Damaged Camper and Landing Gear-- Repaired--

[Bones]

Good evening all. I thought I would post this in hopes to help me understand if I have severe damage to my camper and should I be worried about the future of the camper. The camper is a Gateway 3650BH

I had sent the camper to the dealer ship for warranty repair work and it has been at their facility for the last three months. I recently this week went to pick it up and discovered that they, the dealership, had dropped my trailer flat on the landing gear. I don't know from how high but I am assuming that it was from several feet. They shoved the landing gear up in the coach anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 inches. They bent the tabs holding the gear, bent the bolts and ripped the welds from the framing members inside front area holding the landing gear tabs.
Upon further inspection of the coach I have a large dent inside the kitchen area under the refrigerator slide area. The vinyl floor has de-laminated in some sections I can hear it when I step. I hear the stickiness and My main sofa slide does not appear to be extending all the way.
My wife is very upset with this matter. I believe that she is going to be worried that the unit is no longer safe even after the repairs have been made. Are these concerns valid? Does any one with experience in this matter have any suggestions as to what I should do? I am worried about the long term affects this could have on the coach. I have attached a few pictures to show the landing gear damage.

 

[branson4020]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

Well, you certainly cannot trust the dealer who inflicted the damage to inspect the extent of the problems and estimate the repairs. Even if he is a very trustworthy dealer (AND IT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE IT) he has a built-in conflict of interest. You need to have this independently evaluated by someone working for you.

 

[BigJim45]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

Man....you have some serious damage their. Must have been at Camping World?

I would not accept that rig back with out an RV inspection being done and paid for by the dealer.
Also have this dealer throw in a extended warranty for at least 2 or more years.

 

[Bones]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

Man....you have some serious damage their. Must have been at Camping World?

I would not accept that rig back with out an RV inspection being done and paid for by the dealer.
Also have this dealer throw in a extended warranty for at least 2 or more years.

I'm not going to say who it was but it was not camping world. The dealer did accept that they damaged it after I had pointed it out to them

 

[Bones]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

Well, you certainly cannot trust the dealer who inflicted the damage to inspect the extent of the problems and estimate the repairs. Even if he is a very trustworthy dealer (AND IT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE IT) he has a built-in conflict of interest. You need to have this independently evaluated by someone working for you.

The wife and I have thought about this, however we are stuck in a catch 22 situation. If I remove the camper from their facility to be inspected, I have now taken possession of the camper and they may never take it back after I have done that. If I try to send an independent inspector to the facility, they have the right to refuse entry to that inspector as they see fit. I believe that the camper would have to go under a significant tear down for inspection to determine the extent of possible damage. I am unsure if they would actually do this. I have many concerns about frame work being bent, flooring damage, slide damage, belly tank damage, my sidewinder damage, plumbing damage and so forth. We don't even know where to start. All we have at this point in time is that they will repair the landing gear damage.

 

[Jim.Allison]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

You should file a claim with your insurance company. They will pay for the damage and seek to recover from those liable for the damage. Your insurance company is more experienced and more capable and they will collect once they are in touch with the dealers insurance company. Insurance companies do not haggle with each other, they know who is responsible for what, and rarely argue with one another because it is generally clear who is liable. Try it. It is covered under your comprehensive.

 

[Nabo]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

I would also contact Heartland directly with the pictures, & dealer information and the person who you were dealing with at the dealership. The question is when this happened, did the dealer contact you immediately? Or did they contact Heartland? This is something that Heartland Corporate office needs to know about on one of their dealership and might want to take action as well.

 

[marvmarcy]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

i heartily agree with Jim! File an insurance claim with your company and get an adjuster to look at it. If the cost to repair gets high enough, they may total it. Tell the adjuster where all you have found damage likely caused by dropping the rig. Dealerships often move rigs with slides extended, and this would account for damage to the slides and areas around the slides. Full tanks can be damaged by such a harsh impact. If the dealer won't allow outside inspection, get a lawyer to contact them; however, the dealer will likely comply with your insurance company requests.

My previous fiver was rear-ended by a big Silver Eagle bus on I-70 just west of St. Louis several years ago. The impact was hard enough to cave in the whole front of the bus. The damage to my rig didn't look too bad, but close inspection indcated serious hidden problems. I walked the adjuster through it all, and he admitted he hadn't seen much of what I pointed out. He fully agreed the fiver should be totaled. Unfortunately it wasn't insured for what it was worth. My LM is insured for full replacement for five years - lesson learned.

 

[Bones]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

You should file a claim with your insurance company. They will pay for the damage and seek to recover from those liable for the damage. Your insurance company is more experienced and more capable and they will collect once they are in touch with the dealers insurance company. Insurance companies do not haggle with each other, they know who is responsible for what, and rarely argue with one another because it is generally clear who is liable. Try it. It is covered under your comprehensive.

I did this already and the insurance company refers back to the dealer to determine what is wrong. Then I would be stuck paying the insurance company my deductibles. At this point in time because the dealership stated they would repair the damage the claim will be closed. No go there.

 

[Bones]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

I would also contact Heartland directly with the pictures, & dealer information and the person who you were dealing with at the dealership. The question is when this happened, did the dealer contact you immediately? Or did they contact Heartland? This is something that Heartland Corporate office needs to know about on one of their dealership and might want to take action as well.

I plan on contacting them to see if there could be any other damage to the RV, that they may suggest looking at. The dealer did not disclose that the trailer was dropped. It was only owned up to when I stated to them directly, you dropped my trailer. At that point they owned up to the trailer being dropped.

 

[Bones]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

i heartily agree with Jim! File an insurance claim with your company and get an adjuster to look at it. If the cost to repair gets high enough, they may total it. Tell the adjuster where all you have found damage likely caused by dropping the rig. Dealerships often move rigs with slides extended, and this would account for damage to the slides and areas around the slides. Full tanks can be damaged by such a harsh impact. If the dealer won't allow outside inspection, get a lawyer to contact them; however, the dealer will likely comply with your insurance company requests.

My previous fiver was rear-ended by a big Silver Eagle bus on I-70 just west of St. Louis several years ago. The impact was hard enough to cave in the whole front of the bus. The damage to my rig didn't look too bad, but close inspection indcated serious hidden problems. I walked the adjuster through it all, and he admitted he hadn't seen much of what I pointed out. He fully agreed the fiver should be totaled. Unfortunately it wasn't insured for what it was worth. My LM is insured for full replacement for five years - lesson learned.

I wish it was that simple. If I decide to file the claim I will have to pay my deductible and they still will not send an adjuster to inspect the rig. They rely on the dealership to do that. In order to do that I would be required to remove the fifth wheel from the dealership and take possession. It is the hidden damage that I can't see that I am worried about.

 

[Jim.Allison]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

I dont have a deductible on comprehensive, in addition, when your insurance company recovers the money they will forward your deductible back to you. And I guarantee your deductible is less than an attorney, and I guarantee that this dealer will do as little as possible to repair your rig. Let your insurance company get into this and collect for you, you will come out miles ahead. You already pay for this feature of your policy, use it.

I wish it was that simple. If I decide to file the claim I will have to pay my deductible and they still will not send an adjuster to inspect the rig. They rely on the dealership to do that. In order to do that I would be required to remove the fifth wheel from the dealership and take possession. It is the hidden damage that I can't see that I am worried about.

 

[danemayer]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

I wish it was that simple. If I decide to file the claim I will have to pay my deductible and they still will not send an adjuster to inspect the rig. They rely on the dealership to do that. In order to do that I would be required to remove the fifth wheel from the dealership and take possession. It is the hidden damage that I can't see that I am worried about.

I'm not sure why you think the insurance company wouldn't send an adjuster. Insurance companies typically start by using their own adjusters to evaluate damage and cost of repair and then allow you to pick any qualified repair shop. Once the repair shop starts work, if they find additional issues they can file a supplemental request to the insurance company.

You didn't mention how big the comprehensive deductible is, but even if it's $1,000, wouldn't it be worth that to get things right and have peace of mind. And since the dealer is responsible, you could probably recover the deductible from the dealer.

You should call your insurance company and at least find out exactly what their process is. You don't have to actually open a claim to get answers.

 

[branson4020]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

I agree with Jim. You have the right to have your rig repaired wherever you want. Find a repair facility you can trust and tell your insurance company where you are taking it, but get it away from the dealer that damaged your rig and then tried to cheat you by not telling you about it.

 

[Bones]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

I'm not sure why you think the insurance company wouldn't send an adjuster. Insurance companies typically start by using their own adjusters to evaluate damage and cost of repair and then allow you to pick any qualified repair shop. Once the repair shop starts work, if they find additional issues they can file a supplemental request to the insurance company.

You didn't mention how big the comprehensive deductible is, but even if it's $1,000, wouldn't it be worth that to get things right and have peace of mind. And since the dealer is responsible, you could probably recover the deductible from the dealer.

You should call your insurance company and at least find out exactly what their process is. You don't have to actually open a claim to get answers.

I did call the insurance company and they forced me to open a claim. The told me very frankly they will not send any adjuster. My vehicle is considered a specialty vehicle. We were in the process of moving insurance companies but we have not had enough time to do that yet. Now we are between a rock and a hard place. This is day number two since the incident came to my attention. Our deductible is 1k. We haven't even owned this unit for 6 months yet and it has spent half of that in the shop. I gave them a new unit now I'm getting a Used damaged unit back.

 

[Jim.Allison]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

They have to open the claim to begin the process, but no worries a comprehensive claim is not the same as a collision claim or liability claim. It takes a lot of comprehensive claims to affect your policy. As far a changing companies you are free to do so as it is not linked to anything but the date of the incident. Personally, I would continue to do business with this same company until this problem is resolved.

If they are not going to send an adjuster then you need to get another dealer/opinion to estimate the damage other than this one, you need an expert in your corner no matter what. But my suggestion is to freeze everything where it is now untill you know when and how its going to be repaired or how you are going be compensated. This is a reasonable position for you to take.

Do not think for one minute that your insurance company is not going to collect for these damages for you after they approve your claim. The actual claims office will determine if they will send an adjuster or expert, the person who took the call is only giving an educated opinion. good luck

I did call the insurance company and they forced me to open a claim. The told me very frankly they will not send any adjuster. My vehicle is considered a specialty vehicle. We were in the process of moving insurance companies but we have not had enough time to do that yet. Now we are between a rock and a hard place. This is day number two since the incident came to my attention. Our deductible is 1k. We haven't even owned this unit for 6 months yet and it has spent half of that in the shop. I gave them a new unit now I'm getting a Used damaged unit back.

 

[dbbls59]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

You should file a claim with your insurance company. They will pay for the damage and seek to recover from those liable for the damage. Your insurance company is more experienced and more capable and they will collect once they are in touch with the dealers insurance company. Insurance companies do not haggle with each other, they know who is responsible for what, and rarely argue with one another because it is generally clear who is liable. Try it. It is covered under your comprehensive.

I agree totally with this statement.

 

[Bones]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

They have to open the claim to begin the process, but no worries a comprehensive claim is not the same as a collision claim or liability claim. It takes a lot of comprehensive claims to affect your policy. As far a changing companies you are free to do so as it is not linked to anything but the date of the incident. Personally, I would continue to do business with this same company until this problem is resolved.

If they are not going to send an adjuster then you need to get another dealer/opinion to estimate the damage other than this one, you need an expert in your corner no matter what. But my suggestion is to freeze everything where it is now untill you know when and how its going to be repaired or how you are going be compensated. This is a reasonable position for you to take.

Do not think for one minute that your insurance company is not going to collect for these damages for you after they approve your claim. The actual claims office will determine if they will send an adjuster or expert, the person who took the call is only giving an educated opinion. good luck

I agree I need to wait until I hear from them. I just not sure if I am out of line by wanting the whole rig inspected, by pulling coverings from the under carriage and possibly pulling the slides out that I have mentioned could have been damaged. I believe that the rig saw a tremendous amount of stress from that fall to jamb and bend the landing gear like it did.

 

[DocFather]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

I agree I need to wait until I hear from them. I just not sure if I am out of line by wanting the whole rig inspected, by pulling coverings from the under carriage and possibly pulling the slides out that I have mentioned could have been damaged. I believe that the rig saw a tremendous amount of stress from that fall to jamb and bend the landing gear like it did.

Absolutely not! In fact, if it was me, I am not sure that I would even settle to take the same rig home, EVER.**** Demand that in-depth inspection and then a 5-year warranty on the soundness of the structure. If this was an airplane, and it was damaged in the exact same way, the FAA would not even issue an airworthiness certificate without certified inspections.

(Edit): The more I think about it, it is quite possible that the NTSB should be notified just as if it were in a collision on a highway. It is quite possible that they would even "total" it as being unsafe for operation.

 

[sengli]

Re: Damaged Camper and Landing Gear

Alot of dealers move coaches around their yards with fork trucks, with an adapter on the forks for a fifth wheel hitch. If they didnt get hitch mechanism locked, and it fell from 3-5 feet with the slides extended, wow there could be more hidden damage on the slides. They arent built to take that much force, from a drop like that. Wow that is tuff.
When we bought our rig new, the guy running the fork truck broke our entry stairs, because he left them extended... and ran them into another parked trailer, while he was moving ours.