RayChez
Barstow, Ca. USA
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Joined: 09/13/2003
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Cruzer! We had a Prevost bus crash into a fire engine last week here in the southern California area. And the front end of the Prevost was gone. It seemed like it was made out of fiberglass. I just saw it on the news on tv. Most average coaches don't even have a bumper. I believe the only one that seems to have a bumper attacted to the chassis is the American Eagle. Under all that fiber glass they should put a bumper like a big rig truck has. That would really give a person on an RV some protection.
2002 Gulf Stream Scenic Cruiser
330 HP Caterpillar
3000 Allison Transmission
Neway Freightliner chassis
2005 Honda Pilot EXL 4WD
Aventa III
FMCA member
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BaldEagle
Oregon
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Joined: 05/28/2003
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Quote:I don't know any details here but I bet Winnebago would hold up as well as any brand. Have you ever seen their drop test? And steel cage in the front end.
2004 Vectra 40AD
2002 MDX Toad/Brake Buddy
Roadmaster Blackhawk
Guardian Rock Shield
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siggyd777
Northern Illinois
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Joined: 01/19/2005
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Would you let us know what exactly happened,so we all could learn
Something.Thanks, and sorry about the mishap but we are glad you
walked away from it.
Happy Trails in the future.
Siggy
Happy Trails
Siggy & Ursula
05 Kountry Star DP 3720,FTL XC
CAT C7 330HP,Allison MH3000
2005 Saturn VUE AWD V6 , Brake Buddy,Roadmaster XL,Falcon II
Camping since 1975 Pop-Up,1986 22Ft.TT,1999 Gas MH,2005 DP
FMCA 368283 , NKK 17385
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rbrogan
Perrysburg, Ohio
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Joined: 12/05/2003
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First I want to say I am sorry about the knock on Winnabego we had it for 13 months and never had to take it back for ANY problem. One reason I said that was because of the difference in size and weight.
I will post pictures when I get back to ohio.
The accident happened about 25 miles north of Wickenburg Az on rte 93. It is mostly one lane each way but where the accident happened there was a passing lano on the oppisite side.
The SUV that hit I heard was a chevy blazer.
 Rbrogan@hotmail.com
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CA Traveler
Sun Lakes, AZ
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Joined: 01/03/2004
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Russ,
I've been following your other thread and it is so sad, especially for the young couple that did not survive.
But total strangers have offered to help you and that makes me feel very good about our great country!
2004 Holiday Rambler 36 Endeavor PST with ISC 330 Cummins
2004 Honda CR-V
Bob
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jejb
Rogers, Arkansas
Full Member
Joined: 07/24/2003
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Quote:I am familiar with the Horizon and the Allegro Bay as well as a few Newmars. The Allegro Bay (similar to Suncruiser/Adventurer) uses the same construction in the superstructure as the Allegro Bus and Phaeton. The Horizon is no better than the Suncruiser/Adventurer. After viewing the way they build Newmars at the factory and handling their roof materials I also would rate Newmar as equal quality with the Tiffin in the superstructure area.
But my point is that he's apparently comparing a gas coach with a DP. DP's are almost always a lot heavier than gas coaches and at least part of that is the heavier duty construction. Our Ultimate, for example, is only 5' longer than our Adventurer but it weighs 10,000 pounds more. So I'd expect a DP to hold up better in an accident than a gas rig.
John B
2003 Ultimate Advantage 40K
2003 Winn Adventurer 35U W22 (gone)
1995 Coachman 29' Class C (long gone)
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chuckster11
Idaho
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Joined: 04/30/2004
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rbrogan, sorry about the accident and all the confusing information you have been getting. As a retired insurance agent that competed for thiry years with State Farm and their agents, I can tell you that they will settle your claim as professionally as any in the business, if not better. Someone suggested you be patient and I agree, in an accident with fatalities and injuries, getting this thing straightened out will take a day or two. One thing no insurance company can make right is the confusion and inconvenience of this type of accident. Obviously, if they delivered you a new coach tomorrow there would still be much to do. Give your agent a chance to explain the process to you--they are generally fine agents and have an obvious loyalty to you--you pay their bills.
I WOULD NOT contact an attorney until you have hit an impasse with State Farm. Once you hire an attorney, the insurance company is obligated to deal directly with him, you are out of the loop communication wise and all those many questions that you and your passengers have will be very expensive and frustrating three way discussions. Much of the settlement can probably be handled directly with State Farm and your agent.
You will know when it is time, if that comes, to get an attorney involved.
With the size of this loss, the deaths of the at fault drivers (I assume they were at fault), the injuries in your coach, this claim will be prioritized but the nature of the loss is such that State Farm is probably going to be nocommittal until they know what happened. Obviously they have to get a police report that can delay the matter for days--again because of the deaths and injuries.
You have a fine insurance company--be patient, let them do what they do for awhile.
State Farm did not get as big as they are by running roughshod over their customers.
Good luck, this is a horrible thing that has happened to you and the drivers of the other unit and I understand the concerns you have--I have been thru it with many customers.
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Sully2
Cincinnati
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Joined: 01/20/2003
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About Winnebago's "drop test"...I especially took an interest in that...because often Im suspended upside down while in my motorhome!!!
 ..
Its called "advertisment"!!!
2000 Country Coach Allure; Cummins ISC 330 HP; 71/2 - 8 MPG regardless
2002 Jeep Liberty
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gonesouth
St. Catherine, Florida
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Joined: 02/16/2005
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Quote:I WOULD NOT contact an attorney until you have hit an impasse with State Farm. Once you hire an attorney, the insurance company is obligated to deal directly with him, you are out of the loop communication wise and all those many questions that you and your passengers have will be very expensive and frustrating three way discussions. Much of the settlement can probably be handled directly with State Farm and your agent.
You will know when it is time, if that comes, to get an attorney involved.
No Offence Chuckster, but that is very bad advice, IMHO. They are only obligated to deal with the attorney if rbrogan appoints the attorney to represent him. If rbrogan only goes to the attorney for advice, State Farm shouldn't even know. The big concern now is that rbrogan has no idea what State Farm should be doing for him, and they're not volunteering anything.
And they're not making an ad on this claim, so it's all about capping their costs and shoving the bills in rbrogan's direction. Notice it's not the agent who's driving up to clean out the wreck, and the reason is to stop State Farm paying storage fees. Seems to me like time to talk to his lawyer. Not to hand everything over to him, but to find out what his options really are.
fulltime 5 months a year
FMCA 368297
1990 Beaver Marquis 40'
Gillig MHA 3208T chassis, 300 HP Cat 3208, Allison MT647
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chuckster11
Idaho
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Joined: 04/30/2004
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So you are advising an Ohio resident to contact an Arizona attorney to get involved in the case just to find out what State Farm is doing?
Arizona attorneys must be different than the attorneys that I am familiar with. rbrogan's agent should be able to explain the process to him. Explain why the process is being handled the way it is, what the state of the investigation is.
All insurance companies seek to "cap" costs on accidents, otherwise there wouldn't be a premium that you and I could afford. That is what insurance companies do and does not mean the claiment is out of luck.
I don't know when this accident happened but it appears it was in a rural area which means there were several investigating agencies involved and few witnesses. State Farm or any other insurance agency is not going to make a declarative statement about how they are going to settle something like this until they find out what happened.
Like I say, all accidents, big or small, are inconvenient for the claiments involved.
Early in something like this, is not always the time to get attorneys involved. I would have advised my clients in this situation to let the insurance adjusters do their investigation and make some offers before contacting legal advice. Nothing at this point changes what happened, can change a police report, the value of the vehicles lost, the amount of injury in the accident.
Personal agents earn their money by helping their customers know what is going on--rbrogan should be in contact with his.
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