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Old 12-29-2018, 07:21 PM   #1
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Broken into

So I store my 2016 291RESL at a family members house because it will not fit at mine.

I went to go put some stuff I got for Christmas in the trailer and noticed that something looked off. Cone to find out someone broke into the camper the worst way possible. They tried to bust through the locks but could not get in, so they got on the roof and kicked the skylights out.

Unfortunately I did not find it until after one of the biggest rain storms I can remember. There was water everywhere inside. They also messed up some things like blinds and stole both the TVs. I have filed a police report and I am talking to my insurance company but I don't know where to go from here. It makes me sick to even be in it because it feels unclean to me and I have kept it spotless.

I do not know what damage the water has caused and dont really know how to tell. I really want to just take it to a dealer and tell them to fix everything that is wrong with it because nothing was wrong with it before.

This is the list of things so far
Blinds torn up
All locks are messed up
One cabinet will not close
Two TVs were stolen
One DVD recorder was stolen
Skylights were kicked out
Seal around TV antenna is broken
Weather stripping pulled down a little on roof
Trim on kitchen slide messed up a little
Lights above island are bent
Cigarette butt in the medicine cabinet
Cigarette aches in the toilet, cabinet, and on the bed
Baggage compartment door fiberglass cracked
They might have been using the toilet
Emergency window opened in the bedroom
Some stuff like NFL flags missing
Looks like they might have had food so there was evidence of a mouse

I was already having a bad year so this is the icing on the cake. The camper was in perfect condition too. I have taped over the skylights, soaked up most of the water, put a tarp over it, and am running a dehumidifier in it. Can you think of anything else I should do, or check? Thanks for letting me vent.
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Old 12-29-2018, 08:42 PM   #2
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On the bright side they broke in before you put your Christmas presents in there. If you have a decent insurance company they should make your trailer look new again.
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Old 12-30-2018, 03:05 AM   #3
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It is a crying shame that people want to destroy things a lot of time just to destroy hopefully the police can /will catch these idiots. Meanwhile let the insurance company estimate the damage and see what they say to do, they are after all, the experts on crap like this. Make sure you get pictures of the damage, You might mention that you would like to take it to a dealer to do the repairs, they might say ok and foot the bill. Good luck and let us know the outcome as sh**t like this can happen to any of us.
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Old 12-30-2018, 01:56 PM   #4
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I think I have a high deductible so we will have to see if the damage exceeds the deductible. If I were to do repairs myself is it ok to use a normal TV in an rv? I know the ones that come with them are made for rvs and are made to stand up to vibrations, but they are double the cost. If I replace the TV with an RV one it would be over half of my deductible by itself. I will post pictures of the damage later when I am not tempted to throw my phone against the wall.
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Old 12-30-2018, 02:15 PM   #5
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I have replaced a TV with a "normal" one in my motor home without issues.

I think the only difference in a "rv" tv is they are labeled as such. They are crap!

Sorry for your invasion. Hope they catch the rat bastards!
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Old 12-31-2018, 01:17 AM   #6
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I took a lot of pictures, but I think that these show the damage the most. If you look hard you can see the cigarette ashes on the bed. I also have no clue how much damage that is that I can not see. I put the pictures on imgur because there were a decent amount of them.

http://imgur.com/a/SjmrB8h
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Old 12-31-2018, 04:04 AM   #7
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That is a mess. I'm afraid the water damage will be more costly than the breakables.

I'm curious was your friends house broken into as well? The fixed residence seems like a easier target...

Did you call the police, the breaking and entering is a felony and the value of the damage makes the vandalism a felony.
The cops should have taken finger prints and taken that cigarette butt as evidence. Not just DNA should they Identify a suspect but it tell you the brand of cigarette as well and might narrow down the search when looking at local crack heads.

I would look deep into the potential water damage that might not show up for months or years.
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Old 12-31-2018, 10:48 AM   #8
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That is a mess. I'm afraid the water damage will be more costly than the breakables.

I'm curious was your friends house broken into as well? The fixed residence seems like a easier target...

Did you call the police, the breaking and entering is a felony and the value of the damage makes the vandalism a felony.
The cops should have taken finger prints and taken that cigarette butt as evidence. Not just DNA should they Identify a suspect but it tell you the brand of cigarette as well and might narrow down the search when looking at local crack heads.

I would look deep into the potential water damage that might not show up for months or years.
Around here they won't waste time on DNA for a property damage only break-in. They can't even stay ahead of the rape kit processing.

To the OP, sorry it happened. You said it was stored at a relatives? They didn't notice anything? Hard telling how much concealed damage there is. I hope you have good insurance that will pay to fix things. Good luck as you move forward.

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Old 12-31-2018, 02:26 PM   #9
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It’s,usually no help after the fact but a good security system and a cctv system is good if not great peace of mind.
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Old 12-31-2018, 03:27 PM   #10
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This does nothing to help my general dislike of the human race. I leave my doors unlocked when it's parked at home, my neighbors are trustworthy and savages aren't. The savages are welcome to stroll in the front door and steal mt tv's, I leave them on our bed. Just maybe they won't destroy anything else an i'm only out a few hundred dollars.
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Old 12-31-2018, 04:34 PM   #11
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Who ever it was that broke into your trailer seems to me they were not concerned about time or being seen. Smoking in the trailer and ashes on the bed almost sounds like they were making them self's at home.

I would suggest that you get one of those wildlife cameras you see for sale at the sporting good stores ore even Costco. Conceal it somewhere where it would not bee seen but close enough where you can see faces. It won't stop the break in but you may be able to catch the guys and get your stuff back.

You can put any TV in a RV if it's only to run on AC.....

Your insurance company may require a police report on file. In my former LE career (Retired) I have never heard of a LE Agency not responding to at least take a report on a Felony. A rape kit can cost $1000 to $1500 to process. With no suspect in mind that can get expensive. It does not cost anything to take pictures, collect evidence and throw fingerprint powder around. Call the cops! And if they refuse to come I would call the State Attorney Generals office...
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Old 01-09-2019, 07:14 PM   #12
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Horrible people are out there and we have to deal with their crap. Sorry this happened to you. I don't know how far it is to where you store your RV but mine is just a couple of miles down the road. After every hail storm or big rain I go inspect to make sure there's no water leakage and if there is I can identify and clean/correct it right away.
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Old 02-25-2019, 11:25 PM   #13
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Update... got the TT back and all seems well. There was no water damage and everything was fixed that was messed up. It came out to be about $2600. I told them to give me the money for the TVs and I would find my own. They were going to buy them like 3 days before the super bowl and I knew they would get screwed. I took part of the TV money for the deductible so there was nothing out of pocket. Now I am just waiting on a good deal on TVs to show up. My insurance is though USAA underwritten by Progressive. They were really easy to deal with.

The police took pictures and I sent them more. They also asked for the model and serial numbers from the TVs. They put that information into a program where all of our pawn shops have to log everything. They also contacted the manufacturers of the TV to flag the serial number if anyone tries to register or buy parts. They did about all they could do really.

Funny thing is that part of my new job, at the college where I work, is designing and being over the security and surveillance systems for all five campuses. Let's just say that if it happens again I will have pictures of them to show you too. In nice 1080p. I am installing a security system that has sensors on the front door and the two luggage doors. It also has motion detectors in everyroom. I get immediate cell phone alerts. I wrote software for an automatic license plate recognition system that can read and send texts of license plates for work, but I decided that would be a little ridiculous for a TT lol. I am going start keeping it at my house as soon as I get some trees taken down too.
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Old 02-26-2019, 11:20 AM   #14
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Update... got the TT back and all seems well. There was no water damage and everything was fixed that was messed up. It came out to be about $2600. I told them to give me the money for the TVs and I would find my own. They were going to buy them like 3 days before the super bowl and I knew they would get screwed. I took part of the TV money for the deductible so there was nothing out of pocket. Now I am just waiting on a good deal on TVs to show up. My insurance is though USAA underwritten by Progressive. They were really easy to deal with.

The police took pictures and I sent them more. They also asked for the model and serial numbers from the TVs. They put that information into a program where all of our pawn shops have to log everything. They also contacted the manufacturers of the TV to flag the serial number if anyone tries to register or buy parts. They did about all they could do really.

Funny thing is that part of my new job, at the college where I work, is designing and being over the security and surveillance systems for all five campuses. Let's just say that if it happens again I will have pictures of them to show you too. In nice 1080p. I am installing a security system that has sensors on the front door and the two luggage doors. It also has motion detectors in everyroom. I get immediate cell phone alerts. I wrote software for an automatic license plate recognition system that can read and send texts of license plates for work, but I decided that would be a little ridiculous for a TT lol. I am going start keeping it at my house as soon as I get some trees taken down too.

What type of interface are you using for sending the pics.
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