Okay, I'm now ready to tell the full story. Some of you already know this. I dropped the Montana on my truck while setting up in the dark in Quartzsite in January. No one was hurt, thankfully. And all is well now, after repairs were done in February.
The story: I had planned to drive from Yuma to Quartzsite on Jan. 19. However, the previous day I had lunch with my cousin Ann (another full-time RVer) who said there was a wind advisory for the next day and suggested I go on to Quartzsite that afternoon. I took her advice after finishing my grocery shopping, and drove the 100 miles to Quartzsite, arriving around dusk. In setting up when it was starting to get dark, I needed the help of friends' flashlights to see what I was doing. But I still couldn't see well enough. Either I hit the wrong button on the hydraulic jack controller after lifting the 5th wheel off the hitch, or the control unit malfunctioned. When I went to move the truck forward, the jacks were in "Store" mode, putting the weight back on the hitch, and the trailer fell on the bed rails of the truck! OUCH!!! The result was two big dents in the truck rails and some minor damage to the underside of the trailer.
It's against my custom to set up in the dark, but I had a couple of 'helpers' distracting me. There was no reason for me to set up right then. I should have just waited until morning. At least nobody was hurt, even though one of my friends was too close for comfort, as I later learned. If he'd been hurt, I never would have forgiven myself.
Ah, well, that's what insurance is for, and I've been paying for a long time without a claim. With only a $250 deductible, I was happy to let Allstate pay the rest of the $5200 bill. A great shop called Smitty's (family owned for several generations) in Yuma did the work in 1-1/2 weeks, ontime as promised, and half the time other shops estimated, plus they did an excellent job, replacing both rear quarter panels and even repairing a small dent on the tailgate at the same time. I stayed in a Yuma RV park with my cousins so I could ride with them to WalMart, etc. All this happened at a good time, within a 'window' that allowed me to attend Winterblast in Lake Havasu City, get the truck repaired, then visit friends in Phoenix and attend Life on Wheels in Tucson in mid-March.
Meanwhile, life goes on... and you'd never know there had ever been a problem by looking at the truck. The Montana graphics on the doors were untouched and the truck is as good as new.
I hope my story will help prevent similar problems for somebody out there in Montana land!
Before:
After:
P.S. Allstate determined that this was a case of "an object falling" on the truck, so it was covered under comprehensive, with no increase in my premium.