Sorry, wrote that before coffee! I did not have USR when I had the flat tire so we had to call AAA. I just meant that because of AAA policies with horse trailers, they are kind of useless and having USR would give me peace of mind if it ever happened again.
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I switched to Trailguard after two bad experiences with US Rider. Itās more expensive, but after a long wait where US Rider lied to me twice, including text updates saying a tow was on the way, I had enough. Fortunately a friend had graciously taken my horse home, so it was just me sitting there.
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I have had them for 12+ years and have used them for my car, my truck and my trailer. AAA refuses to cover diesel vehicles, and both my car and truck are diesel. Sometimes it has taken them longer to get to me than what I have preferred, but I have never lived in convenient to get to areas. I have always had excellent service from the providers once they have gotten out to me. They are contracted to US Rider, contrary to information further up thread.
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Weāve had Trailguard for years, but never had US Rider (reading the small print, their service is not suitable for our needs). Even though it might at first glance seem more expensive, what they offer fits our needs better: covering anyone operating the vehicle (thatās a significant savings, and convenience, for us), provisions for dealing with livestock, no limit on distance or cost of tow (another possible savings point), etc.
Fortunately, weāve only had to call them once, for a flat tire in our driveway. It was late at night, and we asked that they come early the next morning rather than right away (which they offered to do), and someone arrived first thing in the morning.
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Iāve had U.S. Rider for a couple years and Iāve called them once. If it matters, Iām in Northern Virginia. It took them about three hours to send someone out. Luckily, it was just a flat on my trailer at home. I couldnāt loosen the lug nuts myself and my husband was out of town, so I figured I would give them a call since I was paying for the service.
I was really surprised how long it took, and I donāt think it bodes well if I had an actual roadside emergency with my horse loaded. I live in a pretty densely populated area with plenty of service stations, and they had a really hard time getting a service provider to come out. Iāve had AAA for my regular car for decades, so I expected a similar response from U.S. Rider.
Does anyone know if Trailguard is a good option in the Mid Atlantic? I know itās more expensive, but it would be worth it to me if itās reliable. I haul weekly, and Iām almost always by myself.
This must be area specific because both Mr. Trub and I had older dually diesel trucks for years and AAA towed them lots of times.
I was just going to say the same thing - I just read through the basics of services provided, and it says nothing about not covering diesel vehicles - it only says they will not deliver diesel fuel if you run out, they will only tow to a repair shop. Which kind of makes sense, as a diesel that runs out of fuel can be very finicky to get running again. Youāve got to know how to prime the fuel pump and you may have to do it several times to keep the vehicle running. Ask me how I knowā¦ :uhoh:
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Eastern and Central Pennsylvania.
US Rider is garbage. I had a transmission line split 5 hours from home. I waited for NINE hours. Thankfully, I was able to get someone to come take my horse after two hours. The tow driver that showed up damaged my trailer attaching lights to it, sexually harassed me, took a video call while driving, and chain smoked the entire time. I filed a complaint with US Rider, and they asked the tow company to perform their own investigation. US Rider told me he was fired and offered me three free months. No reimbursement for all or part of the $900 I spent out of pocket to get home. It appears the tow company lied about firing the driver (he was the son-in-law of the owner of the tow company), so US Rider is probably still sending him to get people.
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USRider does not have service contracts with companies that service PA Turnpike. PA Turnpike heavily restricts who can service broken down vehicles so that my hold true for TrailGuard.
My old BO had an issue with USRider on the turnpike. However her paperwork indicated that there are certain roads they canāt service. She didnāt read the contract. They refunded all of her premium.
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This is the same for the NYS thruway.
Butā¦ if you are broken down on the thruway and call AAA they tell you that they can not send someone but will get you in contact with the people who have the contract for the thruway. They will not leave you there thinking someone is coming.
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Yes, Iāve had USRider for a long time & used it several times. I switched to it after AAA informed me they would not touch my horse trailer & would leave it on the side of the road, with my horse in it. At midnight while it was raining in November.
Iāve always had reasonable service from USRider. I do think you need to go in with reasonable expectations. They rely on local contractors, so they have no control over the timeline. On a national scale, that means there are going to variations in how that works out. Yes, you could be waiting for a long time but itās better than having no options at all & a busted truck. You canāt really be in a hurry in that kind of situation. They are supposed to also offer veterinary assistance contact & horse holding options, but Iāve fortunately never had to use that so far so I canāt speak to that. I do like that they answer the phone asking āare you & your horses safe?ā and an actual human answers the phone.
Since I have experienced very slowwwww responses (I donāt know how much that was affected by the fact that I did tell them both times that I was lucky enough to have the issue at home so I was not a priority), I do try to plan ahead as much as possible when I am hauling horses any distance & have some emergency contacts who could respond with a trailer or connect me to appropriate equine resources/assistance. I hope I never have to implement it, but itās just good sense to have some form of backup plan if at all possible.
To the argument that āwell, you can just google places on your phone.ā Well, you obviously donāt live somewhere where you donāt have enough data service for that to work, LOL, which is still a LOT of places, including around me ā and I live 6 miles from a major interstate. Digital divide applies to everything. Even if you can google things, at least if USRider has a contract with a provider, I have a reasonable chance (I donāt trust anyone 100%) that the person who shows up is at least insured & bonded & not just a serial rapist who bought a surplus tow truck & made a fake webpage. They may still be a questionable jerk, I will at least have some way to try & hold them accountable & there is at least partial cost control to the basic services.
For $130 per year, you really arenāt paying that much to ask for someone to come out & rescue you at any hour of the day or night in any random place you might find yourself in any weather conditions. So I just canāt get my bar of expectation up but so high because of that. I certainly know folks have had some issues & some are reported above. I had a horrible experience with AAA & while I wonāt give them any more of my money, I recognize that for plenty of motorists, they will probably be fine.
For me, itās the best option I have for a basic āpeace of mindā as a woman with an old truck, traveling by myself, that at least I hopefully wonāt have to risk hitchhiking & get a bill for $1000 for a 10-mile tow.
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SO- IMO, why let this company be the middleman? I can call a local tow service as easily as they can. And i probably wonāt have to wait 5-6 hours until i get help if i do it myself. I have learned to stay off the turnpike if possible.
US Rider was useless to us. Extraordinary long waits and AAA gets first dibs on those trucks before US Rider. Sat each time for hours and hours which is not acceptable when you have horses on board. Each time I ended up making personal arrangements for my horses and trailer and just calling a tow truck off my general insurance policy. I did go to Trailguard and had one incident with a flat while empty, they were prompt and courteous. I have kept Trailguard.
I think some people have made a good point on why. If you typically drive in areas with limited service that limits your ability to search for a local tow company then having a service that will search for one for you is a plus.
When we both drove older trucks we always got our money back in simple tows. One tow typically covers the cost of the yearly membership (in our case with AAA).
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Being limited to search? You mean no cell service? if so, then how would i contct USRider, either?
There are lots of places where I have cell service but no reception to use the internet. I believe that is what people above are saying.
I think that does not even take into account those of us who Google hates. Or having the ability to get in contact with a closed business on a Sunday evening.
It sounds like you are not a person who needs any of these services. Others (like me) like having them.
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I just donāt want to give money to a company that is not satifying at least 90% of their customers. if everyone came on this thread and said, āOMG, YES you MUST have this serviceā, Then i would be on board. but the more i hear, it seems like maybe 45% of their customers are happy. That is not enough for me. i am going to have to learn to have a backup plan for my trips.
Yes, there are many places where you can make a phone call but you canāt get enough service for internet. Count yourself lucky if you are not familiar with this. I deal with it every day.
Also, I am only the wayyyy low end of COTH budget demographic. I cannot afford to be at the mercy of whatever a local shop wants to charge me for a tow. With a membership, at least that basic is covered at a fixed cost.
Itās not perfect, thereās lots of room for improvement, but for me, I have yet to find a better option I can afford.
If you travel the same routes often, it would be a very feasible project to set up your own network if you could research businesses beforehand & if they work with your wealth level, then that is an equally viable option.
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Iāve had several really good experiences with them and one really terrible experience with them (about 15 years ago). I still keep the coverage because you just never know. One year though, they called me to renew and I told them I wasnāt going to renew that year and they pressed and pressed until I finally admitted that I was going through extensive cancer treatments and my horses wouldnāt be leaving my property for the next year or so. The surprised me by sending me a free year long membership. I thought that was nice.
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