HELP Trailer Rear Ended

Dropnaduece · 03-15-2018, 09:26 PM

Well I was rear ended pretty hard a couple of weeks ago. There is very little visible damage as the lady hit my spare tire, bumper, and the 2” receiver hitch I had bolted to the frame. Her car was smashed up prett good.

Anywho the service/RV repair shop gave a bid of 12k but couldn’t guarantee if all would go well after tearing into the floor after pulling both slides out. The floor has a large hump now so when the kitchen slide comes in it rides along the floor. The other slide grinds as it comes in and out so it will either need replacement or severe adjustments.

My question for the forum is for the people who have this extensive amount of work either through insurance or warranty work. How did it go and was the trailer ever the same again? I have read stories of people having the floors ripped out for warranty work did it all go back together again without issues?

I have a feeling they are going offer me the 12k but will that be enough or should they just total the trailer. Then I will ha e to deal with a less than market price most likely. I just bought the trailer less than 2 years ago. It’s a 2016 25BHS White Hawk.

Thanks!

nunyadamn · 03-15-2018, 09:35 PM

I can't help with the specifics of the trailer, but I had a car hit once. I got a check from the insurance company after the adjuster came out and took it to a shop to get fixed. Then once the shop got into it, they found additional damage. The insurance company had the adjuster go back out to the shop and then they wrote another check.

With that said, my guess is after the shop gets into the trailer, if they find additional damage, you will have to go back to the insurance company for more money. I think this is standard practice.

As far as how will it turn out, the fix, that is solely up to the shop doing the work. So long as they have done this work in the past and have a good reputation, I wouldn't sweat it.

wags999 · 03-15-2018, 09:40 PM

If the floor is buckled I would bet the frame is also. To me that would be a hill I would die on, a twisted frame is never going to be like new... Jayco does have a collision repair facility also, may want to contact them.

bluie5 · 03-16-2018, 05:52 PM

We were rear ended last summer with our TT. Floor was buckled and the guys insurance totaled it. His insurance company said that since they could not guarantee the repairs would be problem free they opted to total it. We were hit in August and they even paid us for all the camping we missed from the time of the crash to the end of October.

Dropnaduece · 03-16-2018, 06:14 PM

Oh wow same situation as me but I just heard the adjuster told the shop guy that State Farm will want him to try and fix it but he said he can never get it back to factory condition. He told me the bid came in at 14k and the trailer is only worth 25kish. Still not heard from the adjuster yet but should be on Monday. Then I will have some options I just want to prepared if they try and stiff me.

Maybe you can help me out. What did they offer to pay you? Low book, retail and did you have to negotiate? My trailer is only 2 years old. Also I heard that they will pay for camping lost so how did they do that? I have plans we have already missed and fishing trip camping coming up. We are all season campers with planned camping and times we just go when a weekend opens up cause we snow camp a lot. Do you have to show reservations?

Thanks for the help!

bluie5 · 03-16-2018, 06:50 PM

Our TT was also 2 years old. The adjuster I dealt with didn’t even look at it in person. Just photos that the dealer took and sent to her. I was surprised at their offer. It was higher than I thought it would be and didn’t have to haggle. I had to fax the sheet with the MSRP and all the options on it and they went off of that. MSRP was I think around 42K and their offer was a little over 30K. They also paid to have my receiver on the truck replaced.

I didn’t have to provide any reservations or anything like that. The adjuster said to rent something for a family of 5 to camp in would cost roughly $200 a night and paid us that for Labor Day weekend and I think 10 nights beyond that. It really went pretty smoothly.

nighthawk87 · 03-16-2018, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dropnaduece

Oh wow same situation as me but I just heard the adjuster told the shop guy that State Farm will want him to try and fix it but he said he can never get it back to factory condition. He told me the bid came in at 14k and the trailer is only worth 25kish. Still not heard from the adjuster yet but should be on Monday. Then I will have some options I just want to prepared if they try and stiff me.

Maybe you can help me out. What did they offer to pay you? Low book, retail and did you have to negotiate? My trailer is only 2 years old. Also I heard that they will pay for camping lost so how did they do that? I have plans we have already missed and fishing trip camping coming up. We are all season campers with planned camping and times we just go when a weekend opens up cause we snow camp a lot. Do you have to show reservations?

Thanks for the help!

They have to get it back to pre collision condition. If the adjuster said to fix even if the shop said it can’t be then I’d just tell the insurance that. Better yet, have the shop guy write a quick letter and sign it.

I would want a camper with frame damage.

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Cyclops69 · 03-17-2018, 08:33 AM

On my previous trailer I had a similar issue with getting rear ended. It had bent the frame in the rear and the slide was binding. I had a RV repair company come out and look at it and the insurance adjuster. Ended up being a total loss. The insurance adjuster told me the once the main frame is bent its pretty much a total loss as a full frame replacement is worth the expense

FeatherFam · 03-17-2018, 09:18 AM

First, I am sorry. Your TT is a very nice unit, and I know that I would be bummed.

Is your policy a "full replacement value" policy?

Do some digging before you allow them to go too far with this.

The BAL Norco NexGen frame is a huck-bolted frame. If repair is the endgame, I would make sure that the repair facility is capable of being in full compliance with BAL's and Jayco's recommendations for the repair. It may be that the force caused the center aligned hucks to tweak/move causing a flex in the joint that they engage. I can totally see where this could be possible. I have studied our same frame design a fair bit. I have spoken with a BAL engineer about our frame. He is extremely helpful. If you want, I can get you his name.

There may be a solid fix for this. I have read of other NexGen frame repairs (sagging at frame joints) that were repaired by following BAL and Jayco protocols. It can be viewed as one "advantage" to the frame over a solid channel welded structure. Other times, the frame sheared at the joints and the metal bent or crushed against itself. In these cases, the frame could not be restored without significant cutting and fabrication to rebuild the joint segments. In other cases, the frame bowed a bit at the joint and could be resettled with new bolts.

If there is bent, crushed, or tweaked frame damage not associated with a flex at the huck bolts or crushed metal damage at the bolt joint, then I would not want to keep the camper. In that I case, I would go after full restitution for the replacement value (if you have that policy). The only way that I would go with a repair of severe frame damage would be if I had extreme confidence in a shop's fabrication and welding record and their willingness to work with BAL and Jayco.

Lolead · 03-17-2018, 09:40 AM

I can not comment on insurance regulations in your state BUT in the state of Missouri this is a liability claim. As such you should be in control. If you do not want the trailer repaired, I would make that very clear to the insurance company. It might help if you demand that the insurance company and the repair facility sign a document, prepared by your attorney, that they will warrenty all repairs for the life of the RV. Also don't forget to mention "deminished value", something insurers don't like to hear. Good luck.

bdreinv · 03-17-2018, 10:00 AM

We can not even get warranty work completed. Cannot imagine a huge repair like yours! I know a total may not be good! But what your piece of mind worth?

Dropnaduece · 03-17-2018, 11:34 AM

Thank you everyone for your comments. This has given me a better understanding of what might happen so I'm not blinded sided by the adjuster. As for my policy I don't have the full replacement but I'm not sure if that would matter at this point because my insurance in not involved. The person that hit me has State Farm and they have told me they have taken full responsibility, so my insurance company does not have an open claim. My biggest concern thus far is the shop that I took it too has not given me much confidence due to the way he has handled everything so far. Such as when I asked him did you submit the pictures and quote, he said, "Yea a took a few pictures and sent it to them to get the conversation going". I'm like what? Why not give them a complete diagnosis of the situation so they don't think you are a flake. So what ended up happening was State Farm had to request more photos and explanation which just delayed everything. If this doesn't go well I have found another company that I found who has a great reputation for restoring RV's and working with insurance companies. If needed I will have to get a second opinion.

YES I love this trailer and I'm super bummed as I have put my heart into taking great care of it the past 2 years along with man MODS and tweaks to make it my own. I have taken to owning a trailer as a hobby cause I love working on it to make it better. Also the Jayco product thus far has held up great. I have looked at the new White Hawks and with the new floor plans and sizes I can't find another one that will work for me so I will be bummed if I cannot stick with the White Hawk line. They make really nice 2018's but they are so much heavier and the only bunk house without the murphy bed is the 29BHS and I'm not pulling that thing with my half ton.

Again thanks for all the replies and I will let you know the end of the story when all is done.

nighthawk87 · 03-17-2018, 12:28 PM

It might be a long shot but the fact that the closest model to yours requires a bigger tow vehicle might be grounds to get compensation to help with making the upgrade.

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