Had an accident today (got pics), need opinions on fixing

[tholmes]

Coming back from Atlantic Beach (Morehead City) in NC today to Raleigh, I was traveling along hwy 70 when I hydroplaned and went off the road. Was able to save my self from hitting the center guardrail, but I went off to the right instead and hit an embankment (didn't go into the trees). We actually went from the right lane, over to the left, corrected back into the right , then lost is as the rear drifted over to the grass. We ended up hitting the right rear corner. So we were completing our 360 degree turn and only got to 3/4 of the way around when we hit. As you can see from the pictures, the damage does not look bad at first. However, I was clearing out the bed of the truck and noticed the bed has a buckle in it. We were probably traveling about 20mph when we impacted. Luckily, everyone is fine (Momma and baby and myself), just a bruised ego. The camper shell actually flew off the truck and landed about 15 feet from the truck. It is still in one piece, but has a crack on the left side. I'll have to wait for the repairs to see if it is tweaked ad the top rail of the right fender is twisted out right now. But I would like you guys to take a look at the damage and see what you think or what I should look for in the estimates given by repair companies. I am worried that the bed floor getting tweaked might be more severe than I can see right now. When the cops came, they said I would definitely need a wrecker to pull me out of the ditch, especially with the stock style Goodyears as the tread. They were shocked when I threw it 4 wheel drive, backed up ten feet to clear the debris in front of me, and then motored up the hill with no problems. One of the guys said his old Chevy would never have been able to get out there on its own. I just gave him an nice nod. Worst part about the whole thing was that I was only going 60 in a 55, hardly speeding at all. Ah well.

[tholmes]

It may be hard to see from the pictures, but this is the side that has the very noticeable raise in the bed by the wheel well. I put the left side that is undamaged as a comparison.

[tholmes]

IN these last pics, does it look like the bed is buckled about a foot in fromt he back? It looks like it has a slope to me.









Thanks for the thoughts and advice. At least I have good insurance. Sucks this has to be my first claim. Hello higher premiums.

[baseballfanz]

Sorry to hear about the accident. Hopefully no frame damage but you might need to get the whole bed replace IMO.

[walleeme]

Yep.
It looks bent to me too.

[bestatchess]

I see the impact knocked all the matching white paint off the shell also.

Hopefully the bed didn't get pushed into the back of the cab.

[tholmes]

No, it wasn't shoved into the cab. Unfortunately, the paint did all get knocked off the shell, except from the inside as you can see .

[HRTKD]

If the tire came into contact with the wheel well that hard I would check for frame, suspension, wheel and tire damage. How is it that the topper came off? If mine came off then it would be toast as the anchors are built into the bottom rail. If the topper is cracked then it would likely have to be replaced, not repaired. Then again I'm no fiberglass expert, it's my understanding that you don't repair fiberglass when it cracks.

[NfabTitan]

Get the truck to a good reputable bodyshop. They can anchor the truck down and pull the inner bed. The outer bed side panel has to be replaced as it looks heavily buckled. If they have to remove any of the spray in bed liner then they also owe to have that resprayed. I'll bet good money that the frame is ok if the bed didn't make contact with the back of the cab. All light duty bumpers have no support in the extreme outer corners and when they are touched they fold up and crush the lower bed side. never fails. If the cap is cracked most likely you will be told to purchase a new one. The cap sounds like your money maker to me. Have them credit you for the cap and just take the money. Well within your right.

Fiberglass can totally be fixed. Boats, motorhomes, corvettes. The insurance company won't want to have to warranty a repair to a truck cap so they will just replace it. Keep your old 1 though and poket the money. Old cap looks fine. I do this all day long. I'm an appraiser.

[roy365]

you're golden......i got slammed by a car in the rear passenger corner and it did FAR more damage than that. they just straightened the frame and bed, painted it, new bumper, new exhaust, etc. i guess if you want all new stuff push for it, but they prolly wont do it. dunno.

[d0va]

at least you still got to show off what the titan can do...

and no one got severely hurt... Good luck w/ the repairs hopefully you can get a new camper shell for the t

[tholmes]

***************UPDATES******************

Took the truck to the adjusters today. Went to two places. The first was the place the insurance wanted me to go to. Just a typical type of repair shop. Their estimate was for $5500, but didn't include what work would have to be done on the bed or the frame. Nor did it cover the rhino lining be redone. Second shop was in a different league. Same place that Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, etc send their vehicles to get repaired. Here was the nitty gritty. I had my hitch on with a 2in ball. It appears that is what took the initial impact as the points on the frame where hitch bolts in buckled the frame on the right side (side that had initial impact) and dimpled the left side. He did not know what Nissan's repair instructions are for the rear frame especially where the trailer hitch mounts. The bed is definitely buckled. The whole bed is tweaked so that the right side is lower than the left and the left side is jammed closer to the cab (I can stick my hand up to my thumb in the gap between the cab on the left side and can get my whole arm into the right side). Does anyone know whether the bed can be taken apart in pieces or is it one solid piece. We find out on the 8th when I drop it off what the deal will be. They are replacing the camper shell for me ($1550). So, I guess we will see what the cost is based upon whether or not the frame has to be repaired or replaced and based upon whether the bed can repaired in peices or a whole new one is required. I don't think they will total it as they would have to do over 12k in repairs to reach that level. Then again, a new bed, new frame, that could send the price up there. Any thoughts or experience as far as what those things cost?

[HRTKD]

When I had my little boo-boo the corner of the bumper was pushed up into the fender. They ended up just fixing the fender rather than replacing it. If they had replaced it then it would have required welding to remove the entire fender. That would have been $1,000 more. Or so they told me.

Keep an eye out for what they use to replace your OEM parts. The bumper I got seems to be of a lower quality that what came from the factory. One of the plastic license plate light holders comes loose frequently and there were scratches in the chrome.

[Titanomachy]

Keep after insurance and make sure everything is found before settling on cost. Its been a rough week for many here. Stolen HID's, Vandalism, Accidents.
Can't say 100% sure about the bed floor being in sections, but it does appear so on mine. About a foot off the sides of the bed is a seam that runs down the whole length of the bed. It would appear that the bed floor is made up of 3 sections. 2 side sections and 1 center. Can actually see light through one side of mine. May be hard to see on most and yours because everything back there got compressed. Looking agian at your pic's you can see the seam, its about 2 inches off the wheel well. Can see that water/dirt is laying in it. Good luck

[phugoid]

wow, sorry to hear bout ur accident. glad everyone was ok.
good to see the Titans are one hella strong safety truck tho!
good luck w ur repairs.

ps....like ur bumper sticker...