Where do broken vans go?

It's a fine line between a repair and a write-off

If you have a hobby or occupation that involves almost any type of equipment there’s usually an outlet for second-hand parts. Cars, trucks, cameras, mobile phones, farm equipment, tools, you name it; there’s a wrecking yard or outlet from where you can get a part if need be.

That’s unless you're looking for something for a caravan. Ever seen a caravan wrecking yard? I haven’t but if you get onto Google there are a few dedicated second-hand yards and plenty selling new spare parts. They must be hiding in the back blocks of industrial areas, as you never see them on a main drag.

Many cars found in wrecking yards have been written-off due to accident damage while others are past their use-by date. Because of the way caravans are built the cost of repair for minor damage mounts so quickly and insurance companies are often quick to write them off.

So what happens to them then? Well their life as a registered trailer on Australian roads ceases forthwith; you cannot re-register a vehicle with a vehicle identification number (VIN) that has been registered as a write off.

Write-off records are kept on registers by various government agencies to prevent what authorities call “re-birthing”.

A while back I was camped on a farm south of Surat in south-east Queensland, out in the open with nowhere to hide. Not that I wanted to remain hidden from anyone but I would have liked some protection from the looming hail storm travelling rapidly towards my location at speed from the west.

Helplessness and well as envy was felt as I watched Farmer Brown scurrying around getting his farm vehicles under carports and into sheds. He had half of his 25,000 acres of crop insured, taking a punt that he wouldn’t lose more than half per storm event. That alone cost him a cool $25,000 premium.

Me with a full awning annexe nailed to the ground and my tow vehicle still hanging off the front was going no-where, except inside when the clatter of little frozen pebbles hit the roof. The louder the clatter the more dollars I envisaged this little episode was going to cost.

With the layer of ice cubes thawing on the ground and skies clearing, I inspected the damage. My Isuzu truck took some hits on the cab roof which didn’t really worry me, being out of sight out of mind so to speak. The driver’s door also had a few dimples that weren’t there earlier.

However, the offside of my Regal caravan was a different story. It looked like someone had been busy with a ballpein hammer, placing dimples every 10cm apart over the entire side of the van.

The roof? Well, like the truck, out of sight, out of mind. Somehow, the plastic roof vents over the loo and shower had escaped damage, as did the trio of solar panels.

Back in Brisbane I caught up with my old mate Ron, an entrepreneur of sorts who builds anything that can be sold for a buck. But when I told him I might have to put in an insurance claim for the damaged panels he chimed in: “Careful they don’t write it off”

He then told me about the written off vans he was buying at auction that could never be re-registered due to their VIN status. I had to ask the stupid question: “Ron, what are you going to do with them?”

“Strip the bodies off the chassis and put them on a slide-on frame to sit on the back of flat-bed trucks. Then sell parts off the chassis.”

“Oh,” I said, “and they would write the van off for just panel damage to one side?”

“Most likely,” was the reply.

Well, anyone who owns a caravan or camper will back me when I say the jobs seem to be never-ending: whether labour intensive maintenance or add-on extras such as solar gear, extra water tanks, improved mattresses, upgraded appliances… you name it! And this becomes more critical when your van is your home full time as it is with me.

A change- over to a new van when the old one goes to ‘broken van heaven’ might take months; where was I going to snore at night? I sat down to contemplate my next move.

Would I get my money back for the extras I had installed? Probably not. Will I get a replacement van for the money paid out? I doubt it. Would I have to find accommodation while the change-over took place? In all probability.

Would the insurance company pay for said accommodation? I could see them running a mile from that one, after all it’s a caravan not a house even though it’s the latter to me. Was I going to lose out of this situation if the van was written off? Every chance.

So here I sit mid-west Queensland, awaiting another hail storm. It was a close call last night with lightning hitting power poles nearby but no more ice cubes yet. The front of the van faces west; I have reduced the target area.

I sit under the awning oblivious to the surface damage on the other side. It’s 42 degrees here at the moment, but close to zero degrees in the 50 litre Waeco close at hand. The XXXX Gold is quenching.

Whenever I walk past the hail damage I blink longer to reduce the agony; looking at the ground, not the wall. I’ve even thought of not washing that side but had to pull myself up; surely it can’t be that bad. Well, it’s not, unless you are over fussy with your gear as I am.

And as sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow, it won’t be the last hail storm I endure out in western Queensland. The weather map gives me odds on for this afternoon.

Where do broken vans go?

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