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Old 03-19-2019, 03:09 PM   #11
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Hope this story has a happy ending. But very curious from an insurance point of view. Van in ocean doesn't happen everyday. Obviously policies are in place so that people dont just drive their vehicle into the ocean to collect a insurance check when they are ready to move on from the vehicle.

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Old 03-19-2019, 03:41 PM   #12
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Wow - that simply $ucks!

BrianW brings up a very real concern, My first call would be to the adjuster. Couple members already alluded to the importance of reacting immediately but I suspect your Insurance may not adopt the same excitement - that alone will not help your predicament.

Even if they offer to do repairs, nightmares are prone to develop down the road, and you'll be responsible for the necessary investment(s)...I'd say this alone is something important you need to consider now. From this point on, you'll naturally blame any future "issues" as being affiliated with this episode.

Hope the stars align for you soon.
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Old 03-19-2019, 07:45 PM   #13
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Hurts just to see the picture.
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Old 03-19-2019, 08:20 PM   #14
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First, @everyone, appreciate the tips, suggestions, and general positive support.
@mikracer, def appreciate that offer. I was able to finally get it home to my usual mechanic for a trusted inspection.
@arctictraveler, gulp!!
@brianw, I was super clear multiple times with my insurance agent that this “rv” was designed to be used off road. They understood, though it did take a couple of conversations before they really understood what they were insuring. So far, there has been no hesitation from my claims agent that this isn’t covered.

More on insurance...many here are correct in assuming the lack of urgency. I told them today that their process of estimate-review-decide-authorize is making a bad situation worse. Again, many don’t exactly know what a SMB is. They know a ‘ford e350’, but when they google “sportsmobile” they all say something like “oh, is that really a RV?”. They think I can just drop it at any RV shop and get a full estimate. I’m saying no, it needs to go to my diesel mechanic, it needs to go somewhere else to get power washed ASAP while you review the mechanic estimate, then it needs to get seen by someone who knows RV interiors, and on top of that you’re going to get some estimates from Espar, Aluminess, ARB, etc for all those little things that the previous three don’t deal with. They finally got it, and agreed to work with me in sorting it out. We’ll see what means. Unfortunately, I have to get to all these places somehow for estimates.

On status, after evaluating the fuel, oil, filters, etc my mechanic felt comfortable enough to fire it up. It started, idled nicely, and sounded good. Thinking it just needed more dry time. Regardless, we’re submitting a healthy estimate to flush/replace all fluids, engine flush, complete brake overhaul, all diff seals, electrical diagnosis, lube, fuel dump and replace, might be missing something. He’s thinking the exhaust is not a concern, no water blew out at start up (the inclined towing ops may have drained it), the heat would evaporate anything left in there. Idk on that one, there must be sand in it. Other than that, I emptied all the contents near floor level.

What I hope to know at some point is what happened, so I can modify it, if that opportunity is presented. The immediate thoughts are the two batteries under the side door or the fuel pump. I’ve seen SMB photos in much deeper water, of course I can’t see what going on underneath.

Stay tuned...
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Old 03-20-2019, 10:37 AM   #15
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Great news that you got it running. Clearly, salt water didn't get high enough to fill the engine, or hopefully the transmission,transfer case or the Dif's. Lots of rinsing with plenty of fresh water will hopefully take care of most of the problems.
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Old 03-20-2019, 11:44 AM   #16
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Will be interesting to see how your progress develops with reconstruction and Insurance - Its a hell of a predicament to be in for sure, But if its any consolation I (as I'm sure many others) will be following your updates for educational benefit.
Hopefully damage will be less than initially anticipated, at least it sounds like you're off to a promising start.
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Old 03-20-2019, 12:30 PM   #17
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Good to hear it's not too bad on the mechanical side. Given your location, could you just take it straight back to SMB West for a RV component evaluation and repair estimate?
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Old 03-20-2019, 02:55 PM   #18
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I hope there was enough fresh water coming down the creek to keep the salt water from causing too much trouble. I would still flush everything but possibly the waves were pushing, at worst, a brackish mix of sea and creek water. I had a Jeep once that I didn't get within 40 yards the ocean, just drove on the beach, but it still rusted badly from the salt mixed with the sand. It was a '78 Jeep though and I don't think rust proofing was very good back then. I probably didn't flush the bottom of it for long enough nor soon enough either.
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Old 03-20-2019, 05:14 PM   #19
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^^78 Jeeps would rust just sitting in a closed garage :-)
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Old 03-20-2019, 05:37 PM   #20
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Well, it didn't take long before I could watch the road through the floorboard.
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