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Buy Appropriate Insurance! What a disaster!


BigRich

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Hi Everyone,

 

I just wanted to share my recent disaster with everyone and make sure nobody else makes the same mistake! Last month, I brought our recently purchased Chieftain (Ford V-10, 35U chassis) to the dealer for the infamous defective reverse gear transmission rebuild that every one of these will eventually suffer from if you didn't take advantage of the recall. The wait time on the rebuild was 8 weeks+, but they offered free storage, so we left it in their secure yard. Well, as we have always done while in storage, we dropped the comp and collision from the insurance policy... BIG MISTAKE! As you have all probably heard, LA suffered yet another round of flooding, and of course, our RV took on water above the dash for over a week.

 

Please don't make this mistake! We have been RVing since 1979, and every time we have stored our coach for more than two months, we have always dropped the comp and collision, but never again! Worst thing is, I just retired, and my wife is following in February. We had our entire first year already planned out! Not sure what we're going to do now, at this point...

 

-Rich

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2004 Coachman, F-53, 36'

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Rich - Thanks for sharing your 'learning experience' with us.

 

Congrats on retirement, and the DW's upcoming one too...

 

Yep, a PITA, and probably a good hit to the pocket book. Best of luck on getting this one behind you, and our for the "Woo Hoo!" for the future,

Smitty

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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Thanks Smitty! We'll get it behind us for sure. We just bought a new 2016 toad, so I spent the morning listing it for sale or trade on about 20 classified sites. Hopefully we can overcome this by selling or trading the car and pick up our plans without the toad. Heck, Enterprise can just pick us up, right? :-)

 

-Rich

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2004 Coachman, F-53, 36'

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So sorry. We try to do the wide thing and it comes back to bite us. Hopefully you can find something reasonable. Check your homeowners. It may provide some coverage of it is normally kept at home.

Ron C.

2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3

2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime

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So I had an interesting conversation with the Service Manager and the salvage company today. They're offering $2500 for the salvage, as is. This means I can't remove any belongings or even my brand new solar setup. I have to either take the money or have the coach removed from the property by Friday by a tow truck.

 

I DO have towing on my insurance with Geico, BUT, the insurance says they will tow to the nearest RV service shop, no mileage restrictions. Guess where that is? Right across the street! So now I have to either take the money or pay to have it towed to my storage. This seems to never end...

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2004 Coachman, F-53, 36'

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So sorry. We try to do the wide thing and it comes back to bite us. Hopefully you can find something reasonable. Check your homeowners. It may provide some coverage of it is normally kept at home.

Thanks Ronbo! Yeah, I have both my homeowners and RV insurance with Geico, so they know already. The homeowners said they will cover all personal belongings in the RV, but that won't even add up to the deductible. Thanks for the idea though!

 

-Rich

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2004 Coachman, F-53, 36'

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You do not have to accept this first offer. Hold firm on removing anything you installed. I would not take $2500. Windows, doors, AC unit, etc are worth way more in salvage. But with the number of destroyed RVs in the area, the market might be flooded with RV surplus parts. I bet you are not alone in this nightmare... So sorry

RoyB

South of Boston

2021 Dodge 2500 - 6.4L

Forest River 19RR Toy Hauler

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A couple of years back I checked with my insurance agent about dropping some of our coverage on our 5'r. They highly advised against it simply due to the fact that even if was in storage someone may run into it causing damage or other things like you unfortunately have experienced could happen. It wasn't really going to save me that much for the 6 mos. we would have it closed up, so I took the agents advice.

Gary & Penny

2015 Lance 1172

2005 Chevy 3500

2013 Bass Tracker 190 Pro Team

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That is a bummer, Rich. Hope things work out for you in the end. As someone said above, don't take the first offer on the unit....look for your own "comps" to be sure you are getting a fair value. You should be able to remove personal items from inside, but not things "permanently attached".

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

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Thanks for all the words of encouragement. The dealer storage lot has a specific clause that says they're not responsible for any damages or theft unless it's actually in the shop, so that's pretty much out of the question. I did get a certificate for a free set of tires and computer alignment from the service department, so that's a few grand right there for future use. But as far as the RV is concerned, there are only two salvage companies available in the area, the two servicing this lot, and both are just towing them off to a storage yard in MS to go on salvagebid.com.

 

You have to be licensed and insured to enter the lot where the coach is, so basically, I could hire any towing company to tow it to my storage, but then what can I really sell from it? Maybe I can save the solar panels and sell the AC units and windows, who knows, but it would cost me more for the tow, storage and then another tow to the junkyard than what I can make on salvaging it myself. I think I'm going to cut my losses and bring the title up there this afternoon to get my check. I really can't see making any profit on 16 year old parts...

 

-Rich

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2004 Coachman, F-53, 36'

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You should get advice from your lawyer as soon as last week. The dealer is liable for more than they offer.

Thanks Sehc. My neighbor is an attorney and he looked at the storage contract and pretty much said to just take the check from the salvage company. He said acts of God are without liability and when they're specifically disallowed in the storage contract, there's no recourse. If it had been in their shop, it would be a different story, but it was in a free storage area.

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http://rtrvg.com/blog/
2004 Coachman, F-53, 36'

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Thanks Sehc. My neighbor is an attorney and he looked at the storage contract and pretty much said to just take the check from the salvage company. He said acts of God are without liability and when they're specifically disallowed in the storage contract, there's no recourse. If it had been in their shop, it would be a different story, but it was in a free storage area.

Acts of God. . . . What exactly does this mean when on the road?

2009 Four Winds Chateau - 25' class C          2002 Chevy Tracker

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We have never dropped anything when in storage or away for a extended time and not using the vehicle. Cost vs benefits issue.

Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky

SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter.

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Reminds me of a time when we lived in a s&b house. We were tight so cancelled the contents part of our homeowners plan to save a little. Within a couple of months, my backyard amateur radio tower took a direct hit from lightning. By the way, lightning doesn't obey the rules. It followed my underground feedline sixty feet, then continued up and through the attic to the radio position. I didn't keep the feedline connected when not in use but it arced to the refrigerator, taking out a module. It took out a module on the TV, the garage door opener, and arced to a metal carpet edge strip which was blown a foot off the floor and made a four inch hole in the concrete floor. Oh yes, it also got the power supply for my two meter radio. After all that, we reinstated the contents coverage. . . .

Russ

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Not sure if your insurance would have covered you anyway. Collision covers, well collisions. Comp covers fire and theft. Not sure if Comp would cover acts of god like flooding. As stated by others, you still own it so go get your personal property out, then negotiate for more $$$ on the salvage.

2015 Itasca Ellipse 42QD

2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock Edition

2021 Harley Street Glide Special 

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