Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage

[Strouty]

I am truly sorry for your loss.

 

[86turbodsl]

Nice. It's snowing pretty good here. xtremek is just a bit north of here. They're saying 1-2 inches.

 

[walrus]

Here on the mid coast got an inch, but 4 or 5 miles inland they got 4 inches or so. At least it motivated me to really get ready for winter. Snow tires on both trucks, plow on tractor, lawn mower put away etc. Maybe now that I'm ready it won't come this year

 

[Strouty]

I really wish that was the case, I really do….

Got a ton of stuff shuffled, still a lot to move, but headway is visible, tomorrow I am going to be at the Hill in the morning, then head to the Salvage Garage about lunchtime. I need to try and get a few more things shuffled before we get anymore snow. From there, I can just manage my time and move trailers and trucks as I can.

Random pics from today’s adventure:

 

[xtremek]

If you need to finish cleaning out the box truck, I'd be willing to take some sheet stock of your hands. And yeah, we got about 1 1/2"-2" of the stuff last night. I'm not even close to ready. The spot where I usually put the snow is crowded with cars, trucks, trailers, and tractors. I'm totally screwed.

 

[Strouty]

Hopefully it will melt and you will get a second chance.

 

[xtremek]

You just roll with it. I know you've been there many times.

 

[Strouty]

So yesterday the ramp truck shifter (automatic) was having trouble shifting into park, you had to make sure the truck wasn't rolling before you left it, we put it on the list to fix for this coming week. Well, as you guys know, things don't always go smoothly for me, I moved the ramp truck up next to the shop, yes on a slope, and made "sure" it was in park, it didn't move at all, I sat there for maybe 30 seconds to make sure it was good. I went into the shop, moved some stuff around, then I was sweeping the floor, dumped out the dust pan, then this happened..........



It had been about seven or eight minutes that I was in the shop, I heard the high idle kick in and since the truck was still in reverse, it drove away, right into Perk.



The damage to the ramp truck was far less extensive, a ding, a cracked weld, and some damage to the control handles on the passenger side. Monday will be interesting talking to the insurance agent, he handles both of our policies.

 

[Mr.zippy]

Oh ****! That just plain *****……sorry Stoutly.

 

[jakemac]

Oof ! One step forward, and then a rollback.
The pain is never ending. Hope this doesn’t set you back too far.

 

[Strouty]

Yeah, it really does set me back and **** all at once, I needed Perk this week to move equipment, I was actually going to use the truck today. No real damage other than the hood and front bumper, but I suspect it will be close to $10k in damage as it has an oddball hood and they will not be finding a used one easily. Big issue is that I lose the use of the truck when I have decent weather, Dad says I can borrow his, but I know that will come at some cost in the future, it always does.

 

[Strouty]

Yesterday’s work, took pictures this morning since it was dark when we finished.


There was no carnage yesterday, so these pictures are pretty boring.

 

[jakemac]

Your dad wants you to use his truck ? It’s a trap !
What’s wrong with it that he wants you to fix while you have it ?

 

[Strouty]

I honestly don’t know, but I may be able to get the insurance company to pay for a rental truck, that wouldn’t be the worst thing.

 

[xtremek]

Sometimes you wonder if all we have is bad luck.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I've put worse than that back on the road in about half an hour. Pull the bumper straightish halfassed with a chain and the ramp truck. The hood gets fixed with bungees, tie wraps, n mechanics wire. Good to go for a week or two of steady duty, hauling garbage through narrow alleys in upstate NY.

 

[Strouty]

I know I can do that, but I want the insurance adjuster to see it as is. After that, a drill and some zip ties should make it good enough to drive.

 

[86turbodsl]

Man that *****. Hope it goes well with insurance. That will cost you too. Some days it don't pay to get out of bed...

 

[Strouty]

This was definitely one of them, I actually thought about not even going to the Hill, would have been a better option for sure.

 

[walrus]

Wow, that stinks, hope the insurance adjuster meeting goes smoothly.

 

[Strouty]

So far everyone I have talked to thinks I may make some money on the deal, I won’t know for a bit, so I am going to try not to think about it.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Dang. I hate it when trucks fight. No one wins.

 

[clmeredith]

Just curious, where would the ramp truck ended up if it had not hit Perk?

 

[clmeredith]

So I guess you did put the ramp truck into “perk“.
sorry I couldn’t resist

 

[xtremek]

^ that was a good one.

 

[Strouty]

They melded nicely.

Ramp truck would have side swiped the stone wall and or headed down the Hill into the woods. Could have been worse, I am at the dump now, when I get back I will look to see if the frame rails are bent.

 

[1Garageman]

You have some of the craziest things happen to you out of nowhere! I hope all goes well with the insurance. Glad that truck had something to stop it, and no one was near by when it took off.

 

[Strouty]

I don't do anything unless it is worth doing......

I spoke with the insurance adjuster and he was all confused, he thought I owned both trucks and both companies, got him straightened out, but it sounds like they don't want to send an insurance adjuster out, they just want pictures. I have spoken with a few people about the repairs and they all think that it will be totaled, but to me it depends on the price that they put on the truck. I am not interested in settling for a pittance, I have a lot of money ******* in Perk and you can't replace the truck for less than $60k, at least not one that has low miles. Perk hasn't even rolled over 10k miles yet even though it is a 1997.

 

[xtremek]

Totaled because a hood and bumper are toast? That doesn't sound right.

 

[86turbodsl]

I didn't think one of our cars that got in a minor fender bender was totalled, but it was, and the payout was about 2X what i thought it was worth, so maybe you'll be ok on this one?

 

[Strouty]

Yeah, the truck is not a common truck and the hood and quarter fenders will be $5000 easily, then you need new metal braces since most of mine are destroyed, then the front surround, then the tire, then the towing, then the removal of bad components, then the replacement of the hood and bumper (bumper is custom), then the painting, plus a little body work to the cowl, then there is the rental of another truck while Perk is out of commission. Basically what I listed right there would probably end up in the $20k range, so I think they will want to total it and be done with it.

 

[86turbodsl]

So you buy it back and spend the money fixing perk up.

 

[Strouty]

In our state, they can charge up to 33% to buy it back, so if the value is wrong, it wouldn’t be a good deal. So far the knuckle boom may be considered separate since I have a completely separate insurance policy for it.

 

[Strouty]

Waiting for the private appraiser to show up, I figured it would be worth spending the money to have it done independently, then at least I have something to compare against the insurance company’s value. Once the adjuster has enough pictures and says in an email that I am good to move the truck, I will be jumping on it so I can get things moved.

 

[xtremek]

You may finally have to build the truck you want/need.

 

[rvieceli]

Strouty. Good luck, I hope this works out for you.
Ron

 

[Strouty]

Things usually don't work out well, so I am not expecting it to. The appraiser that showed up today (my guy) was like it will be a quick easy fix, and they will pay to fix it not total it. We will see, I already have a parts list going, just the hood, surround, grill, tire, and bumper before taxes and shipping are almost $5k and this doesn't include the braces for the hood, the lights, the quarter fenders, or the damage to the AC lines. Then the towing and labor will not be cheap just to get it prepped for the repairs. I still have to find out about a rental truck, I suspect it will be a fight with them on a lot of things, not much I can do though.

 

[Strouty]

I got roped in to helping drop another tower, I am bringing the drone and other cameras, hopefully I can get some good video. It will be a pretty big crash, 260’ tall tower that is 42” wide. I will post pictures when I get there in the morning.

 

[xtremek]

For your Dad, or someone else?

 

[walrus]

Can't wait to see that come down, hopefully it isn't one of your income producing towers