Slee Rear Bumper Crash Test (Unofficial, Unsolicited, Unplanned) (2 Viewers)

[jonharis]

My Slee Rear Bumper and Tire Carrier (Slee - Toyota Land Cruiser 100 Series Rear Bumpers) met an unfortunate end yesterday, April fools day no less. The story is a simple one of speed and lack of concentration, the important thing is that no one was hurt in either party.

The Soap Box
I don't type this lightly and I will stand behind it, I feel that at the least Slee's bumper saved my truck from a total and at the most it saved the life of my children, more on that later. I think you will agree after seeing the photos below. It reemphasized to me the importance of purchasing a QUALITY product when doing an upgrade to your truck as there is so much more involved and at stake in an accident than how it performs off road. Many people seem to have tunnel vision and focus on only one of the three elements of a good product, quality, price and safety. Rhetorical question time,Which order is most important to you? I believe that slee has mastered the quality and safety aspect and that does come at a price but after this event that seems pretty irrelevant.

The Story:
I was just finishing up a great weekend with the Book Cliff Cruisers San Rafael Swell run, we did the most difficult trails in the swell with zero casualties other than a scuffed bumper here and there and some undercarriage rash. At the end of the trip, three of us decided to explore an abandoned military complex. The complex lies at the end of an unpaved and unmaintained road.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2452.jpg

A half mile down the road and everything was going fine, the road was overgrown and rough in areas but nothing was severe. We were cruising along at 40-50mph (no speed limits were posted) and enjoying the scenery. A lot of abandoned equipment can be found all over the area making it hard to keep ones eyes on the road. This Pipe was visible snaking across the landscape, at the point where it crossed the road, the installers (probably many years earlier) had not repaved the crossing and it had eroded to a ditch nearly a foot deep.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2454.jpg

I saw the ditch ~100 feet away and realized that it was really deep from about ~50 feet. I hit the brakes hard and slowed to cross it gently. The next few seconds are very clear in my memory and I feel are accurate.

~20 feet (all measurements are based on skid marks) from the ditch, I glances in my drivers side mirror to see the 3rd gen 4Runner right on top of me. It gave me enough time to hit the gas (which I think was pivotal to the overall outcome). I was hit hard but did not feel the damage was bad that is until I got out of the truck. I let the truck roll of ~100 feet on it's own power before stopping, I'm not sure why, to get away from a second hit? or just to let things sink in perhaps? and got out to see the 4 runner. I checked on my children, two 21 month old girls in the middle seat in rear facing car seats which are the best kind for a front impact but the worst for a rear impact. They started crying when they saw me but I think it was out of shock and not pain. My dog Kes was also with me in the back seat and she seemed fine. I inspected the back of the truck to find the following damage.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2474.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2471.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2466.jpg

Now some would look at these photos and say that the tire carrier and hi-lift caused most of that damage. This is an accurate statement but I feel the damage would have been many magnitudes greater if I had a stock bumper. Yes the glass, tail light and rear hatch were broken by the movement of the tire carrier but all of that would have been destroyed anyways with a regular bumper.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2516.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2515.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2503.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2494.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2479.jpg

You may also be saying that doesn't look that bad. True, but it represents $5000-$6000 in damage.

The real kicker is when you see what happened to the 4Runner.


























































http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2458.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2486.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2485.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2461.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2459.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2460.jpg

This is a perfect example of a poorly designed product, the 4Runner's 4xInnovations Bumper failing and causing extreme amounts of damage. The bumper has minimal internal bracing and very few mounting points on the frame. EDIT: While I stick by the implication that the 4Runners bumper was a poorly designed and built product, I agree with the comment several posts below that it did what it was supposed to do in the crash. The trucks crumple zone functioned wonderfully and the driver walked away without a scratch.

Here are a few wide shots showing the surrounding. The hole in the second pic is big enough for me to get into.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2475.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2462.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums... 2012/2012-04-01BCCSanRafaelOvernight2472.jpg

Ultimately, it was the driver of the 4Runner who was at fault although I don't "blame" him for the incident. He was looking at the pipeline for a mater of a second or two and looked back at me to see nothing but brake lights. We could have just as easily has our positions switched. It just reenforces the importance of leaving proper distance between you and the guy in front of you. We calculated the speed of impact to be at a net velocity of somewhere between 35-40mph. I was moving at 5-10mph and the other vehicle was moving at 40-45mph on impact. The hole in the Slee bumper was caused by the other vehicles drivers side D-ring loop. Ultimately insurance covers everything and no one is hurt.

The Take Away
I am incredibly thankful to the three drivers involved with this incident (third driver was in not way a part of the accident but was instrumental in getting us on the road) for sticking with us through the night. I was able to drive the 100 series home and the 4Runner was towed to GR for the night. The 4Runner is a total loss.

I am also thankful to Christo Slee for his design, thought and attention to detail. You are truly a master of your craft and I am honored to be able to sport the Slee logo on my truck. Things can be replaced but people can not.

 

[jonharis]

Forgot to mention, poll on the top of the page.

 

[1loudLX]

Looks like you'll be upgrading your brake lights to something like mine, huh? To answer your poll, quality & safety.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Glad you're okay. Sucks that it was a fellow wheeler involved. I don't know that I'd say the other bumper "failed". A bumper should crush and absorb impact, not stay rock hard and transmit all the damage further back.

 

[OGBeno]

Holy cow. Glad you and the other driver were safe Jon. Crazy.

The Slee bumper held up good it seems to me, and did most of what it was supposed to do...

Glad everything is ok.

 

[jonharis]

Glad you're okay. Sucks that it was a fellow wheeler involved. I don't know that I'd say the other bumper "failed". A bumper should crush and absorb impact, not stay rock hard and transmit all the damage further back.

Excellent point, and yes you are absolutly correct. I came to that conclusion after seeing shortcomings with poor build quality, bad welds, inconsistent fit and finish etc. I still think the amount of deflection, compression and collateral damage was excessive for the speed of impact, but I'm no engineer.

 

[Nottajeep]

12 or 14 mounting bolts on a rear bumper to the frame make it almost tank proof.
As much vibration as I see out of the ladder and swingout tire on the back (daily hwy driving), I am not surprised those will flex on impact.
Looks like the 4 runner lost it's fluid. Did they drive out or tow?

Would have been awesome if you towed the 4runner out with the ruptured Slee bumper


btw: totally bummed about your wrecked 100. It's a super nice rig and I've enjoyed seeing your vids and pics.

 

[Yukon LX]

is the broken windshield on the ps side of the runner from a head impact? Sure looks like it, but i hope not. On a side not, the boxed rear of the 100 is extremely strong. I have no rear bumper except a painted rear frame and had a sedan hit me at about 20mph at a stop light on an icy road last winter. It totaled the car, and i had 0 damage. I am giving full credit to the slee in your case, but without the tupperware, it is pretty stout back there too. That being said, you have a much higher delta V with a lot more mass hitting you. I am glad everyone was ok. Thats some scary stuff.

 

[ddog]

bumper

This post makes me think I should keep my hundy atleast till the kids are done riding in the back seat. Looks like the bumper did its job well to me.

 

[klinetime574]

Sorry about your accident. The 4Runner was following too close to you, no doubt about it. Hope he was okay though. Responding to Yukon LX he could have had something in his passenger seat, hope that wasn't someones head.

I also agree quality and safety are equal and high priority.

 

[jonharis]

12 or 14 mounting bolts on a rear bumper to the frame make it almost tank proof.
As much vibration as I see out of the ladder and swingout tire on the back (daily hwy driving), I am not surprised those will flex on impact.
Looks like the 4 runner lost it's fluid. Did they drive out or tow?

Would have been awesome if you towed the 4runner out with the ruptured Slee bumper


btw: totally bummed about your wrecked 100. It's a super nice rig and I've enjoyed seeing your vids and pics.

Thanks Jason. The truck woul have towed the runner without any issues. Everything was still solid, albeit a little mangled. The truck will be better than new in 3-4 weeks. Everything that is damaged is being replaced with OEM and new Slee gear.

is the broken windshield on the ps side of the runner from a head impact? Sure looks like it, but i hope not. On a side not, the boxed rear of the 100 is extremely strong. I have no rear bumper except a painted rear frame and had a sedan hit me at about 20mph at a stop light on an icy road last winter. It totaled the car, and i had 0 damage. I am giving full credit to the slee in your case, but without the tupperware, it is pretty stout back there too. That being said, you have a much higher delta V with a lot more mass hitting you. I am glad everyone was ok. Thats some scary stuff.

The broken windshield is from the dash flying upwards when the airbag deployed. It is hinged at the top. A heck of a lot of force.

 

[Bawlz]

Holy buckets! Glad everyone is okay!

is the broken windshield on the ps side of the runner from a head impact?

The passenger airbag cover often hits the windshield when it goes off (depending on it's placement on the dash of course).

 

[3D FJ]

Wow. Glad to see you're alright. Sucks that it happened. With that much impact, i have to wonder if the frame took any damage.

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

Glad to hear nobody was injured. This seals the deal for me in terms of what bumper(s) I am going to purchase when that time comes. Mr Slee, the premium that you charge for your well built products appears to be worth it!

 

[jonharis]

Wow. Glad to see you're alright. Sucks that it happened. With that much impact, i have to wonder if the frame took any damage.

Frame will be checked by body shop. I'll post up results.

 

[MtnAddict]

Damn... Glad everyone is ok. Testament to the quality of Slee's products.

I think quality first, but quality is most likely going to equal safety.

 

[BamaHeel]

Glad y'all are okay the twins can't be replaced a (great) bumper can. Makes a great case for a rear bumper for me!

 

[CWR33]

Great story, minus the damage of course. Glad everyone made it out in one piece.

You ought to send this in too them, hell they may send you a free bumper in exchange for the positive publicity.

 

[ddog]

I can deliver a new bumper to you in a couple weeks when I head to Moab if need be.

 

[3D FJ]

You ought to send this in too them, hell they may send you a free bumper in exchange for the positive publicity.

Nice thought, but i really don't think slee needs to add to his already positive reputation.