Good News/Bad News

munk said:
Ad, what caused your Explorer to roll?

>>>>>>

I'm a little spooked. Tomorow I have to drive 400 miles on ice encrusted roads for two eye exams- mine and my oldest son's. My exam was already put off several months and I must get it done- a legacy from the beating I recieved two years ago, we must check anually to make sure I don't need surgery.

The Truck I'm taking is the same one my wife took off the road on the 26th and smashed. IT has not been repaired or realligned. I've driven worse, but I hate the thought of all three of my boys with me- sort of all the eggs in one basket.
If there were any place to put my younger two I would. But such is the problem of having moved many times in my life- there is no family near and few neighbors I could even ask, or would want to.


munk
Click to expand...

Drive carefully, munk. We've had very icy roads the last few days. Can you throw some weight in your bed? Helps sometimes.
 
<Originally Posted by munk
Ad, what caused your Explorer to roll?>


Towing a camper- down a hill, too fast- inexperienced tow driver got caught in a wind vortex from an 18 wheeler. She fishtailed and it was all over.
We were very lucky not to be creamed while upside down.

Explorers were rolling from the crappy stock tires- Ford had a recall & gave us all sets of others. Several died. :(


Ad Astra
 
I remember the firestone tires....


>>>>>>

Josh, I've a duffle bag full of gravel back there. I don't know what it is about this Dodge Dakota, but it's always been terrible on snow and ice. Wide profile tires and wheels it came with don't help, and the grill guard we had installed changed the balance of the vehicle for the worse.

If I ever get out of being broke alive, I'll go back into debt for a used Suburban.

Then I can throw my kids on the far back bench, and have the plexiglass, bullet and sound proof screen divide us. Either that or just hope there's a sound vortex in the center of the truck, as there are in so many vans.

munk
 
The 2 best cars on ice I ever had were my 88 Subaru GL 4wd which I even drove on 15" of new snow before and the previously mentioned 79 front wheel drive Rabbit. The rabbit rivaled the Sube. For some reason the engine and the front tires and the car just had perfect weight.

Speaking of Honda's remember the itsy bitsy original Civics? Those were so cool! Also not as widespread, but Subaru had a little tiny 3 cylinder I think it was. I remember some guys driving one down a wide sidewalk when I was in High School.

I have a Nissan 4wd truck now but the Sube was better!
 
Ad Astra said:
<Originally Posted by munk
Ad, what caused your Explorer to roll?>


Towing a camper- down a hill, too fast- inexperienced tow driver got caught in a wind vortex from an 18 wheeler. She fishtailed and it was all over.
We were very lucky not to be creamed while upside down.

Explorers were rolling from the crappy stock tires- Ford had a recall & gave us all sets of others. Several died. :(


Ad Astra
Click to expand...

IIRC, the Explorer was prone to rolling by design. Ford lowered the recommended tire inflation pressure to compensate. The Firestones were also defective, but at least one other tire manufacturer (Continental) had tire failures on Explorers.

I had a set of Firestone Wilderness AT's on my truck until last week and had no problems with them- they were produced in a different factory.

Jeremy

Best of luck tomorrow Munk- keep your eyes open. :)

Glad you're still healthy Josh- totalling a car and walking away is still a harrowing experience.
 
I forget the reason for the low tire pressure-perhaps as you say to pass a safety test. But I never believed that truck unsafe. 4x4 vehicles cannot defy physics; if you want ground clearence you give up low center of gravity. An independent groups drove that truck and deflated tires completely in tests- total air exhaustion in seconds; no crash. I have to believe it was a combo of bad tires, poor driving, and 4 by 4 reality.
How many times have we seen middle class/ upper class females tooling down the road at 75 in Winter because they have 'all wheel drive' and believe they're invincible?


Everyone loves old jeeps- but they're hardly 'safe'. It comes with the territory. If you want safe buy a 5000 pound Volvo wagon.
There was a warning on my Dodge Ramcharger- don't turn too sharp- it will roll. Duh. If you couldn't feel the vehicle on the road you have no business in it.
Just learned my wife is staying home with youngest two so I can take her Honda instead. Nice car- frontwheel drive.


munk
 
Josh, I'm glad to hear that you're O.K. That's all good news. Material items can always be replaced. My wife was broadsided in our 1 month old Camry a couple of years ago. Thank God she wasn't injured too badly. I wasn't even thinking about the car at the time.
 
Josh,

Sounds like an adventure! Hope there are no more twists and turns, and that it all turns out for the best.
 
I'm late again as usual... Glad to hear you survived unscathed Josh. Too bad your Honda didn't. It sacrificed itself to save its owner :(

Alan
 
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