Dempster Highway accident -- Five seconds of terror

Dallas Baillio · Post by **Dallas Baillio** » Sun Oct 06, 2013 3:00 pm

September 13th along the Dempster Highway on my way to Inuvik inside the Arctic Circle. 183 miles north of Dawson City Yukon Territory. Remote and few cars this time of year.

A moments inattention and my front right tire slipped off the road. At that point the road is about five feet above the terrain. The shoulder is gravel and slopes downward. Once the wheel started downward there was nothing to do except ride it out and try to keep the BF upright. I plowed down 10 to 15 small trees from 1 to 3 inches in diameter. Came to a stop in a bog up to the BF's axles and just before a larger tree of 5 inches in diameter or so. My dog and I were stunned but uninjured. Damages---the shroud that covers the generator was sheared off. The plastic portion of the front bumper was torn away. One front wheel cover was damaged. The back bumper and the fiberglass skirt that is the lower portion of the rear of the BF were heavily damaged. The gray water tank was forced to the back of the BF and became disconnected from the gray water drain lines --shower, sink, lavatory. One dual tire was flat. Some of this damage may have been caused when the wrecker pulled me back onto the road. Not the wrecker operator's fault just the difficulty of the situation.

I made temporary repairs to the holding tank problem. To add to my woes I discovered that the wood floor above the generator compartment has been heavily damaged by a water leak that I was unaware of. And at the same time this was all happening my credit card was charged for over $400 dollars in gas purchases in Whitehorse, YT and I had to cancel it. There are many other stories about my dealing with my towing service, the wrecker guy who did not show for 28 hours and my insurance company which I will not recount. One good thing I do have to say is that many people stopped and offered what help they could give and a Yukon Territory Road Maintenance worker went out of his way to help. I'll try later to post photos. I have an appointment with the BF factory November 6th (first available) to have fiberglass repairs made.

Nancy · Post by **Nancy** » Sun Oct 06, 2013 6:51 pm

OMG picturing that is scary....glad you and the pup are okay.

robert newby · Post by **robert newby** » Sun Oct 06, 2013 8:57 pm

Your right -- that road is not heavily traveled. We went up it for about 20 miles and said that was enough!!!!! Trust you will get everything corrected at the factory. ---- Bob Newby

mockturtle · Post by **mockturtle** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:49 am

Sorry to hear about these adverse events! Hope you get everything sorted out OK. Glad you and your dog weren't hurt.

stevek · Post by **stevek** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:56 am

Same here Dallas. Glad you weren't hurt.
Keep us informed how it all goes.
The way I look at things: I say to myself.... well, it could have been Worse..!

al1florida · Post by **al1florida** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:06 am

Sam,

The road he was on is not a route to or from Alaska. It is very remote gravel road going some 400 miles from a paved highway in the Yukon Territory to the small town of Inuvik, Northwest Territory.

Here are links to some info about the highway.
http://www.yukoninfo.com/maps/dempsterinteractive.htm
http://www.yukoninfo.com/dempster/

Post by **bfadmin** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 12:41 pm

Dallas Baillio,

Here is some more information for you about the water leak making the floor wet above your generator.

Please read about George Boley's experience with this problem when his generator actually dropped down out of its compartment and was dragging on the road as he drove down the highway. Read Chapter #13 dated September 22, 2008 in his 2008 Edition of Driving Miss Daisy link that follows: http://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_ ... php?t=1459

Then some more information about this problem was posted on this forum and you can click on the following link to read about it: http://www.bornfreervclub.org/bulletin_ ... hp?p=17253

According to the various posts in the link above, you seem to have been aware that you had a crack in the sidewall above your generator back in year 2008. Eventually if the source of the water leak is not fixed, the flooring above the generator will rot out and you generator will fall down. The factory has a fix for this and since you are going there to repair your accident damage anyway, they can address this problem also for you.

Dallas Baillio · Post by **Dallas Baillio** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 1:26 pm

Here is rest of the story so far! I ran off the road about 3 p.m. on a Friday afternoon. 30 minutes later the first vehicle passed and then stopped to see if I was all right. Lucky me, he had a satellite phone. I called my towing service. They asked if I was safe and I said yes. When they learned it was an accident and my BF was damaged they said I had to talk to claims first. I protested, described my situation but they would not take the info on my location and my needs.

Transferred to claims. They started the process of asking me all the dumb questions that were secondary to my immediate need--describe the damage, etc. Somehow I was disconnected. The guy who stopped was from Dawson City and knew the wrecker services there. He called and found one that was to arrive around 7 p.m. I paid him $60 (all the cash I had) for using his phone -- he said his rate was $5.00 a minute and I had talked for at least 20 minutes. He then left and I waited for the wrecker. 7,8,9,10,11 p.m. a no show. I read, had a beer, fed my dog and finally went to bed.

Started over the next morning. The Yukon Territory Road Maintenance guy stopped by. He took me to his headquarters 30 miles away and I used a land line to call my insurance claims department only to get a message they were closed for the weekend. Called the towing service again and was connected to Claims -- evidently someone works on the weekend. When the claims guy learned I was in Canada he informed me I would have to speak to International Claims and they were closed for the weekend. I was disconnected again. By this time I was beginning to believe that when presented with a problem they could not solve Claims personnel just hung up the phone!

Not to be deterred, but angry, frustrated, and downright disappointed with my insurance company that has been so good in the past I called the road service company to be connected to claims (closed) again. This time I got a sympathetic, helpful agent. To get the Dawson tow service to come out she called the RCMP and they contacted the tow guy. That finally got action and he came and towed me out at 7 p.m. on Saturday, the 14th.

One of my uncles was laid off from his job twice on Friday the 13th. I am beginning to fear the date

mockturtle · Post by **mockturtle** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 2:02 pm

PS: I do admire your spirit of adventure.

CHARLOTTE · Post by **CHARLOTTE** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 2:19 pm

Like others, I am so sorry that you had this happen. I can't imagine what I would have done under the same circumstances cause I know I would have had a melt down & been carted off to some funny farm in the U.S. I, too, would like to know what companies you dealt with so I can avoid them.
As this happened, it appears, about 3 weeks ago, where are you now? Is your BF at the factory or ? The damage has got to be covered by insurance plus the cost of getting it there, I would think...(and I would definitely file a complaint about all the terrible service you had to deal with).
I am amazed that you can even post about this.... I think I'd be having a nervous break-down for sure... So, can you bring us up to date please?
Again, this is a nightmare that I wouldn't wish on anyone but, it appears you have the stamina to overcome awful circumstances... Wow! Hope all is getting better for you & certainly glad you weren't hurt... God Bless (Wish I had a beer I could send to you....maybe it would help !)

Dallas Baillio · Post by **Dallas Baillio** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 2:24 pm

Sam,

I was driving to the end of the road. That is my adventure. You can only take one road to Inuvik which is inside the Arctic Circle. Then you have to drive it in the reverse direction. It is a pretty drive --mountains, lakes and at this time of year lots of fall foliage. Worth the trip if you do not have an accident!

CHARLOTTE · Post by **CHARLOTTE** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 2:34 pm

Well, I can look at pretty foliage right here in California & forego the road you took... I just noticed that you have the same model BF that I do, only yours is 2 yrs. newer... can't imagine how you didn't roll over (& of course, glad you didn't) but it must have been hard to see all the damage anyway. Think you would have had a far worst experience in a coach that wasn't a BF. Just my 2 cents.....

Dallas Baillio · Post by **Dallas Baillio** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 2:44 pm

Bill,

I sent Kim photos of the water damage. He said he had never seen damage this bad. I said he can count on me to present him with a problem he has never seen before. I added that he should ask who is calling and refuse to speak to me

He did tell me that the water damage to the floor at the left edge of the generator may be serious enough to cause the generator to drop and drag on the road and then ????

Knowing my generator needs an oil change again and recalling the rip off in Edmondton, I found an independent Onan service shop in North Vancouver. After speaking with Kim today I called them and they indicated they believe they can make the repair Kim suggested. I'll take it in tomorrow. If this works out it may be the stroke of good luck that I sorely need right now.

Dallas Baillio · Post by **Dallas Baillio** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 2:53 pm

My insurance is with USAA, an auto association that insures military officers. I've had auto, life, investments, checking, savings, etc. with them for over 50 years. They have been a great company all that time. Great service, prompt action and good rates. In recent years they have focused on growth extending eligibility to all military personnel. I believe this growth has come at the expense of quality service. They, of course, would deny it, but my recent experiences have confirmed it for me. They contract out roadside assistance. If it were a direct part of their operation my situation might have been handled better.

Dallas Baillio · Post by **Dallas Baillio** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 3:01 pm

Thanks to all of you for your kind words and support. Posting all of this has been good for me. I've talked to my dog about it, but she says "Why tell me about it? I was there."