technically i crushed my first car with my explorer

[full foot notch]

well today i was in the process of trying to get my truck to Chucks Trucks so that i can get my Dana 60 axle installed and finally get my truck done, so i call AAA and give them all the info so that i can get it flatbed'd to the shop since they have flatbed'd it twice already, well,after AAA declined to tow my truck because "it was a modified vehicle and AAA does not cover modified vehicles"(ie blanket cover our ass we dont want to tow excuse) cause the tow truck guy didnt know how to load the truck, i had to call around and find a company that would do it reasonably ($75 flat fee from Links)(another place that has a contract with the city was tellin me 125 hook fee plus 3/per mi plus a 10% fuel surcharge), so i went with links, and the guy gets out here pretty damn quick, well, the guy knows what hes doing, backs up to the driveway right up the the wheels, smooth as it could go, winching up the bed, im helping move the tires since its got about an inch or two on each side of the rails(truck fits within the rails) and we get the truck up about 3/4 of the way, everything still seeming smooth, almost ready to start leveling out the bed, well as he is winching up, we he a pop/crack, and next thing you know that winch is free spooling backwards and my truck speeds off the inclined flatbed, and i also have a negative slop driveway(lower as it gets towards the house) ,i think i heard him yell ####, and i yelled oh ****, and seemed like that truck was doin 10mph off that bed(not really, but seemed like it), well next thing you know, the rear passenger tire collides into the quarter panel of the lincoln Mark 7 that is parked next to it, it hit it so hard that it shifted it latterally 6 inches, and then teh front of my truck shifts latterally the other way and a tree nub shatters my drivers window (also some how bending the mirror back and creasing the door), so the guy is standing there dumbfounded and mumbles "might as well start looking for another line of work" and then nextels his boss and tries to describe what happened, well the boss comes out (come to find out its the owner of the company), and asks how the F did this happen, and he explains again, well the boss says that it is completely thier fault and gonna pay for everything and was real nice and all that, and so tomorrow morning they are having another driver come out,and since we have already moved it from the driveway to the road/culdesac so that just in case the cable goes again, its not a close call of an early kitchen remodel, if ya know what i mean, my truck isnt that bad, just a complete door, but the lincoln got the brunt of the impact

 

[JDraper]

OUCH!!! Guy is probably correct about needing a new line of work....he's just cost his boss a bit of $$$ (unless the winch broke)..Is the Lincoln yours or your neighbors??

 

[full foot notch]

the lincoln is my mothers BF, has the HO 302 in it, i can get the car for $1500

the boss said that depending on how the insurance company looks at it, its either gonna be covered with no deductible(since it was hooked and was on the truck, either that, or its a $1k deductible, and that comes out of hte tow guys wallet, so yeah, depending on how this goes, the guy could pretty much loose his paycheck over this incident

 

[95offroadx]

thats a real bummer man, but was it the tow guys fault or what?

 

[Texplorer]

Sounds like faulty equipment to me. How is a winch breaking the drivers fault? Unless he was loading it improperly.

 

[full foot notch]

seems that the winch failed or the freespool lock arm kicked back out, tow company claims total responsobility, right now its faulty equipment unless they find otherwise

 

[HappyGilmore]

seems that the winch failed or the freespool lock arm kicked back out, tow company claims total responsobility, right now its faulty equipment unless they find otherwise

**** i would be pissed if the boss blamed me for his winch, on his tow truck not being maintained/inspected properly. could have been a lot worse if the lincoln wasnt there. (i.e rollin through your living room). im glad the tow company is owning up to its mistake though. good luck with the repairs.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

That sucks. You should call up AAA and tell them what happened. They'll probably smile and laugh and say "see, that's why". sorry to hear about it though, glad none of you were behind it.

-Drew

 

[94explorer2x4]

Tow trucks have 15K# + winches Ive seen one pull a caddy with no wheels draging on the frame onto a truck no prob. So more than likley he did not completly engage the clutch and prbably stripped the teeth of the drum inside the planatery gears assy. Thats probably why it frespooled. My buddy is a driver And he says unless the driver is not on the company insurance policy their should be no problem. You just gotta make sure that where ever the x and the lincoln go to get repaired is a good place and they dont *** it up because more than likely the insurance will try to do it the cheap way. Just dont let yourself get screwed its good you have pictures. No matter what weather it is negligence or mechanical failure it should be coverd by the tow companys insurance. And then again "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR"
Nate

 

[rookieshooter]

Hope everything works out for the better. But I find it very troublesome that no one has gave consideration to the tree. Thru a process of photosynthesis which turns carbon dioxide into life saving oxygen, we could not enjoy our Xs or even live on this planet. How about the birds that could have been in the tree at the time of this event. They have feelings too. They might even suffer from post type symtoms. Not to mention that this tree help to stop global warming to a certain amount

 

[stretch]

That sucks but it's good you have pics and an admission of guilt from the tow company. Stay on them to get it resolved.

Rookieshooter: Too much coffee, or just a bad trip?

 

[JDraper]

...Rookieshooter: Too much coffee, or just a bad trip?

I think he musta been hanging out over with the owl from the other thread..

 

[rookieshooter]

I just had a talk with Cheech the owl and he said his buddy Chong the parrot was in that tree that the X hit. But thanks to the quick acting responce of PETA he is expected to make a fast recovery.

As far as myself, the coffee is wearing off, my blood pressure pill is starting to work and hopefully the flashbacks of the Woodstock concert and Janis are starting to leave.

 

[94explorer2x4]

But thanks to the quick acting responce of PETA

P.E.T.A???? P eople E ating T asty A nimail That makes no sense Rookie.

 

[351wExplorer]

that is quite possibly the coolest explorer i have every seen in my entire life... what size tires... (sorry for copying, but mine will look like that buy next fall....)

B E A UTIFUL

 

[gijoecam]

Looks like if the Mark hadn't been there, you'd be getting a new Kia and a bigger garage door to cover the opening the truck would've made!!

I had to laugh at the job comment though.

Too funny....

Equipment failure isn't necessarily the driver's fault.... it happens every once in a while.

-Joe

 

[full foot notch]

those tires are 39.5 swampers, and no body lift on that truck

man, that aint a kia, its a toyota tercel, No power anything but it gets great gas milage for long trips

 

[351wExplorer]

i noticed you didnt have a BL.... not to discredit your truck, it is amazing, but you have leaf springs up front which, as far as i am concerned easier to get that amount of lift out of then coil-sprung.... dont get me wrong, your truck is awesome...... id love to get mine that big with no body lift..... 39.5s hmmmmm looks like i know what to buy next

 

[full foot notch]

leaf spring, i just find it easier, less ish to worry about breaking/aligning, dont have to worry about a trac bar, or radius arms, or say the suspension is drooped and the coil pops out or shifts

its a chucks trucks crossmember with 12" chevy pickup leafs

 

[full foot notch]

based upon the math that we did of tire diameter and radius and al the math associated with it, that setup that i have will clear 44s, assuming that a 44bogger is truely 44" around (which equates to 22 to the axle centerline, and a 39.5 rounded to 40 is only 20 from the axle centerline, when we measured, i think we had 8inches from the side of the tire to the nearest hit point