Never trust an un-marked bridge!

[tedward1555]

I should have known better, but yesterday I drove under one of those old rusty railroad crossing bridges in New Jersey. Well actually I drove into it about 4 feet. It tore off my cargo lights, go-lite, bat wing antenna, and of course it shattered and ripped up my unfunctional King Dome satellite. It stopped just before it could rip off my front ac. I backed out and climbed up to survey the damage and it looked awful. After I got back to camp, I went up and took all the broken pieces off and pretty much the main damage was a few places where it tore the rubber roof. The king dome didn't work and the factory had sent a new one to the Dealer in Austin to replace when I get home and the wing bat, in my opinion is worthless.
My question, can I just have the 3-4 feet of damaged rubber roof repaired? I would hate to have all 41 feet repaired... and probably would not do so if that were my only choice. I have patched it with eternabond for now.
Thanks
Ed

[Chickadee]

Hi Ed: DANG!! Sorry about your bridge damage, but I'm pretty sure ya can get that section of roof repaired. Someone w. direct experience will likely help ya out.

Just curious...where was this low bridge located...what route???

Steve & Lynette

[tedward1555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chickadee Just curious...where was this low bridge located...what route??? Steve & Lynette

Thanks S&L, it was in the town of South Plainfield, can't remember the street but it was two blocks south of Richmond Street and two blocks west of South St. There is a bridge for the same RR on Richmond that I have driven under several times this week and no problems... guess that's where the false sense of comfort came from.

[SRT]

What is really bad when they put another layer of asphalt on the road going under the bridge and don't change the height sign (if there is one...).

[read & learn]

tedward1555
Be careful the Gov. Christe may want you to pay for any damage to the bridge.

[Wayne M]

That is a bad situation that we all face. I cannot understand why it is not marked. Is it possible there was a sign post that may just not be in the most conspicuous location?

Hopefully your insurance will take care of everything, and more importantly, no one was hurt.

[two2go]

I would think a good shop can replace the bad section of rubber roof sheeting and overlap with the old. Maybe they would put a strip of Eternabond on the seam. If not, might your in$urance cover the replacement of the full roof???

[wa8yxm]

There may be a guideline for bridges.. You need to check both state and Federal standards.. And it may depend on what kind of road you were on (Interstate, US-xx, State-XX County or local)

But as I recall (PLease note quailifier) bridges under 16' clearance are supposed to be signed... Of course vandals sometimes remove the signs,, but there should have been a sign

True story........ Had a one-car accident, CAR, not truck, CAR.. Hit said sign

(Remember this is a car, less than six foot tall.. sign was in this case over 15 feet up in the air and the car hit it)

Yes, it was a fatal crash.

[RV Wizard]

If you are not going to file a claim on your insurance; the roof could be repaired and seamed. You may, also have electrical circuit conductor damage that you have not found out about yet. I would file a claim and that way every thing gets covered; even if they find out later of unseen damages.

[tedward1555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RV Wizard If you are not going to file a claim on your insurance; the roof could be repaired and seamed. You may, also have electrical circuit conductor damage that you have not found out about yet. I would file a claim and that way every thing gets covered; even if they find out later of unseen damages.

would that be related to the satellite dish being ripped up? hadn't thought of anything like that nor seen any electrical problems since. The damage is really so slight to the roof, and the fact that I was waiting to get home to have the new (warranty replacement King Dome) installed, I wasn't going to claim it on ins. What can I look for before getting home and making the final decision?
Thanks

[Ottawa]

I had a 2' tear at the front of my roof. They added a section about 3' by the width of the MH with a moulding to the old section. This was done 4 years ago and I have had absolutely no problems with the repair.

[tedward1555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ottawa I had a 2' tear at the front of my roof. They added a section about 3' by the width of the MH with a moulding to the old section. This was done 4 years ago and I have had absolutely no problems with the repair.

I know it was 4 years ago, but do you mind telling me what it cost you?
Thanks
Ed

[tedward1555]

I hope this never happens to any of you, but in the case it does, try to remember to lower, let the air out of the air bags prior to backing out... I can tell that half the damage was done when I backed out, had I let the air out I probably would have avoided that.

[Ottawa]

The repair was covered under warranty, but I would guess in the 300-500 $ range. This links to a picture of the repair.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=14823