Rear Fiberglass Cap Damage

I would guess $5k, +/- $1.5k . Paint and materials have gone sky high and so is the labor. Depends on where you are located and who does the work. If you go to a dealer, figure teh high end, if you can find a local shop, you'll do better. You didn't mention your location... in Fl, there are a few specialty shops that do these types repairs.

If you have collision on your moho, report it to your carrier asap. Have them take a look and write you an estimate. It’s a start.

I might look at a boat repair shop to have that repaired. Haven't found a auto shop that will do repair work on an RV. Usually say 'no space'. Most RV shops don't do body work.

Fiberglass work is a messy time consuming job. Get the grinder out. It will be multiple layers. No such thing as the 5 minute fix.

I fixed a lot of Corvettes and fiberglass cars over the years and this should not be a problem for a good glass man as long as there is no damage behind the cap.
No one in their right mind will price it without seeing it in person.

CA Traveler wrote:
Since the tow bar is hinged up/down on both ends I think the front of jeep went up with the towbar and the 2 largest marks below and either side of the license plate are from the towbar and jeep base plate. ie The towbar was vertical when contact was made.

OP measute the towbar to confirm. There might be marks on the Jeep PS from the ladder.

Even before you get a permanent repair to that rear cap, best find out why the Toad brakes didn’t work correctly and get that issue fixed.

Techwriter,

First things first, find an RV dealer that knows about this coach and get his appraisal. Anything else is just a guess....

Next and I mean NOW, find some nice white Duck Tape and make the holes weather proof. You don't know what is inside there and it might get really bad if it is left open.

You don't give us any idea what your capabilities are, but the ladder is just a search out and buy new tubing (~500$ it is an RV). If I still did glass repair, I could make the surface damage pretty for about a day (8~1K$+ paint= 12~1.5K). Don't count to hard on on my numbers, I have been out of the boat business for a few years. Again, I don't know what is inside there, so I could be WAY off.

Matt

Since the tow bar is hinged up/down on both ends I think the front of jeep went up with the towbar and the 2 largest marks below and either side of the license plate are from the towbar and jeep base plate. ie The towbar was vertical when contact was made.

OP measute the towbar to confirm. There might be marks on the Jeep PS from the ladder.

TechWriter,

Sorry to hear of your accident. I know it's a 21 year old rig, but still relatively new to you, so boo-boos like this seem to have an extra-sting to them when they happen. Still, keeping a focus on the overall age of the rig might be helpful.

I think repair costs are going to depend upon where you are in the country and how good of a repair job you want. Considering this is a 21 year old rig, I think you'll have to carefully weigh the repair options. There are some places that will only do A1 top quality work, and that'll cost you. On the other hand, you might find someone that will patch it up and make it look pretty good, that will be cheaper. It might be good if you knew which type of repair you'd be happy with and discuss that when your getting estimates.

By any chance would your insurance cover any of this?

If you have a Vocational School nearby that has an auto body shop, they might be able to patch it up for you so that it looks pretty decent without costing you an arm and a leg. Many places don't want to do body work on rigs unless they can get them into their garage for protection, which rules out many of the normal automotive body shops. But you might find someone that will work on it outdoors who is willing to be at the mercy of the weather for repairs & painting. Of course, that may require some extra patience with the weather on your part, as well.

To be honest, though I'm sure the pictures don't show everything, I think if you can get that crack repaired and painted, with a few other touch up spots and a new ladder, it'll look pretty good. Not like the original, but does it really matter?

Lastly, like the others, I would really be interested in hearing more about this incident. Was it a failure of the base plate/connection on the Jeep and it rode up the tow bar when you stopped? Or was it operator error? It does seem that the Jeep hit pretty high up on the back of the rig.

I know if that was my rig, I'd give the repair a shot myself. It wouldn't be perfect, but I think it could easily be made so that folks would only notice it on a second look. On a 21 year old rig, I'd easily convince myself to settle with that to save thousands. :)

Good Luck, and please keep us updated on what you get for estimates and what you decide.

~Rick

Out of curiosity though I can’t figure out how it didn’t hit lower on the Moho, like in the bumper area.