Rear ended

Hello,
Last weekend (1 Apr), I was rear end when slowing down for traffic and the other driver did not. He was cited for following to close, which is BS because I saw him coming at me full speed (45 mph) 10 car lengths back. He had a small car so he went directly under me. His car was completely smashed in the front end (wish I had taken a pic).

I've seen others posts here but didn't see the outcome, totaled or not. Working with insurance and repair shop. They say they just need to replace the tow hitch (really?). I'm going back today to point out its the frame. I can't bring my truck in until next week and I have to drive 900 miles this weekend. My truck can drive, but I'm concerned with safety and other issues that may come up, so I'm also trying to see if they will give me a rental until I can bring it in.

Any thoughts? Advice? Concerns? In dealing with insurance and repair shop. We both have the same insurer (USAA). ​

I've had my taco for 12 years and would hate to see it go.

 

From the rear

 

Frame is tweaked. Probably totaled.

 

Id say probably totaled. Frame alone is prob $4-5k, plus labor, which im assuming is close to 39 hours and around $130 an hour.

 

Sorry this happened to to.

As for advise, see your insurance company. Don't trust theirs. If you can take it to Toyota for your estimate. It is your right to choose who repairs your truck. And if it is your insurance company that totals your truck you might be able to buy it back as salvage from your I insurance company.

 

This exact incident and exact bent frame happened to my truck. I'll tell you what I did, and what I learned after the fact from a neighbor who works at an auto body shop.

What I did:

I got an estimate from a shop based on the other driver's insurance. The estimate included replacing the trailer hitch and straightening the frame using "cold working" on a frame rack. I took a paper check from the insurance based on this estimate. Body shops will not use heat or cut and weld on a frame because insurance companies will not warranty repair work that used heat to repair a frame.

I didn't like the idea of cold-working such a bad bend/kink in the frame, it seemed like they would never get that kink out completely and even if they got close it wouldn't be as strong as before the bend.

After collecting my money, I cut out the bent portion and welded a patch and a reinforcing strap to repair the frame. Then I bolted on the original hitch because the hitch wasn't actually damaged (the hitch is much stronger than the frame). I have no concerns about safety or functionality of the truck, all of the damage happened behind the rear spring hangers so suspension function and alignment weren't affected. (yours is likely the same, there is a weak point between the rear spring hanger and the trailer hitch that tends to absorb all of the damage.)

What I learned from my neighbor who works at an auto-body shop:

Apparently I was entitled to a "frame payment", when the frame is bent this bad the auto body shop really can't fix it correctly by cold-working, so the only insurance company approved fix is to replace the whole frame. You may need to go through your own insurance instead of the other driver's insurance to help you get your frame payment, but you are entitled to one because your frame is damaged beyond what a body shop can repair.

Your options, assuming you can convince the insurance company to give you the frame payment you're due:

You could let the body shop replace the frame under insurance, or you could take the frame payment and hire a fabrication shop to cut and patch the frame for you. Keeping the current frame isn't going to make the truck unsafe in my opinion, since the only affected part is the trailer hitch, and once you straighten and reinforce the frame the hitch will be plenty strong again, but that's not the insurance company's more conservative and less case-by-case approach, they consider all bent frames the same whether it's the front section that affects your front wheel alignment and therefore your brakes suspension and steering, or whether it's the trailer hitch which hardly affects anything.

Attached are a mid-repair and after repair photos of my home repair job. My only concern is that next time I get rear-ended, the frame will likely bend in front of the spring hanger because my repair is stronger than the original frame and the weak point is not between the hanger and the hitch anymore.





Good Luck!

 

I was recently hit similar to you but with more damage. I did not have a receiver hitch, so I did not have those brackets that bolt to the underside of the frame. Instead the bumper was only held on by the three bolts on the each side of the frame. During the accident the bumper kind of rotated around the back two bolt holes, with the front most bolt hole tearing out of the bumper mount. The frame did not bend any, nor were the bolts and captured nuts welded to the inside of the frame damaged. I guess I just got very lucky

 

Rent a car

 

A 12 year old truck with frame damage will probably be totaled. Off topic though, wow i dont see a speck of rust under there. Hope it gets resolved soon for you.

 

damn.. makes me wanna take my receiver hitch off

 

If you don't need it then do that. Receiver hitches on our trucks act as an incredibly strong lever arm that torques the frame. People chuckle when they have an installed ball and punch the offending vehicle's radiator in a low speed collision, but get an idiot texting hitting you at 45 and this is what happens when they hit the receiver hitch. Lots of trucks here on TW totaled from a bent frame because of their receiver hitch.

Problem is with the tow package the hitch is integral to supporting the bumper so you can't just take it off. You need to replace it with the bracket that comes on the non tow package trucks (the one described a few posts ago that destroys itself rather than the frame and your truck). Or get an aftermarket bumper.

Another alternative is there is a product that is basically a mini second bumper with some sort of spring or energy absorber in it that goes in the receiver hitch and is designed to prevent exactly this kind of frame damage from a rear end collision with a receiver hitch.

 

I've been a body tech for twenty years. That frame should be replaced because it is not possible to repair properly and safely. It is kinked and cold straightening will not correct it. Using heat is forbidden because it hardens the steel and changes the way it will collapse the next time it is hit. Being the it is the rear of a truck, choosing to cut that portion out and weld it isn't the end of the world. You have a lot of bed to collapse before you get to the cab. The problem is that you don't know if the frame is diamonded, meaning that one side is more forward than the other. That will cause suspension alignment issues that possibly can't be fixed without addressing the frame.

 

This is very true.. lucky for me i have a base model and i saved the brackets that held my bumper on when i installed the OEM hitch. Ill probably end up taking it off and just putting it back on the once every three years that i tow

 

For anyone curious, these are the brackets that the factory tow hitch replaces



I never knew about these until i installed a OEM hitch on mine

 

Yeah, I think if I had a receiver hitch the damage to my truck would have been much more substantial. As it was the bumper just rolled down as the car went under the back of my truck. I would have thought that having all that extra steel and bracing back there with a receiver hitch would have been a good thing, but apparently that is not always the case.

 

Yep, im adding removal of my hitch to things to do this weekend!

 

I just used the accident as an excuse to buy a Brute Force Fab high clearance bumper lol. Hopefully I won't be testing it out against another vehicle anytime soon

 

That alternative is a Superbumper. Available at Superbumper.com. I bought one last October. Last week I was rear ended by an Accord who slide into me at a red light. I estimated his speed at about 20-25 mph as I saw him in my rear view. The blow was on one side of the Superbumper only and bent that side inward. The truck was not damaged and my wife and I were unharmed. I ordered a replacement that night. Consider this product.

 

I have this product also, although it is untested as of yet. Hope it never needs to be proven.

Any pics?

 

Same, I bought one 2 years ago to fight these tailgaters...... peace of mind