RACV TOTAL (UN)CARE - BE AWARE!

**wardy1** · 16th December 2016, 10:57 AM

Last Sunday morning I had a pretty major breakdown on a 4wd track in the Snowy Mountains.

I'd travelled about 350 metres after breaking camp, going up a pretty moderate climb with my camper behind (it weights just under 1 tonne) and I heard a sort of 'crack' and suddenly I had no drive. The little lever was jammed in low range and couldn't be shifted. Hooked my mates Isuzu D Max and tried to get pulled up the hill but everything was locked up.

No phone coverage meant about a 15k trip out to a farm house where the owner was good enough to allow me to make some calls.

Now I've had RACV Total Care for about 6 years so they were naturally my first call. The following is what happened:

I explained where my car was, even offering a bearing in case they couldn't locate the road nearest my car. I was first told that they don't recover from 4wd tracks. I suggested that if I could get my car to the actual road, they could pick me up from there.

No, the breakdown happened on a 4wd track so we wont do that.

They then provided a number in Orbost so I could arrange a commercial recovery.

This company sent a 2wd flat top out from Canne River (all brightly emblazoned with RACV signage)to recover me. It took him 21/2 hours to get to the junction of the track and Bonang Rd. The original plan was to get my car to Orbost that night, then to Melbourne on Monday morning. All at my own expense.

Since I had time to kill, I called a couple of friends (Chops and Rangieman). Marcus came back to me after speaking with Chris and he said he'd pick up Chris's car trailer and come down to get my car home....... a 700k round trip!
You really are lucky when you have friends like THAT!

The tow truck driver did try to get to where my car was, but was concerned (justifiably) that he wouldn't get out if he got closer. So I was still stuck.

Whilst I was waiting, I removed both front and rear driveshafts so that the car would at least move. We then left the car secured to a tree (no handbrake, no Park) and went back to Orbost to meet Chops. We stayed the night at the caravan park and set to get up to my car about 6:00am Monday.

About 9:30pm Sunday I got a call from the tow truck company. Apparently the driver was stuck! He had called 000 (the only number that will work up there). I told them that I had a pretty fair idea where he was, but couldn't get back up there that night. We'd been on the go since 7:00am and the trip back up was probably another 11/2 hours. Then got a call from Bairnsdale police. I told them that we'd be back up there early morning and of course, we'd look for him. Conditions were quite mild by the way. More calls from both the tow company and police from 5:30am. The tow company had arranged a heavy haulage truck to meet us and follow to where I thought their tow truck was.

Off we went. D-Max followed by D4 and trailer then to 20 tonne wrecker.

Got to the turn off and the wrecker driver immediately said he couldn't take his rig in there (surprise surprise). He got in with Chops in the D4 (making a comment to Marcus that he didn't think the D4 would be much help) and off we went. There we found the tow truck, he'd lost traction on the damp leaf litter on the track.

Next, the wrecker driver went back to get some recovery gear and yep, WE RECOVERED THE TOW TRUCK! A tandem pull by the D4 and D-Max.

Ok, so now we got down to my car still secured with my winch to a tree. My trailer was about another 200m down the hill. Marcus and Ken had to reverse about 1km down to me as there was nowhere to turn around. Anyway, we hooked a recovery rope from my car to the D4 and off we went...... how easily the D4 did this was simply amazing. After a bit of fiddling around at a switch back, my car was out and on the road ready to load on the trailer. Ken brought up the rear with my trailer.

We then drove back to Melbourne and arrived in Ringwood just after 8:00pm.

I took the car to AMV on Tuesday morning and first thoughts were that there was a problem in the transfer case which was recently rebuilt by them. They got stuck into it straight away and all was well until they put the car in gear and...... no drive except reverse. Busted transmission! (some of you may remember my transmission saga in June last year with a certain repairer).

So, the transmission is under warranty so the car needs to go to A&B Automotive in Dandenong.

I called RACV again to arrange it. "Is this related to the breakdown on 11/12?" Yes. Well we're sorry sir, we wont be covering you. We also don't transport between repairers. OK I said, I'll put the car on the road and you can pick it up from there? "No Sir, the breakdown occurred whilst you were 4wding and so you're not covered under our terms and conditions"

Cancel my membership and refund my premium I said. You don't cover me for anything I need. [COLOR="black"][/COLOR]"I'll need to have someone call you from customer relations about that, I cant cancel a policy".

Am I covered if I drive to Mordialloc Beach? I said. Yes sir, as long as you don't drive on the sand". We cover you on all gazetted roads provided they are made roads (bitumen) and NOT IN A NATIONAL PARK!.

So it appears that even if you are on well formed dirt road in a National Park, you will not get recovery under your Total Care policy.

Next to bloody useless. In my opinion, this policy is promoted as something it definitely isn't. The terms and conditions are used to avoid almost anything other than a recovery on a bitumen road and even then, the towing limits allowed are far in a way insufficient for those of us who travel a long way from home.

There will be more to this as I'm awaiting a call from RACV today.

Also hoping for a call from A&B about my box. They have been very helpful so far.

**SPROVER** · 16th December 2016, 11:16 AM

Wow...I'm with them..so I'll be giving them a polite call about what I'm covered for! I'll say it again..this forum is bloody brilliant for the help everyone gives each other...Good on you chops...shame about the transmission though...you must be over it.

**tonyci** · 16th December 2016, 11:25 AM

Wow, what a drama I feel for you. I have the same RACV Total care.
I am now considering, if I should renew or not.
Not proving help on dirt roads is next to useless.
Keep us posted.
Cheers
Tony

**alan48** · 16th December 2016, 11:55 AM

Hi,
who knows for sure if NRMA Premium Cover will cover national parks ,dirt roads etc if a mapped road will they cover it--many of us have used this cover on LR heritage Drives with great success so maybe it is ahead of this debacle re RACV?
Alan

**PhilipA** · 16th December 2016, 12:05 PM

My D2 and trailer were recovered from El Questro on the GRR 2 years ago and towed to Kununurra. There is a 20+ k dirt road into El Questro and a couple of water crossings.

The RACWA agents were a pack of dills who ruined my camper trailer hitch, so I asked to be taken to another repairer recommended by the caravan park manager. This bloke was the Thrifty agent at the airport so that may have affected the decision but they did it no problem.

In fact once the fuel manifold was replaced in about 3 days , what then stopped me was no McHitch ball for the trailer as all the threads were stripped and it took another 2 days to arrive , which NRMA paid for and for the car rental.

NRMA are OK by me.

They also later refunded me for the jockey wheel that the dills also destroyed.

Regards Philip A

PS they also paid the extorionate $200 Bus fare from ELQuestro to Kununurra, and for the phone calls as there is no mobile reception there.

**999** · 16th December 2016, 12:25 PM

Yeh sounds about right, sealed roads only.
Found that out last year when my starter motor shorted out and nearly caused a fire (had to quickly disconnect the battery). Took me all day to figure out the problem and bush fix-it so I could get mobile again.

**101RRS** · 16th December 2016, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by alan48

Hi,
who knows for sure if NRMA Premium Cover will cover national parks ,dirt roads etc if a mapped road will they cover it--many of us have used this cover on LR heritage Drives with great success so maybe it is ahead of this debacle re RACV?
Alan

The NRMA will recover you from anywhere that is 2wd accessible. My 101 broke down on the way out of Bendethra a few years back - could have been picked up by a 2wd tilt tray where it was but we towed it to the dirt Braidwood to Cooma Road - the NRMA came 80km from Cooma and got it and took it back to Cooma and them back to Canberra.

So the test for the NRMA Premium Care is 2wd access - can be dirt or gravel.

Garry

**wardy1** · 16th December 2016, 02:01 PM

All I can say regarding the comments on NRMA is, check that the terms and conditions haven't changed.

I received a call from a Customer Relations manager at RACV today (just after posting).

She was very helpful a quite sympathetic to my plight. She told me that she had listened to all of the recordings of calls prior to calling me (sensible lady).

We went through it all one step at a time and she told me that there were ways that I could have been assisted but that it should have been referred to a manager who has some discretionary powers in certain circumstances. In other words, RACV WOULD have towed my car right back to Melbourne once we had got the car out to the bitumen(Bonang Rd).

This would have obviated the need for Chops to drive all the way there and back with a bloody heavy trailer as we could have simply towed the car all the way out.

As far as the Ringwood to Dandenong leg was concerned, IF we had the car on the ROAD, she would have sent out a normal patrol car to assess the driveability of the car and then ordered a tow at no cost to me. When I suggested this yesterday, they simply said no, the breakdown occurred whilst 4wding so no cover.

ALL BLOODY GOOD IN HINDSIGHT SAID I!

Well the final thing was that I had incurred costs. I now need to document these and send them in and she will push for these to be paid back. This to include fuel for Chops, accommodation etc.

When I brought up the National Parks part, she said that I was advised correctly. She went on to tell me that when a client calls say from Cape York, they are told to pay for the recovery to the park boundary and that RACV will take over from there.

All I can say to all of you fellow nomads is, DON'T RELY ON RACV TOTAL CARE if you break down, you'll be paying one way or another on top of your premium.

**SPROVER** · 16th December 2016, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by wardy1

All I can say regarding the comments on NRMA is, check that the terms and conditions haven't changed.

I received a call from a Customer Relations manager at RACV today (just after posting).

She was very helpful a quite sympathetic to my plight. She told me that she had listened to all of the recordings of calls prior to calling me (sensible lady).

We went through it all one step at a time and she told me that there were ways that I could have been assisted but that it should have been referred to a manager who has some discretionary powers in certain circumstances. In other words, RACV WOULD have towed my car right back to Melbourne once we had got the car out to the bitumen(Bonang Rd).

This would have obviated the need for Chops to drive all the way there and back with a bloody heavy trailer as we could have simply towed the car all the way out.

As far as the Ringwood to Dandenong leg was concerned, IF we had the car on the ROAD, she would have sent out a normal patrol car to assess the driveability of the car and then ordered a tow at no cost to me. When I suggested this yesterday, they simply said no, the breakdown occurred whilst 4wding so no cover.

ALL BLOODY GOOD IN HINDSIGHT SAID I!

Well the final thing was that I had incurred costs. I now need to document these and send them in and she will push for these to be paid back. This to include fuel for Chops, accommodation etc.

When I brought up the National Parks part, she said that I was advised correctly. She went on to tell me that when a client calls say from Cape York, they are told to pay for the recovery to the park boundary and that RACV will take over from there.

All I can say to all of you fellow nomads is, DON'T RELY ON RACV TOTAL CARE if you break down, you'll be paying one way or another on top of your premium.

I think I'm going to consider this club 4x4 insurance. Will do a bit of research first. Have heard a few good things about them so far.

**101RRS** · 16th December 2016, 05:43 PM

So RACV will not cover you when you are driving on a public bitumen highway or road if it passes through a National Park. There are plenty of these in NSW - Lane Cove National Park only 10km from the CBD comes to mind - I am sure there are the equivalent in Vic - what about the snow/highlands area - bitumen roads in National Parks.

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