Damage assessment.

[Mitchone]

We took our 2000 Excella 31' on it's first camping trip in Virginia this past weekend. On our way back we somehow lost both the wheels on the driver's side. I've already ordered two new wheels, but the damage to the skin is something I have no idea what to do to fix.



I live in NC, maybe a few hours from the Winston-Salem Airstream Dealership. I'm dreading the possibilities of the cost to fix this so I'm open to pretty much any reasonable suggestion. Does anyone have an idea of the possible cost?


Thanks,


Mitch
2000 Excella 31'

[Gotta_Travel]

Oof. Will insurance cover it?

[Foiled Again]

There are two ways to fix this. Number one will be to replace the entire lower panel from door to tail, the other is to put a seam in the lower panel, even with one of.the windows, going back to.the tail. You will.always see that one, but very few others will notice it.
Of course you will also need to replace the wheel well, several frame outriggers, part of the subfloor, and possibly both axles. Perhaps some cabinetry will be damaged too. Cost? Kinda guessing, but $10,000 at least.

Old tires and/or over-torqued nuts are likely causes for the failure of the tires. One could have failed, and wrapped itself.around the second.

[Hans627]

A similar thing happened to a friend of mine with a similar size AS and the cost to repair was a bit over $8k. That was several years ago.

Emphasizes the need to check the torque on the wheels on a regular basis.

[panamerican]

My guess is also around $10k. My suggestion would also be to replace the entire lower panel from door to end cap seam.


For me, Jackson Center is the place to do have this done, but there are a very small number of dealers/shops that could also do it. Many moons ago, if you dropped off your trailer in fall, and picked it up in spring, Jackson Center did have winter repair discounts I believe of about 10-15%, but don't quote me on that.

Also, if the coach is insured, you really shouldn't be out much more than your deductible. Given the prices of pre-owned right now, there is no way the insurance co could legitimately claim the trailer is totaled from what I can see from the pics.

[jondrew55]

Originally Posted by Hans627

A similar thing happened to a friend of mine with a similar size AS and the cost to repair was a bit over $8k. That was several years ago.

Emphasizes the need to check the torque on the wheels on a regular basis.

Not sure who did it, but when I got my slightly used trailer someone had put horizontal lines on each lug nut with a magic marker (horizontal as in the line on each nut is perpendicular to a radius line to the center of the wheel). I thought this was a great idea I'd never seen before to ensure the lugs are backing off without putting a torque wrench to them.

[Mitchone]

Sadly it's not insured. Especially with the costs already quoted. One of those things we meant to do, looking back one can easily see the error(s).


But moving forward.


I'm intrigued by the idea of putting in a seam. I see the wheel well is damaged, not sure what is damaged above that.



I like the idea of dropping it off over the winter, but the cost is a concern. I guess I could save up the cost over the winter if it's still available. My luck is that it would be in and out in a week!


I'm still hopeful that the damage is not as extensive as others have noted. I'll be jacking it up in a few days to remove the wheels and let the frame rest on some blocks.



Does anyone know of a small shop in the NC area that can do the body work?


Thanks,


Mitch

[PA BAMBI II]

Dad's last Airstream, an `85 32' Excella blew a tire on the passenger side and it tore up the front part of the wheel well and some of the body panel surrounding it. His was not insured, either.

We fixed it in the driveway...before I knew what I know now about Airstream rebuilding/repair, before I knew Olympic rivets were a thing, and before we ever thought about taking it to a dealership or a shop. This is how we did all of the repairs on his 3 Airstreams over the years.

Peel back the layers of damage. Assess what truly needs to be replaced. Don't dig deeper than you have to (peeling back the onion will eventually make you cry). Once you know what you are looking at, you can amass the tools and materials you will need to fix it. To the untrained eye, it will look fine and work well...especially if your main goal is to roll with it again. Patch panels have been covered here over and over. Most of them are smaller than what you will need here, but the process is the same. It does not need to be perfect as a vessel to camp in.

[Mitchone]

Thanks for shining a bit of hope on my wallet.


I've been going through a few University of YouTube videos to see how others are fixing their skins, all I've seen so far are just patch jobs. But I figure if I can cut out a section where there's frame then I think I can add a patch, although it'd be a very large patch, someone referred to this as being a new seam.


This site is intriguing:


https://www.airpartsinc.com/default.asp


Thanks so much,


Mitch

[Jim & Susan]

These guys: https://www.outofdoorsmart.com/

Not a small shop, but one of the best. They may be able to help parts if you decide to go the DYI route.

Jim

[Foiled Again]

I took a second look at your pictures and noticed the positioning of the refrigerator vent and the water heater. If you go with a patch... well why not line it up with those two things? The seams would be inches long, not feet long. Matching the decal stripes would be the tricky part.

Paula [emoji174]

[CBWELL]

Damage appears to be on the road side, and I think a patch from the rear of the fridge compartment to the water heater will work. That will be the least expensive repair. It looks like the damage is in the bathroom area, and all of those cabinets are easy to remove and get a look at the damage done inside. There are several water lines in that area and they should be checked. Floor repair is easy in that area, as it is hidden under that bathroom vanity. When you get the interior opened up pictures will help to determine what needs to be done inside. Wheel wells can be repaired. New moulding for the wheel wells needs to be bought. Get the same grade of aluminum to make the patch, and a body shop that repairs heavy trucks possibly may be able to help. I would get the axles checked before replacing unless they are worn out. Everyting I see is repairable, it just depends on how much you want to spend, and how pretty you want it to look.

[featherbedder]

IMO cutting and patching may cost more than a single sheet Less labor w/single sheet, matl. prob. close to same cost. I would get est. doing both ways. IMO resale would suffer w/patches. There are good reports about ODM also send pics & description of damage to JC they will give very good est. of cost. I would examine ins. as maybe will cover. I jacknifed my AS In Mo. several yrs. ago all my fault Progressive pd. all repairs and worked w/JC. I only pd deductable. This repair was done much dif. from local dealer stated plus more matl. all at less cost. [JC labor rates less per hr.]

[panamerican]

Originally Posted by Mitchone

Sadly it's not insured. Especially with the costs already quoted. One of those things we meant to do, looking back one can easily see the error(s).


But moving forward.


I'm intrigued by the idea of putting in a seam. I see the wheel well is damaged, not sure what is damaged above that.



I like the idea of dropping it off over the winter, but the cost is a concern. I guess I could save up the cost over the winter if it's still available. My luck is that it would be in and out in a week!


I'm still hopeful that the damage is not as extensive as others have noted. I'll be jacking it up in a few days to remove the wheels and let the frame rest on some blocks.



Does anyone know of a small shop in the NC area that can do the body work?


Thanks,


Mitch

Out of doors mart has been discussed here recently and they do appear to do a good job.

If going the factory route, if they still have the winter discount, you drop it off and pick up in spring (you don't want to tow in the salt and snow), so if they get it repaired in week or a month, it's my understanding that you pickup and pay in spring, but call JC and verify.

If you can't afford to replace the whole panel, a patch will get you by, but it won't look all that great, will effect resale value. If it were me I would save up or see if JC still has that winter work discount and replace the entire panel from door to end cap seam.

[Mitchone]

Thanks for all the very helpful comments.


I'm leaning towards doing the job myself for various reasons. Mainly the cost may be too prohibitive. Equally, I love the idea of learning a new skill and getting more tools. Also, I recently installed an inverter/batteries, solar charger, etc, and need to run electrical cable from the front of the AS to the bedroom where the new 30amp/inverter box will go, since the skin will be open in the area that would provide the most difficulty in traversing the AS.



Funny story. I was replacing the vents a few weeks ago. The vent opening was smaller than the Maxxair needed. I started using handheld metal cutters to widen the opening which became too difficult, so I figured this was a good time to buy powered metal shears, I thought I had one already but couldn't find it so off I went, Harbor Freight were out of stock, so Home Depot had a pretty good one but a bit pricey, since I had two more vents and time is always a problem for me I went ahead and purchased. Used it for a few minutes and the vent dropped in perfectly. When I did the bedroom and bathroom vents the opening was perfect for the Maxxair vents and dropped right in there. A few days later I found the Harbor Freight metal shears. Life happens around me. The way I see it, the new ones I bought are cordless, the Harbor Freight is corded.


The moral of the story is that I can 'lose' one of them and still have the other, 'one is none and two is one'.


I'll go ahead and send the pics to JC to see what they come up with. My wife is from the South Dayton area so it'd be a reasonable trip if the prices are reasonable. I also like the idea of using a truck repair shop if they do quality work. I have options. And I'll definitely utilize outofdoorsmart for parts. The axles will be checked as soon as I get two new wheels, don't like the idea of not having a spare tire.


Thanks again,


mitch

[Aerowood]

If you do decide to repair it yourself, you can PM for my phone number and I would be glad to answer questions. I did this type of work on airliners for decades. Once you get the skin pulled back you just have to repair each area separately, and not such a daunting task.