UPDATE: For those first seeing this the truck is being fixed and getting close to done, updates are a few pages in.

Well guys, looks like I won't be driving a Dakota anymore. Wednesday night I was driving up to Lincoln to visit a friend up there with a few of my friends in the truck. We got off the interstate and the road actually seemed pretty good even though it was snowing for awhile. Pavement looked pretty clear and the truck didn't spin at all starting off from the stop sign at the end of the ramp (2wd). Even so I was doing about 30-35, which is odd because I normally would do 40-45 on a road like that if I wasn't spinning, just didn't feel right for some reason.

A little ways down the road from the ramp we passed by a jeep that was upside-down on the side of the road with 2 cop cars there, I was just thinking it might be worth it to slow down a bit more but before I did anything the truck started spinning left. Tried to countersteer but no dice, we were almost facing backwards by the time we hit the snowbank on the other side of the road, truck flipped upside-down and landed once on the roof and tailgate then flipped back over and landed upright embedded in the snowbank. Luckily we all escaped serious injury, I got a decent bump on my head from the roof caving in some and my friend who was in the front passenger seat got friction-burn on her neck from the seat-belt and her neck is a little sore but the ER said she will be ok. My friend who was behind her got off without a scratch.

I'm 99% sure the truck is totalled, it got pretty banged up in the crash and honestly I don't know if I'd ever want to drive it again now that this memory is associated with it... We were amazingly lucky, it could have gone much worse.

Here's a few pictures we took the next day where it was towed to:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/DSC00170640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/DSC00173640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/DSC00175640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/DSC00176640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/DSC00180640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/DSC00192640x480.jpg

Right now I'm driving a spare truck my parents have had up for sale for a year or so, even if the insurance gives us a good bit for the Dak I will probably keep driving that truck, money is a bit tight for us right now.

Stay safe out there guys, I don't want any imitators :eek:

Holy **** man, glad everyone is ok, sorry about the dakota...definently lookstotalledfrom the pictures...hope allgoes well!

Damn, man you were lucky to get out unscathed. I would say that it is a total loss. Glad to hear that all walked away....

BTW, I know that you are a long way from GA. But if you are looking for a new truck, I might know someone who works for a dealer and I might be able to arrange a discount for you...

OUCH! Yeah, you and your passengers are very lucky for sure! The truck did it's job...it protected everyone from what could have been far worse. Glad you weren't driving something smaller! Sounds like black ice. I remember that from when we lived in Pennsylvania. Couldn't see it and that was the whole problem... You slid before you knew it was there. I'm sorry about your truck! That blue is really beautiful. All we seem to see down here are red or black Daks. Take care Altair! I hope everything works out well for you!

When you showed me this the other night, I was surprised at how bad it was....

Did you get any tickets, Rich?

Dang dude.... Sorry to hear that. Glad you are ok though.

Well glad to hear you are OK.

depending on what your truck is worth they might save that. does it still run?

Damn dude. Looks like luck was on your side there.

Makes my truck getting totaled last month look like a scrape. Glad to hear all involved were ok.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the support. I just keep thinking about what I would do if one of them had been seriously hurt or worse... I mean I could have easily lost two close friends if things had gone a little differently[&:]:(

Parts/Service: I really appreciate that man. I don't think that would be possible anytime soon though. I can't explain in detail but because of how we had the insurance set up on it the money we get from insurance cannot be used towards a new vehicle for me. So I will be using the spare truck we had (97 gmc) until I either make enough money myself (probably not till after I graduate college) for a new vehicle or if my mom were to get something new I might get hers, either way I'm grateful that I have something to drive.

Legacy: The whole road was actually like a skating rink, I still cannot understand how there were no warning signs until this happened, the truck didn't slip at all before that. It's hard to describe but there was basically small granules of somewhat opaque ice on the road that made it incredibly slippery, I've never seen anything like it before in my life.

Frenchy: No, no tickets. The cop didn't even ask me if I had been drinking (which I hadn't)

wink2873: It does still run, although when I started it up the day we took pictures there was a light on the dash I've never seen before, looked like an upside down light bulb with little lines coming off it (think like you would draw around a sun) and an exclamation point in it. We needed to get going back home so I didn't take the time to look it up in the manual. The tow truck driver on scene asked me the year and miles and said it was totalled ('05 23k miles). The Ford dealer it was towed to says it's totalled and insurance is not 100% yet but they said they talked to the dealer and they will very likely total it. In a way I hope it is totalled, I just don't know if I can forget what it looked like turning around in my seat and seeing what it looked like behind me right after we landed.

Im guessing they are chalking it up as your fault?

Dude, rich, that sucks man. Glad to hear everyone got out ok. Too many dakotas have been dieing lately:(

Wow, thats not a good picture...

I guess it a good thing we have that 5 star crash test rating eh?

glad everyone is ok. lucky your not one of those idiots that drives 60 in the snow just to show off. sounds like 4wd or awd would not have helped you. take note that you said "something did not feel right" thats why you kept it at 35mph. 10mph more could have killed all three of you. good lookin out.

thats one thing about crash testing any vehicle in a controled enviroment. but being out in the open road is another story. when you landed on the roof, the whole thing could have collapsed and killed everyone. how do you go about crash testing the roof of the truck. flip it over and drop it, or hope that if this ever happens it will hold up. glad everyone is ok. best thing to do is get back on the horse and keep driving.

that really sucks, glad to hear everybody is ok though. where did it happen because if i remember correctly you go to RPI?

Crash testing tests structural strength... thats basicly it. If a truck is structurally sound, it is better able to handle the roll over type accidents...

ORIGINAL: patman0323

that really sucks, glad to hear everybody is ok though. where did it happen because if i remember correctly you go to RPI?


I do go to RPI, the crash happened near Lincoln, Maine. I live further south in Maine and we were on spring break this week.

Dude, rich, that sucks man. Glad to hear everyone got out ok. Too many dakotas have been dieing lately:( Isnt that the truth, just a bit ago it was Racingartist, and now this, thank god no one has been hurt other than the poor trucks...[sm=smiley24.gif]

Wow sorry about your Dak man. Trucks can be replaced... people can't, so I am definitely glad to hear you and your friends made it out okay. I'm glad our Dakotas are built so solid, I used to be on a fire department and I helped cut a drunk guy out of his 2000 and made it out without a scratch. They seem to hold up pretty well anyways. Anywho, just happy to see that you made it out alright.

Oh man, I'm glad you guys are all ok. I sure am sorry about the truck though. Thank God no one was seriously injured. Trucks can always be replaced, just think of it that way (which I'm sure you are).

Rich, what has the insurance company said? I am sure its totalled, but any word?

Nothing yet, I'll ask my parents if there's been any word from insurance when I talk to them tonight (back at school now). Looks like the 1997 GMC they let me take up here is going to be my truck for a good while.

Crash testing tests the energy absorbtion of a vehiclemuch more so that structural strength. Auto makers go to great lengths to make certain sections of their cars LESS strong so they will deform and absorb kinetic energy. Case in point, our dakotas have crushable frame tips that are probably at least partly to blame forour "fat lip" front bumpers.

Damn dude...sorry to hear abotu the truck...glad to hear that everyone was OK though...

sorry to hear about ur truck said day when something u like gets destroyed- ----------------

Well it seems insurance has decided not to total it after all. We're making them bring it back down to our area and they will have the work done at a body shop we choose. Doesn't seem to make sense for them to fix it but we'll see I guess.

hmm...must be they think she's gonna be ok, good deal I think

make sure YOU decide where the work is done. a lot of people dont know you can do that. i would think that after being that beat up there would be more problems down the road... be really careful not to get screwed by the repair shop. hope everything works out for ya

Wow, just read this...sorry to hear about the truck...that's terrible. Glad to hear everyone's OK though and that it's not totaled. Good luck as you look to repair it--that can be even more stressful than it being totaled.

I hate to hear that for you. I found out on mine before the insurance co. totaled it that they want to replace as many parts as they can with used pieces when they repair it. That's why I ended up being glad they totaled mine out. I just wanted to give you the head's up on that. Anything that they can find from salvage (doors, bed, cab sides, hood, quarters, remanufactured rims, etc) they will use on your truck. Sorry for you dude, but that's apparently the way it is.

Well my dad has already picked the body shop they will be fixing it at. It's been recommended by a few friends and they are the only shop around with a laser frame rig to check the frame accurately. Hopefully they're as good as everyone says.

ORIGINAL: Racinartist

I found out on mine before the insurance co. totaled it that they want to replace as many parts as they can with used pieces when they repair it. That's why I ended up being glad they totaled mine out. I just wanted to give you the head's up on that. Anything that they can find from salvage (doors, bed, cab sides, hood, quarters, remanufactured rims, etc) they will use on your truck.


Yup, when my wife hit a deer with my truck and screwed the hood and fender up, the reputable shop here went scavenging for used parts 1st too. Usually, they can't b/c our trucks are too young and in NC not as common as some of the more full size trucks.

It's amazing they decided to fix it though. My little deer collision did almost $3000 in damages. I can only imagine the costs for your insurance....

Any updates?

Well the truck has been towed back to my hometown in Maine to the body shop my parents picked out. They'll start work on it soon, whether I take it back once it's all finished is still undecided. Depends a lot on how good of a job they do and how we're looking financially when they complete it. Honestly though, I still don't think I want it back, if I do end up taking it again the back seats are getting ripped out and left at home. After going through that and seeing the aftermath I am not letting anyone sit in the back ever again...

Well after thinking it over I've decided I'm going to take it back unless there are problems with it after they fix it. I'm going to try and get the body shop to paint the grill and bumper for me while they're doing it.

Good deal, jump back on the horse and ride like hell and don't look back!

you gotta get back in the saddle man. My dad was almost killed in 1973 by a drunk driver who hit him head on. left him with a leg that is fused to his foot (basically without an ankle) because his feet went through the floorboards of his dad's huge buick. Had he been driving his 69 charger 318 he probably would have died. He was in the hospital for like 5 months due to other complications, but as soon as he was able to he got back behind the wheel. I guess the lesson here is, dont let anything scare you but at the same time dont forget about the whole thing because you've learned something from the experience. I've been in a couple accidents too but nothing that serious.

Oh and by the way... I told you that thing wasnt totalled like on the first page of this post.:) Hopefully it still drives strait for you!

Remeber this, if you were driving anything else, it might have killed you! As annoying as this sounds, this is what our trucks are desgined to go through!! Glad to hear all ok. Too bad you don't have the black box!

I have posted before about my insurance box in my truck, monitors everything and I upload to insurance company ever 6 months, and (its a pilot project), get a discount every 6 months, minimun 10, but I have had 25%. Its all based on how you drive, time of day etc. Anyways, the last time I uploaded, the tech was looking over my data, and phone me. He noted something weird with my rear brakes. One was locking ever so long, and only one. Took it to the dealer, they checked, said all was fine. I asked the insurance co to fax over their stuff, dealership could not make head or tails of their report, but took the truck out one last time, as he was pulling out of the parking lot, he touched the brakes, the brake locked, when he corrected, the brake release, truck went into fishtail, damn near rolled it!! Problem was located and fixed.

Guess my point is, I trust my insticts, I trust my vehicle, but sometimes, I need someone to watch over it. I will now always have this device, just in case. Never know when it just might save my ass.

Sorry to see that dude I had no idea about this. I wonder if 4x4 woulda helped...

I agree with everyone else. Very sorry about your Dak, man, but am very happy to hear everyone got out without serious injury. I agree that 4WD would not have helped. A guy I worked for in New Mexico once had a Scout, and they had chains on it and in 4WD, as was called for. driving straight down the road, the Scout went at an angle, while facing straight ahead, and just walked basically sideways off the road. I just can't get over that beautiful Dak all bent.

Yeah, I still have no idea what started that slide but it wasn't the truck's fault. I do wonder if better tires might have helped though, soon as I make some money this summer those goodyear POS's are going in the dumpster and something decent is going on. Also want to take out my TM kit and get the lowering shackles when I get the chance. The shop working on it has a very good reputation so with any luck she'll be like new again soon:)

ORIGINAL: Racinartist

I hate to hear that for you. I found out on mine before the insurance co. totaled it that they want to replace as many parts as they can with used pieces when they repair it. That's why I ended up being glad they totaled mine out. I just wanted to give you the head's up on that. Anything that they can find from salvage (doors, bed, cab sides, hood, quarters, remanufactured rims, etc) they will use on your truck. Sorry for you dude, but that's apparently the way it is.


Alot of insurance companies are also supposed to give you the option/right to choose what kind of parts go on to your truck. When I had my 2 Dakotas, I signed a form stating I would only accept new or aftermarket parts for repair/replacement on my truck in the event of an accident.

When my GTP was hit (nice lil hit n run) they had to ask me the same thing. In this instance, a body panel is still a body panel, so I allowed them to use a salvaged piece. However, the rest of the parts had to be ordered new. This saved me almost $600 on repair costs.

The point I'm making is that you have every right to have new parts on your vehicle. This is what you pay your insurance for. They do not have the right to use used parts first. In fact, if your insurance company tries this crap, you should be reading your policy. If you're not sure of it, you should go double check it and make they cant screw you like that.

Some policies require a lil more a month for this option, other's include it as part of their service. My advice, never allow them to use used parts from other vehicles to put on your vehicle, as it should be repaired new.



ORIGINAL: Altair

Yeah, I still have no idea what started that slide but it wasn't the truck's fault. I do wonder if better tires might have helped though, soon as I make some money this summer those goodyear POS's are going in the dumpster and something decent is going on. Also want to take out my TM kit and get the lowering shackles when I get the chance. The shop working on it has a very good reputation so with any luck she'll be like new again soon:)


Honest advice man, dump the truck once it's repaired.

Hear me out...

No matter how much you like/love the truck, you know its been wrecked. Everytime it makes a crazy squeak, acts up, any of that....you're going to wonder how much of it had to with the wreck and how much of its actual work needing done. More to the point, you could end up spending time fighting with the repair shop to get repairs made that werent visible or showing. They may only present themselves once the truck is being driven.

I know you had said you dont really have the means to go out and get a new vehicle, but perhaps you could find a way to trade up into something better or slightly different then what you have. Another 3rd Gen with 4x4? Perhaps a RC Ram? All I'm suggesting is that you consider all the potential headaches that may come from this....and also ask yourself are you ever going to be able to get over knowing you almost totalled that truck.

I'm not trying to scare you, or advocate you getting a new vehicle. What I am trying to do is make sure that you realize its okay to consider it, and it's okay to do it if you can afford to. With the price of gas, I'm sure you could swing a good deal on a truck trade in...
At the end of the day, just make the decision that both is the right one for you and one you can be happy with...

ORIGINAL: DevilsReject

Honest advice man, dump the truck once it's repaired.

Hear me out...

No matter how much you like/love the truck, you know its been wrecked. Everytime it makes a crazy squeak, acts up, any of that....you're going to wonder how much of it had to with the wreck and how much of its actual work needing done. More to the point, you could end up spending time fighting with the repair shop to get repairs made that werent visible or showing. They may only present themselves once the truck is being driven.

I know you had said you dont really have the means to go out and get a new vehicle, but perhaps you could find a way to trade up into something better or slightly different then what you have. Another 3rd Gen with 4x4? Perhaps a RC Ram? All I'm suggesting is that you consider all the potential headaches that may come from this....and also ask yourself are you ever going to be able to get over knowing you almost totalled that truck.

I'm not trying to scare you, or advocate you getting a new vehicle. What I am trying to do is make sure that you realize its okay to consider it, and it's okay to do it if you can afford to. With the price of gas, I'm sure you could swing a good deal on a truck trade in...
At the end of the day, just make the decision that both is the right one for you and one you can be happy with...



Yeah I see where you're coming from there, I've thought about that a good bit. Thing is right now it's all paid off, I can't trade into anything I want without having to make payments. It also has some sentimental value for me as my grandfather cut me a ridiculous deal on it because he wanted me to have that truck. If they totalled it he was actually going to buy it back from insurance and fix it for me himself as long as the frame checked out straight, all the other damage is cosmetic. He used to have a 96 dodge ram which he rolled on the turnpike at 85, bought it back and fixed it himself that thing held up very well. He sold it to a guy in northern Maine and last he talked with the guy it had almost 300k miles on it and the guy said it was the best truck he ever had so I have some hope it can be fixed well.

That said however if it looks like it's going to be trouble we will probably dump it and I'll keep borrowing the vehicle I am now till I can work something else out. As long as I'm confident the truck is mechanically sound it'll be alright. One of the best vehicles I ever had was a 95 chevy k1500 with more little squeaks and rattles than you could count but that thing was solid, never let me down. Either way I'm pretty used to vehicles with little quirks, this Dakota is the only thing I've had with less than 100k on it and it's my 5th vehicle, my Integra had ~200k when I sold it you better believe that thing had some quirks ;)

Ok latest update:

Talked to the body shop about painting those parts, they told me with the amount of prep work they'd have to do for the paint to properly adhere on the fake chrome and that plastic front bumper it would cost me less to buy new primed parts and have them painted. Since those parts on the front were undamaged in the crash we can't get insurance to cover it so that's a no go. I may be getting a better bed cover, talked to my dad about it and my parents may help me put in the extra for an undercover or a Bakflip instead of the same kind of soft cover I had on it. Honestly the soft one isn't much use to me since most of the stuff I would keep in the back needs to be locked up, thus looking at the locking covers.

As for the truck I'm borrowing right now... damn thing blew the 3 & 4 clutch drum in the automatic transmission, shop here said it's pretty common in that year GM. It's in getting the transmission rebuilt right now, we didn't want to put any money into that one but we can't sell it for anything with the transmission messed up so I guess it will just sit around as the spare till it dies once I take the dak back.

By the way if anyone has the Bakflip folding tonneau could you chime in on how you like it? I really think that would be a good way to go for me but I'm worried about how well it holds up where the pieces hinge.

WOW, glad you guys are ok, Maine driving can be an adventure, I have a cabin near Ellsworth. Good luck with the insurance crap and all.

Man you have been having a good run of bad luck lately! Hope things clear up for ya.

Long as I can find an internship this summer I'll consider my luck good again ;) Seems like every truck I touch lately breaks, lol.

Well the body shop agreed not to put the decals and badges back on, they're even putting the cost of them towards the deductible for us. As for the bed cover I think I'm just going to go without it for now and get something decent later on, I don't really see any use in a soft cover and the hard ones are too expensive at the moment. On a side note I at least have the GMC back to drive, turns out the lines to the transmission cooler were rotting through and leaking fluid which contributed to the demise of the 3-4 clutch.

its too bad that theres no aftermarket support for our dakota, you could have gotten some sick **** to replace the stock stuff-

I almost got the mopar taillights but they were too expensive compared to the OEM ones. It's kind of funny because when I crashed my Integra the aftermarket headlights I had them order were $120 less than getting factory ones from Acura, then again I should be glad Dodge doesn't rip you off for parts as bad as the imports do;)

Finally home from school and went to see the progress on the truck yesterday. They've had some delays waiting for parts to come in but it's coming along pretty well. The body shop is doing a good job on it, after speaking with the owner he really seems to put a lot of value on doing a quality job and from what I saw they are.

The cab is close to being back together, bed is done and waiting for paint then put back on. They replaced all the parts that needed it with OEM Mopar body parts, nothing used or aftermarket, by the time they're done I'll almost have a new truck, lol. There wasn't any mechanical damage, all body panels which is good. He said I should be looking at a week or two till it's done now. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a camera (stopped on the way back from work) so I don't have any pics for you guys.

Awesome man, glad to hear

Good deal. I am planning on stopping to look at mine tomorrow. Mine should be about done if everything has gone as planned.

Any new pics? (You had 24 hrs!)

I have to go in there next week to bring something in to him before they start painting (hopefully it gets to me in time) I will try to remember to bring my camera then. Won't have time to stop in tomorrow and they are not open Sunday.

Alright, I've actually had pics for you guys for a few days now (stopped in and took them on Monday) but my laptop died just before I came back home from school and I didn't get it working till today. Since my laptop's built in card reader is the only way I have to get pictures off my camera (lost the cable) I can finally post the pics up now that I've fixed it. Without any further ado:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/Repairing/UnderRepair012640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/Repairing/UnderRepair013640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/Repairing/UnderRepair014640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/Repairing/UnderRepair016640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/Repairing/UnderRepair017640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/Repairing/UnderRepair018640x480-1.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/Repairing/UnderRepair019640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/Repairing/UnderRepair020640x480.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g308/AltairDusk/Dodge%20Forum/Destroyed/Repairing/UnderRepair021640x480.jpg

honestly they should have just gave u a new truck with the amount of work there is done alone right there.......... dam

ORIGINAL: BAdassR/T

honestly they should have just gave u a new truck with the amount of work there is done alone right there.......... dam


Well the first place insurance had an estimate done by quoted 9k or so. Was talking to the guy who's doing the work about that and he said the first shop had to either be crazy or didn't look at it, all said and done insurance will be shelling out 13-14k easy. Needless to say they're not pulling a profit on this one, lol.

yeah tell me about it, id try and get as much aftermarket as u can lol anything that was broken that can be replaced with aftermarket get it, saves u alot of time and money that u were going to put towards it-

i have a clause in my contract, that states, if my truck is totaled or wrecked beyond repair, dodge is fully responsible for footing the bill. i will have to find this info for you guys. but damn, for the amount of work they are doing, a new truck would haave been easier. also it would have been nice to have the side door hinges replaced with the newer style ones to have the doors open almost all the way

man i just read this WHOLE thread. EVERY post. im glad your ok, cant believe i didnt read this before!!!!!

I almost went through this a few months ago when my 05 got wrecked. I miss the truck (especially not being able to shift when *I* want [:@]) but I'm damn glad I had someone in my corner at the body shop and they ended up totaling it. It had catastrophic damage and I'm confident that it would have never been right had it been fixed. The estimator stopped when he hit $10K and said it was a total loss. If not, they surely would have found more once the body guys took it apart and got into all the suspension damage, etc.

Good luck with it dude.

Well it looks like it is coming along well so far anyways. I would say I was a bit luckier than you. My repairs cost my insurance a cool $5200. I am enjoying my truck. Drives just like it did before, actually better now that I switched my front tires around it quit pulling right on me.

I hope they get it done and done right. With that much damage it's hard to say how it will handle and drive when you get it back on the road. Did anything happen to the frame?

if teh frame had any damage, they would have totaled it for sure... thats just too much for the structure to be safe again...

ORIGINAL: Night_Runner

man i just read this WHOLE thread. EVERY post. im glad your ok, cant believe i didnt read this before!!!!!


Thanks man, it was quite an experience, I'm still amazed nobody got hurt worse but I'm very glad we didn't.



ORIGINAL: ericemery

if teh frame had any damage, they would have totaled it for sure... thats just too much for the structure to be safe again...


Yeah the frame is fine, this shop is the only one in the area with the capability to laser-check the frame for any deforming. He actually told me after going through all the mechanicals they couldn't find anything wrong with the frame or powertrain of the truck whatsoever, it's 100% body damage which is just crazy. I trust them to do a good job with it, they have an extremely good reputation in this area, we've always had people recommend them to us when we needed work done. We just hadn't used them before because they tend to be a little more expensive but since insurance is footing the bill might as well get it done right. ;)

I am getting one small new mod but I'm also losing my bed cover, I see no point in getting another cover that doesn't lock and secure the bed but we can't afford any of those right now so we are just having insurance credit us the cost of the cover.

have you figured out how much your insurance is going to go up? thats crazy that it was all cosmetic, no mechanical damage.

So far there's no indication it will go up, our insurance setup is kind of weird but I think if they determine it wasn't the result of driver error the rates don't change. Of course this is a business where the operating policy is "screw the customer as hard as possible" so who knows, lol.

I'd say you got pretty lucky, as did I in the fact that neither of us had any frame damage. The shop I go through has some of the best repair facilities in central Iowa and they checked the whole thing over for anything out of whack and found nothing. I just wonder how much they are probably going to whomp my insurance agency for for the water pump now.

Probably a good bit. The good shops usually make most of their money off insurance. When my grandfather rolled his Ram insurance quoted it due to the estimate from the shop (diff one than my Dak is at). When he took it in and asked for a quote to fix it himself it was a few thousand lower:D. He ended up doing most of the work himself and having someone paint it for ridiculously cheap, actually made money on the whole ordeal. Last we heard the guy he sold it to was still using it up north and it had over 300,000 miles on it.

Ok, just lost the last post (Damn server errors!) short version: The truck is back! Have a few things to do still and I have one new mod nobody else here has but you guys will have to wait for the pics. :D