Stupid Hail!

[dannyo]

So, tonight the Austin area go slammed with hail. In my neighborhood, the hail was somewhere between golf ball and baseball sized. It really just crushed my spirit. The sides of the Airstream are fine, a few little battle scars, but the roof got smashed. I am now down 2 skylights and 1 AC shroud. I don't know what to do. The skylights are cheap and easy to replace, but what about the AC shroud? Could anyone tell me how much that costs? Also, I need everyones opinions concerning the roof...should I claim it and let insurance fix it, or should I just let it be?

[CaddyGrn]

Hello dannyo,

Very sad to hear about the hail and your Airstream! Hard to give an opinion on the roof without being able to "see" it. Got pictures?

Very sad, very sad....

[tinhutjohn]

The only way to find out if you should claim the loss on your insurance, is to get an written estimate for repairs from a repair facility and then go see your insurance agent and ask him if the cost of repairs is worth the increase in premium. (There may actually be no increase for a comprehensive claim for some insurers)

[Jimarq]

Dannyo:

Don't do it! February 17th we got hit by a hail storm just north of you. We called our insurance adjuster who quickly determined that it was totaled! We had an air conditioner shroud that would need to be replaced, one broken skylight, and one clearance light broken. We had some dings - I've seen lighter and I've certainly seen worse. The dings were something we could have lived with. Did you know that they start adding up the damages by allowing $15K to replace each end cap and then start tacking on each additional damaged panel?

He assured us that we would be allowed to buy our beautiful 2006 Classic back. We had just purchased it in November after searching for over a year. But when the insurance company got a hold of it, they refused to allow us to purchase it back and sold it to an auction company. We begged and pleaded with everyone in the insurance company and the auction company to allow us to keep our trailer to no avail. Seeing someone else come pick up my trailer and haul it away was a heartbreaker.

We have previously totaled an Airstream (2000 Classic) in a wreck and there was no question that we would relinquish it because of the possibility/probablity of a bent frame. But all that was wrong with this trailer was the aforementioned minor damages and the dings - that we felt we could live with. There are many years and miles of good camping left in that trailer with just a minimum of repair cost.

Don't get me wrong - the insurance company generously compensated us for our lost. But if I had it to do over, I would have had the damages repaired out of my pocket and never of picked up the phone to get the insurance company involved.

PM us if we can answer any questions for you.

- m

[dannyo]

Jim, that's a terrible story and I'm sorry to hear about it. Does anyone know how much a shroud costs? Also, there is only a little hail damage on top, so I'm not too concerned about it.

[deauxrite]

It hailed here in Hamilton as well. We were a little luckier that the folks down in Austin. Our hail was small (pea to marble size) and fell pretty much straight down. That allowed the RV Port to take the hits and the Airstream to stay protected. One small ding in the front end cap is all that I have been able to find.

[Jim Foster]

Jim,

Have you contacted the State Insurance Commissioner in your state? It sounds like you may have been ripped off by an agent. I had something similar happen with an automobile here in California. In my case the agent thought I would be happy with the money, but I was able to buy the car back for $200 salvage price, without a salvage title. I think he was a little surprised. It was a very clean, low miles car. Their estimate was $3,600. I repaired it for about $1000. Money in my pocket.

Oh well.

[utee94]

Yeah, we got hit with some fairly severe hail. Most of it was golf-ball-size and some was larger. And it was coming in sideways, really fast, like 30-45 mph fast.

The good news is that my wife was driving the convertible on her way home from work during rush hour, and I was able to tell her to get off the freeway and find some shelter. As it turns out, where she was didn't get hit that hard anyway, nothing more than pea-size hail, but I was still glad the she was not out on the open road, in a convertible (top-up of course!), in the midst of a hail storm. There were many cars that got their windows smashed out while driving on the roads.

The bad news is my Airstream, and my Tahoe, both sustained some damage.

Here are some pictures, if they loaded in order:

1) Not my idea of a White Christmas
2) That's not a golf ball!
3) A blurry picture of the driveway
4) Cracked top cover on the Fantastic Fan

[utee94]

Considering how strong the storm was and how large and fast the hail stones were moving, I'm completely shocked that none of my windows were cracked. The trailer was broadsides to the wind, so the endcaps only suffered minor damage as well. It's hard for the pictures to show, but there is quite a bit of dimpling along the top and some along the side, too. Only one side though, since the wind was coming in sideways.

1) Dimples along the roof, and not the cute kind
2) More roof dimples
3) Some side dings, tough to see
4) Cracked marker light cover

[overlander63]

Marcus, give the people at Fantastic a call. The lids have a lifetime guarantee, and they'll send one out to you.

[jeff4506]

I was just looking at shrouds in a catalog and they run between 150 (sale) and 250.

[CrzyCorpsman]

Sorry to hear about the damages.

I'm over to the east of you in Biloxi. Right now my trailer is completely gutted down to the exterior shell and frame and was hoping and praying that the winds would not get too wild over here and thankfully they didn't. We're still suppose to get some rough weather tonight, so another sleepless night worrying if my trailer shell is going to fly away like Dorthy's house Did I mention that ALL of the floor/c channel bolts are out and the shell is just sitting on a pair of 4x4's over the frame.........lot's of straps, too

[Bambi_Bandit]

Marcus,

Sorry to hear about the damage to your rig. I've had that happen with Cosmo last year to the tune of ~15K, so I know how heartbreaking it is to see it. http://www.airforums.com/forums/f381...hit-42018.html


Cosmo was last year, so you'd think I'd be hail free for a while, but Nooo...

The storm took out our skylight over the kitchen. Soon as the acrylic broke, we had golf ball+ size hail coming thru the house onto our island, kitchen counters, and appliances.

You know something is wrong with the picture of hail bouncing off your toaster.....

Anyways, State Farm has been good to me. Storm hit Wed evening. Adjuster were here on Friday afternoon, check in hand in less than 48 hours after the storm. Roofer under contract to start next Monday.

Things could have been worse. I heard the weather alarm go off and given the proximity and the big red blob seen on the weather radar, I promptly tucked the truck in no more than 10 minutes before all hell broke loose. (Truck sticks out of my garage a few inches, so normally parked in the driveway). Got a hold of the wife and Prim gets home just minutes before it hits. (Her car in garage). Our girls were put in the bathroom while the storm hit and the rain came quick and stopped just as fast. No one hurt, and Cosmo was safe in south Austin away from this cell and sustained no damage.

So, 15K in damages later....(13K for a new roof, 2K for other incidentals like gutter / deck / paint and drywall around the skylight, etc) I am happy that it did not turn our worse.

I have a $3125 deductible, so this is gonna cost me some $$$... I guess it's fitting since all the $$ I've spend on Bandit and "G" for the liver surgery / tumor removal / renal failure diagnosis has been nearly 7K thus far, I am doing my part to stimulate the economy.....

P.S. I have ordered an "impact resistant" "windshield glass type skylight from VELUX to replace the cheap acrylic I had prior. It comes with a 10 year hail warranty too.

Now I'm looking to see if I can get a polycarbonate skylight and vent covers for Cosmo after seeing this...

YouTube - Acrylic Skylight VS Hammer

YouTube - Polycarbonate skylight VS Hammer

[StevenG]

That's just terrible! I've been here in Poplar Bluff 5 springs, and 3 of 5 we've had at least marble size hail once a year. Since getting our (new to us) Airstream, my first project is to get a carport built to park it under. Working on that now, and hope I get it done before the first hail!
Steven

[Crusty]

I got hit by quarter size hail at Lake Travis and I've got a bunch of quarter size dings in the top only which aren't visible from the ground and two destroyed vent fan covers. All in all I was pretty lucky.

I just ordered two Fantastic Fans (with all the doodads on 'em) from Vintage Trailer Supply.

[Westfalia]

Ugh, I feel for you guys! I'm fortunate to say that where I live, I have never seen the hail larger than quarter but a mere 15 miles east and 2000 ft lower in altitude, the hail has been as large as softballs in recent years and as deep as several FEET.

[utee94]

Hey Kevin,

The very first person I thought of was you, even posted to your thread after my trailer got hit, too. But I'm REALLY sorry to hear about the damage to your home. Glad to hear the family was safe, that's what's most important. Our insurance crew is due to check the house tomorrow, no doubt the roof will need to be replaced, but that's really the only damage we sustained on the house and property, other than the Airstream of course.

I'm especially lucky that the trailer was here at the house rather than in the uncovered storage spot where it normally lives, because a friend's RV that lives at the same lot was completely blasted. All 3 skylights shattered, the A/C shroud and fins were crushed, and severe damage to the roof. His insurance folks haven't looked at it yet, but he suspects it will be a total loss.

Anyway, as Terry stated, I called the folks at Fantastic, and they are sending me a new cover and lifter arm, free of charge. Really awesome customer service.

-Marcus