Motorhomes towing trailers
Just a word of caution to all motorhomers who tow a trailer, please be aware that the trailer is not covered in its own right under breakdown cover.
To explain that a bit further, when towing if the motorhome breaks down then yes the WHOLE combination will be recovered.
If its the trailer that suffers a problem when towing then NO.
If you are towing a small car on a trailer, if the car breaks down when you are out for the day, they will recover the car back to the campsite under secondary vehicle cover, you are then responsible to load it on the trailer and either take it for repair (at own cost) or transport it back home with you.
The same cover as above (secondary vehicle cover) isn't available for a motorbike/scooter/trike on a trailer, if you travel with any on these you have to have seperate breakdown cover for them, should you breakdown independantly from the motorhome.
Hope this information helps others.
I have also posted this information in the overseas section as there is a current thread running re - Red Penant concerns.
Comments
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TG.....where are you quoting this from? Is this in relation to Red Pennant which I have seen in the other thread running.....??
Does it apply to the Mayday scheme as I specifically asked this question when I took out the policy at the time and was told if I suffered a problem with my trailer (housing motorbike) I could still call Mayday for help. At the time this clinched the deal for Mayday otherwise I would have just taken out RAC cover with the draw full of Tesco vouchers we have !!
To clarify I dont mean is my motorbike covered for a breakdown, I already have cover for that, I mean specifically the trailer, eg collapsed wheel bearing etc
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TG.....where are you quoting this from? Is this in relation to Red Pennant which I have seen in the other thread running.....??
Does it apply to the Mayday scheme as I specifically asked this question when I took out the policy at the time and was told if I suffered a problem with my trailer (housing motorbike) I could still call Mayday for help. At the time this clinched the deal for Mayday otherwise I would have just taken out RAC cover with the draw full of Tesco vouchers we have !!
this information was given to me yesterday and last Friday by the Red Penant team, I asked the agent to please clarify it with a manager, she did and the above is what I was told. I have to say I am still bewildered by it as I though it would cover both units as it does with a car/caravan outfit, but it doesn't.
The same can be said for 'Secondary vehicle' on a trailer, a car/quad is covered but not a motorbike/scooter/trike WHY that is our choosen secondary vehicle.
EDIT: not sure about Mayday, if they do cover the trailer then that is good I was under the impression that they did but after yesterday I'm not so sure.
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OK.....well I cant find a Mayday Policy Document but looking at my current "Green Flag Mayday Certificate" taken out for my motorhome it says ....
"Caravan & Trailer cover- your caravan or trailer will have the same level of cover as the insured vehicle when being towed by the insured vehicle (must fit a 50mm tow ball) "
So the way I interpret that is that my trailer is covered.....??
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OK.....well I cant find a Mayday Policy Document but looking at my current "Green Flag Mayday Certificate" taken out for my motorhome it says ....
"Caravan & Trailer cover- your caravan or trailer will have the same level of cover as the insured vehicle when being towed by the insured vehicle (must fit a 50mm tow ball) "
So the way I interpret that is that my trailer is covered.....??
Tha's the problem, while its being towed it does have cover if its the M/H that breaks down, but if its the trailer that has a problem 'think wheel bearing seizing' then RP does not cover that. What RP says, if the trailer is in good working order and can
be towed. I did try to point out if the wheel bearing had seized then it couldn't be towed and that it would require recovery to which I was told no, it has to be towable. Which is a joke really as I wouldn't be asking for recovery if it could be towed.
I
do think I'm slowly going mad.0 -
OK....well as I understand it it Red Pennant is a different product than Mayday and you have raised the awareness of that issue to RP customers.
However here in the UK Mayday appears to cover trailers behind motorhomes in terms of a mechanical problem with the trailer, at least whilst en route and attached to the motorhome.....??
Perhaps the Club can clarify that important point......??
Brue....much as I may like to I cannot tow a caravan and trailer behind my motorhome which is the "insured" vehicle with Mayday!
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OK....well as I understand it it Red Pennant is a different product than Mayday and you have raised the awareness of that issue to RP customers.
However here in the UK Mayday appears to cover trailers behind motorhomes in terms of a mechanical problem with the trailer, at least whilst en route and attached to the motorhome.....??
Perhaps the Club can clarify that important point......??
Brue....much as I may like to I cannot tow a caravan and trailer behind my motorhome which is the "insured" vehicle with Mayday!
..You can if you have a "Showmans" licence
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Tintent, I've just checked the Mayday policy and you are correct (and me) in that the trailer has the same level of cover as the towing vehicle while its being towed.
Caravan and Trailer Cover What’s covered: Your caravan or trailer will have the same cover as the Insured Vehicle when being towed by the Insured Vehicle provided: • The weight of the caravan or trailer when loaded is not more than the kerb weight
of the Insured Vehicle. • It is of standard make
The above is taken from the Mayday policy booklet, I think RP need to think again.0 -
Thanks TG.....thats reassuring for me stuck here in the UK...!!
Best of luck with RP, if I was venturing abroad I would want cover equivalent to Mayday at least.....!!
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Just to update, Green Flag Euro + will cover the trailer if it suffers mechanical breakdown while being towed, if they can't fix it at the side of the road they will recover it to a garage for repair
The policy runs for a full 12 mths and for us costs £99.64, the agent checked to make sure and he has written it down on the documents he is sending out to us that this is a condition it covers all the elemants that we require of a breakdown policy.We have extended out medical insurance from 31 - 65 days with our Bank for a cost of £60 full Euro cover for 12mths.
The CC have had ample time to resolve the issues we raised, they have not been back in touch with us, despite 3 threads running on CT where other members were asking for advice and help.
We are both dissapointed with the Clubs lack of care and customer service in this area of business. They have now lost our business £235+ for the RP (usually £350 + as we usually go twice) and when our Mayday is due they will lose that aswell, as we will go direct to Green Flag.
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Be aware that some call handlers with Green Flag sales have little idea what they are selling when it comes to motor homes.
I had the idea of putting our m/home on a GF euro policy as a second vehicle and getting discount. All went well and I had a quote, but I had a feeling summat were''nt right.
I doubled checked with GF caravan Mayday service, who connfirmed that the quote should not have been given. The weight was acceptable at 3.5 tons but the length was not. My vehicle is over 7 meters long.
I ended up with Saga insurance that covered euro recovery and trailer insurance cheaper than CC insurance + UK Mayday. Red pennant (expensive but a good product in its own right) would have been extra over the premium.
rgds
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Thanks for the warning TonylshUK, our M/H is under 7m so no problems there. Interesting that you say Saga worked out better for you. The M/H is insured with Saga but their quote for Euro breakdown was quite expensive. Think next year will look at doing them
both together to see if that makes a differance, it did with the trike.0 -
...., it did with the trike.
I take you'll be having a go of the trike! No excuse of no licence
Already ridden it MM, used to be a biker chic in my younger days
I find it a bit heavy for me though, not as strong or confidant
as I used to be. Dead easy to ride though really stable and at junctions/traffic lights you don't need to put your feet down, just flick a switch to lock the anti-tilt then twist throttle and away you go anti-tilt self cancels.
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I digress slightly in terms of the breakdown provider but it may be of value to members who are following this thread. Back in 2008 I had a new motorhome with
a Fiat engine and towed a Smart car on a trailer. Both the motorhome and the Smart car were new and covered by the RAC. The motorhome under the Fiat Assistance and the Smart Car under the Mercedes RAC policy.We had the misfortune of the clutch to fail with only 2000 miles on the clock somewhere on the M6, a long way from home. When I called Fiat Assistance I informed them of the trailer.
I received a call back from the RAC informing me that Fiat Assistance did not cover trailers and I would need to pay an additional premium if I wanted it recovered along with the motorhome. I informed them that the Smart car also had RAC cover and I could
use that. After being on hold for some time I was of course informed that the Smart Car cover was nothing to do with the trailer and the Smart car had not broken down (worth a try)The guy who eventually came to recover us was an absolute star and was not concerned what he was towing. He hitched the front of the motorhome up with the trailer attached and off
he went with us heading home in the Smart car.Since then I have been a member of the RAC Arrival scheme by the C&CC. I think I pay around £160 a year for full European cover. I may or may not be covered for breakdown provided
by the motorhome and car manufacturers, but for peace of mind I stay with the RAC Arrival as I know in the event of something going wrong I will not have any surprises and extra stress.0 -
Stewartwebr, in the event of the motorhome breaking down then the Red Penant will recover the trailer, as will most breakdown covers. The problem I highlighted is that if its the trailer that has a problem, like a bearing going on the wheel, then the trailer
doesn't have any cover at all, so you would have to arrange your own. A prospect I didn't want to have to contend with when I am at the foot of Spain/Portugal.Thank you for highlighting that it is possible even with cover you can hit problems.
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Just (of/topic) quick thought about my Saga insurance. The euro recovery insurance was about £15 more than the UK recovery insurance.
I took the view that if we wanted a quick break of a couple of days in France, that would suffice. However if we did a long trip, I would go down the Red Pennent route as it offers a lot more than just recovery.
rgds
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