# The First 72 Hours After a Collision What to photograph at the scene, when to call your carrier, and why naming your own shop before the carrier assigns one changes the parts channel you end up with. ## Document the Scene First Photograph before you move anything. Wide shots first, from all four corners of the coach, then the opposing vehicle or the fixed object, then the road surface and any debris field. Then work close: badge numbers, the sidewall of every tire, the sealed edges of the roof membrane, and the slide out fascia on the impact side. Shoot the interior too, including cabinet doors that sprang open and any ceiling panel that separated. Adjusters read photographs literally, and an undocumented panel becomes a supplement argument three weeks later. Get the other party's carrier and policy number in writing, plus a plate photo rather than a hand copied number. If police respond, request the report number on scene, because retrieving it later costs days. Note the exact time and the weather. If a witness stops, ask for a phone number and a two sentence description in their own words, typed into your phone while they stand there. None of this is paperwork for its own sake. It is the evidence set your adjuster uses to decide liability, and liability decides who pays for what. ## Notify the Carrier, Name the Shop Call your carrier the same day, even if you are not sure you will file. First notice of loss starts a clock on rental coverage, on emergency mitigation, and on any comprehensive deductible calculation. Give facts only: time, location, direction of travel, visible damage. Do not speculate about cause, and do not estimate a dollar figure, because an early guess anchors the reserve the adjuster sets on the file. Ask for the claim number and the adjuster assignment, and ask specifically whether your policy carries agreed value or actual cash value. You choose the repair facility. California does not require you to accept a carrier steered shop, and on RVs the difference matters more than it does on cars. Direct repair programs are built around automotive parts channels, and a Schwintek slide motor, a Hehr window frame or a Solera awning arm does not exist in those catalogs. Name the shop when you report the loss and the carrier assigns the appraisal there. Call OCRV Center at (949) 799-3387 with the claim number and we open the file on our side the same day. ## Get It Under a Roof A damaged coach parked outside keeps getting worse. Broken glass and torn roof membrane admit water, and in the San Gabriel Valley a single overnight fog cycle is enough to start wicking into a Luan substrate. Get the unit inside a building. We do not perform repairs at a customer location, so the coach comes to 23281 La Palma Ave in Yorba Linda for any assessment beyond photographs. From Hacienda Heights that is 18.4 miles, roughly 24 to 38 minutes, SR-60 west to Fullerton Rd, or SR-60 east to SR-57 south to SR-91 east. If the coach is not drivable, arrange a tow with a flatbed or a heavy wrecker rated for the unit's gross weight, and tell the dispatcher the length, the height and whether the slides are retracted. Most comprehensive policies pay tow to the shop of your choice. Before it loads, retract the slides if the mechanism still cycles, tape polyethylene over broken glass, and pull anything valuable out of the interior. Photograph the loaded unit on the truck so any transport damage stays separable from collision damage later. ## Book Teardown Early The collision teardown estimate is one hour of body labor at $210, and it is credited against the repair if you authorize the work. That hour buys removal of the damaged fascia, the trim and the affected slide fascia so the estimator can see the sidewall structure, the aluminum or steel cage members behind it, and whether the impact reached a wall stud or a floor outrigger. A photo estimate cannot do this. A large share of RV collision files grow substantially once the skin comes off, and that growth is the supplement. Expect the written estimate to name assemblies, not categories. A file that says 'repair sidewall' tells you nothing. A file that says 'replace 96 inch Alpha Systems filon panel, replace two vertical studs, rebed Hehr window in butyl and reseal with Dicor lap sealant' is something an adjuster can approve and a technician can execute. Lead times drive the schedule more than labor hours do. Moderate body work runs 1 to 3 weeks, and structural repair runs 3 to 8 weeks, mostly because OEM panels ship on a manufacturer build cycle. --- Source: https://ocrv.club/guides/after-a-collision-what-to-do-first OCRV Center, 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887 Phone (949) 799-3387. Email info@ocrvcenter.com. Serving Hacienda Heights and the surrounding area. 18.4 miles, 24 to 38 minutes via SR-60 west to Fullerton Rd, then south to La Palma Ave. In shop work only. All estimates are priced and credited against an authorized repair.