Hurricane Michael got my camper
I live in the Florida Panhandle at the intersection of Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Last Wednesday we had a visit from hurricane Michael. In fact, the eye crossed us with recorded sustained winds of 125 mph. No where near what hit the coast, but more than we have ever seen here.
Last spring I had a very nice 24x36 pole barn built to protect my camper. My camper was on my truck under the barn pending an upcoming trip. Unfortunately 2 pine trees went down on the barn and one, the largest at about 18-20" diameter, went through the roof and on the right rear corner of the camper. There was so much weight on it, the right rear jack pad, which was retracted fully, was on the ground. The front tires of the truck were nearly off the ground.
Finally yesterday, a crew removed the trees and lifted the barn trusses enough I could drive out. I removed the camper from the truck.
The truck bed is skewed low in the rear, but it appears to be ok otherwise. I need to have the frame and rear suspension checked carefully.
The camper has several holes in the roof in the bathroom area where the barn truss mashed down. There is a break in the left sidewall where the left forward tiedown fought against the right rear being pushed down. There is a crack in the right sidewall between the propane compartment and the slide out opening. The two front cab over strut brackets were pulled out. The worst is where the tree hit the roof over the slide. The edge of the roof crushed down some. How much I can't tell at this point.
I have filed an insurance claim, so we'll see how that goes.
All in all, we're really lucky. We lost most of the trees on our 6 acre lot, but our house has only minor damage. It will probably be weeks getting power back and months cleaning up the property.
But we have a roof over our heads and are unhurt.
I will try to post photos within a couple of days.
Dale
Last spring I had a very nice 24x36 pole barn built to protect my camper. My camper was on my truck under the barn pending an upcoming trip. Unfortunately 2 pine trees went down on the barn and one, the largest at about 18-20" diameter, went through the roof and on the right rear corner of the camper. There was so much weight on it, the right rear jack pad, which was retracted fully, was on the ground. The front tires of the truck were nearly off the ground.
Finally yesterday, a crew removed the trees and lifted the barn trusses enough I could drive out. I removed the camper from the truck.
The truck bed is skewed low in the rear, but it appears to be ok otherwise. I need to have the frame and rear suspension checked carefully.
The camper has several holes in the roof in the bathroom area where the barn truss mashed down. There is a break in the left sidewall where the left forward tiedown fought against the right rear being pushed down. There is a crack in the right sidewall between the propane compartment and the slide out opening. The two front cab over strut brackets were pulled out. The worst is where the tree hit the roof over the slide. The edge of the roof crushed down some. How much I can't tell at this point.
I have filed an insurance claim, so we'll see how that goes.
All in all, we're really lucky. We lost most of the trees on our 6 acre lot, but our house has only minor damage. It will probably be weeks getting power back and months cleaning up the property.
But we have a roof over our heads and are unhurt.
I will try to post photos within a couple of days.
Dale
