I just wanted to relay my recent positive experience with Coach Net.
I had the dreaded "air pressure won't build above 40 lbs., stuck on the side of the road" experience back in August while traveling from League City, TX to San Antonio, TX. Coach Net was unable to locate a mobile repair service for me, but fortunately I was able to find one and paid them to come to me and try to repair the coach so I could get back on the road.
After all was done, I paid $734 for them to drive 160 miles round trip, repair the regulator (turned out not to be the whole problem, but that's for another topic), and get me going again. I submitted my expenses to Coach Net thinking that the service call ($135) and the drive time ($395) would be reimbursable under the policy.
On 9/29 I received a letter from Coach Net informing me that those expenses are not covered - as outlined in my membership handbook (which I suppose I better read sometime soon); however, they decided to cover my claim as a one-time only exception because they value my membership - and sent me a check for $530.
I was pleased, and wanted to let you all know about the experience.
As a side note: the dryer was the problem, although somehow replacing the regulator allowed it to build enough pressure to get me back home to League City. I'd recommend everyone have some sort of way to bypass the dryer in case this happens to you - just as others have recommended here on the Forum. Being stuck on the side of I-10 for 5 hours in August heat was no fun.
I had only one experience with Coach Net. I broke down outside of Jacksonville,Illinois. It was as if I turned off the ignition, coasting to the side of the road. I called and was told that the closest service was in Bloomington,Il. So they would tow me to Walmart parking lot and contact the service company the next day. They then called back and told me the tow would not arrive till the next day at 11 AM. Not what I wanted to hear. After sitting along the road for several hours, Mike Rodgers of MOT returned my call. He also was unable do me any good. However, being able to talk to someone was calming.
A sheriff deputy stopped and asked if I could use a tow? Of coarse. It turned out that a local towing service towed me to the International dealer and left me in front of their building. So the wife and I spent the night at Byers Int'l.
The service manager, even without appointment, put a tech on it first thing. It was a lift pump. Replaced and on the road by 10AM.
This truck service dealer is outstanding. It has a specialist for each engine type. If anyone is in the Jacksonville area and need service, you will be pleased with the job. 1314 W Morton Ave, Jacksonville, IL 62650
(217) 245-4614
Back to Coach net, they did follow up with more calls. Too bad they were of no assistance. So when membership expired I did not renew.
Chris, glad you got home but I do have a question that may be relevant.
"When was the last time (before this breakdown) that you had the Dryer serviced?"
JohnH
Our one and only experience with Coach Net was positive. A Saturday problem (low / intermittant power to trans computer) along I-40 50 miles west of Flagstaff left us on the roadside. The folks at Coach Net were very helpful and worked to find an available tow service and a shop that could look at our coach first thing Monday morning. We were back on the road Monday afternoon and very happy with the service from everyone involved. I hope if ever needed again, all goes as smoothly. John /Pat, sorry your experience was not as you hoped. We also have received excellent service from Good Sam roadside assistance in the past.
John H.
I see no connection between "when it was last serviced" and Coach Net's poor service.
If they were charged to over see, or monitor service THEN it would be relevant.
John, I never serviced the dryer since I bought the coach in March 2012, and can't find any record of when/if the prior owner did either. I certainly have a better appreciation for that critical component now - and hopefully everyone who reads this will take note and not be as ignorant as I was.
And just to add some thoughts about Coach Net: I was disappointed that they couldn't locate any roadside service for me, but in all fairness - there are so many trucks running around Texas these days (with the drilling boom we have here) that it didn't surprise me that a service wasn't available on a Friday afternoon. The only way I found one was to utilize some business connections that my local (Texas City) truck service company had with a service in San Antonio who persuaded them to pull off another call and come help me.
Bill, my comment was not whether Coach Net coverage was dependent on the condition of the Air Dryer, it was to try and find out if the Dessicant problem was caused (or aided by) the fact it had not been serviced for a long time, and this looks to be true. I firmly believe that a lot of owners do not understand the importance of this Dryer and its maintenance and if they do not, then they just have to read up on Barry Bs long time clean up to see what can happen and the effort it takes to clean out the system after a collapse of the filter contents.
Hope all is well with you there.
JohnH
Coach Net helped me last week. I had a blow-out on I-40 in western Oklahoma. Coach-Net asked for my tire size, then promptly searched for a mobile tire service. I got lucky. There was one based only two miles away. They didn't have the Michelin H load rating tire, but rather than replace it with either a G, or a 295 alternate that I said I would accept, they searched the area and found the correct tire that was only four months old! When replacing the failed tire, they found that the bead had been cut when it was mounted following a blow-out THREE YEARS AGO. It had taken that long for air to work its way up between the sidewall plys and cause the failure. I thought I had watched carefully as that tire was mounted, but I missed that. The tire tech can use a water-based solution to remove a tire but is supposed to use a special grease to re-mount one, after carefully removing any water.
Well, allow me to elaborate a little bit (and maybe this isn't the right place to post this). My understanding of the Haldex dryer maintenance was that if you detected no moisture in the system, then you were ok. In reading the guide on the Beamalarm site, I see that is true; however, it still needs to be serviced every 40,000 miles regardless. I opened the air valves on occasion to see if any moisture came out, and never had any evidence of moisture so I was just going on about my business.
The morning I got the coach out of storage for our San Antonio trip, the dryer was purging frequently (warning sign #1!) - it had never done that before. I called my shop and asked their opinion and got bad advice - they thought it would be ok until I returned. Well, halfway to San Antonio I got the air alarm (I hadn't noticed the air pressure dropping - warning sign #2!), and the rest is history.
If I had a way to bypass the dryer, I could have been on the road in no time as it doesn't hurt to drive it short-term without the dryer. If I would have followed my gut, I would not have taken the coach on the road. That's what I get for trusting and "expert" instead of believing what I know to be true.
FT's recommended service interval for the dryer is every 18 months., and that's what I do. Haldex's recommended service interval for OTR trucks is MUCH longer, but that is a different duty cycle.
I gather what a person should be doing is "what can I do that will help aleviate the chances of a breakdown while on the road and one of those is service things regularily, regardless of what others or experts say". This to me is one of the easy cheap things that can let us down especially if it is not used a lot. I feel a fulltimer will get much more service out of a part than what we part timers do, or if used only for an occasional trip now and again. I feel that a lot of parts want to be moving all the time and put the Dryer in that catogary. hence it is looked after. I rebuild mine every 2 yrs no matter what, and am constantly looking at many things to make sure they are ok.
JohnH
Looking at the various plans on Coach Net and wonder what is the plan everyone is on. I gather the Basic is good for all things. I have our BC AAA RV plan and Good Sam but think maybe this one is a good back up for the money.
What do you think??
JohnH
If one insures with these guys they have a deep discounted CoachNet contract:
Ronald L. Jarvie
Certified Insurance Counselor
Overland Insurance Services
480-994-9584 or 800-677-4027
When we blew an outside rear tire, a local guy found a new replacement that was not our first choice. Without jacking up coach, he pulled off the blown outside tire & installed the new one.
When we got to our regular tire dealer, they gave us an almost full credit for the new roadside installed tire, a smaller credit for the used inside rear tire. We purchased two new tires putting then on the front with the original fronts put on the one rear side that had the blow out.
Barry, That tire chap is my style road man, assume he drove up on a 2" block would make easier to R&R that rear outside tire while on ground. not every dude could do that trix. Did he use Either to seat the new tire ?
Dave, you may be correct that we may have driven up on a block under the inside tire, but it was so long ago, I am not sure. I was sure surprised how quick and easy he did the tire swap. By the way, it had just turned dark and I think we drove over something in the road, which caused an instant blow out and Pressure Pro alarm that helped identify what tire blew.
Barry, what do you mean "a deep discounted deal"
JohnH
I think I paid about $75/yr for a 5 year "top of the line" plan.
Rich
Contact Overland Insurance to see what their reduced price for Coach Net is. Ron Jarvie is the owner of the agency. They highly specialize in RV coverage and underwrite for several insurance companies.
I am told it is only available for Overland Insurance customers as they are not Coach Net sellers. They just had a special program for their clients.
I assume they cannot write for Canadians.
Contact Overland Insurance | and RV Insurance & Recreational Vehicle Insurance (http://www.rvins.com/contact.htm)
800-677-4027
480-994-9584
agency@rvins.com
Just last month re-insured for second year with Overland. As an Overland policy holder you can get Coach-Net Premier coverage at the following rates:
___ 1 year = $ 95.00
___ 2 year = $ 165.00 save $25
___ 3 year = $ 240.00 save $45
___ 4 year = $ 315.00 save $65
___ 5 year = $ 390.00 save $85
Those are significant savings over Coach-Net's website list price (ie., 1yr Premier $159)
That air dryer is a great tool, and the servicing interval is very important. In dry air country in the west, it may not be as often as in the high humidity states. The higher the humidity the more frequent the air dryer service. Have a great day ---- Fritz