Our family purchased a TT in June 2018. We had only used it one week locally before taking it cross-country to Colorado. Sadly, while traveling on i70 in Kansas on July 25th, we got stuck in a terrible storm. Parked on the side of the freeway, we lost our trailer to severe wind, hail and debris. [We believe small tornado.] (The locals said they hadn't seen "purple" on the radar before.) Long story short, our brand new trailer was destroyed. We are now at the cross roads of using insurance/gap coverage to "go back to square one"; use replacement insurance to get identical make/model or use replacement insurance towards upgrading (most likely to a Class A or C, as towing a trailer has become not so fun anymore). While we aren't worried about our loan getting paid (gap coverage), we don't know if we'll get much of our deposit back. And if we do decide to later get another RV, would we have been better off using this money towards the new one rather than paying another deposit? Anyone have any similar experience or recommendations? (We also realize that we may have missed our window of opportunity to purchase a lottery ticket, given the odds we experienced.) [Quick side note: No one was injured and we recovered 98% of our personal belongings. I may, however, have PTSD going through a car wash for awhile. ]

Murby9411 wrote:Our family purchased a TT in June 2018. We had only used it one week locally before taking it cross-country to Colorado. Sadly, while traveling on i70 in Kansas on July 25th, we got stuck in a terrible storm. Parked on the side of the freeway, we lost our trailer to severe wind, hail and debris. [We believe small tornado.] (The locals said they hadn't seen "purple" on the radar before.) Long story short, our brand new trailer was destroyed. We are now at the cross roads of using insurance/gap coverage to "go back to square one"; use replacement insurance to get identical make/model or use replacement insurance towards upgrading (most likely to a Class A or C, as towing a trailer has become not so fun anymore). While we aren't worried about our loan getting paid (gap coverage), we don't know if we'll get much of our deposit back. And if we do decide to later get another RV, would we have been better off using this money towards the new one rather than paying another deposit? Anyone have any similar experience or recommendations? (We also realize that we may have missed our window of opportunity to purchase a lottery ticket, given the odds we experienced.) [Quick side note: No one was injured and we recovered 98% of our personal belongings. I may, however, have PTSD going through a car wash for awhile. ]IMHO, I would choose a 5th. wheel over a TT for stability. I have towed both and now for the last 10 yrs. have towed a 5th. wheel.

If towing a trailer isn't fun anymore, the clear path is to move to an A or C so that you can get the most enjoyment out of your camping trips. You'll have to sort out the financial issues as you are the best judge of where and how your money is spent.

What deposit are you expecting to not get back or worried about putting down on a new trailer? If you put a deposit down to buy the trailer which was destroyed, was it not applied to the purchase price of same when you took posession? If it wasn't you were fleeced pretty good.

So - why is towing not so fun anymore?

Your A or C may being laying on its side instead of your trailer in the same situation. I would get what every you want and not base my decision on your unfortunate experience. Weather related damage is common in this neck of the woods. JMHO

Tornado destroyed TT - Cash Out, Replace or Upgrade?

13 Replies

deltabravo
Nomad
Aug 17, 2018
Not sure what you mean by "deposit".
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Aug 17, 2018
I can certainly understand your hesitation to tow another trailer. My parents had some close friends (1965) and their trailer and car flipped over on it's side while traveling due to high winds. That family was so traumatized by the event, they never go another camper again. It wasn't financial reason, it was all PTSD. My parents missed camping with them after that.

Although I am a TT guy and absolutely love my configuration and have had absolutely zero problems towing, ever, I do encourage to NOT give up the RV experience. If you are now gun-shy of a TT, that's perfectly understandable. Get the A or C and continue to enjoy this lifestyle.

About your insurance, as stated above, Gap will pay the difference between what your insurance pays and the remainder balance on your loan and nothing more. Get your old loan completely paid off, and then start all over again. If your loan is paid off, your credit rating will take a boost also for a while. You may be able to finance your next "camper" with zero down. We've never had to put anything down on anything we've financed: our home, any of of vehicles, or any of our campers.
patperry2766
Explorer II
Aug 17, 2018
Gap insurance only pays the difference between what you owe on the loan vs what the insurance pays for damages, nothing more or nothing less. You won't be getting your deposit back, which I think you actually mean down payment.

You will start off by purchasing a new RV with a brand new loan. If the insurance pays you more than what was owed on the loan, then there is your down payment. If they don't, the GAP kicks in and pays off the difference. The most significant depreciation occurs within the first couple of year, so unless you have replacement coverage on your policy, then there's a really good chance that there's gonna be a lot of depreciation now that the trailer is considered used. Good thing that you bought the GAP coverage.

You've only had the camper on one trip, so what happened in that short of a time to determine than towing isn't fun anymore?
ReneeG
Explorer
Aug 17, 2018
I agree with TenOC on getting a Hensley Arrow hitch for towing a TT for stability. We towed using a Hensley for years and it is very stable, in fact, as stable as towing a fifth wheel. Now, with that said, IMHO, I think you need to take a deep breath and think about this for as long as you need or can (based on the payout of your insurance if there is a timeline). As one other person said, you've been through a harrowing experience. Thank God you are all ok and your insurance did what you purchased it for. You've been extremely fortunate.

If you love the RV lifestyle, then move forward with a new one. As to a towable or a driveable one, that's your decision. Take your time and look at them all. Take them for a test drive - the Class A and C. I know that after having TT's for years, we decided we wanted a Class A. Really looked long and hard at one and took it for a test drive. I didn't like the feel of it at all because I get motion sick. DH said that can be remedied with anti-sway add ons, but then he asked me where I was going to put the trash can (?!) What? That made me really look long and hard at storage and it wasn't going to work. Well, fast forward and we have a FW. Love it. Love the space and luxury of it, but that's us. What works for us may not work for you.

Best of luck in what you decide.
2edgesword
Explorer
Aug 17, 2018
Wow! Sorry to hear about going through what must have been a terrible ordeal but glad you and your family made it out alive and unharmed.
TenOC
Nomad
Aug 17, 2018
westend wrote:
If towing a trailer isn't fun anymore, the clear path is to move to an A or C so that you can get the most enjoyment out of your camping trips. You'll have to sort out the financial issues as you are the best judge of where and how your money is spent.

To have fun towing a TT get a Hensley Arrow hitch or a ProPride not the cheap hitch sold by most RV shops. Sure they cost $$ or about the same as a good fifth wheel hitch.
moresmoke
Explorer
Aug 17, 2018
However you want to look at it, the insurance money will be going to pay off the loan on the destroyed trailer. Whatever you decide to do in the future will be financed with a new loan, secured by the new RV and whatever is left of the insurance settlement (if any).
SpeakEasy
Explorer
Aug 17, 2018
Yeah. What is this "deposit" that you're concerned about? If that was a down-payment, that's figured into the value of the trailer, and you got that money from the insurance company. Right?

Sorry to hear about your loss. It must have been a harrowing experience.

I'm not sure how much differently things would have turned out for you if you had been in a different kind of RV. I'm not sure why "towing" or not towing is going to make a difference in how you go forward.

-Speak
dave17352
Explorer II
Aug 17, 2018
Your A or C may being laying on its side instead of your trailer in the same situation. I would get what every you want and not base my decision on your unfortunate experience. Weather related damage is common in this neck of the woods. JMHO
2012Coleman
Explorer II
Aug 17, 2018
So - why is towing not so fun anymore?