Help: make the best of a bad situation, rear ended (1 Viewer)

[hatchethead]

On Friday, while I was on the way out of town to enjoy some trailing driving in the Sierras, I was rear ended on the freeway by a big Ram pickup. I'm hoping folks can share some pointers are dealing with insurance to get the rig fixed.

The collision smashed the tail lights, hammered the lift gate, crunched the tailgate, punched the bumper good, and abused the receiver hitch frame (electrics connector broken). It also opened the interior door to the jack storage area, but I don't know if there's any damage in there. (I have a sleeping platform that's blocking my investigation right now.)

The rig drove great for the rest of my weekend away (though I had to tape my left turn-signal housing to the rig's body). There was no signs of anything being knocked out of alignment. But I want to be careful about that. What should I look for to be convinced the frame etc. is OK.

I confirmed with my insurance provider that I want a repair, and they suggested someone in a town not too far from me. My question for ih8mud folks is, "What makes for a good body shop for this kind of work?" How can I find out if the shop knows that it's doing and can do the repairs on my rig?

Is there anything else I should be thinking about as I prepare to talk with the adjuster (tomorrow)? I didn't get insurance info from the guy who plowed in to me, but I did get a pic of the license and his phone number. Can I expect that driver's policy to cover my deductible? Can I expect that driver's policy to cover the cost of a rental while I wait for my rig to be repaired?

Bonus question: I've been wanting to upgrade the rear bumper. Is this an opportunity to do that? If so, how would that work?

Thanks in advance to those of you who are able to share advice gained from their sad experiences.

Jason

 

[Flipped Bezel]

I didn't get insurance info from the guy who plowed in to me, but I did get a pic of the license and his phone number

Dang man, if possible, you should always get insurance info from the at fault party in this type of accident.

Good luck with the repair and I'd definitely look closely into getting rear armor at this time.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Lots of threads on insurance repairs, search "insurance", limit to titles only, 100 section only. Probably should have gotten the other driver's insurance info and maybe called highway patrol for the report and for them to possibly issue a citation, that usually establishes clear fault.

 

[3_puppies]

is there a crease on the driver side rear quarter?

 

[TRDdrew]

@hatchethead I have been in the auto body industry now for 15 years, feel free to send me a PM and ill give you my phone number and I can help walk you through the process

 

[hatchethead]

is there a crease on the driver side rear quarter?

Nope. No crease on the DS quarter panel. (This is the panel with the gas tank cap, right?). Just pin stripes.

Lots of threads on insurance repairs, search "insurance", limit to titles only, 100 section only. Probably should have gotten the other driver's insurance info and maybe called highway patrol for the report and for them to possibly issue a citation, that usually establishes clear fault.

Thanks for the search pointers.

Evidence is suggesting that the other guy isn't insured. I did call the CHP. Then I called my insurance.

Dang man, if possible, you should always get insurance info from the at fault party in this type of accident.

Good luck with the repair and I'd definitely look closely into getting rear armor at this time.

Agreed. But that only works if the dude is insured. Fingers crossed.