STRANDED IN LOUISIANA! PLEASE ADVISE.

[Jeff Ramey]

DANG!
The wife and I are on a trip to P-cola Florida and stopped at a TA truck stopped for the night just across the Texas/Louisiana line. Parked side by side in the back with all the trucks, closed the curtain and settled down in the bedroom to watch TV with the wife at 11:00pm. All of a sudden WHAM! WHAM WHAM WHAM! The entire coach shook violently! I knew immediately we had been hit. I jumped up and changed out of my PJs into some pants so fast Superman would have been proud. As I came around the back side of the coach, there was a semi tractor and flat bed trailer sitting at an awkward angle with trailer sorta jack knifed. Apparently, the driver misjudged the turn when trying to pull into the space I left between me and the rig to my left. The right front corner of the trailer CRUSHED the rear end of the coach. Striking it directly in the left taillight and squashing if like a tin can, bent the power reel door and compartment, and tore the bumper off.

The driver was very apologetic and visibly shaken. I invited him in, we got photos of all his paperwork on my phone, while I was at it, I not too discreetly recorded a video on my phone where he explained he had misjudged the turn striking my coach. The driver left the truck stop after the exchange and before the cops arrived. He said it would be a no fault insurance claim as it was a parking lot, and that he didn't want to stick around, we could count on it that his boss would be calling us in a few days ( I suspect his "coloring book" wasn't perfectly up to date, and probably needed some creative math.)

Cops showed up, took copies of all the info and said a report would be available in about 5 days. They didn't seem to concerned the driver left, so I figure he was probably telling the truth about the situation.

The missus and I reported the incident immediately to our insurance company (General National thru Good Sam) and took pictures. Have no idea how to handle this next.

Are we too big to tow? Can I safely drive the coach, if not, how do you correctly and safely tow a fully loaded 40' Beaver?
Where do you tow it to?
We're full timers. Where do sleep for now?
Needless to say, the P-cola trip is off for now.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Jerry Emert]

I'm sorry this happened to you.  In Florida, leaving the scene of an "attended" crash with property damage would not be lawful.  Anyway my suggestion would be to talk to your insurance and ask all those questions.  If they know you are full time it is likely that they will cover some of your expenses for living somewhere while work is done on your coach.  If not covered you might consider a lawyer to assist you in getting the trucker's insurance to cover those extra expenses.  Good luck.
Jerry

[Hal Grimshaw]

We had engine problems in Tenn. and have AAA Rv towing ..  They came out and towed us in with no problems.

We're 44ft.  If you get a driver that knows what's needed it's a breeze.  We have the same ins and it was also a breeze.  Accident was in Canada in July and we finally got it done in Bend at Bend Rv Jeff Speree in April.  He did a good job and the price was much less than we were used to paying for paint and body work.
J  Nat'l was a snap.

Good luck

[Mike Shumack]

If you are in FL or close, one highly rated repair/body shop is Alliance Coach. You may want to have coach towed there.

4505 Monaco Way
Wildwood, FL 34785

http://www.alliancecoach.com/service/


...well, it looks like your about 300 miles from central FL.
Good luck with everything.

[Karl Welhart]

Jeff,

So sorry for your mishap.  Based on your description of the damage, it would seem you could drive a short distance and not need towing.  You should be able to find a good RV body shop not far away.  It may be that you can find a campground to stay at while waiting for parts and repair at a body shop.  Just my thoughts...

Good luck,

[Joel Ashley]

Your insurance carrier should be giving you advice here, but my experience with General was not so great, which is why we switched to Nationwide/Allied and a trusted agency like (Ron Jarvie at) Overland that we can consult if needed.  Good Sam member services may be of assistance.  If you had CoachNet, they could probably provide a tech on the phone to help assess the drivability, as they once did for us.

Joel

[Keith Moffett]

Jeff
I would just tell the insurance company that driving it could potentially further the damage if a hose goes or tranny line etc. 
I would think hard before plugging it in until the systems have all been tested by an RV shop with Beaver experience.
IMHO it is not worth the risk of fire or more damage.  I would be looking for a way to get her to Bend Or. where the work is done right for sure.
Glad you are both OK!!

[Jeff Ramey]

STATUS UPDATE:

The accident happened Thursday at 11:30pm. We got all the driver’s info and the police came and made a report that night. The wife called called our insurance and the driver’s insurance that night but weren’t able to actually speak with anybody until  the next morning. The driver is insured through Northland. The agent has been very pleasant and accommodating however, being Friday on a holiday weekend very little was accomplished, not for lack of effort mind you. The agent stayed on the phone with me most of the day ( not exaggerating, on phone at least 5 hours over the course of the day) attempting to get us temporarily situated. Nothing we attempted to accomplish panned out Friday. We spent the night in the truck stop parking lot again. The generator has ran for 30 hours straight by midnight on Friday. I am very pleased with the dry camping abilities so far. It was 101F at noon and we never broke a sweat, had plenty of water, and cold drinks. The only inconvenience for us has been stuck in the middle of nowhere for 1 1/2 days at a truck stop instead of being on the beach in P-cola with family as planned. 
SATURDAY at 8:00 am the tow truck driver showed up and realized the insurance company had misinformed him (intentionally he suspected). He told us that normally tow companies, his specifically, refuse RV jobs because of the extra work and liability but he wanted to see if he could do it. He said the insurance ompany was paying $625 for this one way tow. He did great for his first time! He was very patient and respectful and really did a thorough job. He had to disconnect the driv shaft and told me how he did it, showed me how the parts went together and commented on how the last mechanic did a good job of lubing as the u joints looked good and were thoroughly greased.
After a 15 mile tow to the nearest RV repair shop, where the coach was taken at the Northland agent suggestion, we discovered it’s going to be 2 months before they can even get to it!!!!
The agent is gonna freak when they look at rental car and hotel for that long because we are full timers. We lost a lot of frozen food on the freezer, and we are not excited about using laundromats again! I’m NOT trying to run up a bill on the insurance dime because that just raises rates for everyone including myself, but this is going to get really expensive before they even start working on the coach! I’m considering renting a coach for a couple of months and the agent loved that idea as it saved restaurants, hotels, and rental car bills. So far, none of the people we tried to contact on the web that were renting theirs out has contacted us back yet. We got the rental car Saturday morning and drove to P-cola and are staying with family for a few days, but that’s only temporary. 

[Jeff Ramey]

Picture

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Jeff,
We had a similar situation when we smaked ours up due to a tire failure. We were in NW PA and had no idea as to a good repair facility. Our ins co, Nationwide, recommended a shop in New Castle PA so after an 80 mile tow we arrived and spent the first 3 days running the generator and while we waited for the shop to do the estimate and get the ins OK. Since we have a stick house, we loaded most of our belongings into a trailer and headed back to AZ. It took the shop from Oct to Mar to complete the job with the majority of the time spent locating parts. However, they did a super job. We couldn't be more pleased with the results.
From your picture, it looks like the coach is livable. If the shop has power and water available, have you considered living in the coach while the repairs are done? As full timers, you wouldn't have the worry of pilferage, etc. If you are near the the TX/LA border, there's New Orleans, and Houstin areas for shopping, etc.
The ins co would probably pay for a sewer truck to come by when your tanks need dumping, etc.
Just some thoughts.
Good Luck, Steve

[Jeff Ramey]

That would be a better situation however, this shop is 5 hours away from our hometown where we have obligations. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to stay with the coach and ignore the promises and commitments we have to others back home. ☹️
I don’t know if we could stay in it anyway unless we run the generator 24/7 for electric. The power cord door and compartment were crushed and if we force it open, I don’t know that the cord will unreel or reel back in even. I have no idea of the state of the cord or connections at this point either. It was a good idea though. Maybe the insurance company will have it towed closer to our home in Texas. Then if we had the electric checked, we could stay as you suggested. But that would be a 2nd tow and about 4-5 hours of interstate travel to get there. 

[Jim Edwards]

Just to put some dollars on it. If you are looking at say 90 days to completion and what $150+ a night that's  $13,500 for the insurance company, excluding cost of the repair. I would think that they would be willing to tow almost anywhere if they can reduce the time to completion by a significant amount. I might also float the idea of having someone look at the coach to see if the wiring can be checked out so that you can stay in the coach or perhaps it can be made road worthy to get you up to Bend.  I tend to get a bit nervous when I have to pick repairs by distance not reputation. 

Just a thought.

[Jeff Ramey]

I feel like it just doesn't pay to be the nice guy sometimes.
I tried to make this as painless, efficient, and conservative as possible for the insurance company involved. I told them I could (and did) impose on family for a few days to keep reimbursable expenses down, I even had a family member get us a family discount for a 4 day stay that was deeply discounted over the areas normal rates. I only sent in 2 receipts from meals over the 5 day period, and was feeling happy that I was only moderately inconvenienced but being very accommodating for them. 
Well, apparently they were not at all impressed with my gracious and conservative efforts. I was repeatedly reminded that they didn't have to do any of this, and they would do so for a short time, but within a much more reserved limit.

Hmmm... Well, ok. So it doesn't pay to be the good guy. They don't appreciate it anyway, so now they get "matter of fact" gimme guy.

There is a legal obligation for "someone" to make me "whole" in the eyes of the law. That truck driver didn't hit just another passenger vehicle, it would be more accurate for them to think of it as he ran his tractor trailer through someone's bedroom and took out their kitchen and bathroom while he was at it.
"Someone" is on the hook for our temporary shelter, transportation, restaurant meals (no refrigerator, or kitchen available to store and prepare food), laundry expenses, etc., etc., etc.

Their attitude just ensured they will be maxing out their limits of liability on this claim now, and whatever is left we will be suing the truck driving company for...and our legal expenses of course.

I have an appointment on Tuesday with a local attorney. It's a shame it has to come to this, but when people try to get one over on you instead of just thanking you for being so understanding and accommodating, they bring it on themselves.

I could use some pointers on what to include in the conditions of repair from you guys. How to ensure that repairs aren't just cosmetic and underlying mechanical damage isn't being overlooked until I get down the road.

Additionally, have any of you had any experience in "loss of value" claims after an accident? Because the coach won't be worth as much now that it has been in an accident.

Thanks
Jeff

[Mike Shumack]

Are you working with your insurance company or the truckers'?

If your insurance, they will only accommodate you up your policy coverage (such as - if you don't have rental car reimbursement in your policy, you wont get a rental). However you can still get a rental car and pay for out of pocket then seek compensation (reimbursement) from the other insurance company at a later time.

Or you can deal with the Trucker's insurance company and tell them you would rather leave the attorney out (they would love to hear that) - if they are willing to pay for your "reasonable" living expenses, rental car, etc. If you go this route be sure the Insurance Co sends you everything you agreed to in writing, and you be sure save all your receipts as you would not get reimbursed until the very end (which could be a year or more). At the settlement time you could still hire an attorney if things are not going as agreed to.

IMHO

[Jim Edwards]

Hi, I guess I would ask what your insurance company has to say about this. In my experience (I had a short period where I got hit a lot) it my insurance company that did battle with the offending insurance company in that they were on the hook for unreimbursed covered expenses. But that may be just state law. I would start with them in that they have greater resources to apply and hopefully knowledge of applicable law. They are taking your premiums. If you can get their team of Lawyers on your side it will be more than you might be able to otherwise afford. Their insurance company should be more responsive to a party with deep pockets. I would also look into what benefits your insurance company should be paying to you. If your company has some liability in the game they will be more willing to go after their company.

Most towing insurance covers towing to a repair center that can do the work, I might also make the case that if they can't get to even look at your coach for 2 months that they are NOT able to do the repair and to get me to some one that can. 

Again just a thought not intended as legal advise.