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Old 01-07-2020, 10:05 AM   #1
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2016 28' Flying Cloud
Tampa , Florida
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Need Advice - Insurance paid for repairs, trailer now leaking

Hey Fellow Streamers -

Sadly I am in a position of some bad luck. Spring of 2019 my neighbor in the RV parking lot backed into my trailer and scraped up my side panels.

Luckily Progressive agreed to cover all the repairs and both of my panels on my 2016 28' Flying Cloud were replaced.

I found a repair shop with a great reputation and that was recommended by a dealer. I'll save the names for later. The repair shop was fantastic to work with and I couldn't have been happier with how I was treated.

It took a few months for all the parts to come in, work to be done, etc, but mid October I finally got my trailer back, in time for our family's vacation trip to Big Bend National Park (just amazing there, btw).

When I first got the trailer back, I noticed a few things I didn't like, such as sloppy caulking around the windows and doors, but overall the work seemed good. I put the trailer back in the RV storage lot for the next 6 weeks or so until it was time to get ready for the trip.

Shortly after bringing the trailer home to get ready for our trip, we discovered an interior leak. The water is coming out of the panels right next to the door, which is the side where the panels were replaced and matches up with the main seams between the roof and the panels. Clearly a problem caused by the repair work. The water is also leaking down between the panels to beneath the floor. I don't know how bad this is, hopefully not bad.

Now that we are back from our trip, I have to deal with this situation and I am not sure what is the best approach. I am looking for advice from folks who are in the industry or have gone through something similar.

As I see it, I can

1. Contact the insurance company
2. Contact the repair shop
3. Contact a lawyer

I feel like contacting the repair shop is the best bet to let them make amends, but I just want to be sure before I notify anyone about the issue. I don't want to get myself deeper into a situation with no recourse.

Thank you in advance for your input and advice.

Best,
Jason
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Old 01-07-2020, 10:10 AM   #2
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In order of contact....

Repair shop to see if they'll fix it.
Insurance company next
Lawyer last.
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Old 01-07-2020, 10:15 AM   #3
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Contacting the repair shop is going to be the best choice. Your friend's insurance company paid the repair shop for work. If it is not right, the insurance is not responsible, it is the repair shop for not doing the job right.

If the repair shop says that we need to go further with the repairs not reported in the estimate, THEY can try to deal with the insurance company, not you, to reclaim extra money. The repair company is clearly at fault for not repairing your trailer correctly.

Without seeing the damage or the repair, it could just be something minor that the repair shop could fix quickly with no issues. I would document everything and get them to agree to a written document that the first repair was not right. This could be as simple as the repair order for the fix.

If this fails, and only if this fails would you want to involve a lawyer. Keep it simple at first until things really do turn sour.
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Old 01-07-2020, 10:22 AM   #4
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Thanks turk and Isuzu, I will contact the repair shop first and request they provide some documentation on the issue and repairs.
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Old 01-07-2020, 11:14 AM   #5
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Spoke with the repair shop, they are going to fix it as soon as possible. Should be within a week or so.

Repair shop is KA RV in Debary, FL.

Again I can't say enough good things about their customer service. When I called them and told them of the issue, there was no hesitation.
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Old 01-07-2020, 11:38 AM   #6
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All the advice you’ve already received is spot on IMO.

One add - ask the shop to do a “seal-tek” (not sure if that’s spelled correctly) test. Basically, they pressurize the trailer and cover it with soapy water to see where leaks are coming from. It will pinpoint exactly which rivets, seams, caulking, etc. has a gap so there’s no guesswork.

Glad they are taking you in quickly to fix it. The rest of the advice is perfect.

Good luck!
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Old 01-08-2020, 11:28 AM   #7
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2012 25' Flying Cloud
Oak Ridge , North Carolina
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We had a similar situation but did not discover the leaks for several years until extensive damage was done to the floor. The problem was the shop replaced the panals with Olympic rivets rather than buck rivets. Be certain they use Buck rivets.
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Old 01-08-2020, 07:00 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveSueMac View Post
All the advice you’ve already received is spot on IMO.

One add - ask the shop to do a “seal-tek” (not sure if that’s spelled correctly) test. Basically, they pressurize the trailer and cover it with soapy water to see where leaks are coming from. It will pinpoint exactly which rivets, seams, caulking, etc. has a gap so there’s no guesswork.

Glad they are taking you in quickly to fix it. The rest of the advice is perfect.

Good luck!
Thanks, they did say they were going to do a full leak test.
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Old 01-08-2020, 07:04 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ms.Damascus View Post
We had a similar situation but did not discover the leaks for several years until extensive damage was done to the floor. The problem was the shop replaced the panals with Olympic rivets rather than buck rivets. Be certain they use Buck rivets.
Ugh, sorry to hear that.

They did use Olympic rivets, I'll have to do some research on this.

Thanks and hope you managed to get your trailer taken care of without too much hassle.
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Old 01-09-2020, 01:04 AM   #10
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Fort Worth , Texas
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i have replaced eight panels all with Olympic rivets and no leaks so far. The secret is to set the rivets correctly and Seal-Tec afterwards.
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