Tag Archives: insurance

Tool Time

The past week here at Mission Bay RV Resort was interesting. Last week, the park began to fill up. By Thanksgiving Day, the park was nearly full. There were more RVs and kids in the park than we’ve seen since we first arrived here September 20th.

I had no idea so many people would spend Thanksgiving with their families in an RV park. On one side of our site, a family of four moved in with a travel trailer. The two kids were elementary school age. They bicycled every day together around the area. They smoked a turkey over charcoal in a Weber grill on Thanksgiving Day.

On the other side of our site was another trailer. It was occupied by an older couple with their dogs. They erected a wire enclosure around their site so they could let the dogs out without worry of them running off. The park was mostly occupied by families and it seems like they all brought dogs. The mornings were noisier than usual.

Last Saturday, people began packing up and pulling out. By Sunday evening, the park was nearly empty. We have four open sites on either side of our coach now. The sites behind us and directly in front of us are empty. There are more people leaving the park than arriving. Those who arrive seem to be using the park as a stopping point in their travels and only stay one night.

We’re beginning to plan our exit. Nothing is cast in stone, but we may move out of here on the 21st and stay somewhere else in the area until the 26th. Then we’ll head east and spend some time on the Arizona side of the Colorado River.

Yesterday I cut the drawer liners for my tool box to size and installed them. Once that task was completed, I started organizing my tools. I took a few pictures showing my handy work from the day before.

The wheel chock for the scooter front wheel

The wheel chock for the scooter front wheel

Tie down fixture for the scooter

Tie down fixture for the scooter

Toolbox and tie downs

Toolbox and tie downs

Plastic chair sliders screwed to the floor to hold the tool box in place

Plastic chair sliders screwed to the floor to hold the tool box in place

Drawer lined a tools in place

Drawer lined and tools in place

I have about 10% of the tools that I had prior to the theft. I have the basics covered. If I need special tools down the road, I’ll buy them as needed. My insurance claim is settled. The insurance reimbursed approximately 64% of the dollar value of our loss.

Read your policy carefully and pay attention to the definitions. In our case, replacement cost didn’t mean what it costs to buy a new trailer. It’s a hypothetical replacement cost. What the adjuster did was call a few trailer dealers and describe our trailer. Then he asked them how much they would sell it for. Of course, the trailer dealers say they would have to sell it for less than the new trailers they sell. They establish a hypothetical  price and that’s the replacement value. It doesn’t matter that the hypothetical trailer doesn’t exist. They pay that amount, even though I couldn’t find a six- month old trailer in excellent condition for that price if I tried. I’m just glad the insurance hassle is over. It was a real learning experience.

I heard a few rain drops overnight. This morning is partly cloudy and cool. I don’t expect the temperature to be much over 60 today. Low pressure to the northeast of us has the jet stream dipping down to southern California, bringing cool air from Alaska. This is likely to continue through the weekend before we warm up again next week.

Today I’ll run a few errands. Donna has a lunch meeting with her sister, Sheila, to discuss a brochure for her business. I plan to set up my amp and practice guitar this afternoon. Donna likes that idea because she’s planning to do some hoopdancing.

 

 

 

 

 

Insurance Claim Settled

An historic event took place last Sunday. I didn’t post it yesterday in case some readers may have recorded the event and hadn’t viewed it yet. I’m talking about the Formula 1 race in Brazil. Twenty-six-year-old German driver, Sebastian Vettel won the driver’s world championship for the fourth time in a row. He absolutely dominated the season, winning 13 of 19 races, tying Michael Schumacher’s record. He won the last nine races in a row. His team, Red Bull Racing, consistently provided the best car. I see more records falling in the future for this bright, young star.

Yesterday, after Donna and I returned from a bicycle ride to Mission Beach, the guy with the black coach (I posted about him here ) pulled out of the park. I was glad to see him go since upon our last return to the park, we were given the site next to his. I wonder if he’s coming back. I shouldn’t care, but I was reluctant to set up and play guitar outside when he was around.

Yesterday, I scootered Donna to Ocean Beach for her piano lesson. She found a piano teacher there and will take weekly lessons over the next month. She has an 88-key digital piano set up in our bedroom and plays often. This teacher will give her some new things to work on.

While Donna was having her lesson, I walked along the beachfront shops. There’s a lifeguard station at Ocean Beach Park.  A statue of a lifeguard and a memorial plaque for 13 lives lost on May 5, 1918 stands next to the lifeguard station. The tragedy was the result of rip currents caused by unusual tidal action. This led to the development of the San Diego Lifeguard Service. Please click on the photos below to read the story on the plaque.

Ocean Beach lifeguard statue

Ocean Beach lifeguard statue

Lifeguard plaque

Lifeguard plaque

On the way home from Ocean Beach, Donna dropped me off at the base of Clairemont Drive. I walked across the overpass to Dan Diego’s European Bistro to watch Monday Night Football. Just as I arrived, my phone rang. It was Miki, the Progressive insurance claims adjuster who has been handling my stolen trailer case. She told me that she had reviewed the photos I sent of the trailer. She agreed that her inspector missed many key damages and they will pay me for the trailer and sell it as salvage. This was good news for me. Now I won’t have to deal with it any more.

Today, the San Diego Chargers are having a blood drive in Mission Valley. It’s an opportunity to meet some of the team’s players that will be onsite. I doubt if I will go. I haven’t given blood since I completed cancer treatment 11 years ago. I volunteered to give blood a couple of years after treatment, but they refused to take it. I haven’t volunteered since.

Today, I think I’ll go to Sears at University Town Center to look at tool boxes. I may end up ordering from Sears.com, but I want to examine the real thing first.

 

 

Fall in San Diego

It’s definitely fall in San Diego. The mornings are a bit chilly and the sun sets around 4:30pm. I can’t complain though. We had beautiful weather all weekend and today looks to be just as fine. It’s 60 degrees out at 9am and I expect to see highs in the mid to upper 60s all week.

Growing up here, I took the climate for granted. Each day was much like the last, or the next. I see myself falling into that attitude again. When I moved to Michigan in 1986, I learned to take advantage of the seasons. Grilling on the barbeque was real treat that I would look forward to in the spring. I know some guys there grill in the winter, but for most of us, it’s just too cold.

On Saturday, I used Shauna’s car and went to the Walmart in Murphy Canyon. I needed a few things and I wanted to check out the possibility of overnighting there when we have to do the 24-hour shuffle again after 30 days here. It’s a supercenter, but they have “No Overnight Parking” signs posted.

I spent an hour or so processing and adding text to the photographs I took of our stolen trailer. I documented exterior and interior damage.

Later, I drove downtown and picked up Shauna at Cal Western School of Law on Cedar Street. She dropped me off at the RV Park and took her car home. When I returned, I fired up the Weber and grilled Jamaican jerk chicken that Donna had prepared. She served it with mango salsa, basmati brown rice and green beans.

Jamaican jerk chicken with mango salsa

Jamaican jerk chicken with mango salsa

Over the weekend, the RV park filled up. Many people are here with their families for the Thanksgiving holiday. I wouldn’t have guessed so many people would do this. There are more families with kids here than ever. The kids must have the week off school.

Yesterday was another beautiful day, but I sat indoors and watched football all day. I didn’t do too well in the football pool. The Lions, Bears, Texans and Colts all let me down. It was still a great football day however. The Chargers won a shootout against Kansas City with the game-winning touchdown pass coming from Philip Rivers with 24 seconds left in the game!

Last night, Donna made a beef and bean chili from scratch. It was so good! I’m looking forward to leftovers!

Donna making another nutritious, delicious meal

Donna making another nutritious, delicious meal

Beef and bean chili served with red wine

Beef and bean chili served with red wine

This morning I e-mailed the photos of the damage on the stolen trailer to Progressive. I hope to hear from them soon.

 

 

 

On the Border

Yesterday we had a few more rain showers in the morning. Donna drove to her exercise class in Shauna’s car. When Donna returned, I drove to the salvage yard (Copart) in Otay Mesa. Copart is located on Airway Road, about half a mile from the Mexican border.

In the Copart office, I presented my driver’s license and trailer registration. I told them my insurance adjuster told me to inspect the trailer, document damage and retrieve any contents that may be in the trailer. They looked up my information, then issued me an orange safety vest and told me to wait for an  escort.

About 10 minutes later, a woman walked me out of the office into the yard. It was a large facility with hundreds of motorcycles and cars – mostly wrecks that had been declared total losses. A few of the vehicles impounded were recovered thefts, like my trailer. Insurance companies contract with Copart to store and eventually dispose of the vehicles. Many of the totaled cars and motorcycles go to Mexico.

While I was there, I saw a few people come to retrieve personal belongings from vehicles. They didn’t allow the people to walk through the storage yard to the car. What they did was interesting. The person wanting something from their totaled car would wait outside behind the office. A huge forklift would go to the vehicle, pick it up and drop it behind the office. Once the items were taken from the car, the forklift would take the vehicle back to the yard. They didn’t do this with me – I was escorted through the yard to my trailer.

As we walked through the large yard, I saw a commercial jet landing to the south. I asked the girl if that was the Tijuana Airport. She said it was. On the mesa south of the airport, I could see the Tijuana neighborhoods, Insurgentes and Lomas Taurinas. The Tijuana-Tecate Highway runs along the Mexican side of the border beside the airport. It’s a different world just half a mile from where I was standing.

We found my trailer. I started with a walkaround inspection. I found several signs of abuse. Both  tires had sidewall scrapes indicating that they had rubbed against curbs. The jack near the coupler was bent from scraping the pavement. The bottom of the right rear corner of the trailer had also scraped against the pavement. My guess is the thieves hooked up the trailer and made a hasty exit. In their haste, they didn’t raise the jack all the way. They probably went through a dip or down a driveway too fast and scraped both the jack and the rear of the trailer. I took photos of the damage.

I unlocked the side door and entered the trailer. When the trailer was parked, I didn’t have everything in it tied down. I was using the trailer as a garage. As I accessed tools and whatnot, I wasn’t worried about securing the load. Before we hit the road, I would organize and tie down or strap everything. When the thieves pulled out with the trailer, loose items inside bashed around. There was damage to the interior walls. A few items were left behind by the thieves, but nothing of great value – a few books and papers, rags, a couple of tie down straps. The best thing left behind was the wheel chock for the scooter.

The people at Copart told me I couldn’t take the wheel chock because it was bolted to the floor. I argued that it wasn’t part of the trailer, it was an accessory that I added. We went back to the office and they called the insurance adjuster. She told them I could take the wheel chock since I hadn’t claimed it as contents and it didn’t come with the trailer.

Removing the wheel chock was a real chore. I didn’t have the proper tools (I’m missing my tool cabinet already). I made do with a screwdriver and pliers. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to remove it.

I took photos of all of the damage. I will e-mail them to the insurance adjuster, then we’ll discuss next steps.

After I returned, Donna took the car to go shopping at Trader Joe’s and Buffalo Exchange, a consignment shop that she wrote about in her book, How to De-clutter and Make Money Now, but had never visited in person. I showered and got ready for the evening’s festivities. I had reserved a table for 10 people at the Offshore Tavern and Grill. Jim Birditt was in town and hadn’t seen many of our old friends for years. We got together and had drinks, appetizers and lots of laughs. Gary Stemple, his sister Holly Strand, Mark and Judy Fredin, Carole Bringas and of course, Donna and I showed up. It was great fun. We missed a couple of people who we hoped to see there, but were unable to attend. Donna was our designated driver.

Donna, Mark Fredin, Gary Stemple, Jim Birditt, Holly, Judy Fredin at Offshore Tavern and Grill

Carole, Donna, Mark, Gary, Jim, Holly and Judy at Offshore Tavern and Grill

Mark, Gary, me and Jim

Mark, me, Gary and Jim

Carole, me and Jim

Carole, me and Jim

Today the weather looks better – partly cloudy and the temperature should reach the mid to upper 60s. I’ll return Shauna’s car. Other than that, I have nothing planned.

 

 

 

Making a List

Saturday I went shopping for a new trailer. They all look good online. I can’t buy one without looking it over in person. I drove Shauna’s car to TrailersPlus in Lakeside. Many of you might try to save money by shopping for a used trailer, but cargo trailers hold their value well. Used trailers in good shape are only a few hundred dollars less than buying new. I would rather buy new and have a warranty, new tires and no worries about how it may have been abused.

TrailersPlus is an Interstate trailer dealer. They have four lines of cargo trailers that I would say are value (cheap), good, better and best. The lowest priced is the Patriot line. These are lightweight, rather flimsy with lauan interior walls and .024 aluminum skin. I don’t think it would be durable enough for our intended use. Next up is the Victory line. This trailer has 3/8″ ply interior walls and heavier frame construction. They cut a few corners on this model – the aluminum exterior is .024″ thick and the diamond plate stone guard is only a few inches high. Their better line is the Loadrunner. This trailer is well-built with 3/4″ plywood floor, 3/8″ plywood walls, .030 aluminum exterior, one-piece roof skin, 500lb-rated roof bows, radial tires, LED lights, four floor tie downs and four wall tie downs. The top of the Interstate trailer line is the Pro series. These have all the bells and whistles. It’s basically the same construction as the Loadrunner, but has a different axle. It sits lower on a torsion axle instead of the Dexter spring axle found on the Loadrunner.

I spent about an hour looking at these trailers and comparing their features and prices.  I was planning to look and get an idea of what I wanted. I ended up finding a trailer I liked and bought it. It’s a 6 x 12 Loadrunner with a champagne beige exterior. They will deliver it to us on Tuesday.

Our new 6 x 12 Interstate Loadrunner trailer

Our new 6 x 12 Interstate Loadrunner trailer

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I spent the rest of the afternoon listing the contents of the stolen trailer. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. I started with my tool chests. I tried to mentally go through each drawer and remember what I had in it. The insurance form requires me to list the item, where I bought it, when I bought it, original price and replacement cost. So, for each item I had to search online, find something comparable and look up the price. I couldn’t finish it on Saturday.

Saturday night, Donna made Parmesan-Pesto Tilapia and green beans and I grilled sweet potato slices to serve with it. Food fit for a king! We finished the day by watching an old movie – Platoon starring a young Charlie Sheen.

tilapia with grilled sweet potato and green beans

Tilapia with grilled sweet potato and green beans

Sunday morning, Donna went kayaking with our neighbor, Mona, and her friend, Vanessa. Actually, Donna and Vanessa kayaked and Mona took her stand-up paddleboard out on the bay. They started in De Anza Cove and paddled around the point to Campland, then came back to the west side of the RV park. While they were doing that, I continued to look up items online and work on my list of stolen trailer contents.

At 10am, I tuned in to the Chargers game and became a couch potato. They lost to Washington in overtime. The Charger defense couldn’t stop a Washington drive. It’s too bad. They went 12 consecutive quarters without giving up a touchdown, but didn’t have an answer for Washington.

I worked on the list of trailer items again in the afternoon. I need to finish it this morning. Today we’ll drive to the Progressive insurance office in Kearney Mesa and submit our paperwork. I hope it goes smoothly and we can get our claim settled.