TT hit by a trash truck

[AquaMan]

I had a '98 Keystone "stick and tin" model that was less than a year old, and was hit while at the dealer for a warranty repair. A kid that was moving a motorhome backed into it breaking a rear side bunk window and denting 2 pieces of tin. Didn't seem like a big deal, until the dealer went to get the tin, which had painted stripes. Long story short, after 3 sets of tin on the back rear side, they ended up replacing the entire back side, which had a slide. The real kicker was that it didn't match the front side!! I had 2 different sides, similar, but different all the same. That dealer took a bath on that mistake!

[carl.net]

That is a good point. When I take the unit in to get the final quote I will specify that if they cannot match the colors they need to paint the entire TT.

[AquaMan]

There was some reason why they couldn't paint the panels on mine. I think the paint might have been more of a powder coat, or at least undergone some type of curing process. As long as you have them by the short and curlies, get all you can.

[MillerTime]

I believe that the reason that most will not paint the sheet metal trailer skins is because of the seams. I have been in the collision industry for many years and the only way you can paint butted ( or interlocking) panels is to seamseal the gap. The reason being that try as you might, you can not sand every crevis and if the paint does not have anything to "bite" into it will not adhear other than temporarly. Everybody has seen paint peel around door handles, moldings and such and that is the reason there as well. Also paint manuf. will not warranry their product unless the paint is run to the end of the panel (no butt painting, & removal of any attached parts) .

That said unless the panels come pre-painted, a good painter can tint the color to match. Also one side being discolored is better than three others peeling in a couple years.

[fschambe]

Originally Posted by MillerTime

I believe that the reason that most will not paint the sheet metal trailer skins is because of the seams. I have been in the collision industry for many years and the only way you can paint butted ( or interlocking) panels is to seamseal the gap. The reason being that try as you might, you can not sand every crevis and if the paint does not have anything to "bite" into it will not adhear other than temporarly. Everybody has seen paint peel around door handles, moldings and such and that is the reason there as well. Also paint manuf. will not warranry their product unless the paint is run to the end of the panel (no butt painting, & removal of any attached parts) .

That said unless the panels come pre-painted, a good painter can tint the color to match. Also one side being discolored is better than three others peeling in a couple years.

What are you talking about? They don't sand stuff anymore... They have a soda blaster that would get nook and cranny... If the metal ships to them anodized or powder coated to a certain color it is less conducive to change that color.

Again, I reiterate my prior post... The structure had to have absorbed some of the force of impact... Your trailer is never going to be the same.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by fschambe

Again, I reiterate my prior post... The structure had to have absorbed some of the force of impact... Your trailer is never going to be the same.

That was exactly my point as well. Just be alert for water intrusion in places other than the impact area. Every sealed seam has taken a twist and may now not be water tight.

[MilCop4523]

Sorry for the loss which at this time may look minor in nature but...
your unit is insured. Proceed through insurance, DO NOT take the cash pay out and get it fixed DO NOT have the Trash Company pay for the repairs... let the insurance commpany deal with the loss.

If you decide to keep it - then you have a recourse if later problems develop.

If you trade then it doesn't become your problem but rather someone elses.

Either way you may just end up being the "trailer trash", you've never wanted to be.

[bakken]

Originally Posted by MilCop4523

Sorry for the loss which at this time may look minor in nature but...
your unit is insured. Proceed through insurance, DO NOT take the cash pay out and get it fixed DO NOT have the Trash Company pay for the repairs... let the insurance commpany deal with the loss.

Why would the OP want his insurance rates to increase when the trash company is willing to pay for damages off the books?
There is nothing wrong with what he is doing.

[Herk7769]

In our state we are "no fault" and if it was my camper; my insurance would pay anyway. They would then try to recover from the trash companies insurance.

A few things to think about:

If you did not notify your own insurance company of the accident at all and relied on the promise to pay from their insurance; you could be in for an even bigger wall of pain.

They could:

Jerk you around and never pay
Change their mind about it being their fault (insist you were parked wrong)
Insist you go to "their" fly by night repair shop to get it fixed (gum and wire)
Tell you to pay and they will reimburse you (and not give you all it cost).

Then after months of screwing around you go to your insurance and find out you are not covered because you failed to report the loss in a timely manner.

Just sayin...

[crasher]

I think that he is implying that if more work is needed later, or that the work is inadequate, you would have recourse to re-open the claim and get more money to fix it (again). That may or may not be the case, depending on your carrier and your policy terms.

With taking the cash from the trash company (essentially settling this privately) they may consider it paid out and done. Also, depends on if they are paying up front to settle and you go have it repaired, or if they will pay the bill when it comes. Could be problematic if the final repair comes in higher than the initial estimate. Also, you may be trusting them that they will actually pay the bill when it comes due.

You could end up with a fight on your hands either way you go, so it's best to just proceed with what you are most comfortable with doing.

[MilCop4523]

Originally Posted by bakken

Why would the OP want his insurance rates to increase when the trash company is willing to pay for damages off the books?
There is nothing wrong with what he is doing.

From what I recount insurance companies generally look at an at fault party before they assess any claim increases.

Having the Insurance company to which the OP pays on a monthly or some sort of regular basis for damage coverage (natural causes, stupid persons runnign into the side, or negligence on the OP's behalf) getting involved as the party who is not at fault in the matter - would 99% assured not increase his insurance unless the State he lives in has no fault insurance of some weird clause.

I took an "I'll pay for the damages" lets not go through insurance because... plea once, never again.
I had to fix my car, waiting for them to pay the shop, then they denied liability, because they failed to report the incident to their insurance company.

I had 15 minutes after the accident reported it to mine. 6 months later I advised my insurance company that I was being yanked around by the at fault party they stepped in. I wnded up with additional claims for hidden damage which was not evident at the time of the impact.

Since the insurance company would see the interaction not as a claim against his policy but in support of his policy against a party.

Smarts means that you don't have to test putting your finger in a light socket to see if you will get a shock - after your brother has just done it.

Stupidity is thinking it somehow will be a different outcome while he is still fealing the pain from doing it just before you try the same.

I'm not calling anyone stupid or smart for that matter, just saying that Lessons Learned from others misfortune may save the OP a heartache or a pain in the ***** later on when it all goes south and the Trash company says hey we fixed it didn't we?

Hate to see the OP not look at all advise, failing to be educated and end up

Essentially what HERK and Wincrasher said while I was typing this entry. Gr8 minds think alike (some say fools seldom differ) 2 sides to every coin.

[carl.net]

This has been a fun and very educational discussion which shows why forums like this are very valuable. Since there is a lot of speculation going on I will provide an update. I called my insurance agent to get advice a few days ago and he suggested I continue on my path of working it through the other guys insurance. Essentially the guy that hit me is on camera doing it and I have pictures of his paint in the dent and his truck with my paint. There is zero question who did it, so neither I nor my insurance agent are concerned about him trying to skip out on the claim.

The guy who hit me has called his insurance company to start the process and we are now waiting on his insurance company to assign an adjuster. My understanding is that after the adjuster takes a look I will need to get three quotes to fix it. If during the process of fixing the trailer more issues are found an adjusted claim will be submitted and the extra will be covered.

In short, I will get back a trailer that appears to be fixed after wasting a good bit of my time. Maybe I should charge the guy who hit me my hourly rate for the time out of my schedule this takes to get fixed… Grin.

[carl.net]

Originally Posted by MilCop4523

"trailer trash",

I resemble this comment... Big grin.

[bakken]

Glad it is working out for you, carl.