Hit & Run at the Storage Facility

[Frank&Mike]

We went to the storage facility Friday evening to drop off some things at the Airstream for our upcoming trip only to find that the nice big expensive 42 ft. diesel pusher parked next to us had hit our Airstream. He hit it hard enough that it shifted the front of the Airstream 2 feet, moved it off of all 4 leveling blocks and knocked off the wheel chock. Two "beautiful" dents and scratches the size of basketballs above the curbside wheel well as well as "beaufully" peeled metal trim piece surrounding the wheel well.

But equally as disappointing is that the man had no intentions of notifying us. I had the Sheriff's Office dispatch an officer onsite and take photos, open a case, and track the man down through his vehicle registration. The Deputy explained to the man that the Sheriff's Office could file criminal charges for not notifying us or leaving contact information and the Deputy offerred the man the option of speaking to me on the phone and agreeing to assume responsibility.

I won't go into details of the conversation but the man basically told me I was being unreasonable and that RVs get damage all the time and to deal with it myself. So I kindly handed the phone back to the Deputy and stated that he wasn't cooperating. After a little over 1 hour of phone calls and back and forth discussion the man has agreed to assume responsibility.

It sure is disappointing to find that only a handful of people in this world ruin things for the rest of us. Nonetheless, I have all the insurance information and will now let the insurance companies deal directly among themselves.

Sorry for the rambling ... I guess now I'm getting to most important question. Do you think there would be any chance that the frame would be impacted negatively? I would assume an authorized Airstream Service shop would have the knowledge to check the frame and verify the integrity or otherwise, right? Any other things you can suggest I need to put on my list of concerns for Airstream to check out? Or maybe I should haul the Airstream to Jackson Center and have the experts handle the repairs?

[smhx4]

Wow what a huge bummer. I'm sorry this happened to you. When we had damage to our AS, we went straight to the dealer for an estimate. We had the info on hand when the adjuster arrived. Saved some time at least.

The dealer was very thorough and didn't rush the estimate. Take it to a dealer you trust, if that's JC then I would go. Whatever you have to do to have peace of mind it was checked thoroughly and repaired the right way. Best wishes.

[TBRich]

Frank & Mike... SO sorry to hear this! We are so bummed! And what a jerk the guy was! He wasn't even going to notify you, much less take care of the damage he caused? Good for you for getting the law involved. I'm sure he'd feel differently if someone crunched HIS RV and didn't own up.

As to the frame ... make sure that it gets examined for integrity as part of the examination of the damage. It seems he'd have had to hit you hard or at least applied steady pressure to the rig to move it that far. Go to a Airstream repair center you trust to do it right.

[davidz71]

I sent pictures of damage to Jackson Center of my outer and inner fenderwell after a brake malfunction caused a blowout and subsequent fenderwell damage. They responded with a repair quote which I gave my insurance company. I then made an appointment to have the trailer repaired a few days before Christmas. It took most of the day but they let me stay at the onsite trailer court the day before repairs. It was worth traveling to the mothership for repairs and I wouldn't consider doing it any other way.

[blmitch5]

I'm so sorry and to think he thought you should take care of it yourself! I'd make sure to have it checked and JC would be a good place if you don't have any other resource. I hope there isn't any frame damage. I'm having some work done part God (hail) and part me (dent in the back) and it's a very expensive thing to repair. My closest dealer is in St Louis MO and they will take it to JC or I can go to OKC and have it done. My insurance (Blue Sky) is being very helpful but it's a long haul wherever I go. Sorry for your damage and sorry people can be such jerks!

[dmoore]

Sorry for your damage and that you have such lousy neighbors. That an accident happens is one thing and that attitude is another. I'm glad they were still around. Hope you're back on the road again soon.

Debbie

[DKB_SATX]

That SUCKS. I don't know if your storage place is anything like mine, they may want to know about this. My storage facility made it clear when I leased the space that we were expected to notify the storage facility if we cause any damage to the facility or to another tenant's property, or found any unaccounted-for damage while stored. Maybe they'll get you a new neighbor! My facility has video surveillance, but it would be luck-of-the-draw to get actual footage of an incident, most of the cameras are monitoring the driveways and the front of the storage bays, they don't really seem to aim very far under the roofed area.

Mr. Diesel Pusher clearly doesn't know much about Texas motor vehicle laws if he thinks you should have to "deal with it yourself." He probably has a fat loan on the pusher which would spoil the fun since the bank wouldn't let you take it, but you could have pointed out to him that unless he claims the motorhome as his homestead you could end up owning it over his unwillingness to fulfill his legal responsibilities.

I hope this doesn't keep y'all from joining us in Eureka Springs.

[GCinSC2]

Sorry to hear the very uncivilized stand your careless neighbor took. I bet he'd be screaming for well, changed my mind on typing that one.

I second asking mgmt to ask him to find a different spot.

Good luck.

[Frank&Mike]

Thank you all for the kind words of wisdom and suggestions. We've been kicking around the idea this afternoon while running errands and your recommendations are supporting our thoughts that we will probably make a trip to Jackson Center.

As to our vacation plans, they are still a "go". The damage won't prevent us from towing the Airstream. It's just that as we travel down the road on our vacation, we're probably going to look like we're the kind of people that don't take care of their belongings. Hopefully people won't think we're that kind. I'm still going to take the Airstream Tuesday morning to the car wash and make sure it's looking clean.

I did indeed speak to the owner of the storage facility Friday night. The owner was very helpful to immediately relocate us clear across the facility from this fool we were parked next to.

[Gene]

When I've talked with campground owners about the damage people do and often just leave, I wonder how some people aren't crushing cars on the highways and never noticing it. I also understand why they escort people to spaces. Unfortunately at a storage facility, there's usually no one around.

While I would prefer to have it fixed at JC, if the frame is bent, you would have to have it trucked there. Frames can be x-rayed at some shops and that would be the way to tell about it. I expect you would have to pick up the cost of trucking it.

I see you posted when I was and I'm glad it's towable. The storage facility should have relocated the diesel pusher, out of the place.

Gene

[Frank&Mike]

I'm thinking the frame is ok. I drove it around the storage facility Friday night checking it out. We had a friend and his wife with us and all appeared ok visually (and no weird sounds). I'm sure if anyone had seen me driving around in the storage facility towing the Airstream they would have thought I had lost my mind. But I'm still going to request that the frame get examined closely.

I think that margarita machine we purchased for our upcoming vacation and upcoming FOD Rally is going to get its moneys worth to help me chill out and overlook the unsightly damage.

[Wsmith]

Originally Posted by Frank&Mike

Thank you all for the kind words of wisdom and suggestions. We've been kicking around the idea this afternoon while running errands and your recommendations are supporting our thoughts that we will probably make a trip to Jackson Center.

As to our vacation plans, they are still a "go". The damage won't prevent us from towing the Airstream. It's just that as we travel down the road on our vacation, we're probably going to look like we're the kind of people that don't take care of their belongings. Hopefully people won't think we're that kind. I'm still going to take the Airstream Tuesday morning to the car wash and make sure it's looking clean.

I did indeed speak to the owner of the storage facility Friday night. The owner was very helpful to immediately relocate us clear across the facility from this fool we were parked next to.

You might won't to stop by Airstream in Dallas and get an alignment check on your trip, it might save some tire wear. I believe they are the only ones in Texas that can align it.

[Frank&Mike]

WSmith - that's a great suggestion as we will be traveling through Dallas on Wed. It will also give me some peace of mind. Is this the place you're recommending:

North Dallas RV
2630 I-35 E. North
Carrollton
TX, 75006

[Frank's Trailer Works]

are there any photos? I would like to see the damage and the rig that did the damage.

[Melody Ranch]

Bring the Airstream to Dallas and stop by North Dallas RV. A recommended repair facility by Airstream. Bring your Margarita machine too....I am a recommended quality testing facility . Never show up at a rally without testing the margarita equipment.

[Frank&Mike]

Frank - I took some photos with my phone. Let me work on downloading them and I'll post them here shortly. Let me know your thoughts on the damage.

MelodyRanch - It was nice to have met you at the Vintage Rally a few months ago. We will be staying at Cedar Hill State Park Tues. night. You are welcome to do an early taste test with us at our campsite.

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by Frank&Mike

I think that margarita machine we purchased for our upcoming vacation and upcoming FOD Rally is going to get its moneys worth to help me chill out and overlook the unsightly damage.

I am so sorry to hear about your damage and the jerk who did it, but I think you have a REALLY good idea there!

Ken

[Frank&Mike]

Ok, I think I have the photos attached as follows:

1. Photo of scratch and dent (finger pointing to lower dent and stress point, and about 1 ft. above that area is the upper dent and stress point).

2. Photo of the trim piece above the wheel well reflecting where his tail pipe caught the wheel well). In this photo you also see some black stuff that sputtered on our Airstream. I guess that's something related to the exhaust and diesel?

3. Photo of the Airstream where it is no longer backed in straight and the front was shifted 2 feet in the direction of the his motorhome (our friends are in the photo to give you a little perspective of how much it was moved by the impact). He hit our Airstream about 2/3 of the way to the back of our unit (right above the wheel well) so it shifted the front of our unit and the back of our unit remained in it's original position.

4. Photo of the streetside depicting where the Airstream shifted and moved off of the leveling blocks (we park on the leveling blocks to keep the tires off of the gravel).

I have photos of his motorhome which show the damage to his unit, but I probably shouldn't be posting photos of his property ... so no photos of his unit.

[GREENovaters]

Wow! It is disappointing to hear such an idiot is on the roads with a big machine like that. I hope never to be in his way when he decides to cut across lanes.....

I had our moho in the shop and we got a dent and no one fessed up there either. Of course, we've had mechanics at Middleton & Meads track greasy footprints though out the interior and they thought we should shut up and deal with that!

[Hoonanea]

Hey fellas,

I'm so sorry to hear about the damage to your AS. I've seen the interior pictures of it that you sent and I can tell you definitely take pride in it.

Don't let it spoil your fun over the next two weeks!