Tree Fell On My Truck While Driving Down Highway!!

[MMead]

Last night I was heading home doing about 50 mph on the highway when a tree fell right in front of my truck. It was actually still on its way down when I hit it, then it went under the truck. When I got out to check the damage, another tree blew over right behind me.



I've never known anyone who babies there vehicle more than I do my Ram, so it made me sick to see my damaged truck being hauled off by a wrecker.



I believe it is the transmission cooler and intercooler that are in front of the radiator, but they were both punctured by branches. Anything special I should consider when I'm talking to my dealer about the repairs?



Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JVolpe]

Sorry to hear about the damage. Where in the heck were you driving and what caused the trees to fall??

 

[MMead]

I was driving south in the Florida Panhandle, down Highway 87 heading home from Alabama. It was about to start raining and there was a pretty good wind blowing across the road. With all the hurricanes we've had lately, I don't know how these trees survived those storms and then fell yesterday. But like I said, after I pulled off the road another one blew over right behind us into the road. Just my bad luck I guess... or maybe it was good luck. If we had been 10 feet closer it would have fallen right into the windshield.

 

[AMassaro]

Exact same thing happened to me in my old FordF250. I had all cosmetic damage ($1500) because I had just made it under the main trunk of the tree and got blasted by branches and such.

When the cop came (traffic was blocked, all four lanes), I told him I was the unlucky guy who got hit by the tree. He looked at the 60+' of massive lumber on the road and said "Looks like you're pretty darn lucky"...

Thankfully you and myself weren't harmed in such incidents as some people aren't probably as lucky...

 

[Boondocker]

Hopefully it took out your bumper too and you can use that as an excuse to get Buckstop or similar heavy duty bumper. Maybe a Treestop in your case



Check your steering components - trackbar, tie rod, steering stabilizer, tires, all that stuff under there and get an alignment before driving away.

 

[rbattelle]

Wow! What a story. I have nothing useful to add, except to say thank God you weren't hurt! And I agree with Boondocker - if you need new bumpers you might as well upgrade...



-Ryan

 

[MMead]

Just got the quote for the repairs (assuming there is no problem with alignment). It was $2,838 for a new condenser, intercooler, grill and a few other fluids. The service manager actually keeps saying the transmission cooler has to be replaced instead of saying the intercooler. He says the intercooler is the same thing as the transmission cooler and that in this part of the country people just call the transmission cooler an intercooler. I tried to tell him there was a difference between the two but he had no patience for discussion of any kind.

 

[BeauP]

YOU MIGHT LOOK AT THE BANKS INTERCOOLER IF YOU HAVE TO BUY ONE ANYWAY. YOU HAVE ME WORRIED NOW IN SOUTH MS. MAYBE THESE HURRICANE TREES ARE WEAK :-laf

 

[rbattelle]

He says the intercooler is the same thing as the transmission cooler and that in this part of the country people just call the transmission cooler an intercooler. I tried to tell him there was a difference between the two but he had no patience for discussion of any kind.

RUN!



-Ryan

 

[TheBigSgt]

Get that truck out of there! I would do my best to get rid of a tech that said that to me! I wouldn't let a friend help me work on my truck that thought that!

 

[MMead]

I went back and talked to the service manager again about ordering parts. He continued to insist that the intercooler is the same thing as the transmission cooler. To prove his point he called in a diesel tech who of course new that they were different systems all together. The service manager's explanation was "some say tomato, some say tomato. "



I looked into getting an upgraded bumper and a Banks intercooler, but the price tag was a little to high for me. Plus, I was worried about negatively affecting my warranty with the aftermarket intercooler.

 

[KennethS]

A big tree fell on this Dodge also

This truck was repaired. They took off the body and found a truck with a 318 engine and pulled the cab and bed. He sha the truck sitting in the garage and looks new. Cost to fix the truck was a bundle. hye got more in the truck then he could get out of it but like he says its my truck and I am happy.

 

[klenger]

He says the intercooler is the same thing as the transmission cooler and that in this part of the country people just call the transmission cooler an intercooler.

... so, I guess my NV5600 manual transmission has a cooler then. I guess we'd better be careful taking the hoses off the "intercooler" so that all the fluid doesn't leak out.

 

[formula]

I went back and talked to the service manager again about ordering parts. He continued to insist that the intercooler is the same thing as the transmission cooler. To prove his point he called in a diesel tech who of course new that they were different systems all together. The service manager's explanation was "some say tomato, some say tomato. "



I looked into getting an upgraded bumper and a Banks intercooler, but the price tag was a little to high for me. Plus, I was worried about negatively affecting my warranty with the aftermarket intercooler.

Dude, you must have some really good patience. I'd have a flippin' nutty if I was in that situation. Any way you can go above the service mgr to make sure things get fixed proper?



Sean

 

[MMead]

I don't know that I have that much patience, but I am completely at the dealership's mercy so I'm afraid to upset these guys who will be working on my truck. I just have to smile, say thank you for the excellent service, and hope they do more good than harm while they make the repairs.

 

[rbattelle]

I don't know that I have that much patience, but I am completely at the dealership's mercy so I'm afraid to upset these guys who will be working on my truck. I just have to smile, say thank you for the excellent service, and hope they do more good than harm while they make the repairs.

Alas, I hate being in that kind of situation, but I have been on many occassions. At least the service manager isn't the one actually working on the vehicle.



-Ryan