Who is responsible for damage for low branches?

[Kzneft]

I live in an area where a number of neighbors have trees that hang over the street. Last time I went camping I had to get on top of the roof and move the branches to make sure nothing was damaged. I am in the process of asking them if I can trim their tree branches that hang over the road. Just wondering who is responsible if one of their branches tears my gear off the top of my toyhauler? My insurance or their insurance?

[Logan X]

Where I live, Long Beach CA, the sidewalk and the green space next to the sidewalk are city property. Any trees next to the street are maintained by the city.

Where you are there should be a city or county ordinance saying how high the clearance has to be over the roadway. If the tree is lower than what the clearance should be then the owner of the tree should be responsible for maintaining it. It may be the private owner or the city/county.

If talking to your neighbors to fix the problem doesn’t work, and they are the responsible party, you could try complaining to the city/county and they could force compliance.

Having said that, I wouldn’t count on someone else’s insurance paying for damage to the top of your RV. Damage to the top of your RV could be near catastrophic, if your rubber roof is damaged it is not easy to repair. I would try to avoid damaging the roof in any way.

[sourdough]

I am in a somewhat similar situation. In my case the trees that are a problem are over a city street. The city has a right of way/easement that they own and are required to maintain for the street. Once property owners let vegetation (trees etc.) grow into that easement the entity (city/county/etc.) is required to keep it safe an within code. The "trimming", depending on the city/county etc. may be at the expense of the property owner or the easement owner - I suspect the property owner - I trim mine because it's the right thing to do. Complain to the proper authority and they should be able to take care of it.

[NH_Bulldog]

I am a long time insurance adjuster (specializing in municipal, commercial and residential property claims). Trees are always a complex issue, so I won’t get into the differences between public and private property. First; if the trees are overhanging a public road, they are likely in the public right of way and belong to the municipality. The town/city has a responsibility to permit the safe flow of “normal” traffic (cars, trucks, bicycles, pedestrians, etc.). That being said, they own the trees and if you mess with them without their blessing (getting their permission, hiring an arborist, hiring professional tree service to do the work, etc.) you will find yourself on the wrong side of the law. If you wanted to pursue a claim against the municipality (or anyone else) for damages to your trailer, you would first have to prove the other party was intentionally negligent to cause your damages........and since you drove down the road knowing that damage was possible or likely (because you acknowledged the issue by asking permission to trim the trees) any damages to your trailer are your responsibility. Every case is different of course, but I know a thing or two because I’ve seen a thing or two.

[Javi]

I have never taken our 5th wheel to our house... most likely never will... pecan trees line our street and they scrape the roof of my dually.. Tree huggers see that trimming the pecan trees will result in large fines...

[xrated]

Kzneft.........you could always drive through the neighbors yard instead of the street to avoid the overhanging trees!



And before anyone comments on my post....I wasn't serious.....and just couldn't think of anything useful to add to the post!

[Snoking]

We drove a route (highway 203) on the East side of the Seattle metro area to see if it would be a good way to avoid Seattle traffic with our 13'3" 5th wheel and found that the trees along this route were trimmed by garbage and other tall trucks. We decided it was not worth the risk and took a different route with the 5th wheel that year.

This year coming back to the NW we took that route with our little guy bumper pull which is 2' shorter without a problem. In you travels we have seen many area that trees over road are trimmed by the vehicles traveling on them.

One would not want to be a trimmer with their RV roof. Chris

[Ken / Claudia]

1st and foremost you need to phone/email the government in your community and find out for yourself who is responsible.
Here is not there, but this the rules in my city I live in, I know I deal with them.
There is a public easement on your sidewalk, but that is yours and your responsibility to maintain it. The trees that are on private property and over hang a public road on yours and your responsibility to maintain them. On the trees they are required to have clear walkways under/around them on sidewalks. On roads, none over the road below 14 ft. The city when notified of a problem comes out, checks and sends a letter to the property owner that they must be cleared to 14 ft. within XX days. If not the city sends a crew and can charge the property owner. Here many times they do not unless in is a ongoing problem.
This is how I dealt with it last fall. I told a single neighbor his 1 tree would damage my TT when I drove out of the hood. I said I will cut it back or phone the city to make sure it's done before my trip. He said I could do it and I did it took 20 mins. I did not ask him to do it since it was clear he was not willing to maintain the tree.

[Kzneft]

All good replies. I have texted my two neighbors a few houses down where they are across from each other and have large overhanging trees and offered to trim them. Still waiting for replies. I will let everyone know what happens.
Thanks everyone !

[Ken / Claudia]

Sounds like the right start. Good Luck

[Kzneft]

Wow, sounds complicated. I only have one way to leave my neighborhood, and with their trees in the way its very hard to avoid scraping.

[gearhead]

Yeah that's a start.
But, "where I live" the city maintains the trees that hang over the street, even though they are privately owned. There is no charge to the homeowner. The city contracts with a tree service that usually trims trees once a year.
But, I have had to back the 5th down a busy street because of a limb that was low.

[JRTJH]

Then you can get into Homeowner's Associations" (HOA) and their private roads that aren't subject to public traffic flow. There are so many variables that nearly every street in a town can be subject to different laws or rules. It's best to ask the city roads and grounds folks about a specific problem in "THEIR" area of control. It may differ significantly with what you'd be told by the county or the state about how they handle trees, just "one block over".....

[slow]

After I gave our city the opportunity to trim overhanging branches for the couple of blocks to our closest major thoroughfare ,I adjusted my branch trimmer to eleven feet and used it as a gage to determine which branches I was then trimming. I gathered up the debris, brought it all home and left it for the city on the next biweekly lawn waste pickup. I now do the same every spring before I bring the trailer out of storage.

So far no complaints from neighbours or the city.

[Fishsizzle]

Wow, thankful I don’t have this problem as my subdivision is fairly new, and live in High Desert with not many trees. What I do have is a pea shrub that I planted and it’s gone nuts. It doesn’t bother me, or anyone but 1 partially blind gentleman in the neighborhood. He squares off the whole neighborhood’s vegetations. Straight up off the sidewalk. It was kinda weird at first to watch him jut start hacking on all my trees and shrubs, but I just let it go.

[Braysgrandpa]

A related question: what if the damage is caused by trees in a campground, overhanging your assigned spot? That happened to me 8n a very popular chain campground, but I didn't realize the roof was torn until we were a couple hundred miles down the road and a fellow traveler flagged us down to tell us our roof was flapping. Not knowing what to do, we had it replaced, and just ate the $1000 deductible.

[meaz93*]

And that's why I travel with my landscaping hand saw and large pruning sheers-lol.
Couple years back I was backing into a campsite with my now sold 2010 33' Springdale TT and being a pinch anal retentive about keeping it prestine.... I most definitely trimmed away some of the hanging tree in my path!

[Kzneft]

Just an update from my original post. I went to the neighbors down the street the live across from one another that had the same trees on both sides blocking the road and I asked them if they wouldn't mind if I trimmed their trees so I could get my 5th wheel past them. I said I will cut and haul off the limbs. They were both ok with it. Filled up my flatbed trailer and hauled the limbs to the dump. Best $8 I spent. Took about 1/2 day. Now I have to hit up the two remaining neighbors on the opposite end of my street to do their trees. Hopefully they are accommodating as well.

[Logan X]

Originally Posted by Kzneft

Just an update from my original post. I went to the neighbors down the street the live across from one another that had the same trees on both sides blocking the road and I asked them if they wouldn't mind if I trimmed their trees so I could get my 5th wheel past them. I said I will cut and haul off the limbs. They were both ok with it. Filled up my flatbed trailer and hauled the limbs to the dump. Best $8 I spent. Took about 1/2 day. Now I have to hit up the two remaining neighbors on the opposite end of my street to do their trees. Hopefully they are accommodating as well.

That is good news! I wish I could get out of the dump for $8. The minimum charge here is $45!

[Patriot]

Originally Posted by Braysgrandpa

A related question: what if the damage is caused by trees in a campground, overhanging your assigned spot? That happened to me 8n a very popular chain campground, but I didn't realize the roof was torn until we were a couple hundred miles down the road and a fellow traveler flagged us down to tell us our roof was flapping. Not knowing what to do, we had it replaced, and just ate the $1000 deductible.

Most all campgrounds have the wonderful fine print when you register claiming no responsibility for any damage sustained while on their grounds including damage from limbs!