Oops! The consequences of not paying attention
Several weeks ago a renter returned our RV with some bad news.
They said, “Hey, remember that thing you told me not to do? Well, I did it and I’m so sorry.”
The thing I explicitly tell each renter to not do is turn out from a gas pump too quickly without clearing the rear of the RV.
This is exactly what happened to them. They were filling up with gas just a few miles from home after their successful trip and only minutes away from turning in the RV, they pulled out from the pump too sharply and tore into the rear left of the vehicle.
The fiberglass shell was damage as was the frame and the underside of the garage. The bumper was bent and shifted to the right and you could no longer get the hose out.
Here’s a slightly wider shot of the damage.
Repairs
Fortunately, the damage didn’t render the RV inoperable so we were able to still rent it out a couple of times until an RV shop had an opening. They did fantastic work as you can see below.
Back to normal and maybe a little better! RV still needs a bath though before the next rental!
While this accident was covered by the insurance, the repairs were several thousand dollars and we had to block out almost a month of dates on the Outdoorsy calendar so that we would have days to schedule repairs. That alone cost quite a bit of revenue we could have made from the RV being rented out.
If the damage was a little greater to where we couldn’t rent out the RV we could have lost thousands of dollars in revenue depending on how long it took to get it into a shop (everyone is backed up for weeks and even months right now) and then how long it had to stay in the shop (again, weeks to months).
This is why it is absolutely critical to ALWAYS “clear your rear” by using the rear camera, your mirrors, and even using a spotter to make sure both sides of the rear of the RV are completely clear of hitting anything.
Always use caution when backing up, turning, or pulling away from obstacles that you are parked close to. Take it slow and easy and like most renters, you’ll have a safe trip without the added stress of damaging a very expensive asset.
Thanks, American RV Specialists
We would like to give a special thanks to Scott and his team at American RV Specialists in Liberty Hill, TX for doing such a great job at repairing our RV and would highly recommend their services.
The were able to do the repair on budget and several days before their estimate and we are very happy with the results.