Electrical Damage Repair

[RogerAllen]

HELP! Need advise and comments regarding major electrical damage do to Power Surge.

We were in Mobile, Alabama during Hurricane Lee. The RV park power was hit by lightning and we had a MAJOR power surge melting our 50amp power line and burning the 12VDC and 110 VAC wiring in the coach--2007 Pace Arrow--as well as "doing in" all the electrical appliances and controls.

The insurance company is stalling on what is will cover and what it will not. The RV dealer service department tells me, and the insurance company that it needs to "tear apart" the interior of the coach to determine what wires are damaged and what need to be replaced.

The coach has been in the shop for a month now and I getting frustrated at the process and being told something new or different each time I talk to the service rep and/or the insurance agent.

Has anyone had this or a similar experience and can give me some insight.

Thanks,

Roger Allen

[wolfe10]

Roger,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

There is very little predictability to damage done by a direct lightening strike. I have worked with this on RV's and even more on boats. Lightening does NOT follow a prescribed pathway and do predictable damage.

Even when done by a true electrical professional, there is still a little "repair what we know is damaged" and then test for more damage further "downstream" in the electrical system.

Few if any electrical technicians would even attempt to give a total estimate until they go through the process. It would surprise me that an insurance adjuster familiar with this kind of damage would not be aware of this.

[hanko]

Yep, can't quote what you cant see. I'm sorry to say, always unplug your RV in a thunder storm.

[hermanmullins]

Roger, as Brett said, "Welcome to the Forum".

You didn't say what kind of coach you have or what year model it is. This will have a lot of bearing on what the insurance company will do. If your coach is almost new and has a high value they might go ahead and repair it. If not they may decide to total it.

Here are my thoughts: Since you are close to Florida,there is a really good company in the area that can totally rebuild the insides of your coach-- check with then. I believe their name and website is http://classiccoachworks.com They will know how long it would take to remove your interior and how long it would take to replace it. They might be able to give you a cost for the rewiring at the same time.

If you fried the entire electrical system 120 and 12 volt, I am sorry to say it but it might be better to replace the coach then to repair it. If the rig is rewired from scratch I can foresee ghost and goblins popping up for some time.

I am so sorry for your problems. Hope it works out for you and you get back on the road soon. If they rewire your coach you might consider having them install a surge protector in the rig.