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  Discussion on Emergency towing
Author Message
Member:
Foggyval

Posted on Monday, Sep 27, 2004 - 9:28 am:


We were wondering if there is a company that caters to emergency horse trailer towing. We just got back from a trip to Virginia, about 425 miles. On the way down, the transmission in our RV went out. We called AAA and they told us they would tow the RV, they would tow the horse trailer, BUT NOT WITH THE HORSES IN IT!!! Now, here we are, on a busy 4-lane interstate highway, and what the heck are we supposed to do with the horses? Lucky for us, the tow truck driver was a "horse person" (bless his little heart), and he called his brother, who came and towed the trailer WITH HORSES to a safe place. We were pretty ticked off at AAA, and wondered if there is another emergency package we could get. Anyone have any suggestions?}
Member:
Terrilyn

Posted on Monday, Sep 27, 2004 - 10:03 am:

I am not a policy owner, but have often thought I should be:

https://www.usrider.org/index2.html

Member:
Deggert

Posted on Monday, Sep 27, 2004 - 12:00 pm:

Sara
I found this out the hard way too. Then, we found a local company in our area who has the license to tow anything. He happened to be an aquaintance and a horse person. Its one of those things you don't usually realize you need to find out till you're in the middle of it. We were on a steep, a first gear grade, coming out of the desert with a one ton and a 2 horse trailer, about 3000 feet up on a 2 lane highway then the DrOp off. They wanted us to unload, and just take the truck. We also found a guy who illegally hauled the whole rig to the top of the grade to safe ground. What a nightmare. Anyway, there should be someone in a 100 mile radius who has the license to do this. Typically they tow big rigs and motorhomes with attached cars etc. Good luck
"AAA is useless, they won't even tow a one ton I believe.
Member:
Foggyval

Posted on Monday, Sep 27, 2004 - 1:45 pm:

Thanks for the info! I guarantee before we set out again, we're going to have some kind of protection against this kind of thing! Trailers we can replace, but not our horses....
Member:
Sparky

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 28, 2004 - 3:59 pm:

Sara - here in BC Canada we have BCAA RV Plus which will tow two units. We were also experiencing problems through out our Back Country Horsemen members with their memberships and being stranded with the horses on the side of the road. We had a rep from BCAA come to one of our meetings and talk with us and cleared up the problem. It seems that a lot of their towing is contracted out and it is not mandatory for the contractor to haul the horses. What we do now (and I had to do it August!) is when you call for the help you ask for a 3 way conference call with the contractor they have arranged to come and get you. You need to establish what type of rig is needed and that you have livestock and require it moved. If the contractor can not or will not haul then BCAA will reimburse you for making your own arrangements. That amount is determined in your membership. They sent a flatdeck truck and we put the truck up top and the horsetrailer behind with the horses in it. The one problem that is now having to be cleared up is that they split my milage between the two rigs even though they only had to send one truck. My girlfriend was just told by a BCAA rep that this is not the way it should have been done. I was towed from Merrit to Abbotsford with the extra cost being 150.00 - Which Motorcade paid as they were the cause of my truck breaking down. Either way that would have been a very expensive haul without the membership. I truly believe it works. What I have found is that it is like any insurance you have - you have no idea what you are really covered or not covered for until you need it. So my advise it to get as informed as you can by getting a rep to your meetings and then getting it in writing. They provided us with a letter of procedure as to what is required from us when we break down. It worked like a charm for me. One more bit of interesting information is that because I had a cell phone in my hand sometimes and my hood of the truck was not up - I did have my hazard triangles out - the traffic just kept a rolling, not a single person slowed or stopped to see if I needed assistance!. My emergency flashers were on and I was out of the vehicle. It didn't occur to me to put the hood up and maybe that might have made a difference?
Anyway good luck and I would investigate it a lot further. My renewal fee was only$116.00
The other point of interest for those that really don't want to join and pay the fee yearly just in case is the option to carry the numbers with you as they will let you join on the road!
thanks
Janet
Member:
Alden

Posted on Sunday, Oct 3, 2004 - 10:26 am:

I've had US rider for a couple years, but knock on wood I haven't needed it yet.

Even if there is a AAA policy that would take care of the trailer, they wouldn't know nothing about stabling or Vets. I think US rider will handle both. Worth checking out.

Good day,
Alden
Member:
Rose1

Posted on Thursday, Oct 7, 2004 - 1:38 pm:

Sara,
I am fortunate to live within an hour from several great trails and New Bolton Center Veterinary Hospital so I don't need to go any great distance and around here the driving is easy. My suggestion does not fit your circumstances but here goes. My rig is older. When we bought the truck and trailer we called AAA to upgrade our plan that is when we found out what was covered.
So, I spent an afternoon calling tow companies in my area, 36 of them to be exact. I ended up with a list of 6 that would tow the horses back home for me and got a general idea of what it might cost. It is my plan to keep the list updated. I have only one friend that has the equipment to tow the horses and if he isn't available....
Thank you.
Regards,
Rose
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Oct 7, 2004 - 6:04 pm:

I believe Rose has the unltimate solution, before you travel be sure you have the numbers of professional haulers who can handle the horses AND get together with your friends and have a group with a mutual agreement to help in times of problems. Call the friends first and if that fails, fall back on the professionals. I suggest a reward for those friends who help: dinner at the restaurant of their choice (better have the American Express ready).
DrO
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