Trailer sailor breakdown cover

salinia

salinia

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I had breakdown cover with the AA for over 20 years when we used to trail a Swift 18, fortunately we never had to put there cover to the test. I left it 20 years too late to ask the AA the defining question would you be able to recover our boat and trailer...my mistake! The answer to the question when eventually asked was NO because it was too wide at 7ft 11 inches. I cancelled the cover.
We now have a larger trailer sailor 23ft 6 inches long (not counting the mast overhang) and it is 8ft 5 inches wide.

I tow it 86 miles twice a year and gamble at the moment that all will be ok as I make sure the trailer is well maintained. However for peace of mind if there was a breakdown company out there that could provide breakdown cover for the car and the trailer-sailor at a reasonable price I could be tempted.
5848480975_094a6eb8b1_z.jpg


Does anyone know of such an outfit... Green Flag for one seem to talk the talk has anyone been unfortunate enough to need their help?
 
I don't talk to owners of Parker 235s purely out of deep envy;)

I dunno, you just have to ring and ask, or ask your boat insurer what happens idf you have to abandon your boat by the roadside. I'm in the same boat...as it were..and I don't know the answer.

Is that photo at Rutlandia?
(I used to live about a mile from Parkers)

Tim
 
"Is that photo at Rutlandia?"
Tis indeed Tim. Nice part of the world, its where we collected her from.

Just had a look at the definitions relating to size on the Green Flag site of what they will recover...only 7 meters in length so they don't seem to fit the bill either.:(
 
salinia said:
I had breakdown cover with the AA for over 20 years when we used to trail a Swift 18, fortunately we never had to put there cover to the test. I left it 20 years too late to ask the AA the defining question would you be able to recover our boat and trailer...my mistake! The answer to the question when eventually asked was NO because it was too wide at 7ft 11 inches. I cancelled the cover.
We now have a larger trailer sailor 23ft 6 inches long (not counting the mast overhang) and it is 8ft 5 inches wide.

I tow it 86 miles twice a year and gamble at the moment that all will be ok as I make sure the trailer is well maintained. However for peace of mind if there was a breakdown company out there that could provide breakdown cover for the car and the trailer-sailor at a reasonable price I could be tempted.
5848480975_094a6eb8b1_z.jpg


Does anyone know of such an outfit... Green Flag for one seem to talk the talk has anyone been unfortunate enough to need their help?
Click to expand...

Not sure about the width of the trailer but Green Flag towed a Merc Hitop Sprinter with a very big box trailer with rack for two 49er dinghies and all their gear, 4 masts etc, from Switzerland to Calais for my son and his crew. The badly overheating Sprinter then made it on and off the ferry at Dover, where I swapped the duff Sprinter for my car so they could get to Gatwick for a flight off to another regatta. I had the Sprinter semi-fixed the next day and drove it and trailer home to Cornwall.

My (usually 3 car) family have now used them four times in 11 years for various breakdowns, always very efficient.
 
I have been trailer sailing for about 15 years, and as you have mentioned struggled with getting cover for the bigger trail boats.

A few years ago no one would cover the boat at all, but I found an exception through Green Flag. Their rules said they would recover the trailer of any member as long as they were a member of the caravan club. This was obviously aimed at caravans, however the wording was not specific (It said 'trailer' rather than 'caravan'), and for many years I covered the boat like this.

A few years ago I started getting breakdown cover free with my bank, I allowed the Green Flag cover to lapse and got the free cover via the bank with RAC. I didnt bother to read the policy and for the first time I had occasion to use them.

They were fantastic, no question as to if I was covered, just what could they do to get us to our destination and the car repaired. In the end they towed the boat to our destination for us and saved the holiday. Very Happy customer and family. The boat weighs 3500kg all up, length 30ft and width 8'6".

IMAG0072.jpg
 
I think it has to be Green Flag.

I know Green Glag offer the Caravan Club's breakdown cover, and there is specifically no maximum limit on trailer size, just that it needs to be a legal trailer. I also recall the Green Flag caravan club cover specifically covers a "breakdown" of the trailer, whereas the others only cover a breakdown of the towing vehicle.

This only becomes an issue if the breakdown is with the trailer and can't be fixed by the roadsise (which lets face it, nothing other than a flat tyre will be roadside repairable) All the recovery companies, AA, RAC etc will recover the trailer, if it's towable following a breakdown of the car, but that wasn't your question.

It's a tough one for us. I have RAC cover, because by using Tesco Clubcard vouchers, it's effectively free to cover both cars for a year. I would have to pay full whack for anything else. So since I only tow the boat 50 miles a year normally, I can live with that risk (it would have to be a big failure to stop me towing the trailer empty, it can tow with only 2 of it's 4 wheels working whem empty)
 
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I've never bothered with breakdown cover, and never needed it. I work on the basis that if I ever do need it I'll just have to foot the bill for recovery but that one big bill will still be cheaper than having paid for unused cover year after year.
 
Rigger Mortice "I've never bothered with breakdown cover"

That's where the gamble comes in. I would expect a bill around £400 for recovery to home.

If the car were to breakdown it would be good to have it popped on to the back of a flatbed and the driver hitch up the trailer and take us home. If the trailer broke down and could not be repaired at the roadside with the boat loaded on then I suppose a flatbed truck could drag it on board:eek: the very thought of this good grief. Note to self - source 2 spare hubs with sealed for life bearings. Thanks for all your comments so far Green Flag and RAC do seem to have the right attitude to customer service given the experiences of those who have posted thus far. But I suppose It all depends on who you get on the day and if you have to start to try and argue your case... the terms and conditions with Green Flag in particular:
http://www.greenflag.com/downloads/breakdown_cover_terms.pdf

to me seem to leave the ball in there court so to speak.
I suppose as in my case with the AA its best to send a picture and dimensions of the trailer sailor and ask the defining question so there is no doubt... am I covered if I breakdown with this?
 
I used to be with the AA but they would only allow family membership until the kids were 21, then the kids got excluded. The RAC allow you to have family membership provided wife and kids all live at same address so my 3 kids had cheap cover until they moved away.

I brought my Swin Ranger back from mid France on my car transporter. Trailer unladen was 1000kg and boat weighs about 2200kg so all up about 3200kg. I Had RAC international cover as well as normal UK cover but on my return to England the radiator got punctured by a stone flying into it on motorway near Folkstone. The RAC sent a lorry which my Discovery went on and the boat was towed behind. Boat is 8ft 2inches wide but no questions asked. I just told them I was towing my boat and they said OK we'll send a lorry.

I have found the RAC to be excellent over the years, out 3 times in last 8 months to daughter's 3 year old Citreon.
 
salinia said:
Rigger Mortice "I've never bothered with breakdown cover"

That's where the gamble comes in. I would expect a bill around £400 for recovery to home.
Click to expand...

That, from my point of view, is the point. £400 would be a pain, but it wouldn't break the bank. I don't know how much the various recovery schemes cost but say £40?...which means that after 10 years I've broken even.
As it happens, I've never needed to call anyone out. Maybe I'm lucky, but that's why I've never bothered and, in cash terms, I'm better off.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that you are wrong, it's just that I only use insurance for the "big" things in life. For the same reason I always refuse those "extended warranty" schemes when I buy stuff for home.
 
The Camping & Caravaning Club RAC membership - Arrival - covers it.

I used it once when I lost a set of wheel bearings and did not have enough spares to fix them all. Was a large boat - Sportina 760. Alas they could not recover it with the low loader they sent out first and as I was only 5 miles from home we elected to hobble home with one wheel missing rather than wait for the replacement commercial low loader to be dispatched.

No quibbles, but I just wished they had beleived me when I told them on the phone the size and weight of the trailer...

And we got home just fine... with a long queue of traffic behind us as we crawled along to avoid any further damage :-)
 
Brittania were very good when I broke down with the boat... Same cant be said for Mr Clutz who fitted a new clutch and didn't tighten the plug on the gearbox drain :mad:

Anyway when said plug flew off and emptied oil all over the road, Brittania towed me, car and canoe all the way from Kendal to Peterborough, no questions asked.

Not sure if they have a size limit (I'm only 19ft) but they said "anything attached to the car - we'll recover" - can't argue with that!

View attachment 12180
 
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Rigger Mortice said:
I've never bothered with breakdown cover, and never needed it. I work on the basis that if I ever do need it I'll just have to foot the bill for recovery but that one big bill will still be cheaper than having paid for unused cover year after year.
Click to expand...


Starting at £2.50 per mile.

If it's a boat trailer then loading and unloading charges might apply too.

How do I know?

:)
 
When a wheel fell of my First 18 trailer it cost me £110 to have it dragged off the M61 and another £150 to have it taken 40 miles home. I didn't have breakdown cover but it was the first time in 30 yrs motoring I had needed any so I was happy to pay. A new hub and two new rims and tyres were about £150 so I think I got of lightly.

A mate has just had a bill for £500 to get his trailer fixed and a recovery after a trailer wheel overtook him on an M6 sliproad, that was a lot, the recovery was £180 of the bill.

Look at Green Flag. I have heard of the Caravan Club cover before but it may need some investigation to check that you are covered.
 
I lost a wheel on the M6 on my Etap 22i (weight 1750kg, beam 2.4m) Green Flag refused to recover because of width, ended up costing me about £500, not happy.
Dave Evans
Trail Sail Association
 
Just a thought: I was covered because it was my car that had the problem - not sure what would have happened if the trailer had the problem - worth checking...
 
salinia said:
I had breakdown cover with the AA for over 20 years when we used to trail a Swift 18, fortunately we never had to put there cover to the test. I left it 20 years too late to ask the AA the defining question would you be able to recover our boat and trailer...my mistake! The answer to the question when eventually asked was NO because it was too wide at 7ft 11 inches. I cancelled the cover.
We now have a larger trailer sailor 23ft 6 inches long (not counting the mast overhang) and it is 8ft 5 inches wide.

I tow it 86 miles twice a year and gamble at the moment that all will be ok as I make sure the trailer is well maintained. However for peace of mind if there was a breakdown company out there that could provide breakdown cover for the car and the trailer-sailor at a reasonable price I could be tempted.
5848480975_094a6eb8b1_z.jpg


Does anyone know of such an outfit... Green Flag for one seem to talk the talk has anyone been unfortunate enough to need their help?
Click to expand...

I came unstuck when the wheel bearing went on my 18ft boat on the m4,,,car was covered by rac but not trailer.This year i have added trailer to membership and it wasn't much more,also covers the 20ft caravan.
 
Sounds like width is the main issue. I had a blowout on the boat trailer on my way back from Nottingham, I was on the M6 and around 50 miles from home. The AA came out and put the trailer onto their flatbed and took it home for me. Very happy as I actually had no idea if it would be covered or not :) That was only a 19' x 6' boat though
 
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