Hail Repair

[Elvie]

On July 20, 2009 our Bambi suffered massive hail damage in a major Denver Colorado storm.







Luckily, we had “full replacement coverage” on our National Interstate insurance policy, which in early spring 2010 struck a deal with Timeless Travel Trailers (“TTT”) to do the serious repairs. TTT had some delays to its own scheduling, and the work was begun about mid-April. The following was done under the insurance agreement:

1. Both end caps replaced.
2. Left side and roof metal replaced.
3. New air conditioner, rear window, fantastic fan, several other vents, and rear bumper cargo hatch recovered.
4. Decals, insignia, and other “small” items.

I also asked them to do the following work (unrelated to the hail damage) at my own expense:

a. Replace the STOCK but UNDER-CAPACITY axle, which necessitated replacing wheels and tires (factory specs allowed just 90 lbs over dry wt for all our stuff).
b. Remove the TV antenna which is not used by us to watch TV anyway.
c. Fix the rear belly pan from “oil canning.” This had caused a number of rivets to fail on it and was only noticed during a strong wind from the rear while parked.
d. Repair a small water leak from the city water input fitting when heating water with the water heater.

All was going well until TTT removed the rear end cap to replace it and found the floor rotted for about 4 feet forward from the bumper.



It was replaced with plywood, carpet, and diamond plate at our expense. It appears to have been poor design in the first place but has been “cured” by the repairs per TTT.

Conclusions: In the main, TTT’s work has been most satisfactory, with the following comments:

1. When I picked it up as “ready”, I found that the rear belly pan had not been fully re-riveted; it was fixed immediately.
2. TTT’s own need for rescheduling and the above mentioned “surprises” resulted in a final pickup date (5/28/10) just a few days before we were due to return to full-timing after a year’s absence and drive to meet a friend in Washington State. This left us little time to fully check out the repairs, let alone correct anything that might need it, or to verify that we had packed what we needed to re-outfit the RV.
3. TTT had pressure-tested the water system and found it okay. I found first one leak, then another, neither of which TTT had caused and which TTT did at its own expense repair promptly and well but which caused them and us stress in the last few days as we were trying to leave (the workers gave up part of their Memorial Day weekend, for which I thank them heartily).
4. The end caps Airstream sent to TTT were not identical to the ones they replaced, and thus there are small irregularities where some of the interior panels meet.
5. I would like to compliment TTT for installing the air conditioner straighter than it was originally.
6. National Interstate (primarily Elizabeth Mann) was courteous, professional, and very cooperative considering the number of claims being processed from that hailstorm.

I would give TTT an A+ for the physical work that they did and maybe a B- for scheduling and communicating about that, and Airstream a C for its delay in shipping parts and the irregularities in the end caps. I would like to especially thank Terry Wall at TTT for the time he took in explaining all of what had to be done, and for his help in getting our little home back on the road again; thank you, Terry.

[Kevin245]

That's some serious hail damage. Glad to hear that the repairs are completed and you're back on the road again. How about a few "After" photographs for comparison?

Kevin

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, as for the floor water damage, is this caused by fact that Airstream did not use sealer in the area where the bumper cover and body meet? Or did you have other leaks causing this to happen?

[Elvie]

Re "after" photos, I'll post some later, but it looks perfect!

About the leaks from the rear. I wasn't there just as TTT were tearing into it, but there have been some remarks on this forum about poor design in that area. I would like to think AS would correct these things as soon as they know about them, but alas. I'd have liked it to be perfect, but people in hell want ice water, too.

As a long time lurker, I'd have to say AS is as good as it gets.

I neglected to mention that during the warranty period several problems were handled immediately and to my satisfaction by several dealers we visited including Windish in Denver, a dealer in Ohio, the name of which I can't remember, and Bates in Florida. All three get points from me.

[Soyboy]

Elvie, where are the "after" photos!:-)

[Elvie]

Sorry Soyboy, I'm in a library and the external hard drive with all the pictures is in the AS back at the campground. Actually, come to think of it I didn't take any close pictures as it came from TTT cause we were in a hurry to get outa town

Now it's just a tad dirty, trust me, it looks new. I'll do it one of these days thanks for asking.

[knunut]

Glad to hear that your doing ok now. Thank's for posting the pictures. Got a "Yuk" feeling looking at the damage.
Will take that back trim off our 07 ,I'm sure there is NO caulk.Then i'll feel "Yuk" again. Will caulk and hope it stays together for retirement.This problem(NO caulk on rear seam) has numerous post and thread's.

[gduff]

We just got hit the end of June in Bozeman, MT. Major damage to the front and end caps, roof and passenger side. We are having a dealer in Billings look at the trailer this week. Would you have any idea what the costs are to reskin the trailer?

[Elvie]

I'm terrible with numbers but I think TTT was of the opinion that more then 4(?) skin pieces on the end cap cost more then replacing the entire end cap. Both of ours were replaced along with the left side panel and roof. I have the paper work with me but it's in the trailer and I'm at the library, I'll look it up and get back to you. Somehow 3500 per end cap comes to mind but don't count on this number.

We are very glad we had full replacement coverage!

[gduff]

When I get an estimate from the dealer, I'll let you know as well. We are suppose to have full coverage as well, so we will see how the insurance company is to work with. It hit our pickup and we had it repaired last week with no problems. Our trailer is a 27 ft FB Classic so we will see how the prices compare.

Moving to Bozeman, so it was a nice welcome.

[grwalk]

Were you happy with your insurance company, who handle the claim? Also what agent did you use? I have been thinking about getting the full replacement coverage, agreed upon value.

[Elvie]

We were very happy with National Interstate Insurance.

gduff

End caps were around 5,000 for removing and installing each one. Interior panels were re-used as they were not damaged.

Approximately 3,000 each for two side and one roof.

None of these money figures should be taken as anything other then a rough guide as your damage will vary.

None of this seemed high when I considered the amount of work involved and the level of damage. TTT had the trailer for a month and I usually saw at least two fellows working on it at a time.

A friend of mine told me some time ago that this storm has cost over 750,000 so far. It was very serious.

Good luck with your project.

[Elvie]

I was going to post an after picture but it won't load, just love computers and the internet. It was only 971.1 KB.

I'll try another time.

[Distantdrummer]

Very glad it worked out for yall.
(not withstanding the A/C) $20,000 give or take for cosmetics, .
I think you might consider naming the trailer ZsaZsa.

I suspect that I would have named it Scarface and pocketed the 20 grand.

[Elvie]

Here is the after picture, if the upload works.

Okay, evidently I'm not allowed to post pictures on my own thread. Sorry, but the after picture won't be put up.

We were very happy with National Interstate Insurance so give them high marks.

Timeless Travel Trailers gets high marks from us and other folks we've talked with.

We have no commercial interest in any of the companies involved.

[Soyboy]

Thanks Elvie, it looks great, I'm glad you were able to get it repaired.

[Elvie]

It did upload

I hate computers

So why did it load this one as an attachment but showed the others as thumb nails?

[Elvie]

Finally done with the axle upgrade so the trailer could officially carry more then 97 lbs of our stuff. It's now 997 lbs carrying capacity. A little overkill perhaps, but I like lots of unused capacity.

There was a loss of lights over the bed caused by a plug that wasn't clipped right, now happily fixed.

An air leak around the fridge also fixed, caused by some missing material-fixed.

Finally, finally done at last, wow what an adventure.

Lessons learned.

1. Carry insurance-pay for enough coverage and sleep at night.

2. Take it to Timeless Travel Trailers for anything, I think their troubles are behind them now, and the business looks healthy in my opinion.

3. Don't worry, be happy, remember, if not now, when.

See ya down the road

[gduff]

The estimate came in at ~ $31,000 to repair our 27FB Classic. We have Liberty insurance and they didn't dispute anything on the claim. The trailer is in Billings getting fixed and will be done this winter. I will post before and after pictures when we get the trailer back.

[Bluto]

Originally Posted by gduff

The estimate came in at ~ $31,000 to repair our 27FB Classic. We have Liberty insurance and they didn't dispute anything on the claim. The trailer is in Billings getting fixed and will be done this winter. I will post before and after pictures when we get the trailer back.

What year is the Classic that you are having repaired? Your signature has a different model listed.