I Swear, The Tree Uprooted Itself And Jumped In Front Of My RV!

[zippertom]

Yup, done the awning thing like you and just pushed it back into shape. No problem since. I had a 72 inch tear in the membrane and covered with Eternabond tape. Dry as a bone.

[Leonard R.]

Originally Posted by scottkeen

Please tell me I'm not the first one here to run into something with their RV and do damage to it.

After 3 years weekend RV'ing, I had my first "Oops".

I clipped the side of a young tree (about 6" diameter tree) on the right side as I was pulling out of the campsite and trying to make a sharp turn.

I also ran over some very large rocks bordering the campsite with the trailer tires on the left side trying to make that sharp turn. I have Sailun tires. I hope they didn't get damaged. I had a 2-hour drive back to the RV storage lot. The TPMS did not show any loss of tire air pressure.

Damage done from the tree:

1. Scuffed the edge of the nose-cone about 4-feet long
2. Four 1"-2" rips in the edge of the rubber roof
3. Bent the awning arm or popped it off track, can't tell
4. My pride, of being RV accident-free for 3 years since I bought it

I figured I could:

• Clean and buff out the scuffs on the nose-cone
• Cover the rips in the roof with Eternabond tape
• I hope I can bend the awning back. It looks like it popped off the guide but I'm not sure

Any suggestions or recommendations for this repair, besides "Scott, you are a menace to the RV world, just sell it and buy a boat"?

You definitely are not the first or the last to clip something! My second trip out with my brand new 5er and I backed into a rock. Damage to the back panel and my pride. The next week I ordered a back-up camera!
Good luck!

[Camp CA]

Originally Posted by scottkeen

Please tell me I'm not the first one here to run into something with their RV and do damage to it..........Any suggestions or recommendations for this repair, besides "Scott, you are a menace to the RV world, just sell it and buy a boat"?

You are not!!.........after towing a fifth wheel trailer for 17 years I clipped the side of a cliff on a narrow section of highway 1 traveling into Fort Bragg, California, which I have done before without incident. $11,000 damage covered by my insurance policy except for the deductible. I had it repaired by a local rv collision repair center. Bottom line is have your insurance company handle it.

Scott............don't not sell your trailer, but do buy a boat to use when you are not on your trailer. Hard to damage the boat unless you loose steerage and hit a jetty, shoal, dock or another boat or run aground.

[Ml barber]

Brushed a concrete barrier on dan ryan in chi 9800 dollars 1st time in 12 years 5 to 6000 miles a year

[Rondo]

Scott- is your awning a power awning or a manual awning? If it is a manual I just might have the part/s you might need for the repair. I have the side arms for a manual awning. If power-- you might be able to bend it back into position. We had a friend that was down in AZ and a "dust devil" came through out campground and his awing was out. We hooked a tow strap onto the awning put cushioning over the roof of a tow vehicle and anchored the tow strap to the hitch on the truck. We SLOWLY backed the truck up while someone was on a ladder and another on the roof of the Montana and they watched the awning till it came back into place. Following, the awning worked but he eventually had a new one put on. It can be done IF you are careful. Also you could go to an RV Salvage yard and see if you can get a new/used awning arm or arms. It would be a whole lot cheaper than having to purchase a new one IF you can find one. Let me know via PM if you are interested in the arm/s I have. They are yours FREE but you will have to pay shipping from Nebraska.

[whutfles]

My awning got caught by the wind and blew up over the RV a few times. By the time I was able to get it retracted my arms looked like yours. The next day I brought the awning out and got on a ladder thinking I'd try to bend the arms back. I wasn't having any luck but noticed when I pulled on the awning flap that it slid in the awning roller. Then I realized the awning fabric had shifted to the rear of the RV in the roller. And I could easily slide it to the front. My awning arms instantly aligned and nothing was bent. You may try centering your fabric in the roller and see if that helps with your arm alignment.

[masterdrago]

First real trip, we encountered a Cedar branch in Canyon of the Eagles reservation parking lot. Did repair similar to you but added a coat of UV protectant paint similar to what Toyota Center uses on their roof. A local paint company added tint to match roof color.

[GeologyTek]

My power cord enjoyed the campground so much it did not want to leave. He even kept his best friend the locking cord and the breaker box clamp with him when we left Carlsbad 2 years ago!

[leahbill]

Nope! Last spring while leaving a campground we backed out of a site. Tires were spinning on the gravel. Thought we were ok until my husband hit the straight away and I saw the back wall of the camper dragging. Got out to check it out and found that he had hit something and opened up the back wall like a tin can. We were in VA trying to head to PA next. Didn't happen. Had to drive the camper carefully to a repair shop. Didn't get our RV back until end of August. Lesson my husband learned: Always listen to his wife. I had made suggestions that would have prevented this

[Roy & Georgia]

Lol! I listened to my wife and promptly clipped a dumpster. Not enough damage to worry about.��

[rames14]

It’s not a matter of if but when an RVer will have an issue. Everything you have described is fixable and no one got hurt. Looks like you have a good start on getting things fixed. Best of luck with your awning.

[DutchmenSport]

Not my current camper, but my previous camper, I hit something (high) ... (which will remain unmentioned), and it actually ripped my awning and bent one arm. I took it to my dealership as it did require a new awning. They did replace one side of the awning arms, but they used old parts they had scalped from another awning they'd replaced some time ago where damage was on the other arm. They didn't charge me for the parts at all, but did charge labor time and of course the cost of a new awning. So, you might check with your local RV dealership for parts. You might get lucky.

[jeririgged223]

Sorry friend, never going to admit a thing