accident, now what?

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campito

Advanced Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2020
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64
Location
Bishop
I was in an accident yesterday going into Death Valley. Going around a curve a truck was on my side and clipped me. CHP said the guys tire hit me and no damage to his tire or truck, and look what it did to me.

I assume my truck is a total. A sweet 2006 Tundra V8 with 103k miles. I would take it anywhere anytime, not replaceable.

Truck and camper were towed to Lone Pine. I live in Bishop.

Any creative ideas on what I do with camper?
- there is some damage, how that happened I have no idea. CHP guy had no interest, kept insisting I was only hit by the guys tire.
- how do I get it off truck? My jacks are in southern Calif
- once off the truck I could store in Bishop, but would like to get it checked out for structural damage/repaired

what a mess
 

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Wow, glad you are okay! The camper has obvious damage. I expect you had a full water tank in that corner and it moved around in the crash. Was your camper covered by insurance?
 
That really stinks! However, I'm glad you are okay. There may be someone with an FWC who lives in Bishop, Mammoth, or Lone Pine with jacks who can help you get the camper off. Are you a member of the FWC Facebook group? If so, I would post there and see if anyone responds. If you aren't a member, I would be happy to post for you.
 
Looks like the camper jack bracket was hit by something(maybe the other trucks mirror). I would check out the integrity of the bracket before using it, mounting screws might be pulled out of the frame. I don't think the water tank would damage the camper that high up. If it was the other trucks tire, it must have been sticking out from the fender housing quite a bit.
 
Looks to me like whatever took out your drivers side mirror hit your camper. Did you take your own photos of both vehicles and the general area of the collision? What did the other vehicle look like damage wise, I have a hard time understanding no damage to the other truck, gotta at least be some scrapes.
 
Wow that is scary! Glad you are OK. But I also would bet that you got clipped by the trucks mirrors. I’m sure if you looked at the truck you could tell. There is damage don’t let them get away with it.
 
Glad you are ok. By the damage (and lack of damage on their part) I assume you were hit by a semi-truck

Hire a flat bed tow truck to pull the camper off your totaled rig. They will have to slide it but if they are careful it shouldn't do much damage. Then have them take the camper to FWC or nearby dealer. Their insurance should be paying for that or if they are not insured then your insurance should be covering it.

That camper took a significant impact and probably has a lot of broken/cracked welds all over. I imagine they will have to take all the siding off to inspect for damage.

For reference on the amount of force needed to do that much damage. I was run off the road in Utah and hit a sign pole in the ditch at 50 mph. It destroyed my rear view mirror and only put about a half inch deep by 2" wide by 8" tall dent in the corner of the camper. Then the sign post proceeded destroy the entire side of my bed. These campers are stout units. The damage on yours is far more extensive than that. I am shocked that none of your turnbuckles broke or ripped out.
 
If you don't think the jack bracket will work on the
drivers side try to get the tri pod jacks one on each
side around the middle of the camper.
Or a fork lift.
Hope this works out without many problems.
Use your insurance people to do get this right.
After all that's what you pay them for.
Frank
 
Hello campito
Looking at the edge of the bracket which is attached to the camper, I would except to see black rubber marks from the tire not the metal on metal where the paint is removed. In all honesty I see no tire rubber marks on your vehicle at all.

These reports generated by LEO are available for free to the insurance agencies. ( at least here in NV they are) Maybe you could enquirer to get a copy.
If the CHP officer is a seasoned officer this might be irrelevant, however if a younger officer, what experience in accident investigation does he/she have?

IMO you need to be an advocate for yourself. Are there any witnesses? What is the driving record of the other driver? How can you provide evidence the other vehicle crossed into your lane of travel?

Russ
 
good luck, and glad you are ok. i suspect this was a larger vehicle with large tires, which protude when they are turned. the other drivers insurance should take care of, but i agree to let your insurance get after them, as they know the drill. its cheaper for them to make a few calls, or write letters, than having to take the accident on their policy.
hopefully it was not a government vehicle - when my daughter was in college in socal, she was a passenger in a small car in the angeles forest, and a natl forest truck went wide on a corner and plowed into them . she made it out ok, physically, but her friend, the driver didnt make it. the forest service, dept of agriculture dragged that settlement out for as long as they could, and at the end of the day she really only recovered a few K .
 
thanks all. after the fact I kick myself for not walking back to the truck that hit me, and it was a big truck. Flatbed carrying a car. CHP said he should not have been on that segment of road. I was stuck in the middle of the road, in a curve, and didn't feel comfortable walking the few curves back where he was parked. Once the CHP was there he didn't want me walking around. It was a pretty dangerous area without much space on either side. It was also 34 degrees and raining, so I was pretty cold for the 3 hrs this took. So I have no info, my own pictures of his truck, etc.

I talked to my adjuster today and she really seemed on the ball, so I think they will represent me well. And bottom line, other than a bloody knuckle from air bag, I'm ok.

I also got a private message through WTW from someone who has jacks and a truck just like mine in Bishop and has offered to help. How cool is that!
 
goinoregon said:
when my daughter was in college in socal, she was a passenger in a small car in the angeles forest, and a natl forest truck went wide on a corner and plowed into them . she made it out ok, physically, but her friend, the driver didnt make it. the forest service, dept of agriculture dragged that settlement out for as long as they could, and at the end of the day she really only recovered a few K .
Click to expand...
What a terrible experience for your daughter. And, speaking from long experience, the USFS approach to the incident does not surprise me. The lawyers push the supervisors and the operators out of the way instantly, and regardless of what the supervisors and operators thought the right thing to do was, they never came near the incident again, I imagine. Lawyers are a curse. Fed gov lawyers may be among the worst. I hope your daughter is not too plagued by the incident. Best wishes.
 
Sorry to hear about the accident but so happy to hear a local has the jacks for you. Good luck with insurance.
 
Glad you all are OK! I would contact your Insurance ASAP get them and their team involved. I don't imagine they want to pay for damage done by another. The Four Wheel Camper FB group can help and I'm pretty sure Stan monitors it. They may be able to help or give good advice. I know it's probably bad timing to ask but I'd be interested in knowing what your Insurance says too. It's in the back of my mind that I may not be properly covered :(
 
Seems there could be 3 areas of damage
- the obvious impact dent and what it may have done inside the camper
- did the impact do anything to the structure
- did the impact do anything to the tie down points in the camper and truck

I'll provide an update as I learn more
 
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