Broken Motorhome! Forums

TonyBuckley

<sob>
I've gone and reversed into a grassy bank and then, very stupidly, pulled away. This has ripped the back panel on my elddis autostratus. I've now got cracked and torn GRP and part of the panel is torn away from the side trim.

I've not got the faintest idea at how such damage is repaired or where. Can anyone help?

<sob again>

Tony

Malc

Hi Tony,
sorry to hear of your misfortune. I take it that the skirt part of the van is damaged not the side or rear walls?
If that is the case any reputable fibreglass repairer shold be able to do a repair as new, if you have them, keep all the bits that are broken off they can be used again. Hope all goes well.
Regards Malc

TonyBuckley

[quote:0f1c2659ec="malc"]Hi Tony,
sorry to hear of your misfortune. I take it that the skirt part of the van is damaged not the side or rear walls?
Regards Malc[/quote:0f1c2659ec]

Rather worse than that, I'm afraid! Its been pulled out up to about four foot off the ground. I'll have a go tomorrow at pushing it back into the side trim and see if I can make it look better. I'm very surprised so much damage has been caused - the skirt must be very tough stuff and I'd rather it was more sacrificial than it has proved. I'm quite distraught about it and wish I had someone to blame apart from myself!

Tony

andy

[quote:979853929e="TonyBuckley"]<sob>
I've gone and reversed into a grassy bank and then, very stupidly, pulled away. This has ripped the back panel on my elddis autostratus. I've now got cracked and torn GRP and part of the panel is torn away from the side trim.

I've not got the faintest idea at how such damage is repaired or where. Can anyone help?

<sob again>

Tony[/quote:979853929e]

*ouch* sorry to hear that Tony... hope you get it fixed up OK

Jeffus

Comiserations Tony, but I don't think you could have done anything different . . . you couldn't leave the van there and it must go forwards to escape . . . presumably you got out and inspected the damage [i:b18089153b]before[/i:b18089153b] moving forward under power. I should imagine the damage before forward movement didn't look too bad. Don't blame yourself too much. I think we would have all done the same. Best R's. Jeffus. Cool

autostratus · Moderator

[quote:2d2d1ac369="TonyBuckley"]<sob>
I've gone and reversed into a grassy bank ........my elddis autostratus.

Tony[/quote:2d2d1ac369]

Tony, I am ashamed to admit that I also backed our EB into a grassy bank but in France 4 weeks ago.
Fortunately it only cracked the lowest rear panel and I have the problem of getting it fixed although it is in nothing like the state you describe yours. I feel every sympathy for you.

If it has taught me anything it is that we bought a reversing system and in future not to be so stupid as to reverse without the screen in place! (But of course, being me I will.)

Jeffus

Hi everyone, all this talk about reversing into things is begining to get me thinking about a reversing camera again. I had put it on a back burner. I'm having a Pioneer Sat Nav system fitted so all I would need is a camera to view backwards on the same screen (that slides into the dash) but the Bessie comes with reversing sensors fitted as standard. Tony/Gillian would this device have avoided your misshaps? The sensors that is. Jeffus. Cool

autostratus · Moderator

[quote:7dd63f21d0="Jeffus"]..........but the Bessie comes with reversing sensors fitted as standard. Tony/Gillian would this device have avoided your misshaps? The sensors that is. Jeffus. Cool

[/quote:7dd63f21d0]

For me the reversing sensor would probably have saved the day.
As of course would the camera if I had bothered to put the removable screen back in its mount before I set off.

The screen serves both the sat/nav system and the reversing camera. In this instance I had removed it when parking on a hospital car park in Perigueux on the previous evening and had not replaced it as I knew my way back to the campsite.
Neither did I replace it the following morning as I knew my way back to the hospital.
I was careless.

C'est la vie.

TonyBuckley

[quote:912902f244="Jeffus"]Tony/Gillian would this device have avoided your misshaps? The sensors that is. Jeffus. Cool

[/quote:912902f244]

Quite possibly - but this happened at home and I was over confident in what was where - so I doubt I would have had them (the sensors) switched on!

Tony

TonyBuckley

[quote:6f49b848c3="autostratus"][quote:6f49b848c3="TonyBuckley"]<sob>
I've gone and reversed into a grassy bank ........my elddis autostratus.

Tony[/quote:6f49b848c3]

Tony, I am ashamed to admit that I also backed our EB into a grassy bank but in France 4 weeks ago.
Fortunately it only cracked the lowest rear panel and I have the problem of getting it fixed although it is in nothing like the state you describe yours. I feel every sympathy for you.

If it has taught me anything it is that we bought a reversing system and in future not to be so stupid as to reverse without the screen in place! (But of course, being me I will.)[/quote:6f49b848c3]

Well, I've spent the evening in the yard and after drilling a few new holes and rescrewing and resetting the trim, all looks much much better. The fibreglass is crazed and cracked in places but nothing a good repairer shouldn't be able to sort out very nicely. I feel better now!

Thanks to all for the sympathy - it was what I needed. Smile

Tony