# RV Exterior repair



## DallanC

Went camping this past weekend, WORST CAMPING TRIP OF MY LIFE... almost everything we touched broke in some way or another, it was an ongoing disaster. 

Anywho, to cap off such a marvelous trip, on the way back came around a blind curve and a dead tree had fallen half way onto my lane. There was oncoming traffic in the other lane so nowhere to go, no time to stop, so we collided with it. 

Dented up the front pretty good, worst of it was a 3" diameter limb torpedo'd completely through the side of the trailer into the interior before snapping off. Back quarter also took a hit, with a limb puncturing the rear hatch and denting aluminium behind it.

Insurance will cover it but I gotta find a repair facility. They recommend General RV or Camping World but I've no experience with either for repairs. I did call General a couple months ago to get a new bung fitting spinwelded on my water tank, they wanted $250 to stick on a .75cent fitting.

I think its probably 50/50 they might total the trailer. /sigh


-DallanC


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## muddydogs

If Ogden isn't to far to travel TJ's Trailers has done me good.


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## DallanC

Thanks, I might have to pull it that far. 

I've had no luck as of yet... called a bunch of places, only a few will answer phones. None do body work, best I've gotten was a referral to DentMaster in Lehi (my parents have used them with mixed results so I'm not sure if I want to go that route.

The trailer came originally from Stewarts Rv which I think is in Sunset, so I might actually have to drag it halfway to idaho lol. I'm trying to get Stewarts on the phone right now in fact...

What a PITA.


-DallanC


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## BRL1

I have had good luck with State Trailer in Ogden for repair work but that is far north again, they do have a shop on Redwood road but haven't dealt with that one.

Motorsportsland in Salt Lake has been pretty good as well.

Good luck with it.

Don't know of a Stewart's RV in Sunset have lived here 25+ years.
Sierra RV was here but moved to Ogden last year.


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## DallanC

BRL1 said:


> I have had good luck with State Trailer in Ogden for repair work but that is far north again, they do have a shop on Redwood road but haven't dealt with that one.


I haven't had them do any work for me, but I love the store and shop Redwood often.



> Don't know of a Stewart's RV in Sunset have lived here 25+ years.
> Sierra RV was here but moved to Ogden last year.


Ahhhhh sorry, I'm still tired. I meant Sierra RV. Stewarts is in American Fork and they screwed me over once and I'll never go back. I got ahold of the service guy at Sierra and he said sure, they will work on it. Its the dealer the RV came from so they should be able to get OEM parts. I need to call the insurance company in the morning and if they are OK, I'll book an appointment Wed to take it up. Not thrilled with taking half a day off of work to run up and back but whatever.

-DallanC


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## muddydogs

DallanC
If your coming to Ogden I would stop by TJ's and see what they say before dealing with Sierra. Now I haven't had any service done at there new shop and a heard they reorganized some when they moved but after dealing with them in there old location I have very little trust in there ability or anything they say. Chances are your trailer will set in there yard for 2 to 3 months before they even get started. If you do go with Sierra keep on top of them.


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## muleydeermaniac

Same experience. Way too long for a repair, and they charge an arm and a leg for just the quote. And I had the repair done there, still got charged for the quote. They did do good work, but it took three weeks to do a four hour job on my AC unit.



muddydogs said:


> DallanC
> If your coming to Ogden I would stop by TJ's and see what they say before dealing with Sierra. Now I haven't had any service done at there new shop and a heard they reorganized some when they moved but after dealing with them in there old location I have very little trust in there ability or anything they say. Chances are your trailer will set in there yard for 2 to 3 months before they even get started. If you do go with Sierra keep on top of them.


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## Loke

How long ago was your bad experience with Stewart's?


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## DallanC

4 years ago.




-DallanC


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## Loke

I think the old owner retired and there are new owners/management. My recent experiences with them have been very positive.


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## DallanC

Your trailer is really nice. Did you get it from them?

I _might, _give Stewarts a second try someday, it would be more convenient as its the closest shop w/o having to drag over the point. I dunno... I might not even have a trailer in a short time (if the insurance decides to total it out).

-DallanC


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## Loke

I did get my new one from Stewarts. I've had a couple of warranty repairs, and they have been fantastic to work with. I got my previous trailer from Neal's in Orem, I would recommend them as well.


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## Al Hansen

Sierra RV in Ogden. John Rebeck is the best RV tech I have ever used. Tell him I said so. Good luck. I have bought trailers from General and those idiots at Motor Sportsland on 4100 South State. They can do more damage than good.


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## DallanC

Al Hansen said:


> Sierra RV in Ogden. John Rebeck is the best RV tech I have ever used. Tell him I said so. Good luck.


I have an appointment with them at 11am tomorrow to go over it.

-DallanC


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## Al Hansen

DallanC said:


> I have an appointment with them at 11am tomorrow to go over it.
> 
> -DallanC


Ask for John Rebeck and tell him I said Hello !


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## DallanC

NADA puts bluebook value at $6800. Estimate for just the bodywork is already at $6600 and they dont have the painting estimate yet... so yea... its going to get totaled once it gets submitted to the insurance co in a few days.


/sigh




-DallanC


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## Don K

Bummer........


Worst part is its great to have insurance but to replace it its probably gonna cost more than you want


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## DallanC

$7849 total estimate for damages. Lol...




-DallanC


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## BGD

DallanC said:


> $7849 total estimate for damages. Lol...
> -DallanC


. Lol? I think that is more like Cry out loud! I guess sometimes a guy just has to laugh so he won't cry. Tough break!


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## Packout

Dang that is a bum deal. Well you did want a toyhauler. Take the check, buy back the salvage, do some DIY repairs and sell it on KSL for a profit....


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## DallanC

We've had some butt clenching events double trailering when we need to haul both the trailer and atvs... it can get mighty sketchy, so yea a 'hauler is much safer and easier to work with. I just wasn't planning on anything like that for quite a while.

That said, we looked at a few trailer ideas when we dropped ours off for estimates, and good thing we did as alot of toyhauler floor plans didn't actually work when I tried to measure them out and see what fits. We did find one line of toyhaulers that has a model with a floorplan that would work great, 23ft and still fits 3 atvs inside. 

Thats still a long ways off, still need to hear from the insurance co on what they decide when they get the estimate, and what they plan to do. Its all going to come down to the difference in price from whatever they offer to finding a decent used trailer with a price difference we can work with. $34k for a new one is NOT an option lol


-DallanC


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## DallanC

Still haven't resolved this yet... insurance co is still trying to assess "fair market value". Very slow service IMO.

But, the only reason I wanted to bump this is I learned something interesting. You can buy a trailer out of state (ie: dealer in AZ), which sell trailers for a huge discount vs locally listed trailers, and even have it shipped here to your doorstep... base cost +taxes, +licensing ... and even adding in $1200 (approx) shipping costs... for less than the same exact trailers BASE asking price here locally (minus local taxes and other fees)! Saves $5-7000 over a local trailer cost. 

One dealer in Tucson I talked to (they are among the few that stock the model I'm interested in) said well over 1/3 of their business is to Utah / Colorado buyers. Utah is a crazy priced market, well higher than the national norm by $thousands. If anyone is looking for trailers, this might be something to consider.


-DallanC


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## Ifish

I will second the recommendation for TJ Trailer in Ogden. Those guys are honest and will do their best.


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## Gdevilutah

My in-laws are going through the same thing right now. Theirs just got totaled so they are looking for a new one now. Would you mind sharing the name of the dealer you talk to in Tucson?


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## LeftyGuy

Advanced Rv in West valley does an awesome job!


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## DallanC

Insurance Co made a more than fair offering for our trailer. We'll turn over the title and pickup a check tomorrow. Sucks to have gone through this, but I'm happy with how we were treated (other than it took a month but thats ok).

Gdevilutah, i'll pm you.

-DallanC


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## belenom

Your story made me think of our camping trip. We also went to another state to go fishing. I don't know if you'll believe it or not, but it was just like in the movies, a deer came running out on the road at night. Good thing I saw it in time and was able to turn the car around. But unfortunately, the car suffered minor damage and had to repair it with sealant click here so that in the future, nothing leaks into it in any case. Especially when you go to the states where it rains all the time. I have an older car, so water leaks during heavy rains.


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