on its way

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

My Allison 740 just went to hell in Victorville on I-15 NB at exit 154. I called Good Sam's and asked for a low boy or Landall. They said they will send out the "appropriate equipment" but have no idea what an Eagle bus is. This should go REAL well.

[windtrader]

Sorry to hear Gary. You been having a stretch of bad luck. Hope it's not fatal.

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

I called Good Sams over 3 hours ago and they just called and said the equipment they are sending broke down on the way here. So now we are starting all over again.

[Geoff]

I dunno, I've had great service with Good Sam.  The tow truck company calls you so you can tell them what you have. Best of luck. We hear so many stories of getting ripped off at incompetent shops.

[buswarrior]

Please, Gary.

Your friends can't help with a diagnosis of "went to hell"

Give us some more words? What did it do?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Jim Eh.]

That is the one thing about an automatic ... about all you can do on the roadside is check the oil condition and the level.

[easystreet]

Just saw this post after posting in reply to you tire issues. So sorry to hear you are having issues now with something else.

[oltrunt]

Gary, sorry to hear of your misfortune--really bad news.    Keep us posted.  Jack

[luvrbus]

Now is the time to upgrade to a Allison World Transmission Mr.Hatt,FWIW Good Sam jerked me around for 6 hrs and wanted me to pay their service people $250.00 for trailer tire that Amazon sent me 2 overnight for $120.00 and the tire guy mounted both for 20 bucks 

[Dave5Cs]

Gary, how you doin? Did they pick you up yet and get the bus on a trailer? Just a loose bolt right? We need answers. Hope its simple.
Dave5cs

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

An update.  The first wrecker Good Sams sent broke down on the way out to me.  Good Sams called a second wrecker in LA and it would take them 3 hours to get there so I raised hell and told them there is a wrecking company 10 miles away.  They said they called them earlier but they did not have a driver. About 5 minutes later they called back saying they will send the local company out in an hour.  An hour later and still no wrecker. I called the wrecking company back and said they are on their way  An hour later still not there so I called again and they said they are almost there.   They arrived with a Landall while we were still on the phone.  The Landall driver said the Good Sams told  them I was in a 29' motorhome so they sent out a smaller truck and he radioed back to the shop telling them this is a big bus.  So they then sent the big Landall but nobody ever told me there would be delays so Good Sams messed up again. It seems like they never send out the right equipment the first time and of the 4 out of 5 times I have used them, they have done this to me. 

The bus rolls backwards but not forward.  We are still unsure what the problem is.  Commercial Engine in Victorville, CA will be able to get me in tomorrow. Till them I am camping out in the street.

[Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM]

But there is more to the story.  They thought they were going to have to pull the axles.  So what I thought was the tow truck dispatcher called me and told me they need to send a second truck with the proper tools because apparently the Landall truck did not have these tools, which makes no sense to me as they must pull axles all of the time. They said before the truck starts rolling I need to agree to pay $350 for the second driver to pull the axles.  The tow truck driver was right there and I asked him why they charge so much to pull the axles and he shook his head and said we only charge $150/hr.  I told the dispatcher that and she said the driver doesn't know the costs.  I thought WTF?  Tow truck drivers are usually responsible for collecting the money before they leave so something was smelling fishy.

The tow truck driver also said he does not know who this is on the phone as she does not work for his company.  Furthermore he said the truck is already on its way.  From what we ascertained, it was Good Sams calling back representing the tow truck company and wanting me to pay them $350 to pull the axles which the towing company was only charging them $150.  This makes no sense to me. Is this normal?  Seems like a scam to me. This may have even been a third party contracted to Good Sams to work with the tow companies and they will pay the tow company for any services over the covered amount then mark up any other services at over 200%.  Does this seem right to you?

She also said I will have to pay $190/hr for the Landall driver to wait for the second guy to get there and to pull the axles if the entire job took over the allotted 2 hours. What is wrong with this picture?  Seems to me that pulling the axles is part of the deal.  Good Sams previously told me that they will pay for up to 2 hours of whatever it takes to get the bus loaded including pulling the axles.

Now I am wondering too, why do they call themselves "Good" Sams?  Seems like an oxymoron to me.   

[Iceni John]

An update.  The first wrecker Good Sams sent broke down on the way out to me.  Good Sams called a second wrecker in LA and it would take them 3 hours to get there

The second wrecker in LA was rescuing the first wrecker.   Doh!

Last year when I needed a tow it took several hours until the wrecker arrived.   I get the impression that there simply aren't that many heavy-duty wreckers that can handle vehicles like ours, so we just have to take a number and wait.   My driver just pulled the right axle without asking, and no extra charges were mentioned or paid.   Something sounds fishy.   And why do they even need to pull axles (both of them) to be winched onto a Landoll?

Gary, if you have your toad with you, why not take a trip to Phelan and borrow one of Paul's fleet of buses.   He's got plenty.

Let us know what transpires with the transmission.   Us HT740 owners are now very curious.

Good luck, John

[luvrbus]

If it rolls backwards, the stator or torque converter bit the big one

[buswarrior]

We're interested in your mechanical situation.

Everyone knows Good Sam has service issues, that's why there is Coach-Net...

Pulling axles is routine part of towing a bus, and with your reporting driveline issues, first order of business is disconnect the driveline via the axles.

You get scammed if you let them do it to you?

Tell us the mechanical bits please?

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior