When Air Forums user Ray Koltys pulled his 1964 Airstream Globetrotter off the side of the road to help a friend fix a flat tire, he got quite a surprise.
A semi truck towing its own trailer made a right hand turn near where Ray and his friend had stopped.
The truck driver made the turn too tightly, and the rear tire of the semi trailer ran over the back bumper on Ray’s vintage Airstream.
Just after the moment of impact.
This isn’t a sight you’d like to see.
From another angle.
The stricken motorhome and accident scene.
Ray investigating the damage to his 50+ year old Airstream.
The inside doesn’t look much better.
An officer stopped by to check on things.
It could have been much worse.
Nobody was hurt, and miraculously, no upper body aluminum was touched. She was still roadable with some tying and taping, and we arrived home from our trip last night.
UPDATE:
Just to follow up, the insurance company today offered a $1500 settlement, and I keep the trailer, which I accepted. They had been talking about $500 to $1000, against which I made my case that the trailer was worth closer to $3000, hoping for the best.
So I will lick my wounds, continue preparing our home for our first baby, due in 10 weeks, and sometime next year will open up the belly, inspect the frame, and perhaps seek out a local metal shop to straighten and reinforce it.
The whole experience has been a bit demoralizing, and is a good example of the potential peril of an accident with a trailer that is in the middle of restoration, when it may be worth less than its purchase price, and/or the cost of the all the money and materials that have been invested in it.
Any accident makes for anxious times. Hopefully Ray and his Globetrotter are back on the road soon.
Pictures via Air Forums
More photos at Batmo
