Jim, if you were in fact on a public road, I would take this up with AAA.  I believe they have retrieved vehicles from public unpaved roads.  In many counties in my state, virtually every county road is unpaved.  They would not get a lot of work if they only worked paved roads in such places.  I would not expect AAA (or other tow service) to send a truck into the outback, tens of miles down a track, but a public road?  Hmmm,.... .  mcneely

---- Jim Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:
> Right. There I was in the shadow of US Highway 231, but off the pavement on
> a dirt/sand access road that would have supported anything they had to send
> out (it's a work road for the bridge). But it wasn't paved, so no dice.
>
> Jim
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 10:55 AM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
>
> > Hmmm..... .  The dispatcher in this case asked if the tow truck could
> > reach the vehicle without leaving the pavement.  That throws a serious
> > glitch into AAA service.  Many, many public roads are unpaved.  If AAA will
> > not travel beyond pavement, a lot of us may be in more trouble than we
> > thought.  One certainly does not have to go "off road" to leave the
> > pavement behind.
> >
> > mcneely
> >
> > ---- Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> > > Not only won't tow services get you but if something happens neither
> > will most ambulances and your insurance won't cover you or the vehicle. You
> > need to be cautious when going off road.
> > >
> > > Dennis
> > >
> > > From my phone.
> > > ________________________________
> > > From: Jim Felder<mailto:jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
> > > Sent: 4/17/2013 10:37 AM
> > > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM<mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> > > Subject: Triple-A won't extricate you from just any old where
> > >
> > > This may have been covered before, and it is not strictly Vanagon
> > content,
> > > but I was in a Vanagon last week when it happened to me.
> > >
> > > Looking for places to get on a river, I naturally found myself under a
> > > bridge. I was a long day from home on a multi-day Westy trip to research
> > > rivers in part of my state. The surface I was on went from hard-packed to
> > > deep sand in one short moment, and I could not see it coming. The front
> > > wheels dropped down and quickly the back wheels had dug in. I had to dig
> > > out under the muffler for clearance to be extricated by a local who,
> > > because I travel with a very long tow strap, was able to pull me out from
> > > the hard packed road.
> > >
> > > While locating a local, I called AAA, which has always provided me with
> > > really good service when I have needed it. "Can the service vehicle get
> > to
> > > you without getting off the paved roadway?" I was asked. I replied that
> > you
> > > couldn't even see the paved road from where I was. "We can't help you,
> > > thanks for choosing AAA today. Is there anything else I can do for you
> > > today?"
> > >
> > > I thought that I might ask her to pave the access road, but thought
> > better.
> > >
> > > Don't wander farther off the beaten path than your tow strap will reach.
> > > And don't tell me to buy a Syncro. Even the four-wheelers I encountered
> > > would not cross over to me on the soft sand.
> > >
> > > : )
> > >
> > > Jim
> >
> > --
> > David McNeely
> >

--
David McNeely