Merrrrrrry Christmas!

[WylieCoyote]

T'was a bad Christmas, vehicle-wise. Hail in Chandler, wood on the road in Seagoville, mattresses on the road in Mesquite. Folks really need to secure their loads.

Merry Christmas to me....a new grille, and who knows how many dents to be removed, as I haven't had it under a florescent light yet.

 

[panthermike]

Yikes! Chandler, AZ I'm assuming? We have been getting more and more hail lately. Had pretty decent damage on the Armada a few months back to.

 

[WylieCoyote]

Chandler, TX, on Lake Palestine w/ the in-laws. Coincidentally, my sister once lived in Chandler, AZ. The weather here is horrible right now.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

 

[simple_gifts]

Quote

Folks really need to secure their loads.


+1; commercial grade wheelbarrow blew out of the F-X50 in front of me on the highway two days ago, along with some extension cords; I dodged it because of my pokie driving style; guy behind me, not so lucky.

 

[hummdrumm]

Originally Posted by simple_gifts
Quote

Folks really need to secure their loads.


+1; commercial grade wheelbarrow blew out of the F-X50 in front of me on the highway two days ago, along with some extension cords; I dodged it because of my pokie driving style; guy behind me, not so lucky.



Yes! I had the choice of driving off road in my Power Wagon or taking a partial sheet of plywood through the windshield. Uncovered stake bed in 1980 with high wind advisory. Ladder rack on shell kept it from complete rollover. Dog and I were fine. Truck was repaired but never was the same.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted by WylieCoyote
Folks really need to secure their loads.


Folks also really need to NOT follow directly behind those hauling such loads. I even change lanes from the vehicle in front of me - if it has either a trailer or more than six tires. I also try to avoid curb lanes on two-way roads with four or more lanes. Debris often gathers in the curb lane and flats are more common in curb lanes.

Sorry for the OP here. Damage to any of our vehicles usually renders us a headache.

 

[WylieCoyote]

I actually wasn't following him. It fell off a truck a good while before I came along. Thankfully, I was following fairly closely behind the truck that kicked it up, and got it airborne. If I had been further back, it may have gained more altitude and came through the windshield, or entered the upper grille.

I make a point not to be behind these ill-loaded trucks. Ahead of them is the place to be.

 

[Cujet]

I hate it when things like that happen. Hence the quote: "That's why we can't have nice stuff" .

 

[WylieCoyote]

Originally Posted by Cujet
I hate it when things like that happen. Hence the quote: "That's why we can't have nice stuff" .


Pretty much exactly the conversation I had with my sister when I told her about it. After what she's been through (below), plus the multitude of other times she's been hit while sitting still, she gave up keeping a vehicle nice.

 

[HemiBenny]

Wow! None of that sounds like any fun at all! As you stated, at least that piece of wood stayed low, that could have been a lot worse. Hopefully the hail damage is minimal if any at all.
As for unsecured loads, yes, people do need to secure their loads! My Wife has a Cousin in the Seattle area that lost her Husband in a big crash caused by an unsecured load falling off of a truck on interstate 5 back in 2007. Those two guys were the first people charged under the Maria law, a law named after a woman that was permanently disfigured by particle board that came off of a truck. Seeing an unsecured load just has a way of stroking my fur backwards.

 

[CR94]

The entire steel-frame seat blew off a large riding mower on a trailer. It skidded under my Mazda. Much noise! In the mirror, I saw it come out behind me in two pieces. Results could've been worse: dent in bottom of gas tank, scratch (but no crack) in transmission case where it barely missed the back-up switch, additional damage to under-engine aero stuff previously ripped by a liberated truck retread...

 

[WylieCoyote]

Decided to take on this repair myself, instead of hassling with a body shop, or getting insurance involved. Gotta say, thanks to the internet, bumper removal wasn't the nightmare I was expecting. Pretty straightforward once you've removed the 37 fasteners holding everything together. Glad I took it on, although my fingers are cut & scraped from removing the broken grille from the bumper. The 2x4 shattered the left hinge on one of the grille shutters, so I just removed that blade altogether rather than wait for it to jam up the whole system. Thankfully it hit too far left to take out the condenser or radiator. $138 for the grille, and a l little elbow grease buffing out the scratches on the chin.

Newer cars really are ugly under that plastic. Just glad it's done without much hassle.