[Sandman]

After only 2 months of completing the build, on our second trip:

Stopped off in Saratoga on the way back from my 2nd Covid dose in Potsdam (same day!). Was planning to boondock in the Saratoga train station parking lot (a good spot btw if you're ever there.)

I was coming west out of a mall after picking my wife up from Planet Fitness about 7:30 in the evening.

A white Honda Accord was coming east exiting a different mall across the road.

A small red pickup going north ran the red light, hit the white car, bounced off and hit us crosswise into the driver side fender/headlight/bumper area. I was driving but didn't see anything until I heard the crunch of metal as the red pickup was hitting us, but didn't feel much. My wife saw the whole thing but was too surprised to scream.

The 16 year old driver admitted he was reaching for his dropped cell phone on the floor!

Miraculously no one was hurt. The white Honda deployed air bags and was totaled. It wound up about 75 yards up the road. We sustained damage to the front but it's all repairable. It's in the body shop now. Fortunately the build part was undamaged. A few feet difference and I'd be telling a different story or no story at all.

Our Transit held up well, I think because a) the Honda took the brunt of the impact , b) the bumper reinforcement got bent but seemed to provide a lot of protection against more serious damage.

I won't need it but I'm glad I switched to RV insurance covering up to $70K.

 

[OKTransit]

Good that you & the wife are OK @Sandman!! Like you said, could have been alot worse.

The "bumper reinforcement" you mention. Was this something additional, or are you referring to the stock set up. Interested in your opinion on whether bull bars would have made any difference?

Thx.

After only 2 months of completing the build, on our second trip:

Stopped off in Saratoga on the way back from my 2nd Covid dose in Potsdam (same day!). Was planning to boondock in the Saratoga train station parking lot (a good spot btw if you're ever there.)

I was coming west out of a mall after picking my wife up from Planet Fitness about 7:30 in the evening.

A white Honda Accord was coming east exiting a different mall across the road.

A small red pickup going north ran the red light, hit the white car, bounced off and hit us crosswise into the driver side fender/headlight/bumper area. I was driving but didn't see anything until I heard the crunch of metal as the red pickup was hitting us, but didn't feel much. My wife saw the whole thing but was too surprised to scream.

The 16 year old driver admitted he was reaching for his dropped cell phone on the floor!

Miraculously no one was hurt. The white Honda deployed air bags and was totaled. It wound up about 75 yards up the road. We sustained damage to the front but it's all repairable. It's in the body shop now. Fortunately the build part was undamaged. A few feet difference and I'd be telling a different story or no story at all.

Our Transit held up well, I think because a) the Honda took the brunt of the impact , b) the bumper reinforcement got bent but seemed to provide a lot of protection against more serious damage.

I won't need it but I'm glad I switched to RV insurance covering up to $70K.

 

[njvagabond]

Stopped off in Saratoga on the way back from my 2nd Covid dose in Potsdam (same day!).
Was planning to boondock in the Saratoga train station parking lot
Miraculously no one was hurt.

Congratulations on getting the vaccine. Still patiently waiting. Thankfully my 94/91 year old parents, at risk brother and healthcare provider SIL have gotten theirs.
Train station. Interesting idea. Is suppose stations far from city don't get late night trains. Just check the schedule.
Great that no one was hurt. Regarding the Honda - mainstream midsize sedans have some of the best crash performance results. Thankfully van is fixable given all the work that's been put into it.

 

[Timetogo]

So glad you guys and the other drivers are okay. That is the most important thing.

It brings up a question for me. When the insurance company evaluates whether to total a modified vehicle, do they include the value of the modification in their assessment? For instance, if a $40K van with $30K of updates gets hit, do repair costs get compared to base cost or modded?

 

[njvagabond]

So glad you guys and the other drivers are okay. That is the most important thing.

It brings up a question for me. When the insurance company evaluates whether to total a modified vehicle, do they include the value of the modification in their assessment? For instance, if a $40K van with $30K of updates gets hit, do repair costs get compared to base cost or modded?

It depends on what you have insured. If you have only insured the vehicle, that's what they pay out. If you have insured the contents/improvements either via a rider or by being included in a broader type of policy, say RV insurance typically, then the value of upgrades would be paid out (up to the limit that you have insured them). You would need to have proof of the value. Receipts for materials and labor. Where the labor is your own you would want to have an appraisal for the value of the work.

 

[Sandman]

Good that you & the wife are OK @Sandman!! Like you said, could have been alot worse.

The "bumper reinforcement" you mention. Was this something additional, or are you referring to the stock set up. Interested in your opinion on whether bull bars would have made any difference?

Thx.

I'm just learning this. Apparently the bumper reinforcement is part of the vehicle.
The bumper reinforcement, is a solid bar that provides support and cushion to the front and rear of a car, minimizing the impact of a collision.
I'm guessing that bull bars, since the impact came in from the side, would have been ripped off as was the plastic bumper. The bumper reinforcement did what it's supposed to do, it got bent and absorbed the force preventing damage to the engine.

 

[Sandman]

Congratulations on getting the vaccine. Still patiently waiting. Thankfully my 94/91 year old parents, at risk brother and healthcare provider SIL have gotten theirs.
Train station. Interesting idea. Is suppose stations far from city don't get late night trains. Just check the schedule.
Great that no one was hurt. Regarding the Honda - mainstream midsize sedans have some of the best crash performance results. Thankfully van is fixable given all the work that's been put into it.

I didn't even know the Honda was involved in the accident until the driver came walking up perfectly fine. Hard to believe looking at the aftermath of his car. He said the same thing, his Honda did what it's supposed to do safety wise.

I had to travel 6 1/2 hours away for the vaccine, but yes I'm immunized now. It would have been ironic if I got killed on the same day.

It was an interesting adventure to Potsdam. If you can ignore the snow and the cold, it's very nice and peaceful there. The population is small and their wide streets are very lightly traveled. A lot of open farmland in the surrounding vicinity.

The Saratoga station gets only 2 trains a day. The lot was totally empty, except for us and the snow plow driver.
Other places which I found good to boondock at , which are not mentioned for some reason in youtube videos on stealth overnight parking, are public parking lots, boat launches, and trailheads that are not near houses. We did get a ticket for parking overnight on the streets of Lake Placid, there was no sign on the street, but there is a sign when you enter the town. I learned now to call the Police department to check the regulations.

On the second trip my wife did a hike up Cascade Mountain in the Adirondacks. The video is quite nice especially if you can watch it on a large screen TV.

If you want to see the youtube video I made on our first trip to Potsdam for dose 1 it's here. A little long and boring but it shows my van build.

 

[Sandman]

So glad you guys and the other drivers are okay. That is the most important thing.

It brings up a question for me. When the insurance company evaluates whether to total a modified vehicle, do they include the value of the modification in their assessment? For instance, if a $40K van with $30K of updates gets hit, do repair costs get compared to base cost or modded?

If you have the right components that make it an RV, I strongly recommend you get the van covered as an RV. Not only is everything then covered, but if it's not your daily driver the premium is much lower.

 

[Timetogo]

It depends on what you have insured. If you have only insured the vehicle, that's what they pay out. If you have insured the contents/improvements either via a rider or by being included in a broader type of policy, say RV insurance typically, then the value of upgrades would be paid out (up to the limit that you have insured them).

Hi NJVagabond and all,

My question is a bit different. Say the insurance company totals a vehicle if the repair cost exceeds 50% of current value. A van is valued (and insured) for $70K, which is a combination of $40K for the base vehicle and $30K for improvements. Would they total it if damage exceeds 1/2 of 40K or would damage need to exceed 1/2 of 70K? Maybe it is a case by case decision?

 

[njvagabond]

I didn't even know the Honda was involved in the accident until the driver came walking up perfectly fine. Hard to believe looking at the aftermath of his car. He said the same thing, his Honda did what it's supposed to do safety wise.

I had to travel 6 1/2 hours away for the vaccine, but yes I'm immunized now. It would have been ironic if I got killed on the same day.

It was an interesting adventure to Potsdam. If you can ignore the snow and the cold, it's very nice and peaceful there. The population is small and their wide streets are very lightly traveled. A lot of open farmland in the surrounding vicinity.

The Saratoga station gets only 2 trains a day. The lot was totally empty, except for us and the snow plow driver.
Other places which I found good to boondock at , which are not mentioned for some reason in youtube videos on stealth overnight parking, are public parking lots, boat launches, and trailheads that are not near houses. We did get a ticket for parking overnight on the streets of Lake Placid, there was no sign on the street, but there is a sign when you enter the town. I learned now to call the Police department to check the regulations.

On the second trip my wife did a hike up Cascade Mountain in the Adirondacks. The video is quite nice especially if you can watch it on a large screen TV.

If you want to see the youtube video I made on our first trip to Potsdam for dose 1 it's here.

Thanks for the tips. Hope SandmanVan is back in action soon.
Videos are making me jealous! Travel is Fun - Love it. I'm subscriber 79. You are on your way to YouTube fame. Nice camera work. What kind of camera?
Our van should arrive in a week. 🤞 Hopefully vaccinated soon too. 🤞🤞🤞

 

[njvagabond]

Hi NJVagabond and all,

My question is a bit different. Say the insurance company totals a vehicle if the repair cost exceeds 50% of current value. A van is valued (and insured) for $70K, which is a combination of $40K for the base vehicle and $30K for improvements. Would they total it if damage exceeds 1/2 of 40K or would damage need to exceed 1/2 of 70K? Maybe it is a case by case decision?

My guess and it's just that a guess would be total value. My understanding of total is when repair is greater than replacement and is not demined by % of current value. So the catch with a unique vehicle is what is replacement cost. That's where you also might be in a declared value type of policy. Such as for collectable or custom vehicles. Your 50% example may be a moot point since it would probably be unrepairable anyway. All my speculation means zip, zilch, nada.

Read the policy. If it's not clear ask the insurance company to point you to the clause and clarify. Don't go based on their word. Not due to a lack of trust but more do to al lack of understanding. As an example: I had questions on coverage for flatbed transportation of my new unregistered van and over the course of time spoke to reps three different times and got three different answers about what if anything would be covered. And I have generally had great service over the years from them. I think the reps just don't (can't be expected to) understand the more novel situations.

 

[Sandman]

Thanks for the tips. Hope SandmanVan is back in action soon.
Videos are making me jealous! Travel is Fun - Love it. I'm subscriber 79. You are on your way to YouTube fame. Nice camera work. What kind of camera?
Our van should arrive in a week. 🤞 Hopefully vaccinated soon too. 🤞🤞🤞

Thanks for subscribing. I appreciate it!
I need every subscriber I can get 😀
My wife uses her IPhone 11. I use a GoPro.
Good luck w your van and getting your vax!

 

[RickT]

That's a very tough situation and I'm glad your okay and the van will be.

 

[Sandman]

That's a very tough situation and I'm glad your okay and the van will be.

Thanks. Hope to be back to on the road soon. 😀

 

[Sandman]

Thanks. Hope to be back to on the road soon. 😀

Follow up to story. One month later van is all fixed. Excited to get back on the road.

 

[njvagabond]

Follow up to story. One month later van is all fixed. Excited to get back on the road.

Onward!
I saw this article yesterday and it reminded me of your posts about your trip upstate.
An Unexpected Boon to America’s Vaccine Towns
Then this news item specifically about Potsdam popped up today.
How this small town of 16,000 near the US-Canada border has given out 50,000 vaccines

 

[Sandman]

Onward!
I saw this article yesterday and it reminded me of your posts about your trip upstate.
An Unexpected Boon to America’s Vaccine Towns
Then this news item specifically about Potsdam popped up today.
How this small town of 16,000 near the US-Canada border has given out 50,000 vaccines

Interesting articles thanks for sharing. I was lucky to have the camper van to make it a vacation. My wife just got her first dose this week at Jones Beach..20 minutes from home. 😀

 

[njvagabond]

Interesting articles thanks for sharing. I was lucky to have the camper van to make it a vacation. My wife just got her first dose this week at Jones Beach..20 minutes from home. 😀

My wife and I both just got our first dose this week. My SIL was the first in the family to get it since she is a healthcare worker in a hospital. Then my 94/90 parents who are in an independent living facility here in NJ got theirs (I had them in my house for the first 4 months when all the old people here were dying). My older brother has a heart condition and runs a business, so he signed up everywhere and managed to get an appointment about an hour away a few months ago. Interestingly my 22 year old son who lives in Cleveland got his first shot a couple of weeks before us. They don't seem to have enough willing arms out there, so they opened it up to all adults already. Hopefully our college age son who stayed home the past 2 1/2 semesters can get his shortly after they remove the age limit on 4/19.

Finally got my van delivered from KC but am still waiting for my Motor Vehicle appointment to get it titled/registered.

 

[Damaskinos_of_Athens]

.
I hope you got a diminished value compensation from red pickup.
.

 

[Checkswrecks]

timetogo -
njvagabond has been pretty accurate in what he wrote about coverage and replacement value versus the 50% myth. He's also been spot on with the need to appraise, declare, and insure the actual value. I've not yet done this so despite the money and work put in, if I total my van today it would be paid out as a used 2016 basic cargo van.

Damaskinos -
Diminished value* is something that virtually nobody understands and while you brought up a great point it would be part of Sandman's policy and not that of the red pickup. This is another item to talk to your insurance agent about when setting up a vehicle policy.

*Vehicles which have been involved in accidents are worth less than those which have not, especially when it comes time to sell them. The amount depends on the extent of the damage and the diminished value slides to be less of a percentage as time moves on from the accident and repair.