Community Forums

smlranger · 03-06-2016, 06:06 PM

On the western leg of our winter trip, I dodged something on I-10 West just out of Las Cruces (something small and round) and the left front tire of my toad got it. Turned out it was an aerosol paint can... white paint

. The entire left side of my F150 is peppered with white paint. A detailer in Deming washed my truck and tried to get most of the paint off but all of my black plastic trim, running boards, left mirror, window trim, is covered. Covered by my comprehensive so will get it fixed when we get home.

Today, heading east on I-10 just east of Lafayette, LA a large truck tire tread appeared before me in the middle of my lane (right lane). Lane to my left was full of cars and there was a Jersey barrier on right shoulder so had no choice but to slow a bit and straddle it. It made a nasty sounding thump at the front of the coach and I expected something to be dented, broken, or falling off. I expected the lower fiberglass clip to be at least cracked.

Next rest stop I check everything and no cracks, dents or other obvious damage to coach or toad. I do think it made it under the front of the clip and struck the low hanging generator exhaust pipe since it seemed a bit loose. Will be checking that better tomorrow.

Ain't this fun?

oldmattb · 03-06-2016, 07:13 PM

Years ago, my wife was driving her nearly-new Dodge Omni on I-285 in Atlanta. She rounded a curve in heavy traffic, and saw a truck tire and wheel in the middle of her lane.

No way to go around and no way to stop. She went up and over!

The impact crushed the oil pan against the oil pump and snapped the pump pedestal in two. The crushed pan actually held the two pieces of pump together so it ran and maintained oil pressure, though with a flickering indicator light.

She drove it home, and I repaired it.

Years before, my dad was driving the family VW Bug home. A truck tire came off an overpass, hit the ground in front of him, rolled over the car, and was gone. The front and rear bumpers were badly bent and the left front and right rear fenders damaged. Tire marks across the top. We figured that a fraction of a second difference would have put the tire directly onto the top and that would have been nasty.

I hope all is OK!

Matt B

calico · 03-06-2016, 08:12 PM

A couple years ago we were driving our Class A on I40 westbound, almost out of New Mexico. The east bound lane was under construction and had narrowed to one lane using the orange barrels. An oncoming vehicle hit an orange barrel, wedged it under their car, the bottom ring came off and rolled across the grassy median like a hoola hoop and hit the front drivers corner. Took out a fog light and chipped & cracked fiberglass. We journeyed on for the winter and had the damage repaired the following spring after we returned home.

Arch Hoagland · 03-06-2016, 09:00 PM

smlranger...If you did get some damage I suspect your insurance will cover it.

B Bob · 03-06-2016, 09:57 PM

A road alligator I could not dodge bent my genny exhaust a couple of years back. Seems like that is the low hanging item on CC's.

birdhunter · 03-06-2016, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smlranger

On the western leg of our winter trip, I dodged something on I-10 West just out of Las Cruces (something small and round) and the left front tire of my toad got it. Turned out it was an aerosol paint can... white paint

. The entire left side of my F150 is peppered with white paint. A detailer in Deming washed my truck and tried to get most of the paint off but all of my black plastic trim, running boards, left mirror, window trim, is covered. Covered by my comprehensive so will get it fixed when we get home.

Today, heading east on I-10 just east of Lafayette, LA a large truck tire tread appeared before me in the middle of my lane (right lane). Lane to my left was full of cars and there was a Jersey barrier on right shoulder so had no choice but to slow a bit and straddle it. It made a nasty sounding thump at the front of the coach and I expected something to be dented, broken, or falling off. I expected the lower fiberglass clip to be at least cracked.

Next rest stop I check everything and no cracks, dents or other obvious damage to coach or toad. I do think it made it under the front of the clip and struck the low hanging generator exhaust pipe since it seemed a bit loose. Will be checking that better tomorrow.

Ain't this fun?

I once went over a whole semi truck tire gator at highway speed. Bang! Nothing wrong when I pulled over to check. Next day I noticed a little oil on the ground. Believe it or not it had hit and loosened the fitting on the tranny where the hose goes to the tranny cooler. Tightened it up. No problem.

Rich 2002 Magna

Old-Biscuit · 03-06-2016, 10:47 PM

Sorry to hear about your troubles............sometimes you wonder why you get up

They run in threes....2 down. Hope the third shoe to drop is a size 3 or smaller.

Safe travels!

RJPerry · 03-07-2016, 05:14 PM

Many years ago I was heading down to San Felipe, Mexico. Traveling south on Hwy 86 west of the Salton Sea, at night, I noticed something in the middle of the road. I was able to swerve around it, but my buddy behind me wasn't as quick. Apparently a local farmer was transporting a portable outhouse and it fell off the back of his truck and left a mess of the front of his Class C Minnie Winne

rgvtexan · 03-07-2016, 07:05 PM

The other 5 got away!

Hit_the_Rhod · 03-07-2016, 08:23 PM

In 2006 while moving from North Carolina to Kentucky I was traveling on I-40 westbound. My wife was in front of me in a car, both of us driving in the right lane doing about 65mph. I was in our 1999F-350 towing a 20 ft goose neck trailer with a bunch of our stuff. She suddenly swerves into the left lane. I see something in the road ahead, can't go to the left as there is a car there, can't go to the right as there is an embankment. Started to slow, then just hit it. It turned out to be an a-frame from a car or truck, probably fell off of a truck taking it to scrap.

Anyway, the piece apparently flipped up and caught the transfer case where it bolted to the transmission. . .and the truck "pole vaulted" over it! My wife said that in the rear view mirror it looked like the truck came off the ground about 4 to 5 feet! It was a WILD RIDE for a few seconds, stuff and parts of the truck all over the place! The transfer case was ripped out of the truck, the front drive line was severed and went somewhere, not sure where. The rear drive line punched through the floor board of the back seat behind me. Debris blew both left tires on the trailer. The drive lines also severed the brake and fuel lines, as well as the wiring bundle going aft, so I had no brakes, either hydraulic or electric to the trailer, just parking brake, which I saved until the truck and trailer stopped . . . about two miles later.

The transfer case was just plain GONE, as were both drive lines. Cracked the transmission case, damaged, or shorted out the clock spring in the steering column and basically ruined our day!

Had the truck towed to a Ford Dealership and the trailer towed to mini warehouse place with outdoor storage. Ford and USAA looked at the truck and USAA send me an e-mail saying it was totaled, even told us what our payoff would be. . . so we bought a brand new 2006 F-350. Then, would you believe it, two months later they said they were repairing the truck . . .but that's another story.

Anyway, be safe out there! Those road alligators, or in my case, I guess it was a road turtle, and a SEA turtle at that can sure ruin your day!

Smitty77 · 03-07-2016, 09:27 PM

Gary - Glad no one got hurt on these ones... Them gator's can either snap you on the under, or whip up and clobber you as they run underneath... An of course, dodging them with the coach is one thing - still have the toad to get by!!! But you know what? If you had been sitting at home in a recliner, you would have missed not only these two encounters, but all the miles you traveled to have encountered them...

OK - Not as exciting as some of the other posts. But my favorite was driving on a back highway in the San Diego County region. The road while two lanes the majority of the way, separated oncoming traffic for about 1/8th of a mile with one direction about 20' above the other. I looked at a 1950's era truck coming in the other direction. Neat looking, with years of accumulated 'patina', and maybe a bruise or two too

!. It was below me. I was doing about 45MPH, and assume he was too. His truck suddenly shifted towards the shoulder/hill between our lanes. He got control and started to slow down. But I watched at the same time that I was trying to figure out which way to go, or stop, or speed up - as not only his wheel, but a hunk of metal too, was running up the hill in my direction. Seems the metal shaft had pulled out of the axle, and the wheel, and about 3 1/2' of hard shafted steel decided to abandon this truck... (I slammed the brakes, pulled towards it, and was down to about 5 mph when the steel shaft took out my head light. The promptly proceeded to roll back down the hill to the lane he was in to start with. One of those things you had to see to believe

!. We got stopped off the roadway. And I helped him collect his wheel and axle shaft and put it back in the truck bed. He called a buddy with a flatbed, and said 'I'll have to do a better job of fixing it this time.' He said the same wheel had wandered off about three months earlier. He offered to pay for my headlight. And I said not to worry about it, that I was going to get some body work and the car painted aways....

Think about it as I drive that stretch from time to time. Now two lanes in both directions, as a casino has gone in...

Best to all, be safe - and watch out for the gators!!!!
Smitty