Truck and Camper Dropped Off Lift

Last Tuesday I took my 2008 Dodge Ram with my Grandy into the dealership to have the oil changed, tires rotated, and and emissions inspection. Instead of waiting for it, I went to lunch at a nearby restaurant. I get a call from the dealer who says they have some really bad news about my truck, would I like to hear about it now or when I get back to the dealer. I said I would wait until I got over there (a five minute drive). When I got there I said "What happened to my truck?" The service rep said "You need to talk to the Service Manager"

So I talk to the Service Manager and he tell me "Your truck fell off the lift, We though it was a Diesel so we ajusted the rack to handle the extra weight on the front, and since you have a 5.7 Hemi which is lighter and the camper on the back, it all slid backwards off the lift"

They had already moved it to a back parking lot so I went out to take a look at the damage. The two rear doors were damaged, and when I opened them I could see that the rocker panels under the doors also were damaged. The chrome steps of course were toast. I looked under it and saw dents on both sides of the frame where the truck fell hard onto the lift mechanism. The front doors bind a little when opening them.

The dealer had not noticed the dents in the frame rail but I told him I was concerned about them.

The Grandby appears not to be damaged, but I am going to need to get it off the truck and have it checked out. I need to discuss this with the dealer and FWC to find out how to proceed.

I called my State Farm agent and he sail the the dealership's insurance should take care of it. The dealership says the will replace the truck, but l think I will have to fight with them to be made whole on this. Even though it was an '08, it only had 130K miles and was under the Lifetime Drivetrain Warranty
program they only offered in '08 & '09 so it has always been maintained at the dealership according to the terms of the warranty.

They offered me a loaner truck, but I can't mount the camper on that and take it to Moab next weekend. Luckily I do have my old van so I can still go, but I've got a feeling it's going to take a while to get this settled.

Omg, I've seen vehicles dropped on youtube vids but I didn't think it would ever happen to one of us. Talk about a bad deal. Hope they do right by you without too much hassle.

OUCH! Bet that was a pucker factor in the shop too...

So sorry to hear this! I hope they do right by you.

When I scheduled a shock upgrade at 4Wheel Parts for previous truck (2007Tacoma)they made me take the camper off before they would place the truck on their lift. They said it was b/c the standard cab (not access or double) threw off the balance and they were concerned it would slide off the lift due to the camper weight . Glad that occurred to them. Others on this forum have been required to take campers off rigs for service reasons as well

Camper Rich, I’m sorry that happened to you! You might ask (insist?) they purchase a warranty, similar to your lifetime drivetrain warranty.

Hopefully it works out so your not out of pocket.

That's terrible news and I agree with you that they should make you whole somehow. I would expect all new truck and camper. Good luck!

Terrible news indeed, and I would think you will be fully compensated for all damages. Unfortunate part is the wait and being without your rig at the beginning of summer!!!

Good news is, no one was injured. Someone could easily have been killed by this mishap.

The service manager's statement, "We thought it was a diesel" is BS. They drove the truck into the bay !! Hopefully they will take care of the issues with the truck without a hassle. The dealership has garage insurance, like all dealerships. It will be a battle between the dealership and insurance company. It's nice no one was injured. I've seen a few vehicles fall off lifts in my career. It only happens when someone has their head in a dark place !! I hope it all works out for you.

That's a real bummer.No one was hurt but that doesn't help you with the dealership's stupidly.
Hopefully all will work out for you. It will take some time I'am sure, but it's their very bad mistake.
Good luck with them.
Frank

What a nightmare! You are handling it better than I would. Hope you are made whole sooner than later.

It has been many years, but I have heard of this once before.

I think it also bent his truck frame.

I have also heard customers get mad when shops like this can't or won't put the customers truck on a lift to work on it. I'm sure this is why dealerships are worried about truck campers on their lifts.

We don't use our lift often, be when we do, we usually brace the rear of the truck with a jack from the floor, under the rear differential (just in case).

Stan from your photo it looks like that type of lift needs to be perfectly balanced.
The Toyota dealer in my area has no problems with my rig when a lift is used.
I guess I am one of the lucky ones.
Frank

...or an accident waiting to happen if the wrong technician is assigned to work on your rig?

I always go to the local Toyota dealer for service. They never flinch or even comment on the camper except to ask if I love the Tundra/Hawk combo. I have given a couple of mini tours of the camper to service folks.

I brought my truck into the dealership for an oil change, but didn’t have my camper on the back. 2020 Ram 2500 6.4L and this was maybe the 2nd oil change. Went to grocery store, and got the dreaded phone call that they drop my truck off the lift….. took out my AMP steps but thankfully no other damage. They replaced the steps with brand new ones and I checked underneath and thankfully only minor surface scratches on the underside. I think the AMP steps snagged on the way down and saved the truck.

think I got lucky but I was beyond pissed. Never took my truck back and I do my own maintenance where I can, only brought it there so they wouldn’t try to screw me if the engine went out and they blamed me for not bringing it to them while under warranty. Never making that mistake again.

I had a 4W Kestrel shell on a T-100 that was serviced at Carson City Toyota for 12 years - lift and all - with no problem. They will not put my Tacoma/Bobcat on a lift. I don't go there anymore. Tires Plus, Gardnerville puts my truck on the alignment rack.

And to kind of respond to Stan's "I have also heard customers get mad when shops like this can't or won't put the customers truck on a lift to work on it. I'm sure this is why dealerships are worried about truck campers on their lifts." Besides making little sense yes - I was mad. I was mad because no one had the balls to tell me they would not put my truck on the lift. I did not know that there was a problem and that they were not rotating my tires until I found the small print note at the bottom of my ***second invoice*** - yeah - my bad. When I asked why the service manager told me that the truck was "rockin' and rollin'" but then a tech told me that my truck was never put on a lift as per their new policy. I also was stupid enough to purchase a pre-paid service contract that they were refusing to honor because of my camper but no one would actually tell me that. I had to jump through a few hoops (told to fax a document to a number that was "not in service", etc, etc) but the cost of the "contract" was fully refunded. Good thing - it was a waste of money considering how little I drive.

edit to add: the "we thought it was a diesel" isn't even a quality lie

I've been asked the total weight of my truck and camper but no one has ever been concerned about the balance (at least not to me).

The fact that in bent the frame is interesting. It makes me think that these lifts are not the best for heavy rigs. I'm guessing the lift operator decides where the four lift points should go on the vehicle, and if the balance is wrong, the vehicle tips and falls off the rack. As it is tipping, all of the vehicle's weight is on two of the four lift points, and that is probably what bent the frame. I wonder how many times the weight balance is off just enough to put undue stress on the vehicle's frame, but not enough to tip the vehicle to the point where the operator notices and corrects it or the vehicle falls off the lift.