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FL420 · 10-04-2018, 10:02 PM

During yesterday afternoon rush hour I was travelling through a very busy intersection on a solid green light when a young lady coming from the opposite direction unexpectedly turned left in front of me. I only had time to stand on the brake and hit her in the right rear spinning her around about 120 degrees.

Although my secondary air pressure dropped to zero I still had good pressure to the primary system so I was able to limp out of the intersection to the curb where I put the 4 ways on and shut it down after setting the parking brake and shifting to neutral. I then tried to get out of the coach to check on my wife who had been right behind me driving the toad and the driver of the other car. The fiberglass from the right front corner was broken and shoved back blocking the door. The door frame was also warped preventing the door from opening more than a few degrees. With some severe coaxing from a foot and a shoulder(helped by a few years of addiction to Blue Bell ice cream) I finally got it open enough to squeeze out.

The DW was following at an appropriate distance and was able to stop in time. The woman was still sitting behind the wheel in the middle of the intersection. She seemed a little dazed so I asked her several times if she was okay. She said she was but I wasn't convinced. An empty baby seat was in the back and when I asked she said no baby was in the car. She was still a little shaky so I checked her car thoroughly.

I tried to call 911 three times but it never rang through. I asked her to call 911 and she said she would. When the police didn't show up I asked her if she had called. She hadn't. She called her mother instead.

Although hundreds of cars came through the intersection by the time both vehicles were towed away not one stopped to check on anyone. I had put triangles out and some low life drove over one. An off duty fireman who hadn't seen the crash did stop and used his handheld to call his station who called the police.

The cops called a tow company to haul me away from the intersection. I had no idea who to use or where to take the coach. The tow truck driver charged me $300 to tow the coach 3 blocks and deposited it in a Safeway parking lot where it still sits.

The damage includes both sides of the windshield which are severely cracked and about to drop to the ground. The generator door and entire lower right side fiberglass and underlying metal supports are trashed. The door is gouged and the frame is warped. We might get it to close(once) but we would probably never get it open again without a crowbar, We stayed with the coach last night and secured the door partially closed with a coated steel cable through the inside door handle and inside grab bar with a padlock through the eyelets. A considerable amount of coolant has leaked out on the ground. I originally thought it was from the generator but now suspect it is from engine coolant lines hooked to the dash heater core.

Fortunately, I recently bought a 2,000 watt Yamaha powered generator and a 10/20/40 amp smart charger so we can operate everything except the microwave and air conditioners. Unfortunately, we were on our way to Cabela's to get water and dump our very full tanks after 14 days of dry camping. Never made it so we have to find a good repair facility to tow the coach to. A place with a good reputation with hookups, or at least a dump station, would be a God send.

We are full timers and had just completed more than 20 medical appointments and minor procedures between us over the last 2 months. I had just had stitches removed from my hand and wrist and we were planning on changing our zip code to someplace warmer before the snow hits. Now we're stuck.

If anyone has any input, good or bad, about RV repair facilities in the Denver metro area it would really be helpful and greatly appreciated.

momdoc · 10-05-2018, 05:14 AM

Sorry for such a bad experience but at least no humans were hurt.
You might call Monaco and ask them for a recommendation for a local shop.
There are also a couple of body shops in town that work only on high end vehicles (google search them) and maybe they can give you some leads on a shop that does good RV work.
Good luck

Road Pilot · 10-05-2018, 06:46 AM

You might call Stewart and Stevenson in Denver and ask them for a recommendation. They are good people. 5840 Dahlia St, Commerce City, CO · (303) 287-7441.

Superslif · 10-05-2018, 07:16 AM

Was a police report filed? Would be helpful that the ladies insurer omitted to fault right off the bat.

Denver being a large American city, with many RV dealers and RVers, I'm sure someone familiar with the area will chime in here.

Being Friday, It would be nice to get a hold of a repair facility today to arranging towing services. I would tell Safeway your situation, but keep the dripping antifreeze on the low down.

RichR · 10-05-2018, 11:24 AM

Lazydays RV- Three locations in Greater Denver area.

FL420 · 10-05-2018, 12:39 PM

Both Universal Fleet, RV & Auto Collision, Inc. and Diversified Body & Paint Shop in Denver have fairly favorable Google reviews. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of these two(or any others?)

I also need to find a tow company with a lowboy trailer to get out of the parking lot today and to a shop that can fix it. Both primary and secondary air systems are compromised. The air suspension bags are all deflated and can't be inflated even from an external air source. The air valve on the front of the coach was sheared off in the crash. The spring brakes will have to be caged to move it.

I should have had the tow truck driver remove the drive shaft and rear rock guard before towing it the short distance he did. I hope no damage was done. Can anyone recommend a tow company?

FL420 · 10-05-2018, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by momdoc

Sorry for such a bad experience but at least no humans were hurt.
You might call Monaco and ask them for a recommendation for a local shop.
There are also a couple of body shops in town that work only on high end vehicles (google search them) and maybe they can give you some leads on a shop that does good RV work.
Good luck

Thanks for the response. I have had repeated bad luck with the REV Group facility in Decatur, Ind. Very impressive shop but incompetent technicians who broke a housing on a furnace blower fan then tried to hide the evidence. Not even qualified to R&R parts much less troubleshoot. Took them 3 tries over 3 days to fix both my furnaces, One of them failed a day after we left their facility. That's when I discovered the hidden damage. Took almost a year and some serious pressure from me to get them to reimburse me for the $183 it cost me to fix it.

It sounds like a good idea to call other body shops. Those guys usually know others in their field with good reputations.

FL420 · 10-05-2018, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Road Pilot

You might call Stewart and Stevenson in Denver and ask them for a recommendation. They are good people. 5840 Dahlia St, Commerce City, CO · (303) 287-7441.

I tried them. I got chewed up and spit out by their computerized phone system. I may try them again later after I get a few brush fires put out.

FL420 · 10-05-2018, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superslif

Was a police report filed? Would be helpful that the ladies insurer omitted to fault right off the bat.

Denver being a large American city, with many RV dealers and RVers, I'm sure someone familiar with the area will chime in here.

Being Friday, It would be nice to get a hold of a repair facility today to arranging towing services. I would tell Safeway your situation, but keep the dripping antifreeze on the low down.

A police report was filed but I haven't seen it yet. She did admit responsibility to her insurance company so there shouldn't be a problem.

Her insurance company is Progressive who has also insured my motorcycles for the last few years. My coach is insured by Foremost, a Farmer's company. Both have contracts with USAA to provide insurance for property and vehicles of USAA members that USAA no longer insures directly. I have insured all my cars, airplanes, motorcycles, hangars and houses with USAA for more than 50 years. I don't expect any problems other than the usual PITA paperwork hassles resulting from someone's carelessness.

FL420 · 10-05-2018, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichR

Lazydays RV- Three locations in Greater Denver area.

Thanks but no thanks.

I wouldn't touch Lazydays with my worst enemy's 10 foot pole. I took my coach to their Longmont facility to fix a low water pressure issue and to realign a flexible connection in the fresh water dump line. I showed them exactly what I wanted done and how to do it. I could have easily done it myself but I had developed severe carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands and arthritis in my right wrist. The working area was tight but no problem for younger hands. I told them specifically not to do any modifications to where the pipe exited the compartment as it was not necessary.

I told the service writer to call me for approval if they thought there was any need to exceed the already generous dollar figure in their quote.

When I went to inspect their work they showed me a brand new kitchen faucet they had replaced my old one with. The new one was bigger, uglier and difficult to use. More importantly, water didn't flow any better out of it than out of the original.

I then inspected the fresh water drain. Man, I was POed. The doofus who wanted to make an easy 5 minute job easier for himself took a Sawzall and made the nice round snug mouse proof exit hole for the drain into a sloppy oblong hole big enough for a full grown rabbit to enter along with water spray and road debris.

The straw that almost broke the camel's back was the bill, which hadn't been approved by me since they never called, was exorbitant. Not only was the labor charge to replace a faucet I didn't need and the charge to defy my instructions and butcher the compartment floor of my water bay more than twice the quote, the cost of the new faucet was $1000.

I demanded to see the service manager. A man who looked a little young and acted a little uncomfortable presented himself. I told him I wanted him to accompany me out to the coach to see the work his technicians did and hear my objections to it. He did go out with me and listened to what both the tech and I had to say. He didn't say much at all but when we went inside he disappeared not to be seen again. I finally asked one of the employees about him and was told he wasn't the service manager but a lower level employee like a parts runner or something. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I refused to pay the bill. The said they wouldn't release the coach. I said get the real service manager now. He came. We talked. I paid part of the bill. More than I should but it was after closing time now and I had a long way to travel. He said I could also have anything I wanted out of his RV supply store. I needed a ladder so I took one retailing at $400.

I was by no means satisfied but I learned one of my first important lessons about the incompetence and lack of ethics of far too many people in the RV industry.

Garyl53 · 10-05-2018, 02:38 PM

For the windshield there is RV Glass Specialties. They do most of the glass work even for the local RV repair shops. Actually my 5th wheel is there now having a side glass replaced.
Rv Glass Specialties | 303-675-3273

I don't have a recommendation for a body shop as I haven't used any yet.

momdoc · 10-05-2018, 03:28 PM

The glass shop may have a recommendation for you as well.

ultra · 10-06-2018, 11:16 PM

RV Glass Specialist replaced the windshield on my Monaco Camelot about a month ago. They did an excellent job. I dealt with Robert, cell phone 720-849-2909. Robert recommended a chassis mechanic but can't recall the name at this time. Good luck with your repairs.

BTW I agree with you on Lazy Days RV.

ultra · 10-06-2018, 11:26 PM

Your insurance company should also recommend and refer you to a good RV repair shop in Denver or the surrounding cities around Denver. I had some minor fiberglass work done on a 5th wheel about 5 years ago. I believe the name of the RV place is call Four Seasons RVs in Wheatridge, Colorado. They're off I-70 on the service road between Ward Road and 38th Avenue. I believe they sell trailers only.