Friday, March 9, 2012

Some Days Are Just Plain BAD!

Diagram and photos below explain why.





































When the gate to the RV storage lot refused to open in response to entering our access code, the only alternative was to back away from the gate and go home.  Unfortunately, another truck had backed in in front of the one on my right and I failed to do a walk around before backing.  Assuming that I had only to back until I could see that I was clear of what I thought was only one truck before starting my turn, I got a surprise.  Lesson -- ALWAYS do a "walk around" before backing unless you have someone behind you who you can communicate with via walki-talki.

The following photos show the resultant damage.




































While insurance will pay for all but the deductible, this leaves us without use of the motorhome while being repaired, a job which will take about four to six weeks at best.  Since Winnebago is unable to deliver a new lower bumper panel in anything short of six weeks, we've decided to repair the panel rather than replace it.

Since it all has to be prepped, primed, painted and clear-coated, once the repairs are done, we've decided to "bite the bullet" and repaint and clear-coat the motorhome "radiuses" (the transitions from gutterlines to roof)which have deterioriated due to UV sun damage.  Regrettably, this would not have been necessary if Winnebago had double clear-coated them originally and the prior owner attended to adequate maintenance.  As it is, this job alone is sufficiently costly that we will cancel our planned vacation to Canada this year.  This paint job plus the high cost of diesel fuel and the M&G supplemental break system for our "toad", which we just had installed, is more than we feel we can handle in one year.  We'll see what next year brings.