Yesterday, a U-haul mashed my Passenger side bed and broke my wheel cap. The fiberglass skin popped back out but it has a couple of holes/tears and the gel coat looks to be spider-webbing in couple of places. Can this be repaired (and last for a while) or should I have the skin replaced? Thanks in advance.

 

I suggest you just leave it up to the insurance company. The U-Haul driver did have insurance right? I'm pretty sure it's required when renting.

Fiberglass is quite flexible, but there may be hidden damage underneath that you need a professional body shop evaluate. After all, you probably will want to get that panel repainted anyway.

Good Luck,

Tony

 

Interesting, I had a similar problem a few months ago. A younger member o the family was backing up the truck with and not watching the trailer. I had a hole in the fender and a crack across the tail light. I left it for several months and started to notice more stress cracks and a cracking of the gel coat/paint. I got 3 estimates for the repair (2 tone) $900 to $1,100 for a repair of the hole, etc and $1,800 to replace the fender ( blending paint takes a bunch of labor and the fender is $600) I went with the cheapest as it was recommended by an insurance agent. So far I'm very happy with the job, it comes with a life time guarantee. I guess only time will tell if the job was done correctly.