Damage To Van In Storage (1 Viewer)

[pacman]

Took my van out of storage today to get a service / MOT. On arriving back at home I noticed a large hole in the van on the nearside. I immediately contacted the garage who have now supplied CCTV showing the damage was in place on my arrival this morning. Can only assume that it was caused at some time in storage since early Jan when I last had the van out.
Have emailed the storage facility asking them to check CCTV but not expecting anything until next week. (Why do disasters always happen on Friday afternoon)
Looks expensive !

 

[scotzsue]

Can understand your anger. We also were hit whist in storage, back light cluster was hanging by a wire but otherwise intact, line on van was ok with a bit of t.Cut. we were not in line of site of the camera and side of caravan which hit us was also away from the camera when going out.
Do hope there is something to be seen at the storage site.

 

[Spriddler]

It looks to have been caused by an air rifle pellet.

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[tacr2man]

It looks to have been caused by an air rifle pellet.

There must have been a lot of shrapnel to cause the adjacent tear in the metal ?

 

[Raul]

Forklift pallet? That’s a serious impact.

 

[Carpmart]

Agree with above, that’s not insignificant!

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[AlunandFelicie]

It looks to have been caused by an air rifle pellet.

Forklift pallet? That’s a serious impact.

Air rifles on a pallet?
that’s a nasty looking impact ,sadly as always best of luck finding the culprit
we had a situation in the small close where I live ,a neighbours wall was badly damaged by an impact ,so I reckoned it could only of been caused by the refuse wagon reversing ,it was bin day ,he contacted the local council ,’sorry sir the reversing camera (a H&S requirement) was inoperative on that day strange how cameras always fail at the critical moment

 

[Just smiffy]

Do you have allocated spaces..? Check the vehicle that was parked next to you, that’s a fair wack and whatever did it would have some damage too…

Good luck on getting it sorted…

 

[Just smiffy]

Also that damage looks quite high, check other vehicles in the storage yard with a bike rack on the back that looks recently damaged ..

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[Shrimp]

Is that top and bottom of van side?
If so that was something tall, not a pallet nor an Air gun!

 

[DavidG58]

No idea what’s done that, bike rack sounds logical but it almost looks torn with a sharp edge

Best of luck getting sorted, if not already done get some gaffer tape over it to keep dry, it will tidy it up a lot and looks like it can still be used till mended

 

[Coolcats]

It looks to have been caused by an air rifle pellet.

it’s not a round enough hole

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[Nanniemate]

Also that damage looks quite high, check other vehicles in the storage yard with a bike rack on the back that looks recently damaged ..

That's what I thought looks like bike rack . It's must be so upsetting leaving it where it should be safe.

I hope it's an easy fix looks like the skin isn't broken .the other van must have felt/heard it

Hope it can be sorted quickly

 

[AndyPK]

I would’ve said that the outer skin is most definitely broken, Nanniemate ……..

 

[TheAleMan]

Also that damage looks quite high, check other vehicles in the storage yard with a bike rack on the back that looks recently damaged ..

Seems the most logical to me. Yep I agree.

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[Clemmo]

That is pretty major damage...The Outer skin is pierced and the whole panel has rippled on impact. ( look to the left an below hole)
Such a shame folks cant be honest. It doesn't stop the inconvenience but helps the pain.
Hopefully some detective work will pinpoint a culprit. I would be spending some time in your storage place looking at the vans there. Having said that the culprit may well have covered their tracks as they are inherently dishonest.
Clemmo

 

[Spriddler]

it’s not a round enough hole

Ah yes indeed. When I zoomed in on the first pic I didn't see the scrape/tear etc.

 

[haganap]

that's awful. Don't want to be the barer of bad news but that isn't an easy fix either. The panel is well and truly broken. Depends on age of van, some repairers would insist on replacing the whole panel dependent on age of vehicle. Others (i have seen this done) cut out a sizable portion of the damage, replace with metal panel, weld it in, then sand it to an inch of it's life to get smooth and then paint it, you will always see it when the sun shines a certain way, you will always know it's there. However, the replacement side panel is a nightmare as it's the delay involve in sourcing one. This is due to the way Motorhomes are manufactured with panels being made now for probably a week 12 or more build. Therefore your order could be 14-20 weeks away just for the panel.

Good luck and keep us updated, would love to know how they go about repairing.

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[gus-lopez]

,’sorry sir the reversing camera (a H&S requirement) was inoperative on that day strange how cameras always fail at the critical moment

I'd have asked
"Why was it not withdrawn from service then? "
"Have you disciplined your driver for failing to report the lack of camera & illegally continuing to use the vehicle?"
I'd make an official complaint.Then tell them that next bin day I'd be insisting on seeing a working camera as the lorry will be blocked in until I do. You can't **** them about enough.

looks like the skin isn't broken

You missed the bit where the axe has hit it?
Can't see an aluminium bike rack causing that sort of damage?

 

[gus-lopez]

The only sensible repair to that is filler ,paint ,smooth then decals over on other side as well to match.
Anything else is uneconomical & a new side should make it scrap dependent on age. I'd certainly not be involving an insurance company.

 

[dalspa]

Ah yes indeed. When I zoomed in on the first pic I didn't see the scrape/tear etc.

Me too!

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[Nanniemate]

I would’ve said that the outer skin is most definitely broken, Nanniemate ……..

Now looked

I would’ve said that the outer skin is most definitely broken, Nanniemate ……..

Should have gone to specsavers .I still hope that its not too difficult to fix fingers crossed

 

[pacman]

I would’ve said that the outer skin is most definitely broken, Nanniemate ……..

Outer skin is definitely broken, hole ia approx 1.5cm.

 

[pacman]

Thank you all for your input and good wishes, we both feel quite sick to think that someone has done this and just walked away.

Went up to the storage site this morning to have a look around. Found an aluminium ladder on the ground a few meters away from where the van was parked. The dimensions of the ladder look suspiciously the same as the hole, and the sharp edges and weight of the ladder would be the perfect tool to create such a hole. One corner edge of the ladder appears to have a "shiny" edge to it, unlike the rest of it.

Unfortunately none of this proves nothing but will be visiting the site on Monday morning once the office is open to see if the CCTV can shed any light. Wil also be contacting the insurance company after the visit.

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[pacman]

that's awful. Don't want to be the barer of bad news but that isn't an easy fix either. The panel is well and truly broken. Depends on age of van, some repairers would insist on replacing the whole panel dependent on age of vehicle. Others (i have seen this done) cut out a sizable portion of the damage, replace with metal panel, weld it in, then sand it to an inch of it's life to get smooth and then paint it, you will always see it when the sun shines a certain way, you will always know it's there. However, the replacement side panel is a nightmare as it's the delay involve in sourcing one. This is due to the way Motorhomes are manufactured with panels being made now for probably a week 12 or more build. Therefore your order could be 14-20 weeks away just for the panel.

Good luck and keep us updated, would love to know how they go about repairing.

My thoughts exactly. Van is only 5 years old (68 reg) so would prefer a proper repair instead of a "fix". Should be able to seal it in the meantime with plastic sheet and tape to keep dry, really don't want the van to be off the road for the next 6 month.

 

[Onemanandhisdog]

My thoughts exactly. Van is only 5 years old (68 reg) so would prefer a proper repair instead of a "fix". Should be able to seal it in the meantime with plastic sheet and tape to keep dry, really don't want the van to be off the road for the next 6 month.

Definitely the way to go, I wouldn't be surprised if this passes 6 months, hopefully common sense from all parties involved will allow you to carry on using the van until the repair can be done.

 

[TUCANO]

Good luck with your problem and I hope it is resolved quickly. My van was, luckily, just slightly marked last year whilst on the storage compound by something bright yellow, fairly easy to buff it out and I was thankful it wasn't any worse.
That incident led me to discover that the storage facility accept no responsibility whatsoever for damage whilst my van is stored there, any claim has to be through my insurance company.
Whenever I leave the van there now I take photographs of each corner and only delete them after I next collect the van and have had a walk around it.
Irritates me that the site is a so called COSSA Gold site.

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[Peavy]

Sorry to hear about your trouble.
I feel your pain. We live in a very windy area and, while in storage, our van was hitted by a caravan in a windy day. The passenger door needed full repair (van was a few months old). They repaired it in a garage they work with.
Another windy day I went to pickup the van and found a similar incident, luckily wasn't ours, this time

 

[pacman]

UPDATE
Visited the storage compound yesterday to check CCTV. Unfortunately they only retain the previous 14 days and the oldest images showed the damage in place. All I have learnt is that the damage occurred between 25 Jan (when yhe van was last on the road) and 13 Feb. We have had a couple of big storms in this period and a couple of other vans have had some damage so this may have been the cause.
Either way I have contacted my insurance company and started the ball rolling and submitted a claim. Look as if we can continue using the van until the repair is carried out.

 

[Badknee]

Unfortunately they only retain the previous 14 days

That’s ridiculous! The vans might not be visited to check or use them for months at a time. I would have thought in this digital age six months should be easy to do.

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