For the TLDR crowd - If your vehicle was in an accident and going to be towed to a site for estimates, repairs, etc., how much (if any) of your mobile radio gear would you remove?
For those who enjoy rambling, here's the longer version:
I was almost finished with the mobile install in my Jeep. I had the antenna mounted on the hood with a Diamond K400 NMO mount, the radio body mounted under the passenger seat, I had 3D printed a base for the face to mount to, and just received a mount from Jeepuniq.com to mount the mic (and my HT) on the grab bar. All I had left to do was mount the face and external speaker and run the cables for both.
I took a couple hours off work yesterday to run a couple of errands, when an elderly woman turned directly in front of me. There were no injuries, and I've seen worse accidents, but there is a bit of damage to the bumper, the front passenger side fender is gone, the hood latch is no longer connected, there is body damage, and my steering wheel is now 45 degrees to the side when the front tires appear to be straight ahead.
According to her insurance company, her version of events is "significantly" different that mine, so the claim has been transferred to a unit for "complex" claims. This is EXACTLY why I have a dash cam.
They said that after they review the footage I sent them, *if* they accept liability for the accident, my Jeep will be towed to one of their places for estimates, etc.
I'm trying to decide if I should remove everything I have installed so far, just the antenna, or antenna and mount? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that it would be stored outside while there. If I just take the antenna off, I don't have an NMO rain cap or anything, and I'd hate rain to get in there and freeze. I'm also paranoid about vandalism and/or theft. Years ago I was in an accident right outside the airport on my way to a flight. Since I was leaving the state, my car had to be towed and stored at an impound lot. When the insurance company was going over the damage with me later, they listed some damage that was NOT there after the accident. This damage was on the opposite side of the car from the impact. I had to fight with them over the value of the car because they were trying to claim the car had damage before the accident. Lesson leaned, take a bunch of pictures and video before it gets towed.
I'm also concerned that they may total it. The damage doesn't look bad enough on its face - no damage to engine or anything that I can see, it appears to be all body and alignment related. I've seen accidents before, however, where what looks like minor damage ends up costing a ton to repair/replace. If they do total it, I'll have to remove everything anyway...
Have any of you been in a similar situation? Would you remove some of your equipment? All of it?