Oh Oh....HAIL!!!

[doug hodder]

I've got the Nomad on some tiny 8" wheels so I can wheel it in and out of the garage when I'm working on the new build. I always pull it out on a Friday night so I can get in a few hours of work before bed, then it stays out till Sun. afternoon. Last night...2AM, major electrical storm, power went out and then I heard it...Hail! I ran out in a hoodie and slippers and threw a couple of heavy moving pads over the Nomad as it's skin is only .025. Whew...damage avoided. One time in Denver, I got 6K in damage to my pickup in 15 min. so am wary of hail, but that was a real freak storm. That's one reason the new one gets .040 on it. At least it will be more "bullet" proof for the smaller hail. Don't know if it will provide much protection against the 12" sugar pine cones when they are green however.

Keep your eyes towards the sky in the spring...you never know when it might strike. Doug

[Fenlason]

Our [not quite] tiny travel trailer we purchased had hail damage. It was a year old... in otherwise, like knew condition.. and it got caught in a driving hailstorm. The insurance company totaled it. The original owner bought it for salvage, and then traded it in.. and we bought it at a VERY reasonable price. The damage is really only cosmetic. and mostly confined to the rear.

[Verna]

I feel your pain, Doug. I'm glad you got the moving pads out there in time. I've had a roof replaced due to roof, heavy duty vinyl siding had larger than golf ball holes in it, and a truck damaged in the 80's.

With a forecast of hail late one afternoon last summer, I not only put the cover on my teardrop, I also put an 8'x8' piece of outdoor grass carpeting over the teardrop. I even put rachet straps around the teardrop to hold the carpeting in place. It didn't hail that day. Now the teardrop stays in my garage, except when camping. That's now less of a worry.

[S. Heisley]

I'm guessing that you would have been okay; but, you were smart to go out and avert any possibility!

I got in a little hail in Idaho, last summer; but it didn't cause any damage. I'm thinking that thin metal siding wouldn't fare as well as epoxy and polyurethane paint on plywood. Wood seems to give and come back more than thin metal does. (Of course, not against golf ball sized hail!)

So, are you thinking that we should be carrying moving pads with us, just in case?

[doug hodder]

Glenn...there are some real deals to be had on hail damaged items. A trailer is a bit tougher than a car. You can always get a hood and bolt it on a car....If a trailer gets damaged...unless it actually punctured the skin, you can live with it, but the repair is very costly and more time intensive. I always put a sub skin of ply, although only 1/8" under the aluminum, but I don't know if it's all that much help. I did have an aluminum topper on a truck that got hail damage and didn't do anything about it. A couple of years down the road...a lot of the dents seemed to have come out on their own or were at least less noticeable. The really bad ones I punched back in place with my thumb, but it still looked pretty crappy.

I dunno Sharon...but I'd have no 2nd thoughts of throwing a blanket over it if I needed to. I can deal with a wet bunch of blankets/quilts much easier than the efforts to redo a skin. I'd also use the astro turf rug I take with me as well. Doug

[Vedette]

We got caught last Summer in North Dakota coming up the hill off the plains to MT Rushmore.
We just had to pull over and sit there on the side of the road in our 1946 Studebaker PU along with everyone else that was on that stretch of highway, listening to the large hail stones bouncing off the roof, the hood, and the tonneau cover, just helplessly thinking about how much damage was being done. Without a headliner or interior in the truck it sounded even worse than it was. Longest 5 minutes of my life!
Fortunately we recieve absolutely not damage, but did feel for the houndreds of bikers that had just left Sturgis, that were leaving their bikes on the road and running up into the forest to stand under trees to avoid bruising.
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[asianflava]

Not 50mi inside the Colorado/New Mexico border, we hit hail when we moved here. I was thinking, "oh great the tear is going to have dimples all over it." Luckily, I didn't see any damage at all. It wasn't that big, probably only pea sized.

[pete42]

Nothing says hail like a hail damaged Bonanza airplane it looked like a golf ball it had so many dimples.

it flew ok with just a slight slice to the left...............

[Fenlason]

Glenn...there are some real deals to be had on hail damaged items. A trailer is a bit tougher than a car. You can always get a hood and bolt it on a car....If a trailer gets damaged...unless it actually punctured the skin, you can live with it, but the repair is very costly and more time intensive. I always put a sub skin of ply, although only 1/8" under the aluminum, but I don't know if it's all that much help. I did have an aluminum topper on a truck that got hail damage and didn't do anything about it. A couple of years down the road...a lot of the dents seemed to have come out on their own or were at least less noticeable. The really bad ones I punched back in place with my thumb, but it still looked pretty crappy.

I dunno Sharon...but I'd have no 2nd thoughts of throwing a blanket over it if I needed to. I can deal with a wet bunch of blankets/quilts much easier than the efforts to redo a skin. I'd also use the astro turf rug I take with me as well. Doug

I am not sure why the dents on this trailer don't bother me? I guess if it was mine when new and then got damaged I would think differently I am not sure I would purchase a car with a lot of hail damage, and I can see a hail damaged tear looking "bad". When I purchased this trailer, I knew it would not be easily fixable, and had no thoughts of even trying to. but yeah agree with you.. some wet blankets are a small price to pay.. to protect your "baby"

[Oldragbaggers]

Glad you got to it in time, Doug!!!