Our New Land Cruiser Saved Our Lives

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I'm glad you guys are OK !

I guess that's why we here all get real excited 'about anything LC'.
 
First, really happy you and yours are fine! Rolled my '95 a couple years
back , I remember telling my wife and son as we spun around on
the ice " don't worry were gonna make it " obviously hoping for the
best. We walked away unharmed and I knew I'd buy another 80.
Second, DougM is right, these things will roll pretty easy. You know how
time seems to go in slow motion in a crisis, well that's how my roll-o felt.
I remember yelling "NO F@$!!N WAY!!!" The second we hit a rut in the ditch
BOOM we were airborn with ease. That rig was running J's and 295's.
Lastly, I admit slight paranoia when I installed 1.5"wheel spacers on
the new 80, she does feel more stable but driving mellow yet alert is still
your best bet. Good Luck to all!! Steve
 
First, glad everyone is O.K. These threads make me glad I bought a LC.

However, I don't understand how this would cause a roll over due to the tire alone. Something else must be going on here for an "E" rated BFG to blow out, even when it is hot.

Although I've only had one blowout on a FWD car years ago, I was racing in a canyon, hit a beer bottle on the shoulder and it sliced a 3 inch gash in the sidewall. Instant deflation, but totally anti-climactic. It just pulled a little to the right at 55 mph. Consumer reports also tried to replicate the Ford Explorer rollovers a few years back and couldn't find a reason for them to roll over unless the driver over reacted. They also found rapid deflations (they rigged tires to instantaneously deflate) to cause little ill effect on handling.

Just my .02.

Adam R.
 
1973Guppie said:
Adam, somebody was looking out for you guys for sure. If that were the 40 I would hate to think what would of happened. Sorry to hear of the loss, but am glad u all are ok.

Noah
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Thanks for the well wishes everyone. To answer some of the questions, the tires were pretty new (would estimate 85% tread remaining) and put on by the PO (probably less than 10k on them). I had checked pressures cold before we left on the trip, as well as part way through the trip, and they were within spec (I would rather wait to devulge all details until the insurance process is complete). We were traveling 70-75 MPH (speed limit was 75) when we felt the rear tire blow, but when I went back to the impound lot to retrieve our belongings, the driver's front tire was also flat, which I don't know if that happening before/during/after the accident. When we did feel the rear tire go flat, I let off the skinny pedal to start hanging on and coasting/decelarating to a stop, but we ended up out of control and rolling off the freeway and into the field. No distractions in the cab leading into the accident, and the stretch of road was straight as could be (I can't imagine if this happened elsewhere on our trip). Outside temps were hot, as we were in the Nevada desert north of Vegas, so it was probably over 100. With regards to the wheels, they were Tacoma wheels with Slee wheel spacers. The RTT may or may not have contributed to the rollover, but I am pretty certain it did help absorb some of the impact and lessen some of the crush on the roof.

All I know is that the wife's 4Runner is getting replaced with another Cruiser. I now feel apprehensive in letting her drive around with the kids in anything less than a tank like a Cruiser.

Thanks again for everyones' kind words.
 
What kind of "lessons learned" can you share with us from this event? What would you do differently? How about packing the vehicle, any thing you'd change for the next time? Can you tell us more about the children seats? Sorry for all the questions but this would be very beneficial for many of us who travel like this with the family.

Glad to hear all turned out ok with your family.
 
2X On this response.

alia176 said:
What kind of "lessons learned" can you share with us from this event? What would you do differently? How about packing the vehicle, any thing you'd change for the next time? Can you tell us more about the children seats? Sorry for all the questions but this would be very beneficial for many of us who travel like this with the family.

Glad to hear all turned out ok with your family.
Click to expand...
 
alia176 said:
What kind of "lessons learned" can you share with us from this event? What would you do differently? How about packing the vehicle, any thing you'd change for the next time? Can you tell us more about the children seats? Sorry for all the questions but this would be very beneficial for many of us who travel like this with the family.

Glad to hear all turned out ok with your family.
Click to expand...

Seat belts, seat belts, seat belts. Everyone was wearing them, and we walked away. Airbags never deployed. Our two year old daughter was in a car seat with a five point harness, and all she got was a tiny scratch. Our six year old son was in a booster seat with a high back using the vehicle's seat belt, and he probably got the worst of it.

With regards to packing, I think we got lucky that everything in the cargo area stayed put, because it was loaded up with camping gear since we were on the road for two weeks. I would definitely put up a cargo barrier though. That will be a high priority for us in the future. The contents of the glove compartment stayed in the glove compartment as it never opened, but everything in the center console ended up thrown around in the cab or ejected through the front windshield once it tore off.

We were lucky, no doubt about it.
 
2x on the cargo barrier. There are plenty of good options out there and I would also suggest upgrading the center console to a tuffy- they can be installed and work very well. Again glad that your family is OK.
 
car-car said:
Seat belts, seat belts, seat belts. Everyone was wearing them, and we walked away. Airbags never deployed. Our two year old daughter was in a car seat with a five point harness, and all she got was a tiny scratch. Our six year old son was in a booster seat with a high back using the vehicle's seat belt, and he probably got the worst of it.

With regards to packing, I think we got lucky that everything in the cargo area stayed put, because it was loaded up with camping gear since we were on the road for two weeks. I would definitely put up a cargo barrier though. That will be a high priority for us in the future. The contents of the glove compartment stayed in the glove compartment as it never opened, but everything in the center console ended up thrown around in the cab or ejected through the front windshield once it tore off.

We were lucky, no doubt about it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. Do you recall the make/model of the car seat and booster seat?

Agree on using a cargo barrier and since we have a dog who goes everywhere with us, we are a huge proponent of a barrier. One of our 80 uses a Milford, while the other one uses a Wraingler.

A good point on the center console lid, I should find out how to make the lids lockable or latch-able. This has to be done in a way so that the lids are always latched.
 
This is probably a good place to mention managing clutter in the rig. Could only imagine how a top open cup of hot joe would feel in you or a passneger's lap or face. Not to mention all the misc. stuff that can have a temp secured position until a permanent solution is discovered. This has been a real wake-up call for me- time to heed the warning and go de-clutter the rig.
 
Wow

So glad you and yours are well! Veiwing this brings back memories of my 60. The uprights on cruisers are truly amazing. My 60 rolled 5 times down a 35 degree rocky resivour bank into a frozen lake in Dec of 01. After everything stoped, I had to swim from where the windsheild once was. Needless to say they pulled the truck up that 35 yard hill back to the road by the upright between the front and rear doors. Guess you know what to buy when things settle down. Be well, and consider that one of your 9 lives.
 
douglashuft said:
Also glad everyone made it out OK. it appears to also have a narrower track width due to the fj cruiser wheels. I imagine all these little factors add up.
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Those are not FJ Cruiser wheels on the vehicle that rolled.
 
glad to hear your alright man....kindof reminds me of my roll over :eek: i'll never drive anything but a cruiser ever
 
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