Visit our Popular Forums

onefiftyfour · 06-30-2022, 06:48 AM

A few days ago we were in the Livingston, MT KOA when a storm came quickly through with very high winds. Long story short, a tree fell on the back right side corner of our 16 ft 2020 Caravel. We now have several dents on the roof, a shattered corner window, and a bent bumper. And lots of rain water came in. I'll try to attach photos.

My questions are:

Who can repair this?

How much will it cost? (a guess)

We will be living in Ann Arbor MI. I've started the insurance process.

Any other advice?

We were able to tarp and duct tape the window. The bed corner is damp but we are able to tow it and sleep in it. We count ourselves lucky that no one got hurt and the damage could be a lot worse.

dznf0g · 06-30-2022, 06:52 AM

My SWAG is about $5500.

Since you are moving to Ann Arbor, I would take it to the factory service center in Jackson Center, Ohio.

onefiftyfour · 06-30-2022, 07:03 AM

Thank you. That doesn't seem to bad.

rich e · 06-30-2022, 07:18 AM

I have experience with P&S in Helena,Ohio. The Ruth family is highly qualified and take great pride in their work.

WellSaid11 · 06-30-2022, 07:46 AM

When are you moving to AA? If soon, then get it done at Jackson Center.

If moving in a while and you will be in SB/CA for some time, then Vinnie's Northbay AS in Wilton, CA is the way to go.

Good luck!

Silvr_Bullet · 06-30-2022, 07:51 AM

If you email photos to Jackson Center they can estimate cost for repairs, with your insurance company I would specify that this is an estimate and the cost could be higher and you want it repaired at the factory facility, way more $ than some have estimated a repair to be.

Island Rat · 06-30-2022, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onefiftyfour

A few days ago we were in the Livingston, MT KOA when a storm came quickly through with very high winds. Long story short, a tree fell on the back right side corner of our 16 ft 2020 Caravel. We now have several dents on the roof, a shattered corner window, and a bent bumper. And lots of rain water came in. I'll try to attach photos.

My questions are:

Who can repair this?

How much will it cost? (a guess)

We will be living in Ann Arbor MI. I've started the insurance process.

Any other advice?

We were able to tarp and duct tape the window. The bed corner is damp but we are able to tow it and sleep in it. We count ourselves lucky that no one got hurt and the damage could be a lot worse.

We had similar damages to our 23' FC. Since all panels damaged needs replacement along with damage to our Fantastic Fan cover our costs were 18m. We got our work done at Airstream Dealer in Portland.

uncle_bob · 06-30-2022, 10:11 AM

Hi

With any repair like this, there always is a range. Until they tear things apart, they really don't know all of what is damaged. Cost probably can't be any less than $4K. It could be 4X that much.

Bob

Richard59 · 06-30-2022, 10:31 AM

The window obviously is an airstream part. Talk to a good paintless dent repair shop about the skin damage. The things they can fix will shock you and it is a tiny fraction of the cost of replacement and less intrusive. I have had it done several times

greenflag · 06-30-2022, 03:18 PM

I dented the same curved roof panel on my 30 AI. 8 thousand dollars at my dealer.

mgblake13 · 06-30-2022, 04:29 PM

I had a big branch fall on the back of my airstream that had similar damage. I highly recommend going through insurance and taking it to an airstream dealership. I used colonial airstream in NJ. They replaced the panels that were damaged and fixed the damaged red lights on the roof. I don’t recommend paintless dent repair. If you are paying for insurance then use it. It will just cost you your deductible. Think of any upgrades you want while it’s in the shop. I got a nice lithium battery upgrade. 👍🏽

Wayne&Sam · 06-30-2022, 05:03 PM

THe. Mother. Ship.

onefiftyfour · 06-30-2022, 07:55 PM

Thanks everyone!

Boxite · 06-30-2022, 08:01 PM

Similar damage to our 22 Sport (except no window damage) was $7K to replace the corner sheet metal and reseal. I’d guess about $9K. Get Jackson to recommend a place for repair and don’t argue.

Richard59 · 06-30-2022, 11:10 PM

I see some folks may not have experience with paint dent repair. If it is possible to do PDR it is absolutely the best option. Even factory repairs will be done from the exterior meaning they will use olympic rivets vs the factory standard buck rivets and the rivet seam will not be sealed from the inside. Having gutted and renovated several airstreams it is very clear to me when a panel has been replaced. If you can possibly repair the damage without replacing the panels it is well worth a couple hundred dollars to try PDR first. You can always replace the panel(s) if the PDR does not work for you. Voice of experience.

Silvr_Bullet · 07-01-2022, 03:18 AM

When repairs are done at Jackson Center it will be done with Buck Rivets, I don’t know if they would use any other method there, using them requires removing cabinets and interior skin, that adds tremendously to the cost of the repair work, but it’s then like factory new and maintains the highest selling value. As someone wrote an insurance claim will result in a deductible to the OP, this is a newer trailer, makes sense, at least to me, to get the best repair possible. You may even be able to get travel expense, possibly.

dznf0g · 07-01-2022, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silvr_Bullet

When repairs are done at Jackson Center it will be done with Buck Rivets, I don’t know if they would use any other method there, using them requires removing cabinets and interior skin, that adds tremendously to the cost of the repair work, but it’s then like factory new and maintains the highest selling value. As someone wrote an insurance claim will result in a deductible to the OP, this is a newer trailer, makes sense, at least to me, to get the best repair possible. You may even be able to get travel expense, possibly.

They didn't use buck rivets with either of my repairs at JC.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Airstream Forums mobile app

Silvr_Bullet · 07-01-2022, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

They didn't use buck rivets with either of my repairs at JC.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Airstream Forums mobile app

If you wanted to pay, they would have. What did you have repaired?

01bambi16 · 07-01-2022, 12:34 PM

So now you have to tell the mother ship how to affect a repair?

Wazbro · 07-01-2022, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01bambi16

So now you have to tell the mother ship how to affect a repair?

On another thread someone said that JC gave them 2 quotes, one with Olympic rivets the other with buck rivets. He said the JC guy said that with how new the trailer was he would recommend the bucked rivets and if the trailer was older he would go with Olympic.