I rang and asked. Regardless of cover, our car is covered but not the van. Apparently the trucks will only take a certain amount. Sad to say, but even though I've been a member since I could drive, they won't cover us at all on any level.
Roadside Assistance - Vehicle & Expanda
- Thread starter burnsie
- Start date
Just checked the RACWA Policy Disclosure Statement and yep..... Not covered due to size and weight no matter what cover we have:
"Caravan means a covered carriage or house on wheels and which does not exceed 2 tonnes gross weight, 5.5 metres in length and 2.6 metres in height and which is used for private or recreational purposes and excludes caravans used for commercial purposes."
I'm currently a "Classic" member to get the slightly better number of tows per claim and longer distance of tows in case of an issue while away (Prado only)... but that doesn't help me if towing the van
Was advised by an RACWA tow truck contractor to cancel Mrs Dagree's membership and upgrade mine to the Ultimate or Ultimate Plus membership which enables me to nominate coverage for one vehicle (No matter who's driving) or coverage for any vehicle I am driving (Read that as if "My wife/daughter/friend's car etc breaks down.... I go there and call RACWA and they will come sort me/her/them out"
The above doesn't help if I have the van attached that has a gross weight greater than 2 tonnes!!!!!
"Caravan means a covered carriage or house on wheels and which does not exceed 2 tonnes gross weight, 5.5 metres in length and 2.6 metres in height and which is used for private or recreational purposes and excludes caravans used for commercial purposes."
I'm currently a "Classic" member to get the slightly better number of tows per claim and longer distance of tows in case of an issue while away (Prado only)... but that doesn't help me if towing the van
Was advised by an RACWA tow truck contractor to cancel Mrs Dagree's membership and upgrade mine to the Ultimate or Ultimate Plus membership which enables me to nominate coverage for one vehicle (No matter who's driving) or coverage for any vehicle I am driving (Read that as if "My wife/daughter/friend's car etc breaks down.... I go there and call RACWA and they will come sort me/her/them out
" The above doesn't help if I have the van attached that has a gross weight greater than 2 tonnes!!!!!
Yes but our van is over the 2ton what would the racwa do then ? They would have to get someone to tow it
I thought the question was related to area of coverage....and if you are a member in one state then you're covered throughout Australia.
The issue of vans over two tonnes is one for each of the state clubs and they may look at it differently so it is certainly worth checking. I would assume they would send a heavier tow truck, hence the extra cost.
All I'm saying is that, in our case, we know now we were right on the two tonne limit because we knew our weights, but unaware of that towing restriction at the time and they checked make and model only .....then they towed it.
RACV sent two separate vehicles....a flat bed for the car, and a tow truck for the van.
So our ultimate membership covered us for both vehicle being towed and no one quibbled.
Ours is a 16.49.3 so anything larger might not be so fortunate but I'm sure the majority of caravans on the road would exceed the two tonne restriction so there must be some way they deal with that issue. I had the impression that they did some checks when we advised make and model, so they would be able to refer to some sort of weight check list before arranging the tow.
And I'm also sure that if you had one of the really large vans they'd be loaded over and above what the list suggested they would weigh.
At least, we don't have to worry needlessly as we are obviously within those limits but there would be lots who aren't.
I outlined our experience simply to support how we found the system to work and I know a lot more now from that experience but I wish it could have been avoided.....we spent far too much time twiddling our thumbs in a Mildura Caravan Park while waiting for the car to be sorted out.....with none of our usual camping gear as it was in the car so no chairs, tables, etc etc etc. we borrowed two buckets for chairs then discovered we had one pair of thongs between us!
As mentioned earlier RACQ has impressive limit for vans but you need to take out Ultimate Cover to get the decent cover for vans. Plus if the tug croaks it they will tow the van as well up to 200km, lots of fine print.
Ineligible Caravans and Trailers
RACQ Ultimate: Caravans or Trailers that exceed 9.7 metres (32 feet) in length (including drawbar), 2.3 metres (7.5 feet) in width or 4 tonnes GVM;
Caravans or Trailers that use a fifth-wheel (semi-trailer) hitch;
Motorised Homes over 4 tonnes GVM;
The thing nobody has seemed to notice is that when interstate the local rules apply, so if I end up having a break down in VIC the RACV possibly won't assist moving my 2.7t van, the main reason is availablity of vehicles to actually do the job, if it can be towed then you more than likely okay but if the wheels have fell off then you could be up the creek.
Requires lots of reading of all the various clubs publications to really be on top but from what I've gathered local rules apply...........so always carry matches.
Ineligible Caravans and Trailers
RACQ Ultimate: Caravans or Trailers that exceed 9.7 metres (32 feet) in length (including drawbar), 2.3 metres (7.5 feet) in width or 4 tonnes GVM;
Caravans or Trailers that use a fifth-wheel (semi-trailer) hitch;
Motorised Homes over 4 tonnes GVM;
The thing nobody has seemed to notice is that when interstate the local rules apply, so if I end up having a break down in VIC the RACV possibly won't assist moving my 2.7t van, the main reason is availablity of vehicles to actually do the job, if it can be towed then you more than likely okay but if the wheels have fell off then you could be up the creek.
Requires lots of reading of all the various clubs publications to really be on top but from what I've gathered local rules apply...........so always carry matches.
Thanks
I was just wondering if racwa doesn't cover their own members with vans over 2tons but if someone from vic with the racv cover that does has a problem over there is covered and towed seems strange
I was just wondering if racwa doesn't cover their own members with vans over 2tons but if someone from vic with the racv cover that does has a problem over there is covered and towed seems strange
I argued with RACWA over the towing of our van if needed as it is well over the length and weight they stipulate. They cannot cover it as they do not have vehicles that are capable of towing anything larger. Moral of the story.....dont break down in WA as your RAC membership can't help. You are better off getting on here and asking one of us to tow your van.
As good as doneAs long as you give me a receipt that I can pass onto RACQ.
Forgot to mention the surcharge... A carton that we can share at the end of the trip 
Damn we will have to be nice to the Wait Awhilers................
Not for a while, I won't be over there for another year or two.
But I do love the place, have done the Kimberley and the south west corner for the floral display and it is fantastic country. So much to see, I want to go back ASAP but there are other places to go before I can convince LOTO to go again.
Before we went on our trip last year, I called the RACV and added the tow pack to our membership - according to the person I spoke to, our van is so small, it is automatically covered under our top cover (still added the tow pack to be sure ... not needed though!). I did explain that we would often be remote and their response was 'as long as you're on a gazetted road, you are covered'.
When we went to Mallacoota last year at Easter, I used our sons car to tow the boat up, and Baz towed the van with our car - the sons car broke down, with no parts available within cooee of Mallacoota - RACV arranged the transfer back to Melbourne (6 hours) of car and boat, with no out of pocket expenses to us - this was because I had Total Care with RACV which covers any car you, as the policy holder, are driving. Pretty impressed with this service I have to say. They even offered to put us up in accommodation ... explained the van was still ok!!!
When we went to Mallacoota last year at Easter, I used our sons car to tow the boat up, and Baz towed the van with our car - the sons car broke down, with no parts available within cooee of Mallacoota - RACV arranged the transfer back to Melbourne (6 hours) of car and boat, with no out of pocket expenses to us - this was because I had Total Care with RACV which covers any car you, as the policy holder, are driving. Pretty impressed with this service I have to say. They even offered to put us up in accommodation ... explained the van was still ok!!!
