Would appreciate any expert opinions (Truck rear-ended)

many in this thread assume because of the "problem child" part...

that he has no job...money...or assetts.

 

I looked under and the side panels are about a foot farther up on the frame. That being said the side panels were not even scratched. The hit was on the bumper/tailgate. I investigated further just now and def seems the whole frame is tweaked as all the bed mounts are still securely tightened to the frame, and there is a +1" hump in my bed now.

 

Well if it's not worth 50 bucks amonth to hold liability insurance in order to drive legally, I'm not sure he'll be able to reimburse me 10k out of his "savings".

 

I did not know this. how do you know this?...have you contacted him? the police contact him?

also, again...even if he has zero automobile insurance...it does not necessairly mean he does not have any assetts.

posted respectfully...I actually hope you get a new truck in the end.

 

The problem is that the OTHER drive is a John or Jane Doe at this point in time. If the police are unable to locate the other driver then YOUR insurance company becomes the sole source for compensation. A rebuilder would have your truck back on the road in 48 hours, including paint.

The frame is a cold formed, low carbon steel. A few heat cycles from a torch or from welding won't change much.

Howard

 

I believe the 1st step is to have the policice involved...

have law enforcement contact the alleged hit & run driver...and go from there.

 

If he got a tag number and the cops say he is a "problem child" then they know who the perp is. That's more than enough information to start the process to place a judgement against him thru the state of TX. By law, he has to stop and provide information. When the victim gave the tag info to the cops, then legally the cops have to get the info from the perp or the perp gets arrested for failure to provide the information. Either way, the OP can get all necessary information from the cops about the "problem child". It really isn't that difficult.

 

Frame appears to be toast the bed should not bend like that it made from carbon so it moves with the frame aka it can't bend like a metal bed and obviously the rear potion of the frame is shot too. So did you get a name for this "problem child"?

I think they're going to total it...

 

I got rear ended about 1 year ago, they guy took off I got his plates the CHP went to his house and he said his friend was driving. In the police report he said he'd cover the damage to my truck. I asked the officer to give me his insurance info, they didn't get it. So I waited awhile took it to the shop my insurance recomended. They fixed it under uninsured motorist. $1700. Now my insurance is going after the guy because of the police report. My insurance didn't go up.

Sorry this happened hope you get it resolved.

 

I completely agree with you. Judging by the comment made from the police, and the fact he told me I should tell the insurance company that this will most likely be an uninsured motorist, I am going to assume two things 1) This has happened before and 2) he does not have money to cover it. The police also mentioned they had every intention of finding this person/car and impounding it as well as arresting the person driving.

That being said, there is a reason I have uninsured motorist coverage. From what the police/insurance agents have told me, they will cover the repairs (my coverage is 50k) and then sue the person causing the collision if in fact he is not insured. This seems to make a little more sense to me because I feel like the insurance companies are better equipped for lawsuits of this nature.

I have dealt with trying to file an "action on property" for someone who could not repay me in a civil suit, and it took close to an act of god for them to do this. That being said it could be different in an non-insured motorist case. This is also under the assumption this guy pleads guilty. I figure he ran for a good reason. I'm not sure that either I or the person in front of me could pick him out of a lineup if we saw him again (it happened very quickly).

Like I said, I am making assumptions undoubtedly. I will not deny that, but I believe they are reasonably founded, whether 100% accurate or not.

 

Sounds good.

As I posted, I hope you get a new truck in the end. I see a 2012 or 2013 in your future.

 

Wait. It's made from carbon? 2011 has carbon beds? Is that why the price went up so high? Are they much better than my composite one? Or is my composite carbon too?

 

Carbon fibre is a material used in composites, far from the only one though. To be honest, I'm not even sure these have carbon fibre in them, but the very well could. I'm guessing that what he was referring to.

 

Huh. Learn something new every day. A mix would make more sense. Knowing what I do in the cycling industry, Carbon fiber is sensitive to deep gouges and even some scratches because the thread like fibers will fan and become "fuzzy". If a bike frame has a deep scratch that can be enough to consider it toast. That's why I'm so surprised that he said it was carbon, considering what the bed of a truck goes through.

 

Well that's my point.

The bed is mounted front, middle, and rear. If the rear mount point is bent DOWN, it will give your bed a "hump" and cause your panels to angle down. It isn't about damaging the side panels, but what they are mounted TO, which is the same brace as the back of the bed, which just happens to be attached to the rear most portion of the frame -- the part that got crumpled.

It is **POSSIBLE** that the only damage to the frame is the rear most part. It is also possible that the whole thing twisted all the way up. Once it goes on the rack, you'll know either way.

 

I'm pretty sure that the bed is made of run-of-the-mill fiberglass with a hard slick black surface layer. There are a couple of scratches in mine, and its white under the surface.

Oh, the fuzzy-fan thing with fibrous composites is typically a result of a low resin-to-fiber ratio. I like to saturate my composites with resin. Weighs a bit more, but becomes insensitive to scratches. I would imagine that if you catch a scratch on a composite bike frame in time, you could just brush on some polyester resin and it will keep it from deteriorating any further.

 

It's got at least some metal in it because you can ground electronics to the bed (at least you can in the area behind the tail lights).

 

The composite is entirely non-conductive. There is no metal in it at all. Behind the tail lights, there is actually a steel frame, used to support the back of the body panel, tail gate latches, and sides of the composite bed. Under the rear most part of the bed where the tailgate contacts, is another metal frame. The rear cargo hoops are bolted into it.

 

composite sorry