Question:
Well, my Coleman pop-up got rear-ended while I was waiting to make a left
turn today (I was stationary with the turn signal on). While I am not
pleased at all about this, no one was hurt and I just need to pick it up
from here and understand what I need to do. Advice from anyone is
appreciated.
So the guy in a Quest hits me fairly hard, with the center of his vehicle
lined up with right side frame member (his license place was stuck there
when we disconnected). The back bumper is pretty much mangled and a lot of
the plastic (sheet metal equivalent? - what do you call that stuff?) is
cracked but my real concern for the trailer itself is that he bent the crank
receptacle. If it now pointing off to the side somewhat.
The other big concern is that it pushed my trailer hitch up into the bumper
so that I cannot now even disconnect the vehicles. It towed home OK (done
carefully and it swiveled OK and all). The ball itself is now pointed maybe
30 degrees forward. Using the lift crank just never really moved off at all
anyway, but if it did it would have wedged it into the bumper moreso. The
arm that fits into the hitch receptacle and holds the ball (sorry for not
knowing the right words...) has not been removed in ages and is in there
solid - I thought the easy way out would be to remove the pin and let it
slide out, but it is in there good - likely a combination of being rusted in
and not being able to pull it out in a straight line (probably moreso the
rust) (when I needed to change ball size I just changed the ball itself).
Now I have questions:
Insurance: I am assuming (hoping) that the other guy's insurance will pay
for the camper repair too. When I called it in to the week-end insurance
phone form filler-outer she asked me if I had the trailer insured. I do not
specifically - I am thinking that I had asked this at one point and was told
that the car is insured and anything connected to it (like the trailer).
Does anyone have any experience with this that they can enlighten me a bit?
Thanks.
Repair: Who do I go to in order to fix this manner of damage? I am betting
that it is a different place than the car, but I am finding myself a bit
clueless on this one for the pop-up.
Disconnecting it from the car: Cannot remove the ball holder thingy. Cannot
remove ball. Cannot lift off. I am thinking cutting through the thingy or
maybe the auto repair place can do it. Thoughts?
What else should my jumbled mind be thinking about regarding this?
Answer:
Question: Well, my Coleman pop-up got rear-ended while I was waiting to make a left
turn today (I was stationary with the turn signal on). While I am not
pleased at all about this, no one was hurt and I just need to pick it up
from here and understand what I need to do. Advice from anyone is
appreciated.
Answer: The other guy's insurance should cover damage to your car and trailer. NO
other options are acceptable.
Call YOUR insurance company tomorrow morning. They should help you, and
give you advice. They want you to collect from the other guy's insurance,
and not from yours, so that is their incentive.
The other insurance company will likely send over an appraiser to look at
the damage and give repair estimates. The appraiser probably has absolutely
no experience with trailers, and you may have to argue with his figures.
You will probably end up getting repair estimates from several different
places - probably with separate shops for your trailer damage and for the
damage to your car. Getting more than one estimate is more than price - one
shop may find things which need to be fixed which another does not. Have
them show you what needs to be fixed. If it indeed looks broken, and the
other shop missed it, you know who to use.
Since the other guy's insurance will have to pay, they may be a little
pushy about things. Do not take any crap. YOU decide where both the car
and trailer need to be fixed - someone whom you think will do the best job.
You can always threaten them with getting a lawyer - which would cost them
lots more in the long run.
Since trailers are not worth very much after a few years, it is possible
that the trailer will be declared 'totaled, which means that the repairs
cost more than its current market value, and you would only collect the
current market value amount, and not get to keep the remains. Just so you
won't be surprised if this happens.
I hope you filed a police report, or the police were there and then filed a
report, which documents that you were rear-ended by the other guy and you
did nothing wrong. This usually settles disputes by the insurance companies
about who pays - the OTHER guy.
Question: So the guy in a Quest hits me fairly hard, with the center of his vehicle
lined up with right side frame member (his license place was stuck there
when we disconnected). The back bumper is pretty much mangled and a lot
of
the plastic (sheet metal equivalent? - what do you call that stuff?) is
cracked but my real concern for the trailer itself is that he bent the
crank
receptacle. If it now pointing off to the side somewhat.
Answer: The entire frame of the trailer is likely bent somehow, increasing repair
costs, and the likelihood of it being totalled.
Question: The other big concern is that it pushed my trailer hitch up into the
bumper
so that I cannot now even disconnect the vehicles. It towed home OK (done
carefully and it swiveled OK and all). The ball itself is now pointed
maybe
30 degrees forward. Using the lift crank just never really moved off at
all
anyway, but if it did it would have wedged it into the bumper moreso. The
arm that fits into the hitch receptacle and holds the ball (sorry for not
knowing the right words...) has not been removed in ages and is in there
solid - I thought the easy way out would be to remove the pin and let it
slide out, but it is in there good
Answer: If I understand you, the hitch on you car is also damaged. This hooks to
your car's frame usually, and there may be frame damage to your car, too!
If the ball now points 30 degrees north, it is not surprising that the
drawbar will not slide out from the hitch. After all, the impact of the
crash would have easily broken all rust connections. The drawbar and hitch
are probably bent and stuck therein. They may well have to remove the hitch
from your car (and replace it with a new one).
Question: Insurance: I am assuming (hoping) that the other guy's insurance will pay
for the camper repair too. When I called it in to the week-end insurance
phone form filler-outer she asked me if I had the trailer insured. I do
not
specifically - I am thinking that I had asked this at one point and was
told
that the car is insured and anything connected to it (like the trailer).
Answer: It does not matter what insurance you have on the trailer - the other guy
hit you, and what insurance HE has is what counts. Settle for no less. Do
not take any crap from anybody's insurance company - his or yours.
Question: Repair: Who do I go to in order to fix this manner of damage? I am
betting
that it is a different place than the car, but I am finding myself a bit
clueless on this one for the pop-up.
Answer: I would check with the local pop-up dealer. They should know who is able to
assess the camper and repair it if it is repairable.
Question: Disconnecting it from the car: Cannot remove the ball holder thingy.
Cannot
remove ball. Cannot lift off. I am thinking cutting through the thingy
or
maybe the auto repair place can do it.
Answer: The shop will have to disconnect the two, probably by unbolting the hitch
from your car. The ball holder thingy is a drawbar (so you sound
knowledgable at the shop!), which slides into the hitch on the car.
