Dometic called us and offered to sell us a new refer for $900 that lists for $1500. But this is not the end of our story.
About 8PM on Oct 25th we were traveling on the NY State Thruway and pulled into a service area for a rest. When I entered the trailer I could smell a slight odor of propane and proceeded to leave the door open and also opened the rear window to air the place out. As I was on my way out of the trailer the whole place blew up with both me and my wife inside. The explosion blew the slide out about 2" and tore a sliding door off it's rollers. It also knocked me down on top of my wife and caused 4 fires to start from residual propane pockets in 4 different areas.
I now have no eyebrows or any hair on my arms and my hair is a little frizzy from getting singed. Also received some burns on my lef arm, nothing serious. I grabed the two new fire extinguishers we had with us and put the 4 fires out. After looking things over I found the last 3 sheets of the enclosed bottom were blown off and just hanging above the road, the two locking slide arms were bent outward and the fire had burned the control module for our slide so it had to be cranked back in by hand. The flash fire that came with the explosion burned the ceiling, carpet, speakers, filters in the air vents and also the floor and counter.
Now I have the problem of calling our insurance and making another claim. The first claim was for $2000 and this one turned out to be for $13,375 when we had an estimate done at a RV repair facility in Elkhart, IN.
We went to IN because I called the factory that made our RV and asked them if they could repair our damage and they told me they only did that type of work in Jan, Feb and Mar. We couldn't wait that long so they recomended a company that they use for all extra warranty work and repairs. After calling the second company they called back and told me if I was at their yard on Monday morning they would start on repairs right away.
The adjuster came on Tuesday and said it looked like it would be close wheather the trailer was totaled or repaired and he wouldn't know for 2-3 days which way it would go. So we waited for the answer. Turned out the trailer was still worth over $20,000 so they decided to pay for repairs. We decided that we should buy another trailer if we could find one in the area.
While we were waiting I took a drive looking for something newer that would suit us and found a new 2006 leftover 37' Cypress by Newmar that the dealer had been holding for over 2 years. He REALLY wanted to see it sold, after I told him our story, he made us an offer we couldn't refuse. He actually sold it to us for about $12,000 less than a used one is going for. He even gave us a little for our old trailer towards the new one. With our trade in and the two insurance checks we did better than if we had a trailer in A-1 shape to trade for the new 5th wheel. If you are ever in Elkhart, IN, stop and see Dave @ International RV World on route 19.
So, now you know the rest of the story. Now I need to change my RV Net signature.
* This post was
edited 06/29/08 11:22am by Kodiak5er *
1990 6500 Chevy Kodiak, 8.3L Cummins 450 HP
6sp Allison 3060, 3.70 R/A Home Made Air Ride
2006 Newmar Cypress
Picture of '93 Mountain Aire Story of it's death by fire and explosion
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Lovely German Shepherd.
1999 Mercedes ML320 TV
2003 Wanderer 187TB Toybox (3620# UVW, 4800# loaded) Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories. I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
Wow, those electrical fire pictures in the old thread were scary enough. Now you get a new fridge, and you get a propane leak and blow the place up?
Glad you two are OK, I'll keep an eye out for you, so I don't camp NEXT to you
Good luck, hope this is the last of your tribulations, and the new trailer serves you well.
Cedar Creek 27LRLS 7359 dry with extensive options/7700+ loaded.
2003 Expedition 5.4 FX4 with factory Tow 3.73 Bilstein shocks. GCVWR 14500, Tow rating with no cargo 8650
Equalizer Hitch, Prodigy, Barker Electric jack. Coachnet ERS
Rallies=13 My travel albums
This brings up a good point to talk about and learn from.
If you smell propane when entering the RV, do not go inside, turn off propane and power if safe, open a door from the outside, and walk away until it clears.
A thought... From some posts in past threads, members reported that they had "bumped" the knobs on the stove turning a burner on slightly. They all had been fortunate in discovering it.
Is that a possibility for your situation?
The reefer gas line is external to the living quarters, and the reefers have a seal around the front to keep the outside air and gasses from entering the living quarters. Yes, they can be bad, but there is another "exit" through the outside vent where lp would probably go.
Just a thought, and maybe a reminder that it appears some RV's may be layed out so that is more probable and we all need to watch for that.
I am glad everyone is OK. I never liked the idea of driving with fridge on. I always make sure the propane valve on the tank is closed before I hit the road. If I have to have fridge on while driving I turn on the inverter.
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