Attention: TDR Forum Junkies Last week I pulled the stupidest move of my life (well, second stupidest, counting my ex 
). Exiting the parking garage from work, another vehicle kinda caught my attention heading left up the ramp. ‘Funny how one tends to turn left when looking left… and I turned directly into a 3’X3’ steel reinforced concrete pier. It was my first wreck in 38 years of driving - a solid little “love tap” at almost a perfect 45 degree angle – and I didn’t even realize it was there until after impact. Two things came to mind instantly: #1) I done f***ed up, and #2) no amount of hind-sighting, second-guessing, re-living, wishing or praying could change what had just happened to my pride and joy. So I backed ‘er up and pulled into an empty stall (which is easy when they’re all empty – I work some long hours) to assess damage.
My 12-day old Ranch Hand front bumper replacement had taken quite a shot. It was pretty much completely intact, but a little bent towards the right side, and of course a tad scarred where it and the concrete had attempted to become one. I knew it wasn’t good, but I was immediately wondering – can I drive it? I saw nothing of a liquid nature dripping to the ground, so I figured I’d try to get it home.
Driving the 16 miles was uneventful and thankfully, that tough Beast drove straight and true, but I’m sure I saw more of my gauges than I did the road. OK – got home and still no leaks. ‘Drove it back to work the next morning with no problem (not counting that my lighting was somewhat diminished except for that little patch about three feet in front of the left side of the truck) I called my insurance company and told them what happened. They asked me several questions and whether or not I’d called for a police report and I was thinking to myself, What? With no witnesses, no injuries and no damage to anything except my truck, I’d call the police so they could write a report that said, “This moron drove himself right into a brick wall. ”??? Well anyway, insurance covers it (minus my $1,000 deductible, of course. Ouch!).
So I went on down to their recommended collision center (after they couldn’t figure out how to pay the claim since I actually indicated I wanted to do as much of the repair as possible myself - no one had ever asked them that before). That was the first time I saw what that five MPH concrete “meeting” did: The Ranch Hand was pushed back and to the right, taking the left front quarter with it. It had pushed back far enough that the grille was busted, and the hood was in the Ranch Hand’s unyielding grip. The hood had bowed up, but not until it had seriously gouged the passenger door. Underneath is when it came to me that the Ranch Hand might have saved me from The Beast being totaled: the ½” thick steel mounting brackets were bent into little “S” shapes in each side, and the frame had actually ripped where the Ranch Hand mounted!
Holy Moly! What would have happened had all that heavy (245 lbs. ) steel not been there?
Well, everything will be fixed and/or replaced – including my Ranch Hand! But the damages came to just shy of $6,300.
So what do you think? Did the Ranch Hand save my bacon on this? I wonder how much further into the engine area that pier would have gone without it…
). Exiting the parking garage from work, another vehicle kinda caught my attention heading left up the ramp. ‘Funny how one tends to turn left when looking left… and I turned directly into a 3’X3’ steel reinforced concrete pier. It was my first wreck in 38 years of driving - a solid little “love tap” at almost a perfect 45 degree angle – and I didn’t even realize it was there until after impact. Two things came to mind instantly: #1) I done f***ed up, and #2) no amount of hind-sighting, second-guessing, re-living, wishing or praying could change what had just happened to my pride and joy. So I backed ‘er up and pulled into an empty stall (which is easy when they’re all empty – I work some long hours) to assess damage. My 12-day old Ranch Hand front bumper replacement had taken quite a shot. It was pretty much completely intact, but a little bent towards the right side, and of course a tad scarred where it and the concrete had attempted to become one. I knew it wasn’t good, but I was immediately wondering – can I drive it? I saw nothing of a liquid nature dripping to the ground, so I figured I’d try to get it home.
Driving the 16 miles was uneventful and thankfully, that tough Beast drove straight and true, but I’m sure I saw more of my gauges than I did the road. OK – got home and still no leaks. ‘Drove it back to work the next morning with no problem (not counting that my lighting was somewhat diminished except for that little patch about three feet in front of the left side of the truck) I called my insurance company and told them what happened. They asked me several questions and whether or not I’d called for a police report and I was thinking to myself, What? With no witnesses, no injuries and no damage to anything except my truck, I’d call the police so they could write a report that said, “This moron drove himself right into a brick wall. ”??? Well anyway, insurance covers it (minus my $1,000 deductible, of course. Ouch!).
So I went on down to their recommended collision center (after they couldn’t figure out how to pay the claim since I actually indicated I wanted to do as much of the repair as possible myself - no one had ever asked them that before). That was the first time I saw what that five MPH concrete “meeting” did: The Ranch Hand was pushed back and to the right, taking the left front quarter with it. It had pushed back far enough that the grille was busted, and the hood was in the Ranch Hand’s unyielding grip. The hood had bowed up, but not until it had seriously gouged the passenger door. Underneath is when it came to me that the Ranch Hand might have saved me from The Beast being totaled: the ½” thick steel mounting brackets were bent into little “S” shapes in each side, and the frame had actually ripped where the Ranch Hand mounted!
Holy Moly! What would have happened had all that heavy (245 lbs. ) steel not been there? Well, everything will be fixed and/or replaced – including my Ranch Hand! But the damages came to just shy of $6,300.
So what do you think? Did the Ranch Hand save my bacon on this? I wonder how much further into the engine area that pier would have gone without it…
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Got to love those stupid mistakes. 
