Need a little advice. My wife and I have a 2008 Bighorn 3370RL and we love it. I recently damaged our RV; came too close to a roof overhang. Most damage was cosmetic: broke flood light,scratched gel coat (about 10' scratch), damaged rain gutter. However I also put 5 small tears in the roof membrane. These tears are on the side just above where the roof membrane tucks in behind the rain gutter. I had a friend, who installs rubber roof commercially patch these tears until I could have everything attended to. He used round white patches that he tucked behind the rain gutter. Not a perfect match but they don't look too bad. I have RV insurance that will cover this damage. I was going to have a local RV dealer with a good reputation do this work. I bought the Bighorn 10 hours away. I had thought that I would leave the roof as patched and have the rest fixed. The local dealer advised that I have the roof membrane replaced also, saying that I had significantly impacted the value of my RV. He said any patch in the roof membrane would have this affect. He said that it was of course my decision. Two questions then for those that might have experience with such things: 1. How significantly have I impacted my Bighorn's value? We love it and have no intentions of trading or selling. But, who knows 5 or 6 years down the road. 2. With a total repair cost of over $7,000 (The roof membrane being by far the greatest part of this.); how much will this impact my renewal rate? I'm in my third year with this insurance co. No other claims to date. Any help much appreciated. Sue, Doug Hoeffner 2008 Bighorn 3370RL 2008 Chevy Silverado 2500 4WD Duramax
RV Insurance - to use or not to use in this accident case
jmgratz
Original Owners Club Member
My opinion:
1. If you have a claim on your insurance no matter how big or small you will run the risk of them (insurance company) raising your rate, canceling your coverage, or refusing to renew your coverage.
2. If you file a claim to repair the damages you run the risk of #1 above. My thinking is claim everything that was damaged (including the roof) because of #1.
3. It doesn't matter if your roof is patched or brand new the trade in (if you keep your rig in decent shape) will be the wholesale book price. When I did the last trade the dealer made the deal sight unseen and stuck to the price even when he did see the RV.
4. I had several small tears on my last RV when I traded and the dealer did not care even when I pointed it out to him because they were patched professionally and looked okay.
5. I had a claim due to damage caused by a blowout and my rates went up.
Now you have my 2 cents worth and like I said ... Just my opinion.
1. If you have a claim on your insurance no matter how big or small you will run the risk of them (insurance company) raising your rate, canceling your coverage, or refusing to renew your coverage.
2. If you file a claim to repair the damages you run the risk of #1 above. My thinking is claim everything that was damaged (including the roof) because of #1.
3. It doesn't matter if your roof is patched or brand new the trade in (if you keep your rig in decent shape) will be the wholesale book price. When I did the last trade the dealer made the deal sight unseen and stuck to the price even when he did see the RV.
4. I had several small tears on my last RV when I traded and the dealer did not care even when I pointed it out to him because they were patched professionally and looked okay.
5. I had a claim due to damage caused by a blowout and my rates went up.
Now you have my 2 cents worth and like I said ... Just my opinion.
If your plan is to keep for several years then trade it in on a new unit, I agree the patch shouldn't have any bearing on the trade in value. However if you are going to try and sell to a private party they may not been as willing to accept a damaged roof regardless of the repair.
