Accident Update 5/24 home again

[DragonFire]

I'm so sorry to hear about your accident!! I hope you can make your repairs quickly and put this, um, behind you.

Dang.. makes me nervous...I don't have the Fulton style hitch, but still. Just gotta make sure it's all the way locked on. Don't know what went wrong with yours, but I hope it never happens again!! Thank goodness you are safe and the trailer isn't in worse shape!

[mezmo]

Sorry to hear of the mishap! Very Good to also hear there were no injuries!

It sounds quite repairable from you descriptions. I hope that process doesn't
become too involved.

As far as hitches/couplers go - I've always been intrigued by the Aussie multi-axis
off-road couplers. Here are a couple of US makers of such. A bit pricier compared
to the usual but your experience proves it might be worth it.

http://www.locknroll.com/features.aspx
http://www.adventuretrailers.com/coupler.html

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[canned o minimum]

Couplers ! Yet another safety check before ya hit the road ! I have a European hitch on the VW.. it's a 50mm ball.. My little Guy has a 2 inch "coupler"( adjustable) and I had to adjust it to fit that 50mm ball !

My new trailer is a German made trailer and the coupler matches the 50 mm ball hitch.

So sorry to hear bout yer CR and the bumps and bruises it took .

At least now you have educated thousands with yer story so there is sumthin good that comes from yer mishap.

[Miriam C.]

So Glad you are safe! I sure hope the repairs are easy and you can get back to camping!

[Shadow Catcher]

Pictures
At the scene





Bent frame member




As I said amazingly little damage for it being on its side

[Martiangod]

Man, thats heartbreaking...
Hope insurance treats you well.
If they write it, buy it back, you can fix that

[Oldragbaggers]

Ouch, dammit.

[pete42]

Wow I always thought your trailer was great looking even after the trouble you had getting it built.
to now hear it ended up on it's side really sucks.
don't feel alone in not adjusting your hitch most people don't even know they can and should be adjusted to fit.
don't dispair just repair and move on it will look great once again.
pete

[Woodbutcher]

Ouch, that hurts. But you must say it was well built to go through what it did with only that much damage. Good luck getting it back on the road.

[Betsey]

Sorry to hear about your accident but glad no one was hurt. Hope you will be able to fix 'er up as good as new & be back out amongst the camping!

Betsey

[Shadow Catcher]

The insurance adjuster will be here Friday and I just emailed him some pictures of the before and after so he has some idea of what is involved including a couple of th build photos that show the framing and construction detail.
I was testing the solar controllers both of which are OK and unless there is more hidden damage it does not look like a huge amount of work.

[S. Heisley]

It's good that you can be so positive about all this. Right about now, I would be freaking.

Good Luck to you. May the Insurance Adjuster be generous.

[Shadow Catcher]

The adjuster saw the trailer Friday and did an exam including video, his major concern is the bend in the frame. This is where MM #1 failed (I was in contact with the second owner) so I know what has worked.
The adjuster mentioned a RV repair place in Piqua Ohio, I will talk with them tomorrow. I did however do a bit of work today. I removed the tongue box and platform and attached the coupler to the car and used a hydraulic jack under the bend and succeeded in taking most of the bend out. The frame will have to be reinforced but it can be done.

[pappaw]

Sorry to hear of your crash, and like the others have said, glad no one was hurt, good luck with your repairs.

Jeff

[Shadow Catcher]

Thank you all. I wanted to let you know of the outcome. Wednesday Compass Rose will be limping down to Piqua for repair. I talked with the owner of the repair shop and he has experience with Aluminum and after I sent pictures and the builders plans he indicated he does not see any problems in affecting repair.
I also want to encourage folks to be mindful of their insurance. CR is at the high end in worth and in level of complexity to fix, and I have to tell you I have lost a lot of sleep over this.
I also want to encourage you to be mindful of safety, adjust the coupler, look to safety chains and if you have brakes you probably need to get a breakaway switch. I used a quick link on my chains instead of an S hook one of them failed and straighten out (it should have been stronger than the chain) and the other one pulled the trailer hitch loop attachment. I will be replacing them with new SS quick links as they rusted.