Idiot Backed Backed Into My Trailer - Fiberglass RV
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Old 12-19-2020, 09:27 PM   #1
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Idiot Backed Backed Into My Trailer

So my mom's neighbor backed into my trailer tonight doing a considerable amount of damage to my 72 compact jr. And despite him repeatedly saying how sorry he was and for me to get a quote(which I'll do first before attempting to make any repairs) and that he'd pay for it, I have a gut feeling I'm gonna end up making the repairs myself. Although at the very least make him pay for the material and supplies needed. I say this because my trailer wasn't insured and civil court matters would also cost me time and money on top of taking off work and on top of that with the current situation regarding Covid-19 I'm not to sure I'll be at the top of anybody's priority list. My question is how would some of you go about making this repair, would i have to cut the damaged area out or is there enough there to where I could make the repair from the inside of the trailer. (I'd prefer the latter) My trailer was painted so gelcoat repair will not be an issueClick image for larger version

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Old 12-19-2020, 10:41 PM   #2
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Looks very repairable to me. You'll do the structural part of the repair from the inside and cosmetic touch-up on the outside. Here's a link to a helpful primer on fiberglass repair:
You Can Repair Fiberglass
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Old 12-20-2020, 04:36 AM   #3
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I would get a quote from a place that repairs fiberglass boats. That will give you an idea of what the cost of a professional repair is. If the guy balks, take him to small claims court. Yes it will cost you time. But the court fee is low, no lawyer. If the guy fails to show, you win. Pita but .......
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Old 12-20-2020, 07:38 AM   #4
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How about giving the guy a chance. Get a written estimate from a reliable boat place and give it to him. He may open his pocketbook and hand you the cash. Used to happen quite often. Just sayin..
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Old 12-20-2020, 07:51 AM   #5
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Why not just contact his auto insurance?
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Old 12-20-2020, 07:57 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Raz View Post
I would get a quote from a place that repairs fiberglass boats. That will give you an idea of what the cost of a professional repair is. If the guy balks, take him to small claims court. Yes it will cost you time. But the court fee is low, no lawyer. If the guy fails to show, you win. Pita but .......
It has been my experience that small claims court rulings can be difficult to enforce if the defendant ignores the ruling. The best you can sometimes do is to put a lien on his vehicle or his home. First, I would get a police report and ascertain who insures his vehicle. If he balks, call his insurance company and deal with them. Hopefully, his word will be good. But as Raz says, boat marina is probably the best place to go. This isn’t boating season in Kansas. You may be able to get it fixed relatively fast. And any body shop that repairs Corvettes would be a second choice.
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Old 12-20-2020, 10:08 AM   #7
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Why not just contact his auto insurance?
Because his automobile insurance company would take one look at it, total the trailer, and hand you a check for $100.00!
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Old 12-20-2020, 10:13 AM   #8
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People make mistakes. I've done two or three myself. Since the guy's your neighbor, I doubt he would want to make you his enemy. Get an estimate from a repair shop and give it to him. Odds are this can be repaired so that it will be invisible when done.
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Old 12-20-2020, 10:32 AM   #9
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Trailer damage

Hi Brian - as Judge Judy might say, keep a good record of this event and all conversations/contacts you have with this fellow. If it does end up going to a court, your word against his is worth nothing.
Contact him via email so there will be a record. Make time to get several reliable repair estimates from professional shops. Many auto body shops are capable of repairing fiberglass auto bodies. A good RV dealership should be as well, or be able to send you to others who will.
Again, keep a good trail of everything you do on this, everything this fellow and everything the repair shops say. Might also be good to establish the trailer's value by finding others that have sold, either thru this site or fiberglass-rv-4sale.
It probably looks worse than it is. Best of luck with it.
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Old 12-20-2020, 10:53 AM   #10
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The repair looks simple from the pic shared.
As someone else stated, give the guy a chance.
If your gonna repair it yourself give him a quote
for materials and labour, see where that goes.
Fred
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Old 12-20-2020, 11:00 AM   #11
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Looks repairable. Have a professional do it. His insurance should pay, therefore why should you be putting yourself through the hassle.
It doesn't take an idiot to do something like backing into you, just a moment of lacking concentration. I am always aware that as I put thousands of travel miles on my trailer someone may drive through the side of it. My real fear is someone driving through the side of my tug. Just the risk we take owning or driving any type of vehicle.
You will feel better if you accept your neighbors apology and his insurance money.
Don't sweat the small stuff.
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Old 12-20-2020, 11:16 AM   #12
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I'd take it to a Corvette shop ... and see if they'd give you a loaner!
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Old 12-20-2020, 11:23 AM   #13
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How about giving the guy a chance. Get a written estimate from a reliable boat place and give it to him. He may open his pocketbook and hand you the cash. Used to happen quite often. Just sayin..
I agree. What's with everyone thinking the OP will need to sue? It's his Mom's neighbor. Perhaps they've been friends for years. I'm not overly polite, but would definitely give the guy a chance to make it right. All this lawsuit stuff just rackets up the rhetoric. Maybe y'all have bad neighbors...
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Old 12-20-2020, 11:29 AM   #14
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I'm sorry for your experience. It's so hard emotionally to have your "baby" injured and having to deal with the ramifications. You've received quite a bit of sympathy and good advice for your situation. If one lives long enough you will be both the recipient of "fender benders" AND also be the perpetrator. There is a reason these are called "accidents". Most people do not do these things on purpose and most are remorseful and try to make things right.

In my middle age I backed into and made contact with two cars, on separate occasions, parked behind my driveway on the narrow street where I live. Since then, I've purchased a modern car with a rear camera and warning system. On many an occasion I've been so happy to have that and other safety features on my vehicle. No rear collisions since then.

Since there are so many RVers who read this forum I'll add my two bits of wisdom, hard earned. Be sure to insure your RV (as well as your TV) AND get roadside assistance service for BOTH your RV and TV. Here's my story...While we are careful to inspect and care for our RV and TV tires regularly we had not one but two "tire incidents", beyond compare, on one trip from San Francisco to Seattle (and beyond for camping). We ended up having to replace all SEVEN tires on this trip.

We barely got to the Oregon border on HW 5 when the driver-side tire blew on our 13' Scamp trailer. We pulled over, called our insurance company and they said they had no responsibility as we only had the TV insured. We said we would pay full price for the tire service (what else were we to do? We are in our 70s and it is VERY DANGEROUS to be on the traffic side of the vehicle) They said they would send out a tire repair person right away. An hour passed. We called the insurance company back. They assured us someone would come. Meanwhile a CHP officer stopped and offered aid. We said we were good and thanked him (That turned out to be a big mistake!). We waited 5 hours total and still no sign of help. (Meanwhile our phone battery is low.) We called the CHP and explained the situation. In less than 1/2 hour a tow/repair truck appeared out of the blue (not the one we had ordered) and the service man had our spare put on in NO TIME and THERE WAS NO CHARGE! By now it was dark and, being seniors, we avoid driving in the dark. We asked him to escort us to the next exit, which he kindly did, and we were on our way to the nearest campground (after nearly escaping a collision with a semi [our fault]. LESSON #1: Accept help from the CHP, ALWAYS.

Fortunately, there was a tire service company across the street from our campground and in 1/2 a day we were on the road with 3 new tires. (We weren't taking any chances with the other "good" tires.)

The next day, at about noon, we drove over a pothole on the freeway and one car tire blew! What were the chances? Not high, evidently. We had several factors in our favor this time. #1 This incident happened at a highway rest stop and we could pull over into a safe spot. #2 We could easily identify where we were as the name and number of the rest stop was on signage on the building. #3 Our vehicle was covered by California AAA roadside assistance and they sent out a truck right away.

NOT to our advantage was that we had to empty our compact SUV (to access the spare) which was packed floor to ceiling with our son's belongings as we were helping him move to Seattle, where he was now living, awaiting our arrival. On top of the pile was his large flat-screen TV, ugh. I will never laugh at people who are stopped at the side of the road with all their belongings strewn alongside their vehicle while they replace a flat tire. I will only show sympathy.

The spare was put on, we re-packed our vehicle and we were on our way knowing we had one more visit to, yet another, tire repair shop along the way. As it turned out we could have waited 3 days for our matching tire to arrive at the shop OR replace 4 new tires on the spot and be on our way. (The reason for this was that our vehicle is four-wheel drive and, in this situation, it is imperative that all four tires match both in manufacturer/model and in wear and tear so that the car can operate safely.) We opted for the later.

Well, that was a long-winded story only meant to show that we all experience unfortunate events in our lives. In your case and mine, "it's only stuff" and we can be grateful for the helpful people we meet along our journey and be especially grateful in these times of a world-wide pandemic to have our good health and our families/friends.

Happy and Safe Holidays to you, and one and all.
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Old 12-20-2020, 12:19 PM   #15
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I agree with the other posts that you should get at least two repair estimates and see how the person who caused the damage wants to proceed. The damage in the picture is repairable but should be completed by someone who knows what they are doing. Once the broken pieces are aligned as well as possible, coat the inside of the wall with one or better still several coats of fiberglass resin and then fiberglass mat soaked in resin. The outside is the same as an autobody repair; remove loose pieces, sand, fill, sand, prime, paint etc. Fiberglass resin is nasty stuff, vapors which can be inhaled, skin absorption if it gets on your hands, dust from sanding etc. A friendly word of advice from someone who has done this type of work, if you are confident you can do this have at it. If not, take it to a shop that does this work. I've seen people attempt these repairs unsuccessfully and turn a smaller repair into a much larger and more expensive one. Good luck!
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Old 12-21-2020, 07:08 PM   #16
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I agree with the other posts that you should get at least two repair estimates and see how the person who caused the damage wants to proceed. The damage in the picture is repairable but should be completed by someone who knows what they are doing. Once the broken pieces are aligned as well as possible, coat the inside of the wall with one or better still several coats of fiberglass resin and then fiberglass mat soaked in resin. The outside is the same as an autobody repair; remove loose pieces, sand, fill, sand, prime, paint etc. Fiberglass resin is nasty stuff, vapors which can be inhaled, skin absorption if it gets on your hands, dust from sanding etc. A friendly word of advice from someone who has done this type of work, if you are confident you can do this have at it. If not, take it to a shop that does this work. I've seen people attempt these repairs unsuccessfully and turn a smaller repair into a much larger and more expensive one. Good luck!
If you do decide to do the repair yourself I would strongly recommend using epoxy resin rather than polyester. It is stronger, more flexible, gives you much greater working time, and unlike polyester has virtually no odor (a respirator is still probably advisable). It also sands cleanly the next day unlike the residual gummy characteristic of polyester. Use filler to make the resin the appropriate viscosity for the place you are applying it.
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Old 12-22-2020, 09:26 AM   #17
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Hi: Brian Dale... Not to worry... It'll buff out!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie
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Old 12-22-2020, 01:11 PM   #18
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Gilda, what’s that on the rear of your 13’ ? Do you have something on the 13’s rear trailer hitch? I’m trying to figure out what I would use mine for. thanks, MJo
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Old 12-26-2020, 12:21 PM   #19
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sad to see reaction

Labelling someone an 'idiot' is not the best way to find a solution. Posted advice good. Get 2 estimates, give to the guilty driver, and negotiate how you want things repaired: insurance or cash, body shop or self. Over the years, I have had several incidents of people damaging cars/boats by accident. Never had a problem with adults owning up and getting a fix to satisfaction. What is this world coming to? AF.
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Old 12-26-2020, 12:46 PM   #20
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Agree with other posts that you should go to a boat repair shop that works on fiberglass and get a quote, the damage looks very repairable. Sounds like your mom's neighbor is willing to make the situation right so follow that path and hope it all works out.
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