Don't try this at home...

[mookieblaylock]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Nothing structural as that is just blank back there. Just fiberglass and paint repair. Auto body place could fix that.

Best news of the day...thank you!

Should they be able to use the paint sample bottles to match everything up?

[Jammer151]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Nothing structural as that is just blank back there. Just fiberglass and paint repair. Auto body place could fix that.

Local repair shops want $7k-$8k to fix mine (haven’t fixed it yet)...I’m thinking when it gets warm to do a fiberglass repair fix myself (just gel coat) and have one of the local wrap shops make me a cool sticker that blends in with the color scheme and put over it. I have a piece of black carbon fiber over it right now and unless you really look it doesn’t jump out at you and when you do notice it, it looks like an outdoor speaker cover.

[RV Randy]

Originally Posted by mookieblaylock

SNAFU with the flat tow setup resulted in this. Pics below:

Oh, that sucks dude. Really sorry about that but as you say, you and your wife are OK. Everything else can be fixed.

Just an idea if its gonna cost you a ton out of pocket to fix it. You could have a real nice piece of diamond plate aluminum cut to fit the width of the rear end. You could go chrome or even have it powder coated grey to match the coach paint, it can be bolted or riveted on. This will provide some degree of protection too in the future if anything else happens.

It will impact re-sale value if you don't fix the fiberglass and if its financed the lien holder may mandate the repair. Even if you have it fixed, it might be a good idea to still armor it up in a good looking way.


If it makes you feel any better, I bought a brand new King Ranch diesel F350 truck a few years back. It was almost 60K. Very first day home I hooked up to the race car trailer, drove the car up the ramp and the trailer went nose up because I had forgot to flip the ball latch down. It rolled forward then the tongue came down, split the tailgate in half which bent the sides of the bed outwards. How stupid is that? But I'm glad it happened at home and not cruising down the highway at 75mph.

[Jammer151]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Nothing structural as that is just blank back there. Just fiberglass and paint repair. Auto body place could fix that.

I looked all over the state of CO and couldn’t find a single auto body shop that would work on it. Everyone said it was too big....only options were big truck and RV centers which all cost a fortune (they know the game as their very first question is “is this insurance work”). I would love to be able to find one of these guys that does it out of their shop in their backyard...but only been here a few years so don’t know anyone.

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by mookieblaylock

Best news of the day...thank you!

Should they be able to use the paint sample bottles to match everything up?

No, they can use the BASF paint codes that are on a sticker on the cab door jamb.

[mookieblaylock]

Originally Posted by bclemens

No, they can use the BASF paint codes that are on a sticker on the cab door jamb.

Thanks, again.

Saved that one with the rest of the electronic documents from the thumb drive...this probably won't be the last time I need it.

[Delco Bobby]

Originally Posted by Jammer151

I looked all over the state of CO and couldn’t find a single auto body shop that would work on it. Everyone said it was too big....only options were big truck and RV centers which all cost a fortune (they know the game as their very first question is “is this insurance work”). I would love to be able to find one of these guys that does it out of their shop in their backyard...but only been here a few years so don’t know anyone.

if you have boat yards in Colorado check with them for repairs.

I like RV Randy’s suggestion about diamond plate. Seems to me that might be good protection before an incident for those of us without rear bumpers.

[halla]

I am fastening a 4x6 to the rear of the unit. it should remind people of a lot of cars in the 70’s/80’s when their bumpers fell off. I think it will lend protection and should go nicely with the paint scheme.

This one looks nice.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by halla

I am fastening a 4x6 to the rear of the unit. it should remind people of a lot of cars in the 70’s/80’s when their bumpers fell off. I think it will lend protection and should go nicely with the paint scheme.

This one looks nice.

Attachment 163487

Hey, I really like that stout bumper. And the reindeer bells are a nice touch.

[milkman55]

Have you considered whether your insurance might cover the damage? It was after all a collision of sorts. Assume you have collision coverage on both the RV and truck. It might be worth a phone call.

I would also take it back to Dynamax for repair as I don't think an auto body shop could match their paint process.

[Bill Davis]

Might be covered under comp. if so that may have a lower deductible. I had an air ram explode in my garage once and hit the car. It was covered under comprehensive.

[mookieblaylock]

Would/should be covered under insurance, but I've got a high deductible. My guess, is that this is coming out of pocket one way or another. I've got a claim started, though, just in case something else stems from this down the road...something that might not be apparent at this point. Just CYA so maybe I won't have to cover the deductible twice.

I've got a buddy who's dad has had fiberglass and paint work done on his Zephyr at a local RV repair shop. They come highly recommended, so that's where I took it this morning. Should have an estimate by Wednesday morning.

It's gonna sting...I knew it would.

[FordHauler]

Originally Posted by halla

I am fastening a 4x6 to the rear of the unit. it should remind people of a lot of cars in the 70’s/80’s when their bumpers fell off. I think it will lend protection and should go nicely with the paint scheme.

This one looks nice.

Attachment 163487

Where is that photo of the trailer ball fastened to a pine 2x2 when I need it? Would attach nicely to that “safety” bumper here.
This one also lost his tag light......what the heck!
Travel safe

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by mookieblaylock

On the contrary - RVibrake3 system.

Again, newbie here, but I thought it was hooked up correctly. I had the opportunity to test it multiple times this past week (in the driveway...not actually towing) and even corresponded with them via e-mail regarding the installation and setup (pics, questions, concerns, etc). However, on the drive up I only saw it 'activate' on the tablet once. My wife was actually watching that screen as we were on the decent out of the park, and she says it never triggered the brakes. Weird.

My post was just a question.

I think you want to try and find out why the braking system didn't activate.

Rather than just testing on the flat I'd see if it activates when going up a hill and braking as well as down a hill. At slow speeds of course.

Can't speak to your system but the controller on my tow vehicle needs to be set for a "Lead" in braking rather than just relying on inertia alone. When I step on the brake pedal and power hits the light circuit, it starts to apply the brakes a given amount. The power is increased as the braking inertia increases from that point. If I don't set it properly, I get a good "push" or a sudden "drag" from the trailer when stopping. Properly set and both truck and trailer stop as a unit.

As I said, that's what my system does but you may well have a similar situation with your controller.

[RV Randy]

I have the RVi system too. For a full size Ram truck you need to set the system to a higher braking gain per the instructions. Plus it also does inertia braking, depends on your speed when applying the brakes. Did you push the button 3 times when you put the brake device in your truck? It has to cycle the pedal several times without the vehicle running to get rid of the vacuum in the brake booster. Without this the brakes won't apply in the toad for several brake applications. Also need to be sure the brake unit pushes solid against the floorpan or you bolt in the brace bar.

Always push the test button to feel if the toad brakes are applying when you first start out.

[mookieblaylock]

Originally Posted by RV Randy

I have the RVi system too. For a full size Ram truck you need to set the system to a higher braking gain per the instructions. Plus it also does inertia braking, depends on your speed when applying the brakes. Did you push the button 3 times when you put the brake device in your truck? It has to cycle the pedal several times without the vehicle running to get rid of the vacuum in the brake booster. Without this the brakes won't apply in the toad for several brake applications. Also need to be sure the brake unit pushes solid against the floorpan or you bolt in the brace bar.

Always push the test button to feel if the toad brakes are applying when you first start out.

My RAM has hydro boost brakes, so I set the RVibrake system up as active. There are four pressure setting for active - 5, 10, 15, and 20 PSI. Per their instructions I started at the 5 PSI setting and began testing. Just sitting in the driveway, I was not able to get the RVibrake to depress the pedal far enough to actually trigger the brake light switch consistently until I got to the 15 PSI setting. Once hooked up I tested with this setting, and seemed to be able to feel the tug of the truck behind the coach. Perhaps I should have set this to the max of 20 PSI...I'll test that setting again once I get it all fixed and set back up.

I did go through their 'push the auto position button three times' every time I connected the brake. Each time the engine was not running. Additionally, even though I have a seat pan riser, I installed their stop plate just to make sure the brake had a rigid support to press against.

Since this was all new to me, I sent pics of and discussed my setup and test results with the RVibrake folks before I ever hooked the truck up. As far as I understand, the only other thing I can do to tune this setup would be to set the brake at 20 PSI.

Thoughts?

[letsgorving]

OOOOOHHHHH so sorry.

Now guess i'm glad my husband was obsessed with making sure our lifted jeep was not too high so we bought that pain in the butt riser/reducer thingy

[mookieblaylock]

So, after deciding to file a claim just to make sure I wouldn't have to be out of pocket for the deductible if something else related were to crop up in the future, my adjuster went and met with the local RV repair folks today. The 'shoot from the hip' figure I was given on Monday morning has now escalated significantly...go figure. Some concerning comments my adjuster made after meeting with the local folks:

1. The local RV shop doesn't have a painter that can match the work on the DX3, so all the paint work will have to be outsourced. Someone knows a guy, that knows a guy, that knows a guy, that should be able to replicate it...geez.

2. They don't even want to estimate the paint portion of the repair until they can speak with someone at Dynamax to see if they can get stencils for the rear artwork and DX3 logo. If they can't than the 'guy' mentioned above would have to do it freehand...geez, again.

3. The fiberglass repair is in an area where the backside of the patch is effectively inaccessible. As such, there may be no other option but to remove the rear cap in order to fix it correctly...seriously???

All his words, summarized. Of course, none of this was mentioned on Monday...nothing anywhere close to any of this.

Brian - if any of this is true, or if this is the way they want to handle it, I'd much prefer it be done at the factory. Can you tell me who I should contact to begin that conversation, please?

It sounds like the DX3 is going to be out of commission for quite some time...these guys estimated mid April before I might get it back.

I've made a good mess this time.

[halla]

I am not sure how accessible that stuff is under the cap, I also cant imagine that will be easy to remove the rear cap, there is a lot hooked to that.

Sorry again this happened to you. I guess if you can pick a time of year for this to happen, before the main season is probably better.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop. As someone else had stated on here earlier, I am afraid to let the HD out of the garage now. Camping inside will be safer.

[rockfordroo]

I'm wondering if it would be cheaper to just buy a new cap from the factory.