More than incidental damage

[Jack J]

I remember Roly Neslon doing a great April fools prank about his TD being totaled years ago. And then the "Incidental damage after the fact" topic a few weeks ago which I thought that this is probably a just little more than that.

It's been a while since I have posted on the board. We have been busy using our teardrop that we built in 1999. We have made some great roadtrips over the years. We did a roadtrip to Arizona last September There were 4 teardrop trailers, 3 being towed by vintage cars on the trip. What great fun we had, visiting the National Parks in Utah on the way down. Two of the vintage cars and teardrop were going to be staying in AZ and ours and another couple were going to be driving back to Washington.




Outside of Kingman, I had trouble with the tranny not shifting so we were towed to a tranny shop in Kingman. The trailer was parked in the parking lane while the simple fix was being done on the transmission. I heard a strange "thump", turned around and saw this.








Hit and run driver, don't understand how he was able to drive away, and never did hear if he was caught. I figure Karma will catch up to him. We were fortunate that we were not injured although a few tears needed to be dried. The Chev was lonely without towing the TD for the drive home. But good things can happen when your having a bad day.
I was fortunate enough to have a friend in Az who was going to be coming up to Washington, bring the teardrop home for us and then an assessment to see if or what could be salvaged.


After dealing with the insurance company, which was a good settlement, a dissection of the carcass, we found that the Phoenix (TD) will rise again. The frame was ok although one spindle was bent on the axle. The interior cabinet was good but the galley cabinet was as bad as the body. the fender has been repaired, and a few other items can be reused. One pleasant surprise was that the walls and floor did not show any major signs of water leakage. Not bad for a 17 year old, 50k+ mileage trailer.

It should be on its first trip later on this spring. Waiting for the finish to dry in the cold temps really slowed the progress. But things are starting to come together now. Sue will get her own door on the new one. Remember happy wife makes a happy life.


Back to work spending the insurance money for the new build,
Jack

[Woodbutcher]

I say name her "Phoenix" . What a sad story with a happy ending on the way. I had an Aunt that use to say, "you always build it better the second time". She was right. You know have the chance to tweek the old trailer a bit.

[tony.latham]

That took my breath away.

Gawwwwwwwd.

Tony

[gudmund]

Saw you at Mulino on you way south with you group than was shown the video at the Last Gasp - wow!! ALL RIGHT!!! you were able to fix it!!! now with the extra door - GREAT!!!! Hope to see you again 'on down the road'!! (maybe on the next crawl??) Take Care!! Ted Hoefer Camano Island, Wash.

[Vedette]

Way to go Jack!
Are you and Sue planning on making it to Shasta? The Farm? The Fall Crawl? The Gorge?
Good Roads
Brian & Sandi

[S. Heisley]

Your trailer accident is a horror story that most tiny trailer people hope never happens. It was even hard to look at the pictures! Glad you had insurance to help with the re-build. Here's hoping that your teardrop is back together, better than ever, soon!

Thanks for sharing, even though it hurt.

[Shadow Catcher]

Been there, Your phoenix will rise again.

[robfisher]

What a painful thing to go through. I can't imagine what it felt like to look out and see your trailer on it's back like a stranded turtle. So glad to hear of the resurrection.

[CAJUN LADY]

Oh my gosh Jack - so glad y'all were ok! What a mean thing for someone to do and NOT STOP! Accidents are just that - accidents. Look forward to seeing the rebuild. To lighten up your horror story, your Teardrop does look like a turtle on his back. Poor guy.

[Jack J]

Yes we were very fortunate that the TD wasn't hitched to the Chev or that were at the trailer when this happened. The tranny shop had a security video system that captured the impact. It shows the trailer being hit, the galley stuff being scattered but not enough info on the vehicle that hit it. I did get a copy of the video and it is still hard to watch. But rebuilding is helping get that "turtle back on its feet". And having the normal Washington St weather of rain, wind, cold and snow these last 4 months helps puts a damper on wanting to go camping so I have time to gather items needed for the build.

Brian, the Gorge Gathering is the target date to be done if not sooner.

Jack