Accident

TeJay

Well-known member
I don't know if this is the place to post but it can be moved if necessary. This is not a post that I ever expected to write. I'm writing it because when things like this happen very few people know exactly what to do and you feel completely helpless. Maybe posting this will help others who may end up in this situation. We were headed home after a few weeks of camping. We got off to fuel up. The service area for gas is not a large as the diesel area so after filling we proceeded through the gas pump area and into the diesel trucking area. I proceeded slowly and cautiously as always. We were doing a CCW turn to exit the same way as the semi's. We went around two parked semi's about 15-20 feet away from the front of their rigs when a dump truck traveling to fast for the area and smashed into the front left corner of our trailer and slid down the side to just behind the rear tires. The entire frame is pushed back because neither set of stairs on the opposite side will pull out. I'm 99% sure that it is totaled. My wife saw the truck and noticed that the driver was turned to his left checking for traffic coming from that direction. His grandson shouted but there was not enough time.

Here we are 600 miles from home, 100 degrees, dog, cat, frozen food, wife and a camper full of clothes, and assorted gear what do you do???? We don't have much experience with things like this. Who does???? It's a really helpless, confusing, frustrating feeling. The police were called. It's private property so no accident report just information about both parties. I called my insurance agent and he was not exactly sure how to proceed either. He said, "I can start a claim from this end if you want." How was I to know the best way to handle this??? I was hoping he would advise me as to the best approach. The camper was drivable because I eventually moved it about 1/4 of a mile to a locked storage area. The slide would not move and we had stuff loaded into drawers that we could not get to. What do you do ???? I told the claims agent that I may have to break the slide wall more to get to the stuff behind that wall. She said to just take pictures. The accident happened about 11:30 AM and by 1 or 2 the claims office called. My insurance agent told me to keep receipts for expenses, motel etc. A truck salvage yard down the street was kind enough to allow us to tow and store the camper in their yard. After the dust settled we got a motel room with a full sized fridge so we could store our frozen stuff. We got plastic totes and coolers and instead of renting a U-Haul we decided to pack everything into the truck the next morning while it was cooler.
Later the first afternoon the agent sent me information (e-mail) to get onto a secure sight. I was advised and sent 31 pictures with a narrative for each picture plus information concerning some things that we did. We took the original mattress out and put in our air mattress. I didn't want them to think I stole it. About mid morning on the day after the accident we were just finishing loading all of our stuff and the agent called and said that the claims inspector would not be there until Monday. We left the keys at the yard and proceeded home the following day.

I just read our insurance policy and still don't know answers to these questions. Will I be reimbursed for the following: I replaced the china bombs with new tires. Labor for installing all new wheel bearings. I still don't trust china's quality control. We had a surge guard installed. The plastic commode was replaced. What about all the extra time we spent removing our stuff and eventually having to put it all back into a new camper. What about pain and suffering?????? There's nothing in the insurance policy about any of that stuff.

Here's the good part. The driver of the truck admitted to me, my wife, the police and to my insurance company that he had his head turned and did not see us until his grandson shouted. My insurance company has already determined that he was at fault.
Nobody was hurt including the animals but it was a very difficult time.

TeJay
 

MurrayN.

Well-known member
Sorry to hear about your accident TeJay. Thank God that you and your family were not hurt. Things can be replaced but people cannot. I think that you did about as much as you could have done in your situation, and luckily you have an admission of fault from the other driver. As far as your upgrades to your trailer I would guess that you would be out for all of that as generally insurance companies only look at black book values for stock units. Best of luck with the whole process.
 

PeternLiane

Well-known member
Sad to hear about your accident. Just glad that you guys are okay. It sounds like you did everything right. Please let us know what happens. This might be a very good topic for the newsletter.
 

TandT

Founding Utah Chapter Leaders-Retired
Wow. I definitely feel bad for you guys.

You painted a vivid picture and raised a lot of questions I had never really thought about.
As others have said, thank God no one was hurt.
I know it seems grim right now, but most items can be replaced.

Best of luck with the whole process going forward. Trace
 
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danemayer

Well-known member
Tejay, this is terrible. You and your family must be sick at heart, but I'm glad no one was injured.

Check the terms of your collision insurance and ask your claims adjuster about coordination of your collision and contents coverage with the other guy's liability insurance. It very likely your collision policy will cover much more than the other guy's liability insurance. Many RV policies cover full replacement cost (which is more than the "actual cash value" that liability policies would cover).

To simplify things for you, your insurer may be able to pay you for the full loss, less deductible for the collision coverage, and recover from the other guy's liability insurer. You might also get the deductible back when the other guy's liability insurance pays.
 

lduguay

Past North Carolina Chapter Leader
DO DOCUMENT all of your upgrades for both insurance companies!

My wifes vehicle (not RV) was hit and totaled by a driver that was not paying attention and his insurance company DID add value ($$$) for a hitch I had added for carrying bikes.

You may be outta luck on the tires/bearings as they are part of "normal" maintenance. Pain & suffering is paid due to injury and thank the good Lord that is not an issue, but if you missed work days due to the "trip interruption", make sure the insurance companies know it! Of course keep all receipts for meals, hotel and storage.

We pray this process goes a smooth as possible for you and your family!
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Tejay, so sorry to hear about the accident. Thankfully you're all safe & sound and in one piece. It looks as though others have given you good advice regarding the insurance. It also seems you did everything you could regarding the handling of the situation. You're right though, it's not something we plan for but just have to do the best we can. I think you did good!
 

jpdoggett

Well-known member
Tejay: Like everyone else thank God you are all ok, and as you have done take photo's and all the documentation you can get. And it sounds like you have done a good job of that hope everything goes ok with the repair or replacement
 

Sandpirate69

Well-known member
Tejay,

Like everyone here has said, the most important point is you & your family is OK. As far as the accident, I would look into a competent attorney. The insurance company will NOT be looking out for you. They are about how little they can payout. So be careful when speaking to the insurance company.
Just my 2 cents.
 

Hastey

Oklahoma Chapter Leaders
If your tires are new and you have other upgrades that you may want. Ask whichever insurance company is covering it what you can buy it back for. I know folks who have totaled vehicles and have purchased them back after the settlement for a little of nothing take what you want and sell the rest to scrap. You have several hundred dollars worth of used RV equipment that you could use or sell. Frig, Stove, Microwave, AC units, power converter, HW heater, etc.
 

porthole

Retired
Sorry to hear about this, sure does ruin the summer.

Just an FYI for all. At least in New Jersey it is very common to head LEO tell you no reports are written because it is private property.
That is BS. No report because the officer is too lazy to wright one.

We can demand the officer right a report. How else will have have a record of the events?
If your house had a car run into it there would be a "private property report.

As others have mentioned document everything and "push" for the extras, you may be oput of luck and your best resource there is to go remove the extras, as your trailer will most likely be totaled.
600 miles from home though ,where do you draw the line?

Some thoughts.
Years ago my wife's car was crushed by a fallen tree ( the only property damage in a 32 mile square town during Hurricane Hugo).
At 50K miles the car had a somewhat reduced value. I had just replaced the engine and trans under warranty and pushed that really hard, I got an extra $1000 on the vehicle. Which coincidentally covered my $500 deductibles for two cars (my Jeep was hit too, but only minor damage).

My Cyclone. My policy is replacement value. When I got the insurance I documented and have included in the trailers value, all the factory options (just about everything available) and the extra almost $6K for the MOR/ryde IS suspension, pin box and disc brake conversion.

I have 17.5" tires and wheels. If anything happened to the trailer I still have the originals that would go back on. Only thing I don't have added on is the Level Up, and I never thought about that until today.

With all luck, your camping season will be shortened, but now you get to get the same traielr if you really liked it or move up.

New Jersey is a "no fault" state. You would have been probably 25% at fault by virtue of being in the parking lot. Just adds to the frustration here.
 

Willym

Well-known member
Tejay, thanks for taking the time to let us know about your accident. It is good information for all of us. You seem to have handled it very well, and although you were fortunate to have no physical injuries, I suspect that the stress has taken its toll on you. I hope that your future dealings with your insurance are not too difficult. Keep us informed on how things go if you can.
 

TeJay

Well-known member
Thanks to all for the kind words, prayers and advice. Yes the primary reason I mentioned this is so that others may benefit. None of us ever plans for the actual happening of an event like this but talking about what we went through and how we handled it might give others a heads-up for the future. If we are responsible individuals we get insurance and when we need to use it the wording in the contract and sometimes the company tries to keep us in the dark. I read the policy twice and the best I can figure out is what is NOT covered by the policy. We should hear from insurance by the end of the week or the first of next week. I will keep all posted as it unfolds.

Thanks again,
TeJay
 

FordMan1966

Well-known member
Glad everyone is ok. This does ruin your trip. My parents were camping in Pigeon Forge a few weekends ago and mom had gone into the the Office to check in and my dad and daughter were sitting in the truck with the TT behind them and a 17 year old girl that was TEXTING made a U-Turn in the campground and hit there TT right in the side of the Bedroom Slideout. It did not break the fiberglas it only rolled the Aluminum on the bottom of the camper up under it. Parts are ordered to repair.
 

SouthernNights

Past South Carolina Chapter Leader
Tejay, so sorry to hear about the accident. Thankfully you're all safe & sound and in one piece. It looks as though others have given you good advice regarding the insurance. It also seems you did everything you could regarding the handling of the situation. You're right though, it's not something we plan for but just have to do the best we can. I think you did good!


Exactly what Ray said. So sorry this happened but thankful you guys are physically all right.
 

Sandie

Well-known member
So sorry that this happened to you but am thankful no one was hurt. What a bummer!!!!
 

2psnapod1

Texas-South Chapter Leader-Retired
Wow! So sorry for such a huge 'mess' to have to deal with but certainly glad that no one was hurt! Once you get all the insurance mess sorted out (and I'm sure it will all sort itself out to your benefit!) you can look at the bright side and think of the fun you'll have replacing the old camper! (always gotta look for the bright side!) Good luck and best wishes!
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
We carry insurance that allows us to pick the replacement value. Any number up to the original purchase price. We start with that number and slowly drop it over the years. If you just have replacement value you will get the average of 2-3 coaches that the insurance find on lots or listed price from the blue book. Sure to bad and can really feel your frustration. Our neighbors had their Montana broad sided by a trucker talking on his phone and ran a red light. The got replacement value.
 

bighorn3370

Well-known member
Sorry for your loss. As others have said, it's good to hear no one was injured. Could you have towed the trailer home? If you could have towed the trailer home safely, I would have brought it home. It makes it a lot easier to remove your belongings and extras that you put on the trailer. I hope your insurance makes you whole again so your family can enjoy camping. Ernie
 

Westwind

Well-known member
TeJay - So sorry to hear of your accident, glad that none of your family was hurt. Keep us posted, your experience good and bad will help the rest of us should we be so unfortunate to be subject to what you are going though right now. The only thing I can say is take your time and think things through. Don't sign off on anything quickly, insurance companies love to get us to sign off on their low ball estimate of the value of our vehicles.
 
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