Towing friends boat damage

[Toyelectroman]

I was helping a friend by towing his boat and the hitch came off the ball and damaged my truck. He said he would cover it, but wants to go through insurance. Does he make a claim though his insurance or mine?

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

If you intend to go through insurance, you will be the one considered at fault.

You were towing, making sure everything was secure was your responsibility. Your insurance, the accident will be on your record, and any points will be on your license.

 

[cyclops222]

Maybe ? If he takes full responsibility for causing the accident to occur.

 

[Mc Tool]

I would imagine "full responsibility " would fall on the operator.

I guess too that there might be some question as to why the hitch came off in the 1st place .
Can you get the repair done and hand him the bill leaving it up to him how he recovers the loss. Once he has accepted liability ( sounds like he has ) its up to him how its sorted.

 

[Toyelectroman]

Ya he said worst case he will cover it out of pocket, i am sure it will probably be a couple grand. Tailgate took most of the damage with the bumper slightly dented. So I get why he wants to try insurance first.

As for the hitch popping off, my only guess is the hitch on his trailer was worn out. I made sure the ball size was correct

 

[Scott Danforth]

Get a tailgate and bumper from a salvage yard and your out $400-$600 out of pocket. Depending on the yard, you may even find the right color as most trucks have front end damage

Get a new bumper, and tail gate, pay to color match, plus labor at most shops is about $3k

I wouldn't go thru insurance as you will be found at fault and have to pay your deductible

 

[mr 88]

Last thing I would do if he offered to pay out of pocket, is go through the Insurance company. They don't care who is at fault, at least in NY , and your premiums will go up

 

[redneck joe]

Call the agent. Do not file a claim just ask, after getting costs.

 

[Sprig]

I’m thinking that may be covered under your comprehensive coverage. If so there is no fault assessed and your premiums do not increase. Talk to your insurance company and see what they say.
Here’s an example of a comprehensive claim I had - driving home from Utah to California in a major storm with 50+ mph winds. Doing about 50mph and an empty barrel blew across the road and I hit it. $8000+ damage. All paid for including a rental car under comprehensiv. No effect to my insurance. I did pay my comprehensive deductible which was around $250. Your friend can pay the deductible and buy you a nice dinner. Doesn’t hurt to talk to your insurance company , No incident report will be made for just talking.

 

[Lou C]

I'd ask your agent as suggested above, this is different than a typical accident in that the other "vehicle" is not someone else's car or truck. Might fall into the realm of comprehensive ins. They will probably look at it as user error unless there was a flaw in the coupler that led to this happening even if you latched it properly. Like something falls on your truck in the garage, similar.

 

[Jeff J]

I don’t know the style of hitch involved but some can be adjusted. It could pop off the ball if adjusted too loose. One day at job I had, the guy who supposed to hook up the trailer, didn’t. The trailer came off the ball when I tried to load the skidsteer. I also broke the latch out of a coupler once but that was an extreme situation off road on rocky terrain.

How was the load on the trailer? I am thinking the proper amount of tongue weight would keep it on the ball unless the road was pretty rough. I tow boats without closing the coupler all over my property which is basically uneven pasture. The only one I ever had come off the ball was light on the tongue because the boat wasn’t loaded correctly (I didn’t load it and it was about a foot from the stop). I close the latch if plan to push the boat but it doesn’t really change the possibility of dropping a boat because the frame holding the ball isn’t fastened to the tractor nor does it weigh much.

 

[dingbat]

The two great unexplained mysteries in my life……
The trailer coming off the ball at the bottom of the driveway at 4:15 am and the winch cable detaching from the boat while pulling up the ramp.

None for worst for wear in both situations, but I remind myself daily that both situations had something in common, me….lol

 

[Toyelectroman]

When we got the boat home we took a look at the coupler and there does look to be a nut on the bottom, assume to tighten it as mentioned. When the boat came unhooked there was a dip on the freeway which probably bounced it off the ball.

Now that I think about it this probably could have ended a lot worse than it did. I was doing about 65 when it happened, so only on there by the safety chains, and lucky I was also already right hand lane so was able to get the breakdown lane fairly easily

 

[Jeff J]

A dip could easily toss the trailer. Vehicle coming down from the bounce as the trailer goes up.

It doesn’t seem like many people locally cross safety chains under tongue to keep it from digging in if it comes loose from the vehicle.

 

[airshot]

Get a tailgate and bumper from a salvage yard and your out $400-$600 out of pocket. Depending on the yard, you may even find the right color as most trucks have front end damage

Get a new bumper, and tail gate, pay to color match, plus labor at most shops is about $3k

I wouldn't go thru insurance as you will be found at fault and have to pay your deductible

Might be that cheap for an older truck, but a newer one ? Neighbor had his trailer come off last summer, truck was three years old, tailgates were 2K and up to 3500...bumper was 2K due to the sensors in it. Neighbor's bill was well over 7K....on his three yr old RAM. Newer parts are horrific in prices, every body shop wants them now a days....

 

[Pmt133]

Might be that cheap for an older truck, but a newer one ? Neighbor had his trailer come off last summer, truck was three years old, tailgates were 2K and up to 3500...bumper was 2K due to the sensors in it. Neighbor's bill was well over 7K....on his three yr old RAM. Newer parts are horrific in prices, every body shop wants them now a days....

The fact most of the parts are aluminum now (which means manufacturers and insurance can charge more for the repair even if it isn't more difficult to repair or expensive to procure/produce) also doesn't help either. I know book on say the 2500 Chevy tailgate (steel) is a lot cheaper than the 1500 (aluminum).

I got T-boned but avoided the brunt of the hit. The passengers side from the front door to to the rear bumper needed to be worked and resprayed and the whole body panel on the bed replaced... it was something like 14k billed to insurance. Nearly half what I paid for the truck new 3 years prior... and all in all it was a pretty minor hit.

 

[Lou C]

Probably a good idea with a new trailer or one new to you, to try to lift the tongue with the tongue jack after latching the coupler, just to see if it pops off! I recall adjusting that nut many years ago, got it tight but not enough to bind up the ball.