Truck rolled back, major damage and lots of questions

[srileo]

Hello all,
Reporting a sad incident. Yesterday, my truck camper rolled back on a SanFrancisco incline without me in it, and went over a curb into a park and was stopped by a tree 20 feet downhill. The truck bed is twisted bad, axle whacked out, rear leaf spring broken. Miraculously for a San Francisco street, no one was hurt, no property damage other than a young tree that valiantly stopped the roll. The FWC camper itself seems fine except for a busted door. All 4 hooks gave away. (more on that later).

The truck has been recovered and safely towed away. Insurance has been notified, but no one has called me back yet.

Here is the situations:

1. The camper is still on the truck securely now - i reattached the tie down hooks. However, nothing can be done to the truck without taking the camper off. Whether the truck gets totaled or goes in for repair, the camper needs to come off. And therein lies the rub -can any average auto body shop get the camper off and store it while they repair the truck ?(san francisco space is premium). Thoughts?
2. I am thinking of having the truck+camper towed to FWC in Woodland (about 90 miles from here), and have them take off the camper for repair and storage while the fate of the truck is decided.
3. I do not have camper jacks - and do not want to buy them right now for this occasion. Even if i did, we don’t have space around the house to store the camper.
4. I do not have a spare truck or the intention to buy one to put the camper in. If the truck is totaled, most likely, we will repair the little damage on the camper and sell it off.

Somethings that I don’t know enough about:

1. Both the truck and camper have Progressive insurance with collision - but I do not know whether the same adjuster can decide about the truck and the camper. Thoughts?
2. Has anyone been in a situation like this?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

EEEEK, not fun at all! Sorry that happened to you.

Maybe a local FWC owner could loan you a set of jacks to get the camper off the truck if you leave it in SF. My best guess is to go with your instinct to have it all towed to Woodland, and if possible have a local shop there do the truck repair if it's not totaled.

Best of luck!!!

Steve

 

[Bseek]

Wow, so sorry. I like the idea of borrowing jacks since most of us don't travel with them on. But I live in Sonora, too far away to offer. But if that works you are welcome to them.

 

[northshorehenry]

I'm in Canada but would have loaded you the jacks in a heart beat. I'm sure someone local would help you with that. Best of luck.


Sent from my iPad using Wander The West

 

[craig333]

Ouch, that sucks. I had a truck with camper (not an FWC) that rolled away on me. Sucked big time. You'd be welcome to borrow my jacks if you're coming through Sacramento. I think Woodland may be your best option.

 

[cerve137]

I wouldn't trust the camper with a local body shop as they will just not care that much about it. Spendy as it may be, I think getting it to woodland would be the best bet as they will actually show the camper some love. Sorry to hear about it though and best of luck with it.

 

[srileo]

Ouch, that sucks. I had a truck with camper (not an FWC) that rolled away on me. Sucked big time. You'd be welcome to borrow my jacks if you're coming through Sacramento. I think Woodland may be your best option.

Craig, PM sent.

 

[RicoV]

We're really sorry to hear about your Titey, srileo. I agree with others that the Woodland option seems like a good avenue to pursue. Best of luck getting everything resolved to your satisfaction.
Rico

 

[ski3pin]

Wow, glad no one was hurt and no other property damage. I can understand all of your questions and concerns about how all this will play out. Sure hope it goes much easier then you might imagine. Best of luck and please keep us informed on the outcome.

 

[JaSAn]

Bummer! The good news is that no one was injured, stuff can be replaced.

I agree that getting it to FWC would be your best option. If not, renting cable jacks might be an option.

jim

 

[Squatch]

I think you'll find buying jacks is cheaper than towing. Back in Sept I had my FWC on a trailer as my pickup is still getting built. On the way home from the from vacation in the Outer Banks I stopped for gas outside of Richmond and the truck would not restart. I was convinced I had gotten bad gas.5:30 on a Saturday evening. I found a towing company that could take the truck and tow the trailer at the same time and got towed home to north of Baltimore. 167 miles. It cost me near $1,200!! Towing Ain't cheap.

Hopefully another FWC owner nearby can help you out with jacks ect.

It's also a good reminder to everyone to always set the parking brake. The parking pawl inside an auto transmission is not really that strong. I just retired from the phone company. If we had ever parked a heavy truck anywhere without using wheel chocks it was grounds for disiplineary action. Not a bad Idea with our campers. (This is just a safety reminder and not a job at the OP)

Sorry for your woes and so glad no one was hurt. Let us know how it works out.

 

[srileo]

Thanks all for your support and kind words. Story so far:

1) Got a $600 quote from FWC to send someone out 90 miles and have them take the camper off and take it back to Woodland.
2) AAA has no problem taking my broken truck and camper for up to 200 miles free. However, the a$$holes at the tow company will not release my vehicle from their lot, even though they have my insurance info.
3) Towing company billed $2200 for the recovery tow I nearly lost it! No wonder they were so eager in advising me to let insurance handle it all. Oh, and they want $85 per day for storage. And no, they will not let me enter their lot to put some duct tape over the smashed door to prevent water damage.
4) Finally, at the end of day Progressive insurance called me and i had a very reassuring talk: 1) They will pay for recovery+tow 2) My deductible covers all the damages to truck and camper 3) They will move the truck to a safer and cheaper place at their facility while they send out appraisers separately to appraise damage to truck and camper. No charge to me while all this is happening at their end.
5) Camper transport: they said to wait until appraisal before thinking of transporting anywhere. They can also have the repair to camper done at a closer facility.
6) From the sound of it, the truck might be write-off. Which might mean I might have to kiss the whole truck-camper thing goodbye.

Well, I am glad I listened to my wife and got the best insurance coverage possible. Thats all for now.

 

[ntsqd]

Sorry to hear of this.

I've only ever met one tow yard that I thought wasn't a crook. I never let them store anything of mine. If you didn't sign anything giving them the right to keep you away from your vehicle I'd demand access. Shenanigans like that really make me livid!

I'd be more inclined to borrow or buy some jacks and store the camper in a local RV storage area unless there are other reasons for it to go to Woodland. If we weren't 300+ miles away I'd be happy to loan you ours.

 

[craig333]

Glad you have AAA. I just renewed. I concur, something about tow yards/impound lots seem to nothing short of criminal. Good to hear your insurance company isn't giving you a hard time.

 

[Old Crow]

5) Camper transport: they said to wait until appraisal before thinking of transporting anywhere. They can also have the repair to camper done at a closer facility.

As close as you are to the factory, I'd be leary of any non-FWC repair.

I'd want a factory-level, not an RV-dealer-level repair and a thorough check out of the camper and its systems. I'd be concerned what happens if it turns out there's hidden damage--- like a tweaked frame, misaligned roof, damage to the plywood around the tie-down bolts or to the stapled plywood-to-plywood joint in that area, etc.

I'd think FWC would have an interest in being sure the camper's right while the RV dealer would only be interested in fixing what the adjuster says needs work.

Good luck!
-OC

 

[newtofwc]

In these situations does it pay to call the insurance first with regards to towing and storage, or are you basically left to make a decision on the spot?

Hope the insurance helps take the pain out of some of this for you.

 

[Squatch]

My situation was different than the OP's. No damage just stuck away from home. Most insurance policies have enough towing to get you to the closest repair facility. I made a decision to get towed. The tow truck driver who was very profesional in my case reminded me of the insurance. I paid the bill with a card when we arrived home. I called the 1st of the week and spoke with my agent. He fought for me and due to circumstances they paid abut twice the norm. It didn't even cover 1/2 the bill but some is better than nothing. Doesn't hurt that I've been with them since '84 without a claim. I reminded them of that.

If you pay for it thay will take you wherever you want. In my case I have a home shop and I built the vehicle. Doesn't do me any good to have it sitting in an impound yard.

In the Op's case where it was an actual accident and they were waiting for payment. They will likely tow it to their impound yard and hold it hostage till they get paid. I'm not sure that calling insurance ahead of time would do a lot of good in that case. Towing companies just want cash. It would have been one of the 1st calls for me in that case though.

Towing can get crazy. A friend had his Goldwing break down in Yellowstone. He had no choice but to use the parks approved towing company. They would only take him to the park entrance for a stupid fee. Then he had to get another company from a couple of hours away meet him there and take it to a repair facility. Far from cheap.

Srileo I'm glad that you at least have a good start to a resolution on this. With regards to the camper I would stress to your insurance carrier that this is not an ordinary RV but unique and the only way to get a proper repair is the factory. At least you are close enough to make that possible. Not an option for those of us in the east.

 

[Advmoto18]

If you haven't already done so....call Stan at FWC soonest.

Rather than having the truck/camper combo towed to Woodland, it might be much cheaper to simply have the camper removed from the damaged truck and placed on a flatbed tow truck for delivery to FWC. Or Stan might be able to arrange to have the company delivery truck pick up your camper if not on a delivery run.

BUT, be sure to contact the insurance company first! You do not want to do anything to or with the truck and camper before the company's appraiser has investigated and reported on the insured items. And, be sure to get the insurance company's written permission to remove and transport the camper to Woodland/FWC for evaluation and repair estimates.

I agree, FWC factory (or dealer) is the only entity I'd have do the repairs. Hopefully, nothing but cosmetic damage, but, they will be able to ascertain if any structural damage was done to the camper.

Ask the insurance company if they are covering storage fees for both the truck AND the camper. Storage fees billed to insurance companies can be staggering! Especially if the camper is not covered and the bill is passed on to you. Laws and regulations pertaining to towing and storage vary state to state. But, often, "in the bed" campers are charged a storage fee as well as the truck.

Good luck!

 

[srileo]

All,
thank you for the continued support and advise.

So, am back after 10 days away on vacation.

The truck camper has now been moved to Sacramento area for storage and inspection. I am delighted that it is now only 15miles from FWC.
The Hawk has been inspected and the damage noted. It is repairable and the adjuster has requested parts and service info from FWC. So any repairs should be happening at FWC.
The truck - Nissan Titan, has just gotten inspected a few minutes ago. Looks like it can be saved! Estimated damage is $6k initial. However, he said the body shop will doubtless see more damage and they might adjust the value accordingly. He did say that since the current value of the Titan is at $18.5K, there is room for adjustment. However, when i quizzed him, he did not notice the damage to the actual bed portion nor that one of the riderite suspension air bags was destroyed.

Question for you Sacramento area guys - i might have a choice of where the repair can be performed. Any suggestions of local shops that are solid? When i bought the Titan, i had it inspected at Precision Automotive Repair, Sacramento. They seemed competent, but only get 3.5 stars on Yelp. If you know of other solid places, please do let me know.

Shridhar

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Great to hear things have worked out for you.
Hope you get the truck/camper all fixed.
Have a good New Year.
Keep us posted.
Frank