Experience with Equestrian Roadside Assistance plans?

[AnnaMM]

Hi- I would love to hear anyone’s experiences with roadside assistance plans for horse trailering . Which one has come to your aid? Or which has not come through when you were in a bind? I need to purchase a plan for a long trip- some I have looked at are USRider, EquiPro Roadside, USRoper.
Thanks for any advice! AnnaMM
***Edit- I will be traveling between southern Wisconsin and Lexington KY

Update based on the experiences shared, I chose TrailGuard. I will be sure to post any experience I have with them. Thanks everyone, for your information!

[atr]

I’ve had good luck with US Rider, so far. Mostly flat tires, on where they had to tow my truck. In none of these cases have I had to deal with horses on board, but they have been prompt, helpful and courteous, and checked up on me after the event to make sure things went according to plan.

[trubandloki]

From what I understand from reading threads here and from people who have had it, US Rider’s quality of service depends greatly on where you are. So best to ask people a general area where they have had good or bad service.

I think most people are either very happy with their service or find them to be horrible, not much between.

[Texarkana]

US Rider left me stranded. Thankfully I was in my personal vehicle with no horses in tow.

[LCDR]

AAA would not change a horse trailer tire- only one on the tow vehicle. Not my own rig, but I stopped along the interstate to see if assistance was needed. The lady driving was on her way with colicky horse to the vet school and was very upset. Right after I pulled over a couple of nice truckers pulled over with proper jack and quickly got her back on the road.

An interesting thing was that all three of us help offerers were going the opposite way, saw the horse trailer across the median, took the next exit and doubled back to her.

Over a year later I was a volunteer at a horse trial and the lady in distress recognized me. Her horse had recovered and they were there competing.

[ake987]

US Rider sent a tow driver that chain-smoked the entire 5 hour drive, video called his wife while driving (he actually managed to smoke and FaceTime simultaneously), and asked me extremely inappropriate questions that made me incredibly uncomfortable (do you cuddle with your husband every night? are you going to have sex with your husband when you get home? do you know how pretty you are?). Before I got into the truck, I grabbed my stud hole tool. By the time we pulled into the farm and I let go of my grip on it, all of the wire brush bristles had become embedded in my palm - I had been clenching it that hard.

I filed a complaint with US Rider, despite being afraid of retaliation from the driver based on some stories he regaled me with (my BIL and I burned down a guy’s garage who messed with us, etc.). The US Rider rep who followed up via phone was in tears and apologizing by the time I was done re-telling the events. I was told they launched an investigated and the driver was fired. That’s funny, because he was still employed by the tow company months later - the tow company his FIL owned.

Thank goodness my trainer was able to come take my horse, as I also waited nine hours in 90 degree heat for this fabulous service. If I ever get stranded again (my transmission line failed on a recently serviced F250) I will most likely use a combination of Facebook and local police to network a solution. I will also never go on a trip more than two or three hours solo.

[lcw579]

US Rider is the worst. They’ve let me down both times I called. I’ve told the stories on here before. I live in a very horsey area so there really was no excuse.

I was told by the one driver that did show up that the operator was basically just calling tow trucks using a google search. They do not have a list of trusted providers. You’re better off posting on social media for help. Seriously.

[lcw579]

OMG that’s horrific! I am so sorry. At least my driver was just a clueless guy from Philly who messed up the undercarriage of my truck because he didn’t know how to tow a truck and trailer. Doesn’t seem so bad now.

[exvet]

Obviously it does depend on where you live because US Rider has come to my aid countless times over the years. I did have one guy come, when I had a flat on my truck hauling a full 4 horse, including a stallion. He arrived despite detailing the situation to their call center, without a jack big enough to do the job. The guy thought he was getting out of it but I just so happen always carry a 10, 000 lb jack. LOL, the butt crack was a showing while he was huffing and puffing to change my tire. Honestly I have never been disappointed with US Rider and I have tested my policy a plenty.

[AnnaMM]

Thanks, Trubandloki! I am going to be traveling between Wisconsin and Lexington, KY. I wonder if USRider is more responsive, say, in the East and Southeast than in other parts of the country?

[AnnaMM]

Hi lcw579,
this is really bad news! It seems people have such uneven experiences! May I ask how long ago your bad experiences were, and what state you are in?

[AnnaMM]

Dear exvet,
thank you for sharing your good experience (mental note- pack more jacks). May I ask what area of country you are in?

[AnnaMM]

This sounds like everyone’s most terrifying nightmare…!!

[NaturallyHappy]

I had this happen when my Volkswagen Rabbit had a problem while traveling later at night before cell phones were a thing. The guy that stopped scared me so badly I limped my car another 50 miles.

I’ve had absolutely great service from USRider many times I’m in the Midwest.

[GreyDes]

I had two terrible experiences with US Rider and switched to Trailguard.

The last time I used them and the incident that prompted me to switch was when US Rider scheduled service, then canceled it TWICE after I waited to the end of their promised timing. They then stuck me with an extra fee payable when the tow truck arrived because they couldn’t find a provider within X miles. Had they shared any of this on the phone I would have called every tow provider in the area to see who could handle a trailer. I thought this is what I was paying them for!

I was very fortunate that I was relatively close to home and a friend was able to trailer my horse back.

[AnnaMM]

GreyDes I am sorry to hear this. Have you had experience using Trailguard? Thank you.

[Djones]

I had an issue with my diesel on 1-24 just south of Chattanooga, just barely into GA. We waited for over 2 hours for any help from USRider. I had already nursed the truck and GN trailer from Bryson City NC and stopped at a truck stop. It was hot weather, and they simply could not help me. Finally just limped it home. a 5 hour trip turned into almost 10.

Another time coming home from Murfreesboro (just outside Nashville) on 840. Blew a tire on the GN. I cannot shift those lug nuts nor manage those massive tires. again, hot weather. two hours or so later I got lucky when a guy stopped to work on his own truck that had broken down just ahead of where I pulled off. I corralled him into helping me and paid him generously for his time.

Another time they failed to find help off of 65 near Cullman, Al. waited for over an hour for them to find help then made calls to the flipping airport to track down a friend of a friend who’s a diesel mechanic. We were back on the road in 30 minutes (needed a fuel filter).

I don’t have USRider anymore. I have an extensive social media network of horse people and horse groups. That’s who has helped me more than anything over the years.

[GreyDes]

@AnnaMM - Fortunately I haven’t had to use Trailguard yet (loud knock on wood…) so I can’t share any experiences. They had the best reviews when I switched 4-5 years ago.

[lcw579]

It was about 5 years ago when the tow truck driver actually showed up and messed my truck up. Probably a year or so later when my trailer had a flat tire and we called USRider again and nobody showed at all. Of course the operator had assured me all day that someone was coming. We were stabled at Devon for the Fall Classic. Luckily I didn’t actually need the help but wanted to see if anyone would come. Only reason we still had the coverage was because they kept extending the coverage for free because we had been so unhappy and wouldn’t renew.

I’m in Chester County, PA so there was no reason for them to send service people from Philadelphia out to the suburbs.

[Annie10]

I had US rider for almost 20 years, and then they left me stranded three different times over a period of two years on the side of the interstate with a loaded horse trailer in the middle of the day near major Metropolitan areas. And by stranded, I mean, for hours with no assistance I ended up securing my own tow truck, my own stabling and my own transportation for my horses finding stabling and doing everything for myself that they were supposed to do for me. I got rid of them after that and I found another company called trail guard. They have been absolutely amazing. I travel all over the country with my horses and trail. Guard has been wonderful. I’m hearing that possibly the people that own trail guard bought US rider and US rider has gotten better, I don’t care. I wouldn’t take a us Rider membership if somebody gave it to me for free.