I had come home for lunch and while there, a neighbor walking by our house saw my truck was on fire. She knocked on our door and informed me of this. I immediately had my wife call 911. I went out to find the bed of my truck fully engulfed in flames. I tried using the garden hose to keep it from spreading until the fire department got there, but by the time the fire department got there (station about 1.5 miles from our house) the entire truck was engulfed. My truck was a total loss, along with all my tools and materials for some jobs I was working on.
The fire chief and his guys checked the area near the rear passenger taillight and determined that was the "hot spot" where the fire began. Their analysis was that a short in the rear passenger side taillight was the cause of the fire. I called my insurance company and they took care of the claim. But I lost a great deal in the low value they placed on it ($24,000), which didn't come anywhere near what it would cost for me to replace it with a like make, model and condition ($29 - 32,000). Also, my tools were a solid $3k loss, which the insurance company didn't pay anything (that's another story all in itself).
It never occurred to me to call Chrysler at the time. I figured my insurance was going to take care of it and that was the most important item on my mind at the time. They sent a salvage truck to pick up what remained a few days later. I'm sure the engine and transmission were in great shape (low miles) and other parts of the front end. The fire department provided a copy of their report, along with photos, to my insurance company. My insurance company valued the truck at $24,000. Every truck I looked at (same year, model, features was selling for $29K - 32K. and none with the low miles I had). The only thing I could find within a 75 mile radius was a 2012 RAM 1500 with 125,000 miles ($21,900). Not anywhere near the truck I had, but it's the best I could come up with, with the money they allowed.
I loved my truck! It was my first truck, bright red color I always wanted, a Hemi engine (which I had wanted since I was a 13 year old boy), in great condition and with the eight speed transmission. I got rave reviews and comments from people on it. I was totally demoralized when I saw it going up in flames! It took me several weeks before it really hit me, and it did! I couldn't save it, or my tools.
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I had come home for lunch and while there, a neighbor walking by our house saw my truck was on fire. She knocked on our door and informed me of this. I immediately had my wife call 911. I went out to find the bed of my truck fully engulfed in flames. I tried using the garden hose to keep it from spreading until the fire department got there, but by the time the fire department got there (station about 1.5 miles from our house) the entire truck was engulfed. My truck was a total loss, along with all my tools and materials for some jobs I was working on.
The fire chief and his guys checked the area near the rear passenger taillight and determined that was the "hot spot" where the fire began. Their analysis was that a short in the rear passenger side taillight was the cause of the fire. I called my insurance company and they took care of the claim. But I lost a great deal in the low value they placed on it ($24,000), which didn't come anywhere near what it would cost for me to replace it with a like make, model and condition ($29 - 32,000). Also, my tools were a solid $3k loss, which the insurance company didn't pay anything (that's another story all in itself).
It never occurred to me to call Chrysler at the time. I figured my insurance was going to take care of it and that was the most important item on my mind at the time. They sent a salvage truck to pick up what remained a few days later. I'm sure the engine and transmission were in great shape (low miles) and other parts of the front end. The fire department provided a copy of their report, along with photos, to my insurance company. My insurance company valued the truck at $24,000. Every truck I looked at (same year, model, features was selling for $29K - 32K. and none with the low miles I had). The only thing I could find within a 75 mile radius was a 2012 RAM 1500 with 125,000 miles ($21,900). Not anywhere near the truck I had, but it's the best I could come up with, with the money they allowed.
I loved my truck! It was my first truck, bright red color I always wanted, a Hemi engine (which I had wanted since I was a 13 year old boy), in great condition and with the eight speed transmission. I got rave reviews and comments from people on it. I was totally demoralized when I saw it going up in flames! It took me several weeks before it really hit me, and it did! I couldn't save it, or my tools.
- Herb J., Simpsonville, SC, US