So, speaking of trucks, I had something of a tragedy last Thursday. I had been off work for about a week (for my birthday no less) so I hadn't driven my truck for pretty much that whole time and the temps dipped down to the single digits for the highs and low negative double-digit lows. My batteries were dead since I didn't think to plug the truck in, I typically don't until it hits -20 or so.. Anyway, I pulled them out and putt'em on the charger Wed night so I could fire up the truck on Thu before having to go back to work on Fri.
Well, since I was already tinkering with the truck I decided that I'd chase down a small but pesky leak that cropped up recently. Since the truck was immobile, I was going to be crawling around under it in the snow and ice so I decided (and this is how I know I'm getting soft in my old age) to put a propane heater (Heater Buddy) on the ground near the front bumper facing toward the back of the truck. At about this time, my wife pulls up with breakfast burritos so I decide to join her inside for food and another cup of coffee.. Fast forward 15-20 min to me walking outside with said coffee to find the whole front end/engine compartment engulfed in flames. I'm talking 4-5' flame jetting up from the edges of the hood, which was closed but not latched. An initial OH F*** was followed by yelling to my wife to call the FD as I grabbed my (pretty much worthless) household fire extinguisher. It made zero impact to the fire. At about that time the FD arrived, having already been called by my neighbor, whom I'm sure was concerned about all of our trees and subsequently houses going up..
The FD put it out with lots of water, the end result being a completely destroyed engine compartment/front end and a water-logged dash and interior. Luckily, nothing else was damaged and no one was hurt - like my dumb-a$$, when I stood next to it trying to put it out initially.. So, my insurance is thinking total loss but it could have been so much worse - I'm so thankful that only the truck suffered. Although, the loss of this truck does bum me out - it was an '06 3/4 ton Silverado LT w/ the Duramax and Allison. My favorite truck of the ones I've owned, it was paid off and I had planned to keep it for as long as it was drivable.
As far as we (me and the FD) can surmise, it seems the heater malfunctioned and caught on fire, possibly exploding consequently catching the truck. We think this because: the heater was not actually under the truck, there were no fuel leaks, the front license plate was found several feet away and off to the side, and 1/3 of the radiator is missing - looks torn away. Well after the fact, I had the creepy thought of what shape I'd be in if I had been under the truck when this happened...! Lot's of lessons learned here, some of which could fall under "I should have known better" - like not leaving the heater unattended or using it around the truck in the first place. Although I, and most of my fishing buddies, use these heaters on our boats - often when sleeping...
So, to make this post at least a little topical - no new XMs for this guy for a little while anyway... Well, off to clean the debris off my driveway since I was at work all weekend.. Here's a pic - looks like it was a VBIED
