Guess the tow bill

[Redmt]

In the end your very lucky. If you want to talk to someone about load balance and cargo movement, go find a heavy truck driver that hauls tankers or a refer driver that hauls swinging beef. I've hauled both and they will make you more apprehensive of something moving than hauling explosives.

 

[seeth07]

In the end your very lucky. If you want to talk to someone about load balance and cargo movement, go find a heavy truck driver that hauls tankers or a refer driver that hauls swinging beef. I've hauled both and they will make you more apprehensive of something moving than hauling explosives.

My neighbor hauls cattle/dairy cows for a living and he always claims at the bar that he has the most dangerous job on the planet. He has rolled his load twice in his life and has suffered many injuries from loading/unloading them.

 

[Redmt]

My neighbor hauls cattle/dairy cows for a living and he always claims at the bar that he has the most dangerous job on the planet. He has rolled his load twice in his life and has suffered many injuries from loading/unloading them.

I talked to a "bull hauler" that once said he loaded a load of black cattle with a couple white ones mixed in on the back. When he got to destination they were in the front. They pack them so tight so they can't move especially on a upper deck. If you see a livestock hauler parked it's amazing how much the animals shake the trailer around. The only safe way to haul beef is frozen in boxes.

 

[sccritterkiller]

Most equipment charges start the clock when it leaves the yard...7.5 hrs probably includes travel time to and from. Same with traffic control, ect. On a job or on a trailer hourly rate is the same, clock starts when the tires roll. Usually the same for man hours. About what I expected right at 12k, reasonable.

No one was hurt, truck didnt get too damaged. Nobody ever said experience was cheap.

 

[gburk]

This all sounds horrible but as noted could have been much worse, glad you’re here to talk about it.

What if you were sideswiped by an uninsured motorist to cause this accident? or what if said motorist made an unsafe lane change causing you to stab the brakes and wreck, and he continued on unabated. Are they still going to run your credit card for cleanup?

Forgive me if this sounds like another form of nonresident tourist/hunter shakedown?

 

[Addicting]

And the tow bill was…..

$11,807.50.

Before this I would have been right there in the group voting $4,001 to $6,000. And that’s just because I remembered Greenhorn posting the tow bill from when he wrecked his pickup.

The big ticket items on the bill were the heavy wrecker at $430 per hour for 7.5 hours, the 2nd truck and trailer to haul it off was $225 per hour for 7.25 hours and the tracked skid steer they brought to push the debris onto the trailer was $325 per hour for the same 7.25 hours. Felt like I got stiffed a little on that one because it probably only ran for a couple hours but I got billed for it for the entire time even when it was sitting on the trailer not being used. They ended up with a 4th guy out there helping so that was another $140 per hour for the 7.25 hours.

Traffic control was another big ticket item. That was surprising to me. Before the tow company got there they had a fire truck just in case somehow all the gas leaking out caught on fire, the highway patrol, a sheriff deputy, and a tribal policeman. The wheels on the tow truck barely stopped turning and they all took off. I guess if something caught on fire it was up to the tow company to deal with it once they got there. The bill for that was $185 per hour for 7 hours.

We didn’t get back to Sheridan for a couple days to get our machines so that was $130 per day storage fees.

Last item was the disposal fee. They had zero interest in salvaging anything and every pound taken to the dump was extra so we found a couple old guys in Sheridan that took the wheels and tires and the propane tanks. The fuel station and generator were worth something but they weren’t interested in spending the time to salvage them out.

They estimated $2,000 for the disposal cost and were supposed to refund us if it was less than that so I’m guessing it wasn’t less.

They did let me put it on my credit card so I got a few airline miles out of that and they didn’t charge a processing fee.

They were decent guys. It was close to 100 degrees and talking with them when we went back to the yard to sort through the debris they talked about how it is just as dangerous being a tow truck driver as it is to be a policeman or a fireman.

Still doesn’t help the sting of the huge bill entirely though.

So my main intention for this post was to let people know what something like this costs. Even if you have a $10,000 trailer and feel fine self insuring it, the extra cost of towing it off and disposal could add some serious pain to the wallet. I’m not a fan of insurance but even if my replacement trailer is paid for with cash and within my risk tolerance for losing it I will probably go ahead and insure it. Another thing I was told was that even if my trailer was insured the toys inside it would not have been insured. They ended up fine but it is worth knowing.

I haul my tractor on my trailer a few times a year and it doesn’t sound like it would be insured either.

My policy says that if I was towing someone else’s trailer it would be covered, but then several pages later says the limit they would pay is $500. Not sure I know of many trailers that are worth less than $500.

I’m going to make one more attempt with my current insurance company if somehow the tow bill or some of our household goods that were lost might be covered under my homeowners policy but I’m not holding my breath.

They are covering the damage to the truck which according to their estimate is $1,993.

I’m most likely going to be shopping for insurance and will be paying closer attention to coverages.

I sent this to my farmers agent, they’ve read through this whole thread.

That camper is covered under your vehicle insurance if you have full coverage.

You need to hire a lawyer and have your policy reviewed if they continue to deny it!

 

[BuzzH]

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[BuzzH]

Also, traveling for work I see more stupid chit with people towing bigger and bigger stuff with smaller and smaller vehicles all the time.

Yesterday was pretty special got passed by a small generic SUV (went by so fast I didn't catch the make) going somewhere between 85-90 MPH with a fairly good sized camper behind it. Hope they have good insurance and 9 lives.

 

[noharleyyet]

Also, traveling for work I see more stupid chit with people towing bigger and bigger stuff with smaller and smaller vehicles all the time.

Yesterday was pretty special got passed by a small generic SUV (went by so fast I didn't catch the make) going somewhere between 85-90 MPH with a fairly good sized camper behind it. Hope they have good insurance and 9 lives.

Shoot, GM commercials show People pulling big chit with a half ton Denali while clapping their hands.

 

[Addicting]

Shoot, GM commercials show People pulling big chit with a half ton Denali while clapping their hands.

 

[BlakeA]

Insurance is not going to cover anything. I didn't have the trailer separately insured but had always been told that it would be covered if you were pulling it with a personal vehicle for leisure purposes. I have always thought it might not be covered for property damage but thought that they would help with the cost to remove it but they aren't.

Very sorry about your accident and glad to see everyone is OK.

Had your trailer (even though it was not listed on your auto policy or had it's own separate policy) came off and caused damage to someone or someone's property, the liability coverage from the vehicle towing it (assuming it's insured) would have covered those damages. Being that you did not have it listed on your auto policy/on it's own policy, there wouldn't be any physical damage coverage for it. That's standard in the industry and not just from your said company. Never listen to what your neighbor or friend tells you about insurance coverages. Speak directly with your company.

As for contents inside the trailer, you could try claiming that under your homeowners as most policies allow for up to 10% of your personal property coverage off premises to be covered. I would figure out how much you have to replace and what it will cost and then weigh that against your homeowners deductible AND the fact that you will see a rate increase for your claim on your next renewal and determine if it's even worth it.

Your ATV's would need to have their own separate policy with full coverage in order for their to be any coverage had they been damaged. That too is standard industry wide no matter which company you are with.

There would have been coverage for the clean up/tow had they had a policy, but it was uninsured.

While we all get insuranced to death and there never seems to be an end in sight, If you are thinking about self insuring assets 10K or more in value, I would at least suggest at least running really high deductibles to keep your premium as low as you can because you will at least get something in the event of total loss and like this example, have help towards the cleanup and removal. Things you don't think about much. It's not only losing the asset, but now having to replace it PLUS towing and removal bill it's a 30k+ swing.

Again, very sorry to see this and just happy to see all is ok and will be getting ready for another hunting season ahead!

 

[Sea Rover]

China bomb tires didn’t help!

 

[Papsqueeg]

Sorry to hear this,thankful everyone is ok. Going to haul my trailer to colorado this year again this time with 2 atvs in trailer. Definitely going to check on ins and make adjustments to my policies as needed to help at least cover some expenses if this should happen on our trip. Alot of good trailering suggestions on here taking notes.

 

[ismith]

Also, traveling for work I see more stupid chit with people towing bigger and bigger stuff with smaller and smaller vehicles all the time.

Yesterday was pretty special got passed by a small generic SUV (went by so fast I didn't catch the make) going somewhere between 85-90 MPH with a fairly good sized camper behind it. Hope they have good insurance and 9 lives.

It's getting pretty differently abled around here too.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Also, traveling for work I see more stupid chit with people towing bigger and bigger stuff with smaller and smaller vehicles all the time.

Yesterday was pretty special got passed by a small generic SUV (went by so fast I didn't catch the make) going somewhere between 85-90 MPH with a fairly good sized camper behind it. Hope they have good insurance and 9 lives.

Craziest I've seen in my time on the road is a Cadillac Deville towing another Deville up on a car trailer down the interstate doing 75.

Just cause you bought the V8 doesn't mean you can tow....

I kick myself for not getting a picture of that one

 

[Carnage2011]

Also, traveling for work I see more stupid chit with people towing bigger and bigger stuff with smaller and smaller vehicles all the time.

Yesterday was pretty special got passed by a small generic SUV (went by so fast I didn't catch the make) going somewhere between 85-90 MPH with a fairly good sized camper behind it. Hope they have good insurance and 9 lives.

Unreal. I got passed by a Toyota Tacoma pulling a 26’ camper a couple weeks ago. That thing was squatted so hard I don’t know how he could see over his hood.

 

[Hem]

Unbelievable the amount of stupid towing chit I see around here.

 

[JonBoy1100]

First glad no one got hurt. If you get another toy hauler consider a fifth wheel, much more stable. If not then at least put the atv in pickup bed. And make sure you have enough tongue weight. From your description having trouble with it beingsquirrely over the last year it sounds like too much rearward weight. That results in the trailer trying to steer the truck. Best wishes on your future travels!

 

[The_Jim]

I've never owned a camper, but have towed A LOT of heavy equipment and enclosed trailers for work. @mtmuley is right on - weight behind the axles is a recipe for disaster. We've never used a sway hitch for construction equipment - is that just a camper thing?

I self insure my trailers - might have to look into doing things a little different...

 

[hank4elk]

I have no idea of what things cost anymore, but I cancelled my aaa tow card after the distance limit dropped to 150mi.
Useless where I live.

My car hauler was covered this year, but for what?