Ok guys...
Big snow last weekend...awoke to about 16" of fresh powder Sunday morning.
Being a clever guy, I parked under a holly tree, so as to minimize snow removal
from my stock '96, no lockers, FZJ80. Well, the snow had collapsed the tree branches down onto my truck...challange #1.
I got out on the road, having a great time tooling down the road. A sudden gust
of wind, along with my high-beams, resulted in an instant white-out.
When the snow cleared a couple of seconds later, I found myself heading directly towards a downed pine tree which stretched completely across the road.
I hit the brakes and immediately started sliding, as I was going about 25mph, and thanks to ABS, it was a nice straight, controlled slide. But it was obvious that I was not going to stop before I got to the tree...challange #2.
WHAM!!! I hit the tree perfectly perpendicular to its 7"-8" trunk and assorted
branches. KA-THUMP!!! My front wheels climbed over the tree...better hit the gas...KA-BUMP!!! My back wheels cleared the tree...this isn't good, I thought...
Well, another downed tree followed, but I didn't run into this one.
I turned around and made it to Dunkin' Donuts for a cup o' joe...I was expecting
a busted grill and broken lenses, at least, but...nothing.
Well, I'll drink my coffee, and look for leaks on the snow, but...nothing.
So i drove off in the deep snow, did my grocery shopping, returned home and
shoveled snow for about 4 hours.
After shoveling, I filled a 5gal bucket with warm water, and took my little
garden sprayer underneath the Cruiser and washed off the snow, and looked for damage...nothing...nada...nuttin' honey.
Once the roads were somewhat clear later, I drove the Cruiser around to see if
the front-end handling was affected...again, nothing...so I let my friend's 17
year-old son wheel her around in an unplowed warehouse parking lot...no problem.
Well, you get the idea...I ran over a stationary object at speed, and apparently
suffered no damage whatsoever.
So I have 2 questions:
1) Is there any "hidden" damage I should check for?
2) Any other good stories about driving over immovable objects?
Andy
Big snow last weekend...awoke to about 16" of fresh powder Sunday morning.
Being a clever guy, I parked under a holly tree, so as to minimize snow removal
from my stock '96, no lockers, FZJ80. Well, the snow had collapsed the tree branches down onto my truck...challange #1.
I got out on the road, having a great time tooling down the road. A sudden gust
of wind, along with my high-beams, resulted in an instant white-out.
When the snow cleared a couple of seconds later, I found myself heading directly towards a downed pine tree which stretched completely across the road.
I hit the brakes and immediately started sliding, as I was going about 25mph, and thanks to ABS, it was a nice straight, controlled slide. But it was obvious that I was not going to stop before I got to the tree...challange #2.
WHAM!!! I hit the tree perfectly perpendicular to its 7"-8" trunk and assorted
branches. KA-THUMP!!! My front wheels climbed over the tree...better hit the gas...KA-BUMP!!! My back wheels cleared the tree...this isn't good, I thought...
Well, another downed tree followed, but I didn't run into this one.
I turned around and made it to Dunkin' Donuts for a cup o' joe...I was expecting
a busted grill and broken lenses, at least, but...nothing.
Well, I'll drink my coffee, and look for leaks on the snow, but...nothing.
So i drove off in the deep snow, did my grocery shopping, returned home and
shoveled snow for about 4 hours.
After shoveling, I filled a 5gal bucket with warm water, and took my little
garden sprayer underneath the Cruiser and washed off the snow, and looked for damage...nothing...nada...nuttin' honey.
Once the roads were somewhat clear later, I drove the Cruiser around to see if
the front-end handling was affected...again, nothing...so I let my friend's 17
year-old son wheel her around in an unplowed warehouse parking lot...no problem.
Well, you get the idea...I ran over a stationary object at speed, and apparently
suffered no damage whatsoever.
So I have 2 questions:
1) Is there any "hidden" damage I should check for?
2) Any other good stories about driving over immovable objects?
Andy
