Itinerant Air-Cooled

We were headed North on VT 103 at about 9:30pm when a driver either ran a stop sign or simply didn't look and pulled out directly in front of us at the Intersection of VT 103 and VT 100. I made a very aggressive swerve to the left and then back to the right to avoid a direct collision and some how managed to miss their car completely, but I did hit the median and all the signs on it. I also managed to avoid hitting any on coming traffic or roll the bus.

Sandy received extensive damage to the entire driver side from top to bottom as well as both rear corners from where the rear bumper was ripped off as well as the top from where the kayak rack was ripped off.

We are very lucky she didn't roll and I was able to drive her home after changing the rear tire despite the front rim being damaged and the steering taking a helluva hit.

So now I wonder...aside from the body damage, what do I need to be investigating underneath due to the hard impacts on bot front and rear wheel.

Here are the pictures: https://plus.google.com/photos/10813130 ... dXV0p3hswE

Oyh, look at that rim, look at that body damage!! How will that work out, is the other driver going to pitch anything because of causing this?

Logic says to check the suspension, and specifically check the (trailing arms -ed). A knock that hard on the (trailing arms - ed) could have bent them out of true, and you may no longer be able to align it.

My guess is that's the real extent of the damage and the wheel/suspension took the big hit, as your top is very well lined up.
If you want to be doubly certain, I would also take it to a frame shop and see if the frame got distorted at all.

Xelmon wrote:Oyh, look at that rim, look at that body damage!! How will that work out, is the other driver going to pitch anything because of causing this?

Logic says to check the suspension, and specifically check the (trailing arms -ed). A knock that hard on the (trailing arms - ed) could have bent them out of true, and you may no longer be able to align it.

My guess is that's the real extent of the damage and the wheel/suspension took the big hit, as your top is very well lined up.
If you want to be doubly certain, I would also take it to a frame shop and see if the frame got distorted at all.

Yeah, but do I take it to any body shop or one that is specific to VW's?
The closest one to me is John's Car Corner in Westminster VT and that'san 1:45 minute trip.

Go the distance, to someone who is familiar with buses. Hour and 45 minutes is a pretty reasonable distance to go for some expertise. This is a real bummer, but I'm sure glad no one was injured. Was anyone ticketed? I hope you have some recourse to cover your losses and fix your bus.

WaterDawg wrote:Yeah, but do I take it to any body shop or one that is specific to VW's?
The closest one to me is John's Car Corner in Westminster VT and that's an 1:45 minute trip.

Like Jive said, 1:45 each way is an investment to have a good job done on your rig. It is definitely worth the extra mile.

Peter at Volksparts in Walpole gets some good reviews. Why not call each of these guys,talk with them, and see who feels better to you. I guess that trip to Key West is off for awhile, Larry. You still got a place to crash when you head through Miami.

Jivermo wrote:Peter at Volksparts in Walpole gets some good reviews. Why not call each of these guys,talk with them, and see who feels better to you. I guess that trip to Key West is off for awhile, Larry. You still got a place to crash when you head through Miami.

John's Car Corner is within 2 hours of me or closer than Walpole. Funny think is, this happened 15 minutes from John's shop and I drive it home. Guess I could check that rubber steering bushing/coupler and drive it back there.

My biggest concern is what happened under it. I have someone in mind for the body work, but still awaiting on the Insurance Company to tell me what I can and can not do as the people I want to use are from out of state.

Wow. You are so lucky, congrats. That really could have been much worse top-side. Good luck with the underside. Have you done a visual inspection yet underneath?

jimbear wrote:Wow. You are so lucky, congrats. That really could have been much worse top-side. Good luck with the underside. Have you done a visual inspection yet underneath?

As xelmon noted, an alignment check and frame measurement is called for. There should be a database available through body shops that have the numbers.

The rear suspension needs a toe check and wheel base measurement left and right.

Poor bus.
Colin

Amskeptic wrote:

jimbear wrote:Wow. You are so lucky, congrats. That really could have been much worse top-side. Good luck with the underside. Have you done a visual inspection yet underneath?

As xelmon noted, an alignment check and frame measurement is called for. There should be a database available through body shops that have the numbers.

The rear suspension needs a toe check and wheel base measurement left and right.

Poor bus.
Colin

OK, so I can bring it to my local collision shop for the initial estimate. That will make things easier.

OK, I'm putting it up on a lift tomorrow, but still can not find any reference points or diagrams of what I need to look at and for.

I went to two body shops and the bus is not in the computer so they have nothing to go by

H E L P

WaterDawg wrote:OK, I'm putting it up on a lift tomorrow, but still can not find any reference points or diagrams of what I need to look at and for.

I went to two body shops and the bus is not in the computer so they have nothing to go by

H E L P

G O O G L E . . .

Any alignment shop can do the alignment numbers. If they are all within factory range, your bus is still essentially square and good to go after a bunch of annoying bodywork. If the left rear toe-out is 5* instead of 10' or whatever they call for, then you have some further investigations.
Colin

Found one on the Samba

OK, we put it up on a lift today and right in line with perfect timing, the Appraiser / Adjuster called and was in town so he got to see it up on the lift too. I've posted more pictures in the album showing the underside. Please take a look and see if you can see anything way off. I don't.
https://plus.google.com/photos/10813130 ... dXV0p3hswE

The DS Tire is 1" further out at the top than the PS Tire. That was the only measurements they took while under there. They would want to throw it on an alignment machine to get more precise and we might just do that another time.

Feedback appreciated. Still hoping it does not get a Totaled Status on the title. I think she is repairable and needs to be driven another 200k miles.

Jivermo wrote:Peter at Volksparts in Walpole gets some good reviews. Why not call each of these guys,talk with them, and see who feels better to you. I guess that trip to Key West is off for awhile, Larry. You still got a place to crash when you head through Miami.

Sorry to here about the damage, I hope you can fix it soon and hit the road for the 200K miles you mentioned.
Also I would like to offer a place to stay just above Tampa on your way to Jivermo's if you take i-75
Jeff