My wife and I went to ffice:smarttags" /><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comlace>Salina</ST1lace></st1:City> last week for the KKOA show. Right as we pulled into town going to register while sitting at a stop light an older man (70's) ran into the car stopped behind us and then they hit us.<O</O <O</O Once we got pulled off to a safe spot we waited for the local police to get there. I had to figure out which fuse got blown when they hit us which seems like it should be easy but the wife of the guy that hit us was pretty much in the way most of the time. So to make a long story short we got all of the insurance info and parted ways I had a buddy come drag my truck up the street so I could get in the shade to find my bad fuse. (They are all labeled way more clearly now) We then went out to the campgrounds we were staying at where I looked over the damage. The bumper on the camper is pushed in and the mounts broke. Then I noticed that the truck was sitting lower on one side than the other upon further inspection I found that the hitch had broken off and pulled the frame in on the drivers side in several places. <OI know I need to take my truck in and get a couple estimates on getting the frame fixed and maybe they will see other stuff that happened it will be very apparent what is bent on that due to there being freshish paint on the frame But on my camper it has a 36 ford rear bumped that pretty much all of the chrome has came off. Should I even bother with taking that in to a shop or are they just going to look at it and say that trailer isnt worth anything anyway? I plan on taking it into a couple hot rod shops around KC. <O</O
Well, you got hit and you should get estimates on any and everything that was damaged. It sounds like no one was hurt and that's always a good thing.
I bent frame, sounds like a total lost. If you have full coveral with an agreed value, you might be getting paid. Don't touch it.
"But on my camper it has a 36 ford rear bumped that pretty much all of the chrome has came off. Should I even bother with taking that in to a shop or are they just going to look at it and say that trailer isn’t worth anything anyway? I plan on taking it into a couple hot rod shops around KC. <o</o" From the sounds of it, all of you got a pretty hard whack. I took a look at the photos of your trailer in your album. Nice little teardrop. I've always loved those. Your trailer certainly took some abuse and should be inspected carefully. Its basically built on a ladder type frame. When hit, they "rack": "no longer square" if you know what I mean. Your trailer HAS A VALUE, and the damages should be presented to his insurance company. I'm not trying to talk you into fraud or anything like that. Look at it this way, if you had to go out to buy a similar teardrop, how much would you have to pay ? The trailer certainly is an antique that you have prepared for safe, dependable family use. For your truck, remember to look at your engine and tranny mounts to see if they shifted. Glad that everyone is ok, that is the most important thing. All the best, Dale Cleveland OH
Two shops that come to mind are Tallents Hotrod Shop and Suburban Rod and Custom. They will understand the value of the bumper.