RAC Arrival (1 Viewer)

[sugarplum]

Hi all

We have EU cover with the RAC arrival... ...Has anyone had experience of using them.
How good are the?

We are thinking about if we had a puncture on our travels..... we carry a spare tyre, so wondered what the procedure would be.


We are off Plymouth to Santander on the 6 Dec.... anyone else?

cheers Alice and George

 

[pappajohn]

should be just the same service and procedure as in the uk.

english speaking call centers as well. :thumb:

not sure if the euro motorway phones work like ours though.

i beleive if you use one here you connect to the motorway police center who ask for details and forward them to your recovery company.

 

[AdgeRas]

RAC is very good, and in truth I have been with them years, privatly and also with the RAC via Motability for my car I drive now. However, we recently got a quote from them and it was around the £200 for the year to include all of Europe. We contacted ADAC the German equivalent, and have joned them and we pay about £70.

In reality.....................ADAC ar giving us the same coverage as RAC and if we break down in the UK, then it is infact the AA or the RAC that ADAC send out to us. If you want any more info, PM me as I do have an email address of an ADAC membership person who speaks very good English.

Adge

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[pappajohn]

In reality.....................ADAC ar giving us the same coverage as RAC and if we break down in the UK, then it is infact the AA or the RAC that ADAC send out to us. If you want any more info, PM me as I do have an email address of an ADAC membership person who speaks very good English.

Adge

chances are if you break down on foreign soil with RAC Arrival euro cover then the ADAC will attend.

 

[AdgeRas]

Thats very true Pappajohn, but by joining ADAC rather than RAC you get the whole same protection, but at almost a 1/3rd cost.

 

[caz]

Have used RAC Arrival for some years now - yes it is expensive but we have had our monies worth. Have needed to call them a few times in France - very good service - no problems.

One thing to remember - (In France) if on a motorway, or motorway services then you need to contact the motorway police, but suggest you ring RAC beforehand so they are aware as they have to reimburse the breakdown service.

If your in France - call in to Parc Verger

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[Tandy]

We have just had our first(and hopefully last) flat tyre (as well as frying the front brakes) when I was in the Alps (La Grave,France) six weeks ago.

My brother had persuaded me to be the support vehicles for a 40th birthday weekend doing part of the tour de france( Col de Telegraphe/ Col de la Colombiere). The roads were very steep and too narrow for my comfort,

Anyway I digress. We woke up Sunday morning to a flat tyre covered in oil. I phoned the RAC and within 20 minutes a french mechanic on the scene from a local garage. :thumb:

Unfortunatly the french mechanics informed me that this being France & it being a Sunday there was no-one open that could supply the required tyre

Not only was there nobody open who could supply the tyre, but that they didn't know if there was anybody who stocked RV tyres

Anyhow it's these little adventures that are part and parcel of the whole motorhome experience.

Andy
When they told me that it may take days to obtain the tyre I started to get really worried as I needed to be back in work on wednesday. I was very glad I had recovery since if they couldn't get a tyre I could request to be recovered back to the UK.

That is when the RAC told me that they wouldn't recover me as there was nothing wrong mechanically with the vehicle.

As it turned out the french garage were fantastic, and they had sourced a tyre and started to change the wheel by lunchtime monday, BUT when they replaced the tyre they found that the brakes had over heated so much that a washer that holds the oil within the wheel had distorted and wouldn't seal the oil within the wheel.

This is obviously a mechanic problem and if they couldn't fix it the vehicle could be repatriated under the RAC scheme. BUT this does not appear to be like normal recovery in the UK where both people and vehicle are recovered together.

What the RAC told me was that they would organize a hire car for us to return to the UK. The RV would be kept in a secure compound until recovery could be organized and they would hope to have the RV back in the UK within 2 weeks

Luckily the French mechanics using some heavy duty glue/sealant were able to do a tempory fix and we were able to leave La Grave by 6.00pm Monday and we were back in the UK by 8.00am Tuesday.

It is now with Darren of Mororhome Medics who has replaced the other front tyre for half the cost and is finally doing the brakes after an unforseen delay when the parts from the US which were meant to take 2 days took 2 weeks after being put on the wrong on arriving in Germany. oh:

We are now trying to see if it's possible to take a spare tyre , we just haven't worked out where to store it. Any suggestions anyone?

Darren has also given me lessons on how to look after my brakes.

 

[sugarplum]

Andy and Tanya

While sorry to hear of your plight in France and glad it is now resolved......it is just the sort of thing we was looking for when we did the post.

We thought being covered with RAC Arrival would be OK, but wondered about the flat tyre thingy.... so thanks for your post which was most informative.

Although we are missing out France this year and going Plymouth to Santander and down to Portugal, hopefully the service would be as good. Even more hopeful we don't need to use it!

When we bought the RV we were advised to carry a spare tyre when travelling abroad becuase of the difficulty in obtaining them speedily. We keep it in the "through" locker and it takes up a lot of space, but hey.... some things need to. I'd keep it under the bed if I had to......

No matter how much you travel around, you always seem to be learning stuff all the time. Which is also what makes this forum so valuable.

Cheers Alice and George

 

[wiljoy]

I have just spent over a week trying to get some sense out of recovery companies.
It appears you must state you require tyre changing because a lot do not cover you for this.
The only upfront company to have no small print or get out clauses was Saga full UK and Europe cover.
Good luck but be careful as they only want to sell, not look after.
Wiljoy:thumb:

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[takeaflight]

A few year ago in Normandy I came to start up to move to a water point, the immobilizer would'nt allow the engine to start

I phoned Fiat, there reply "impossible, can't happen"
I phoned Hymer there reply "impossible can't happen"

BUT IT WAS HAPPENING, I should know I'me sitting at the wheel facing an hedgerow and the engine will not start ! :Angry:

Called the RAC, two French men turn up with a large recovery lorry with a telescopic back, needs to be at the time the van was 7.7mtrs TAG axle. Nice guys after a lot of effort winched me aboard and then planned a route to avoid low bridges to a fiat main dealer in Caen.

On arrival caused a bit of a stir due to the telescopic back needing a lot of space to extend so I could be unloaded, cars, vans and uncle tom cobbly at to be shunted around the yard to make space. :Blush:

A small French mechanic appeared and with a shrug of his shoulders attempted to start the Van which thankfully it wouldn't, because normally under these conditions, to embarrass me it would leap into life at the the first turn of the key.

On opening the fuse box, he looked and then with an even deeper shrug of the shoulders and may be I detected a muttering under his breath he left the motorhome, returning soon after with a 10amp fuse, which he inserted and with a turn of the key it started. :thumb:

Then it came flooding back to me, two days earlier my wife was using her hair dryer and it blew a fuse, thinking that the four fuses to one side of the fuse box was spares I used one to replace the blown on.

This turned out to be the immobilizer !

However for anyone with the 2.8TD engine its cheap and good security, just remove the fuse. Remember you have done it though.

 

[7149capricorn]

We have a Holiday Rambler Ambassador and use Eurotunnel to go across to France. This year, disembarking from the train at Folkestone (luckily on our way home) at just before mid-day, a steel chock which had not been removed by Eurotunnel staff sliced through both rear 'duals' on one side.
Within an hour and a half (!) an RAC man in a Transit arrived. He took one look and admitted straight away he could do nothing - even if we had had one (or two) spares, as he had no jack big enough. I asked why they didn't send a commercial fitter out first and he said they always send the Transit men out first even if they know they are not going to be able to do anything. Great!
I rang RAC again to be told we weren't covered! (Over three and a half tons). Panic!! Ten minutes later they rang back - ever so sorry, yes we were covered.
Eventually they contacted a local commercial breakdown company who had a low loader - which was out on a job and would not be available for another three hours! Moreover, there was only one passenger seat in the truck - so one of us would have to go home by taxi (South Northamptonshire)! By this time the RAC were becoming more than a little embarrassed and sent a taxi for my wife straight away.
Eventually the low loader arrived and having spent an hour and a half loading up (the overhang at the rear was a major problem) we set off. Arrived at my local ATS at 9.00pm and managed to unload by 11.00!
Lessons to be learnt:
*Check chocks have been removed
*Get it in writing that your ten tonner IS covered by RAC
*Don't expect anything to be done in a hurry!
*Don't break down in the rest of Europe

- but don't be put off - we're off to Turkey in April! - wish us luck!

 

[petesam]

RAC cover.

Hello Sugarplum, in Oct 2008 we had a double blowout on the rear n/s on a Spanish motorway in the middle of Spain. ( not recommended ). Rang RAC ,a garage arrived 3hrs latter with a truck not big enough to carry us. Luckily i had a spare wheel which they put on the rear and i followed them very slowly to their garage for repair. They fitted two new Michelin tyres and let us stay overnight in their yard as by this time it was late & dark.The cost to us for the two tyres was 800 euros (ouch) . The RAC organised it OK but the call out time was attroctious.We were offered overnight accommadation but declined , wanting to stay with our RV . The lesson is , check the age of your tyres and condition and replace in england if in doubt. regards Petesam.

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