ARGH!


Allright well... I ran into a stroke of bad luck. I was driving back from snowboaridng at Mt Hood meadows, and I was rocking chains on my truck to get down the mountain. Say what you want about chains but we've got 10 feet of snow up there and it's dumping constantly.



Anyways, that's not what the discussion is about. I'd used the chains multiple times without issues prior to this, however my chains ****ing BURST multiple times on both sides, until I had to finally ghetto rig the chains. I make it down the mountain in one piece, however my paint job is ****ed.



So, a few questions:

[ol][*]Duplicolor spray paint? Viable cost effective option? Should I get the rider primer and then do the regular paint, or can I get away with just the regular paint. I'm new to painting vehicles so sorry if it appears obvious.[*]Les Schwab. The bastards sold me the defective chains, and I followed the directions to a T. The issue is blatantly related to product failure since the red rings you run the tensioner through broke multiple times, and then the entire tensioner fell off. I was travelign under 25 mph so well below their recommended travel speed. Any idea how they'll handle the issue or what issues I'd face taking them to small claims court?[*]Proffesional paint jobs: What am I looking at?[*]Insurance: I have full coverage. Will they cover it?[/ol]

 

Check w/ ur insurance first, mine would cover it less the $250 deduct, if not then go to a shop, that uses PPG paint, duplicolor fades irregularly, according to my friend who owns a body shop..


opst some pics too!

 

I'll post pictures when it's bright out. Right now it's night time.

 

Duplicolor would be a temporary fix, but I wouldn't do it until the insurance company sees it. 9 times out of 10 the chain manufacturer has a disclaimer as to not be sued. If only the two bed sides need painted, $375 TO$500 should cover it. Remember your insurance company will subtract your deductible from your estimate. They may want to sue the chain company to recover, but probably won't. If your talking about thecheap red thingsthat your supposed to use with the tensioner, they suck. The tensioner should be connected to the chain itself. Do you realize the strain from centrifucal force put on the tensioner. The cold causes the tensioners clipsto fail, and heat and friction causes the chains to fail. It sucks. We had a set of those chains come off and wrap around the axle of a truck and trash the brake line. We went to Pep boys and got the good old rubber band tensioners, and haven't had a problem since with them.

 

Yeah the chains you describe are the EXACT ones I have issues with.


I went in to Les Schwab today and filled out a bunch of paper work and raised hell. They tried to hustle me hoewver. When they gave me replacement chains, they asked me to sign a form that i had received the exchanged chains. Right on the form in the disclaimer it read "By signing below you certify that there are no claims pertaining to the aforementioned equipment". That's probably where they catch most people in these sort of situations. Anyways, the people at Les Schwab mentioned having dealt with a few of these claims, and the product blatantly broke. Les Schwab has a saying I beleive that goes "If we can't guarantee it, we won't sell it". I'm feeling things are going to be in my favor. I dealt with Geico today as well, and they said that not only will they cover the damage (minus my deductible) but they want the information of who I contacted at Les Schwab so as they can push to get my reimbursement for the damage as well.



That's the majority of the burly damage. Same side of the truck, left side being the front of the wheel well the other being after it. I got two quotes today for repairing the damage, and they were for $1308 and $2008. I've got a $500 deductible on my comprehensive insurance. The company with the $2000 quote appears to be willing to do a better job, and are going to remove the truck bed to get everything done properly. They also offered to repair all of the other random rock chips and dents accross my vehicle since they'll already have the paint and what not.




Having Comprehensive insurance really paid off. I not only have my awesome truck, but I get a rental car while it's out of commission. Man I love not being as poor as I was this time last year.

 

OUCH

 

I hope you know you are not to use link chains on the dakota but you must only use cable chains....as per DC......and now you see why

 

wow that would suck. I would just paint the whole bed side.