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FurtherAir · 07-22-2021, 02:09 PM

Hi everyone,
Last night while stopping off at a friend's house in St. Paul, MN, our fully renovated 1964 Airstream was hit from behind by a drunk driver. The 50mph to dead stop hit took out the left rear quarter panel, and violently transferred energy through to my Tacoma which may need to be totaled.
No one was inside the trailer or truck at the time of collision.
The day has been filled with phone calls to insurance companies while we try to reroute our month long trip with a 9 and 6 year old, through Duluth, and back to home in Washington state.
Our beloved 'Jack' is injured, and I am now looking for safe ways to get him to a place for repair, and back to us. Being in MN, I know there are incredible Airstream shops in the Midwest. Anyone know where to send and how to get him there?

GetawA-S · 07-22-2021, 02:25 PM

What a bummer/bimmer!
I hate to say it, but you probably have a tough road to be made whole. At least your family is safe.
In a case like this, I would contact a lawyer sooner rather than later. So many intangibles! I’ve had too much experience with insurance companies that promise the moon until it’s too late to change course.
Good luck.

OTRA15 · 07-22-2021, 02:33 PM

Welcome to the forum . . . so sorry . . glad that you and family are OK!

FYI this recent thread may be helpful in some way:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f42...ne-222385.html

Good luck,

Peter

FYI
FWIW

Lafitte · 07-22-2021, 02:33 PM

I would vote for a total loss on your AS.
Might be a better choice.

OTRA15 · 07-22-2021, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lafitte

I would vote for a total loss on your AS.
. . .

You might want to check out the extensive thread just linked in Post #3. The damage there was worse, and the trailer was fully repaired under the insurance IMO. A recent post there has asked the OP to update everyone on this.

Peter

pteck · 07-22-2021, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTRA15

You might want to check out the extensive thread just linked in Post #3. The damage there was worse, and the trailer was fully repaired under the insurance IMO. A recent post there has asked the OP to update everyone on this.

Peter

Plausible but there's a pretty big difference. The incident in the link was to a relatively new and high value 2015 30' Airstream. This is to a vintage airstream where value is much harder to assess. I tend to agree with Lafitte that this is a total loss. Understanding that there was enough force to total the tow vehicle, also suggests the trailer would be totaled.

uncle_bob · 07-22-2021, 03:13 PM

Hi

We don't need to have all the details. However, you will soon become familiar with a few things:

1) How much is the trailer insured for on your policy? If it's "Blue Book" the answer is near nothing.

2) How much is the truck insured for on your policy? It should be a pretty good sum.

3) How much coverage does the BMW guy have? This appears to be his fault and not yours. (and how does this work in Minnesota ....).

3) How much money does the BMW guy have? You can't get more than his net worth out of him once his insurance runs out.

4) How much would you put of your own money into this? Only you can answer that one ....

Until your lawyer gives you some rough ideas about this and that, I'd wait a bit on committing to a rebuild. For now I'd send some pictures to JC and let them give you some rough estimates on the trailer.

Understand that until it all gets taken apart nobody is really going to know how much damage there is......

Bob

FurtherAir · 07-22-2021, 04:10 PM

I appreciate your note Uncle_Bob. Its not really others place to say whether I should total or not. I'm simply looking for places to assess and possibly fix the damage.
Is JC, Jackson Center, Ohio? With a full new and incredible renovation inside, will they work on such a non-Airstream, Airstream?

OTRA15 · 07-22-2021, 06:18 PM

Yes, Jackson Center will work on any Airstream IMO. Email them images and ask for feedback and a rough estimate IMO.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Jack...=airforums.com
https://www.airforums.com/forums/f35...te-203479.html

https://www.airstream.com/owners/service/
https://www.airstream.com/company/contact/

Peter

uncle_bob · 07-23-2021, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FurtherAir

I appreciate your note Uncle_Bob. Its not really others place to say whether I should total or not. I'm simply looking for places to assess and possibly fix the damage.
Is JC, Jackson Center, Ohio? With a full new and incredible renovation inside, will they work on such a non-Airstream, Airstream?

Hi

They most certainly will and do work on all sorts of "enhanced" Airstreams. I've seen several of them being worked on there. The folks I've talked to seem to be pretty happy with the work they have done on them.

Again, this is not to say you should only go to JC for the actual work. What you probably need early on is some documentation of what range the repairs fall into. That feeds into the evaluation / insurance / lawyer process.

Bob

kebrita · 07-23-2021, 09:48 AM

Sorry about your baby. We had an accident with 20k worth of damage last year. We had it fixed in Jackson Center. They were very accommodating and did very good work. Terry was our rep.

tjdonahoe · 07-23-2021, 09:55 AM

Wow…walk away…

Minno · 07-23-2021, 10:31 AM

The Airstream dealer in the area: Lazydays, does not have a good reputation among AS owners for service. I would NOT go there....

Kay

PatLee · 07-23-2021, 11:04 AM

Jackson Center in Ohio (AS factory) could fix Jack but it might take awhile for them to schedule it in. Another dealer is Northwest Adventures Airstream in Idaho, they are very good.

psgtanks24 · 07-23-2021, 11:06 AM

My 1997 Excella had extensive accident damage. The team at P&S Trailer Repair in Helena, OH gave me an estimate from pictures. I towed the Trailer out from MD, they gave me a refined estimate on site and repaired the Trailer beyong my expectations. Well worth your time to see if they can help you. I would nor assume it is totaled.

PatLee · 07-23-2021, 11:07 AM

Find out if the BMW owner has umbrella insurance and if yes, get a lawyer to go after full restitution.

doctorlewis · 07-23-2021, 11:10 AM

As many others have mentioned - check with Jackson Center. They do good work but many AS dealerships that do body work do not have anywhere near the experience as Jackson Center. Also, dealerships usually do not have the ability to work on vintage units.

featherbedder · 07-23-2021, 12:22 PM

I feel very bad because your airstream was heavily damaged and possible total of AS & veh. Hope person has good ins. & drivers lic. Plus for you if ticketed by police or arrested. Go for everything you can. I don't no laws your state but Illinois if vehicle totaled less than 9 yrs. old can not buy back [chop shop laws] will be a loss for you as they will low ball value, unless have prov. for replacement. If drunk has high risk ins. also bad news. My wife was hit at red light 3 veh. involved, person at fault got 2 tickets never slowed w/red signals all dir. because of ambulance. Wife to hospital bruised chest, glasses broke and knee inj. Car 9 yrs old I pur back. 3wks now still waiting for my ins. to pay. Other driver high risk ins. I'm not lawyer but use your ins. let them go after other driver.

Mikebrady62 · 07-23-2021, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GetawA-S

What a bummer/bimmer!
I hate to say it, but you probably have a tough road to be made whole. At least your family is safe.
In a case like this, I would contact a lawyer sooner rather than later. So many intangibles! I’ve had too much experience with insurance companies that promise the moon until it’s too late to change course.
Good luck.

I'm glad no one was in your TV or AS!
Only you know what this AS means to you and your family. In any case, my guess is the other guys insurance will "total" it and try to short change what it is worth to you. Jackson Center can certainly repair it and repair it well.
Good luck and I hope your outcome is satisfactorily to you.

Tom_T · 07-23-2021, 03:43 PM

Sorry for the losses.

If you don't already have an appraisal on your renovated/restored AS, then now is the time to contact James Polk Associates for one, in order to get full restitution from your own insurance &/or the BMW owner's insurance/assets. You can read about him & watch a video on appraisals at Vintage Camping Trailer Magazine website.

https://polkassociates-llc.com/

While there may be some reliable AS shops &/or dealers in MN - you'd probably be better off taking it to the shop that did yours, or a WA shop closer to your home turf.

Another well reputed AS restoration shop doing resto-mods like you're describing here in SoCal is Uwe Salwender (Oooo-veh) at Area 63 Productions who could either do the work, or perhaps can recco a shop near you to do the work, as well as whether it's worth doing the repairs.

http://www.area63productions.com/

Contact Uwe at the email & phone at the website, but his shop had to be moved from the Lytle Creek location after a CA brush fire went through & destroyed it a couple of years back - so ignore the location closed info.

PS - I'm not sure how well JC can do with a vintage AS that's been restored - vs. an actual well reputed & experienced AS resto shop, since JC seems to be more up to speed on the 2000> units, plus they already have a huge backlog from the posts I see on here.

Good Luck!

Tom
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