20 minutes was all it took

I bought a new tow vehicle last year and finally got around to doing work on it. Put new 35" tires on it, put a newer radio in, redid the entire exhaust in stainless, brakes/rotors, fluids, etc... In the last 2 weekends, I put 28 hours of labor into maintenance and still have minor things to do (replace running boards,new speakers). Monday I detailed the car and declared it 'ready enough'.

The wife drove it Tuesday and called me 20 minutes after she left the house. Guess what... she didn't hit a car or deer, no, she hit a big ole' box truck from a construction company, like a big uhaul, the kind that sits up 4 feet high and uses a lift to get into the back - but with big old plate steel as the flooring. She hit their bumper and drove it in, the middle of my bumper hit the back of their truck and drove under the bumper a bit. All the metal on my car is fine except for the bumper (hopefully not frame) .

Everyone was ok and she only bumped them, - I'll have to do some work on the bumper though, hope I can get it mostly back in place - can't even open the hood right now.

A plug for ARB now - my ARB bumper saved my truck - without it I would be replacing the hood, grill, radiator, both headlights at a minimum. Probably some quarterpanel repair one side or the other and cooling fan. I'm glad it was on the truck when I bought it. 8)

Glad to hear she is ok!

Pics or it didn't happen

Jamie

First and foremost glad everyone is okay.

I don't know if you replaced the original tires with the 35 inchers, but increasing diameter of the tires usually reduces stopping power and increases stopping distance.

Good luck on the repairs.

That really sucks and I'm sorry to hear it....but I'm glad nobody was hurt.

EVERYTIME THE OL LADY BORROWS MY TRUCK I TELL HER " IF YOU WRECK IT DONT COME HOME" I ALWAYS TELL HER SHE DOSENT PAY ANY ATTENTION TO THE ROAD, BUT GLAD EVERYONES OK!!

Glad she's alright. I don't let my wife operate my stuff for that exact reason, hope you learned your lesson.

Fool me once, shame on you
Fool me twice..........

Lol I was going to said learned your lesson as a joke but you did it for me . Im glad she is ok though!

nomowork said:

First and foremost glad everyone is okay.

I don't know if you replaced the original tires with the 35 inchers, but increasing diameter of the tires usually reduces stopping power and increases stopping distance.

Good luck on the repairs.

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Thanks for the info - it's a 80 series Landcruiser- the brakes were upgraded to the 100 series for increased stopping abilty. I tested the stopping ability on dry, wet, and snow - so that wasn't the problem. Hate to say it, but the issue was the driver. :?

As to pics, she didn't take overall pictures, just the close up scratches and dents in their bumper. I tried to get a picture of mine this morning, but black on black doesn't show up well on the camera. :roll

Somewhere in the back of my mind I question if she did it half on purpose... She has a history of weird stuff - for example she doesn't like me hunting - One day I opened up my hunting clothes in the airtight container and find a milk jug in them, you know, mostly empty, top off, smelly. IT was in the non-temperature controlled garage. She 'said' she thought it was recycling cause it was blue. :---) :---) :---) BS, She had to open the top and put it in and reseal the clothes box. I thought I'd have to get a "D" over that one. Instead I bought new camo. There are numerous other incidents that show revenge, like the broken stock on my gun... not sure how she explained that one besides don't leave it in her laundry room (a storage area) But I don't have all day to type. Just before she left the house the morning of the accident, she accused me of being 'flirty' with a college girl from my volleyball team. "Seriously?" I replied. We've been married 13 years - I thought she was joking.... then I got the call about my car. Why did she take my car that day anyway? - she says it draws too much attention to her when she drives so she doesn't use it. She had to walk right past her car to get to it.
Whatever - she's just tying to make me more paranoid :roll:

You'll only confuse yourself if you try to figure her out, just keep her away from your boat :LOL2:

Ictalurus said:

You'll only confuse yourself if you try to figure her out, just keep her away from your boat :LOL2:

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Even better advice...keep her away from my boat! :LOL2: Good luck man. I'm praying for you! [-o< [-o<

fender66 said:

Ictalurus said:

You'll only confuse yourself if you try to figure her out, just keep her away from your boat :LOL2:

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Even better advice...keep her away from my boat! :LOL2: Good luck man. I'm praying for you! [-o< [-o<

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lol, yes, she has not driven the boat - I have backup keys in the garage in case the boat keys get 'lost' somehow 8)

i think you might want to hide more than just the boat keys

Glad she is ok.

Take her in front of judge Judy.

Well it does suck to have this happen to ya...but with a history like you just mentioned I would definitely be taking better precautions with your wife!
Milk Jug + Camo gear, Broken gun stock? Didnt even think that could happen!

I got in touch with my inner redneck today - tied off the bumper to the base of a tree, hit reverse a the happy pedal few times and Bam!, - fixed enough. A rattlecan of paint and I'll be good to go.

Ah women, you can't live with them and you can't live without them.

When I was married (past tense) I found a great deal on a used 4WD 1973 Blazer (pre smog controls) so bought it. My then wife thought I was crazy as we already had two cars. She eventually fell in love with it because of the lift and big tires which kept the SUV above the little cars. She especially liked the larger storage area in the back for those shopping trips!

Is that a record? Glad shes alright.