Smashing Pumpkin!!! Rick lays it over....

We'll I'm officially a member of the roll over posse as of this afternoon. First time out on a good trail with the new coil overs. I was trying some different lines than normal of course, seeing what it would do.

Well... I found out what it wouldn't do. I placed a front tire on a rock... not even a very big one drove over it, the left rear tire started up it and the front right was down in an off camber loose down slope. Then it started to go over... super slow mo. I pushed the clutch in and it didn't help. At that point I looked at Char who was trying to stick her hand out! I yelled HANDS! And she yanked it in just in time to block a tree from hitting her in the face.

Next thing we know we are looking at each other asking if we're ok and then started laughing once we realized everything was fine.

Jeremy was the only person with us and he was way up the hill already. So still strapped in and sitting sideways I yelled "Jeremy Help"! Then I unstrapped my seatbelt and sat there... Jeremy came on down and gave me a hand so I could get out the window without crushing Char on the way out Char was next, I was sitting on the door and gave her a hand out.

Jeremy came back down the hill and lined up his truck so we could run our winch cable through a clevis and then back to the nerf bar, this set up a sling that we used to pull the truck back safely back over.

Oh what fun... NOT!!!

Damage... Roof is dented, passenger door is dented, right tailight was taken out as was the PIAA reverse light. Knock on wood that's it.

Here are the photos:

Videos:
http://www.explorerforum.com/layover/rollback1.mpg

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[mahieber]

Something tells me our dues just went up...

 

[MeatyCrab]

You know, it's a good thing you guys weren't rolling on Firestones...press would of had a field day!

"Explorer turns into giant pumpkin and rolls off highway onto 4wd trail: Firestone's blamed"

Good to know all is well!
take it easy,
BK

 

[GJarrett]

Hmmm....

Doesn't this thread belong in the Whoops forum? How much damage does it take for you to categorize it as a "whoops"?

Something tells me our dues just went up...

LOL

 

[FAKRWEE]

Glad you and Char are OK. It kinda took my breath away when I saw the pictures. It's like you said "You play you pay". We all have the fear in the back of our minds it might happen to us some day. I guess this should be a lesson for those of us who don't have roll cages yet.

Well I guess it's back to the drawing board to figure out how it happened.

 

[94EBexplorer]

the most important thing is you guys are ok! and just think of it as custom body work. guess i should become elite now i would have been freaking...

 

[Rick]

We know how it happened Tom, pushing the offcamber limit. When you look at the truck when it was flipped back on it's wheels you can see the front end was almost fully drooped and it wasn't even back on the rocks I was climbing when it went over. I lifted both tires on the driver side up on the rocks, the front right tire went into a hole with loose rock there was forward momentum and that's all it took...

 

[Rick]

Gerald, I moved it to the proper forum

 

[94EBexplorer]

if that would have been me.. my woman would have been freaking... : rollover : shes screaming. then she comes too. looks over at me helplessly in the seat : WACK........... wack wack wack wack........ : then me try to find the closest window to climb out of and leaving her hang in there till she calms down..... id probley leave with my body damage than my X

 

[Rick]

Here is a video capture of the truck back on it's wheels. You can see how flexed out the front is just sitting there and the rock next to the back tire which we were climbing over with the back tire when we went over.

Here are shots of it going off camber on an obstacle earlier in the day with much better results

Video:
http://www.explorerforum.com/layover/rollback1.mpg

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[RangerX]

aaaaaaaaaaah........ya call that a rollover? lemme tell ya about rollovers! :roll:

Seriously, I know how you must feel, and I hope it was your last! Glad to hear you'll be back on the trail in a matter of days!

 

[Rick]

LOL Bill we could go another 10 years and be very happy

I just got back from FST. The truck is sitting waiting for them to get around to working on it so I decided to do some work myself I got the window working again. I loosened up all the bolts holding the window tracks in and worked it up to the top. Then I pounded some of the dents out a ways and pryed the side impact bar away from the linkages. Tightened everything back up and it works fine.

Now she's good to go

 

[Hammer]

Rick,
How did you feel about the extra footage I put on the video tape? Ecpesially the part I recoreded from the Truckin Nationals the day after you got it back from the paint shop? Oh well that stuff happens when we have a hobby like this.

 

[Rick]

I couldn't believe that I mean that was the day the truck got out of the paint shop and it was mint! The day Off-Road magazine saw it and did a cover shot and feature article LOL, Well we have been using the truck the way it should be ever since

 

[Ray Hutchinson]

WOW!

Wow, Rick,

We kinda been out of the loop for a couple of days, and missed the events... At the risk of being redudnant... We're sure glad you guys are OK. Am I correct, that it appears from the pics, that although the tree dented the roof and door, it kept you from going over further?

Anyhow, hope you get back in comission soon and let us know if there's anything we can do to help get you back on the road .er.. off the road.

 

[Rick]

We're already back in the saddle I'll be at Truckhaven this weekend with Bill, Jeff, Brian and whoever else shows up There is a thread about that in the trails forum.

Yes the tree saved us from landing on our lid. I'm sure we would have if it wasn't there.

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

Thank God AZ actually has a few trees.

 

[Hammer]

Yeah, It was the only tree on the trail and he landed on and in it!
It would have made a good winching point.
Unfortunatly I had to blaze a new trail to get to a spot where my truck could be used as a winch point cause like I stated before he used the only good tree on the trail

 

[Rick]

That is really ironic... Just where it needed to be!

 

[leenjen]

i dont know how i missed this thread.
glad to see that you two are ok. it's a good thig the tree was there. sure, it dented the roof. but at least you didnt roll completely over. does your explorer have a roll cage?

 

[Rick]

Yep we have a full cage.