I am WTV* - sob!

[Bill]

Don't know where to tell my sad story, so I'll dump it here.

As you know from my sig line, we tow our TM with a 2002 Ford Explorer - the first year of the resurrection of the old-fashioned big ones. We bought it as a tow vehicle, and it has been great - V8, 5-speed auto, 3.73 limited slip, factory tow package including a big steel Class 3/4 hitch receiver, and enough interior goodies to make my wife throw over her luxurious Turbo Saab and adopt it as HER CAR (hey, that wasn't part of the plan!)

Last week we took a couple houseguests out for a drive. They asked to stop at a shop on the other side of the road, so I signalled left, pulled to the left side of lane, and stopped, waiting for a break in oncoming traffic. The first car behind us saw our signal and pulled around - nice wide lane, plenty of room. The second car saw our signal and did the same. The third car was out in space somewhere, and plowed into us at something like 35 mph. WHAM!

So we had ambulances, fire trucks, police cruisers from two towns, the whole scene. They whisked my wife off to the hospital for some neck X-rays - she will be fine, but first she will be sore. The other three of us had nasty headaches from being whopped by the headrests, but we're OK, too.

Now I could tell you how the other driver was a nice looking 23-year old guy, and how he spoke only broken English, and how he presented the cops with a driver's license from Bulgaria, and how he was living with another kid from Bulgaria, who actually owned the car but wasn't quite up to date on his insurance. But that wouldn't be interesting. He was OK, by the way - fortunately strapped in really tight.

What was interesting, to me anyway, is that he was driving a 96 Hyundai. Now, when a 2000-pound Hyundai attacks a 4300-pound SUV, it is pretty easy to understand who is going to win. There was very little left of the Hyundai forward of the windshield. But on our Explorer, that big steel hitch receiver took most of the impact. Shoved it 6 inches straight forward, and twisted it a bit to the side. The bumper took the remainder of the impact. No sheet metal damage forward of the bumper.

There are other uninteresting details, too. Like the towing company that towed my vehicle off into the night, and for two days, no one could find it. Turns out they saw our out of state plates, figured they had a sucker, and "kidnapped" it, so they could levy storage charges. They now know, via the Police Department that called them, that I am local, and I don't put up with that kind of stuff.

But I learned several amazing (to me) things from the incident.
1. Despite the overwhelming advantage of my vehicle in the Hyundai-vs-Explorer contest, the impact REALLY HURT! If someone had asked me beforehand, I would have guessed it would be a lot less. I hate to think what it would have been like if the vehicles had been more evenly matched. Or if the rather moderate speed difference (35 mph) had been higher.
2. Modern vehicles are really pretty good at protecting their occupants. Sure, the headrests smacked the back of our heads pretty hard when the Explorer snapped forward from the impact - but our necks sure as heck didn't snap backward. And the kid in the Hyundai unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out of his pile of bent sheet metal and steam, scared and bruised, but OK.
3. Insurance companies can be the good guys. The kid's friend's insurance rep described the specifics of "not quite up to date", but said not to worry, they would cover everything and sort it out later with the kid. And they have really made it quite easy. For example, they agreed with my choice of body shop for estimate and repair - even though it wasn't their choice. And since we were driving an SUV, they offered to provide us with an SUV for the duration. I would have accepted an econobox, but they insisted. When the local rental places didn't have an SUV, they brought us, right to our house, a humongous pickup truck - Ray, we can put your new Tundra in the back of this. Wouldn't have been my choice, but their heart was in the right place. And they also offered us a $400 "inconvenience package" if we would just sign some releases, which of course we declined to do - so far.
4. Women can get just as attached to a car as men can! Can you believe it?? My wife cries every day - her "poor baby" has been violated! She wants to go to the shop and comfort it! She is waiting like a new mother for the final diagnosis. I don't know if we'll get the vehicle back. Depends on how bad the frame was twisted, but judging from the sheet metal, I don't think it was too bad, so she and it will be reunited.

Moral of the story - at least one of them? You hear people say "SUVs should be outlawed. In an accident, they overwhelm the other guy", the implication being that the SUV caused the accident. But for me, I can now say "You betcha! And sometimes the other guy deserves to be overwhelmed. Let me tell you a story. It was a rainy night in Maine ..."

Bill

[RockyMtnRay]

Oh my. Well first am glad no one was seriously injured, especially you and your dear wife! And secondly, I totally empathize with your wife's (and your) concern about the repairability of the Explorer...sure hope the body shop can make it completely whole again.

This is sad news. Glad no one was majorly hurt, but I think you will know it for a while.

Isn't this about the time you head south? Really puts a pickle to things does it not?

Bill, please email me at [email protected]. I went through the EXACT same situation basically as you did June of last year, and as I know a few things about body shops, I'd definately be the one to talk to about this. I was rear ended in my S-10 Blazer by a minivan at 35mph, and it totalled it out, and the guy didn't have any insurance. My Blazer totalled the car in front of me, and I will say the guy in front of me didn't come out nearly as well as I did dealing with the insurance companies. And yes, DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING EVER! There is pain and suffering money they won't tell you about that they have to pay, etc, etc....LOTS of "little things" you probably don't know about...The insurance companies do play dirty, and will do things like put a statement on a check saying they're released from the matter if you deposit the check...PLEASE shoot me an email Bill.......Put Trailmanor in the subject line though so I know it's you.

[glow=red,2,300]Happytrails........[/glow]

[Bill]

[quote author=Windbreaker link=board=18;threadid=1455;start=msg10241#msg1024 1 date=1066601805]
This is sad news. Glad no one was majorly hurt, but I think you will know it for a while. Isn't this about the time you head south? Really puts a pickle to things does it not?[/quote]Yes, normally we would leave within a couple weeks. This year we planned to stay in Maine through Thanksgiving, 'cause the kids will be here. But yes, if the Explorer is totalled, things get a lot more complicated. For one thing, assembling a quick slug of cash to buy a new one won't be handy. Complicated by the fact that Ford no longer offers a V-8 in the new Explorers, so we will have to move to something new without proper time to research.

Keep your fingers crossed for me ... and thanks for the concern.

Bill

Bill,
I am glad that nobody was seriously injured. A tow vehicle can be replaced, if it can't be repaired - but it is a shame that this happened to you. Good luck with the insurance companies and thanks for sharing this with the board. This is something that many of us don't think of till it actually happens to us. There might be lots of good info on the tow vehicle section of the site if you have to get a new and different one. Get well soon.
smookie

Just checked Ford's site. They do offer a 4.6 L SOHC V-8 in the new Explorers. Hope it helps ya out a little.

Camperboy

[Bill]

They do? Fantastic! I couldn't find it - went through all the click-through menus for "Configure your vehicle", etc, and it just never seemed to come up. Must have missed it somewhere - thanks!

Bill

Bill,

I'm with everybody else in saying its good noone was hurt, in either vehicle. But I'm really outraged about the tow company trying to take advantage of you like that. There oughta be a law -- and there probably is, but companies and people like that leave a real sour taste in my mouth.

Bill – Whoa! This is not good news! Glad to hear that you and yours are going to be OK, though. I want to second your thoughts on the SUV safety issue. Our 1989 Land Cruiser, which is well over 6,000 lbs, has been rear ended THREE times by small econoboxes--all three times the car lost. We sold the Cruiser a few months ago and could honestly say to the new owner (an 18 year old kid) that it had never been to the body shop for repair. Every time we got hit, the car submarined UNDER the hitch. After the accident, we simply had to put the Cruiser in 4WD to drive off the car underneath us. Next stop was our mechanic’s to make sure that there was no damage done to our Cruiser. All it ever took was a little spray paint on the hitch assembly to fix things up. Sadly, after more than 200,000 miles and almost 15 years, we’ve had to say goodbye to the Cruiser, so we’re back in the market. The $50K+ cost of a new Cruiser puts that choice out of reach, and unlike you, we’re still locked into Downeast Maine winters, so we’re going to need something that is able to go to the same places that we explored with the Cruiser—both summer and winter. I’ll be interested to know what you finally settle on for a replacement vehicle. And thanks to everybody else regarding their thoughts on what kind of tv works best for them—it’s been invaluable.

Rick