Well, the knock/pinging is the least of my worries right now...

Last evening I was pulling out of my local Food Lion, which exits onto a highway. I needed to get across the lanes to the far left for a left turn, but a semi stopped in the far right lane right in front of me, blocking the entrance/exit of the Food Lion shopping center. I pulled up a bit and was going to cut in front of him to get across, after I verified there was no oncoming traffic. I'm sure the dude saw me because he waved me through, and I waved back my thanks. I got halfway across when he started pulling up and his front bumper snagged my rear wheel well, pulling a significant chunk out of my bed...

The officer said that even though he waved me through and then hit me, that he was "established" on the road and had right-away, that people pulling out of exits/drives/yields are always at-fault, no matter what. So, I'm essentially screwed, despite the officer agreeing it was the negligence of the other driver.

The real kicker is that I bought this truck from my old man back in January but, because he hasn't gotten around to mailing the title down to me (he couldn't find it when I went to get the truck, and I only had time to visit for about 2 hours before driving back), it's still registered and insured in his name. This situation is a mess but I don't want any of it blowing back on him (i.e. raised insurance rates). I'm trying to find out if I can get my own insurance policy to cover it in any way but, if not then I'll have to pay out of pocket.

Does anyone know what kind of damage I'm looking at here? I'm sure the other guy just needs a new bumper (and will try to screw me on that one), but what all is involved with my truck? Does the entire bed need to be replaced, or are there panels and just this side can be swapped out?

 

Holy crap man. You might be able to get a whole need bed skin. I'm really not positive but I think they can replace the skins

That really sucks though

 

damn that sucks man. Is that glass? I didn't know that newer rangers had a fiber glass bed

 

Yeah justin I was just thinking that, either get a new skin or go to a junkyard and grab that side of the bed, but if it is glass then take it to a shop first and find out who does good fiber glass work, there's 2 guys down here I know that do great work and I never thought they did glass, so just search around shops and see who does what

 

the bedsides on a stepside are bolted on. i have been looking for some recently. there are several on ebay right now, but asking $300+shipping for one side.

 

Flaresides do..I thought you could replace the sides, but what do I know....Edit he beat me to it. With paint and you installing it, I'm guessing $800-1200

 

Yes you can replace the skins and used ones from a local yard even cost alot of money 500 is how much the body shop where i used to work told me they cost... If my bed get messed up im getting insurance to get me fleetside bed cause they are cheaper for them and thats what I want. haha

 

im sorry but i cant see this happening in anything but slow motion, like you sitting there screamin noooooo and the semi just rolls in neutral at youand then lowspeed oops collision.

bed sides are easyish to swap, once you get another bedside to replace it.

 

flaresides are fiberglass, fleetsides are metal. that sucks *** big. i wouldn't even file a claim. just pay outta pocket. see what the trucker is gonna do if he files, you have to too. if all he has is some scratches, talk him outta it.

 

looks to me like had a tin foil bumper if you ask me. Glass bent it very easy

 

wow, did you get a ticket form the cop? if so i'd fight that tooth and nail. he needs to be in control of his truck at all times. this includes just having it in neutral and/or coasting.

that bumper could be hammered back into place.

 

The trucker sounds like an A-hole

 

yea, i think you got taken for a ride.
when i said he should be in control of his licence, i want' being a smartass. i meant like, to get his air brakes, he can't just coast down a hill or put it in neutral at a light. he has to have his foot on the clutch and the truck in gear. (do they do it when they get their licence? god knows no.)

 

personally i would replace the whole bed. i found a complete bed for a buddy at the junkyard for 500 bucks.

 

ditto, a shop will charge out the @$$ just to replace the skin. Save yourself time and money and find a whole replacement bed and have it painted to match

 

Well, it seems as if all the proceedings are coming to a close and I got off pretty lightly, considering what I thought I was looking at.

Yes, I did get a ticket. Even though the trucker waved me in ahead of him, the trooper says that because I was pulling out of a grocery store and he was on the main road, he had right of way (despite him offering me right of way). When I went to pay the ticket, the magistrate clerk told me not to pay it, and to attend traffic court. So I did. The judge did drop the charges, but only because the trucker didn't show. The judge said that if he (the trucker) had, then he would have charged me because it would have been a case of "He said; She said", and by law that guy had right of way. So... whew. The fine would have sucked, but I was more concerned with points on my license.

And I finally spoke with the insurance agency, who said they were closing the claim because no damages were filed by the other driver. Wow!

I'll pay out of pocket for my own stuff, so I'm looking in to parts and everything now. The cheapest bed panel I see now is $350 online (was $250 2 months ago when I initially looked...), and I called a shop and got a guesstimate of $350. I'm wondering, though, if it's something I can do myself. The one friend I had in the area moved away 4 years ago, so it's just me. Has anyone changed one of these panels/skins out that can give me an idea of what I'm looking at? Do I have to pull the bed?

Also I noticed a few weeks ago that my left rear wheel was damaged in the impact. It's holding air at the moment, because it's immobile, but it's a pretty large crack and I fear that trying to drive on it will result in the crack widening and leaking air. I'll probably replace the whole set of wheels, since they were pretty rough looking anyway. Kind of sucks, though, that I'll have to address this before I can get 'er back out on the road. I sure miss my baby...

 

Man I feel for you, that really sucks.. I feel it wasn't your fault and the stupid semi driver should learn to drive his truck!

 

Well at least you didn't get a big ticket!
When people stop on the main road to let traffic in it really pisses me off anyway. Some idiots will stop when they have the right of way to allow traffic in or allow oncoming traffic to make a left turn, and it causes congestion, confusion and accidents. It's not f-cking courteous, it is ignorance in my opinion. If people would understand their right of way and understand their role, traffic would flow better and we would all be better off.

Oops I'm ranting again.

 

sucks to hear that your wheel is cracked too. how much was the fine supposed to be

 

=======================================
Your location seems to invalid accordin to Mapquest, so I"m not sure how far you are away...............but I have a complete stepside box less tailgate for sale for $200.
If you wanta drive over this weekend, we can put er on in less than 10 mins.

PM me if your interested.................

 

that still seems like the best option. repalce the whole bed. not just a panel.

congrats on the court precedings. you lucked out.

 

Weird that it wouldn't show up in Mapquest. I'm outside of Sumter, SC, about 6.5 hours from you. Thank you for the offer, but I'm usually tied up on the weekends with my daughter's softball stuff. If you were closer I could probably squeeze it in, but 13-14 round-trip would be difficult to work in. Again, I appreciate the offer.

None of the pull-a-part/junkyards/eBay/Craigslist have Ranger beds around here, so the panel may be my only option. I'm hoping something comes up before I do, because I'm a little concerned I may have to cut a hole in the panel for the gas filler myself.

Just as an afterthought, the damage is probably too severe to just fix via fiberglass work, right?