How to NOT treat your new taco

Hey peeps,

Welcome to Tacoma World Me, I wasn't gonna join, but I thought ya'll would appreciate looking at some photos of my truck. So, I smashed an 8"diameter ponderosa pine the other night while out cruisin' the woods this weekend. ARB did it's job and protected EVERYTHING under the hood, but worked alittle too well as a ax... after hitting the 8" diameter tree (~45' tall), it proceeded to snap and land on top of the truck. Ouch. Oh ya, and the frame is mangled too (sorry no pics of frame "crumple(d) zone").

Was goin bout 15-20mph, went off shoulder of dirt road (not uncommon), but when I went to recover, i stomped on the brakes AND gas pedal at the same time..

So have a look, and let my f*$# up serve as a reminder not to text and drive, like they say- it is worth it to wait... worth thousands and thousands. Luckily, I wasn't seriously hurt (thanks Toyota and ARB engineers), I didn't hurt anybody else (sorry tree), and the cops didn't take me to jail. I am also thankful for insurance (thanks State Farm).

As of now, I am waiting to hear from the adjuster to determine whether they want to fix it or total it. It sounds like they will be able to straighten the frame and replace the smashed crumple zone on the horn of the frame.. bout 8k in damage to front end alone not to mention chopping off the cab and welding on a new one. Kinda wish they would leave it, not every taco has battle wounds from a falling tree...... but its up to insurance now if they fix it. If it is totaled, I may decided to salvage it and only fix the front end... IDK...

So with no further ado, here are some pics of How to NOT treat your new taco (had it for 2mo., not even a full tank of gas used with my new KM2's and enduro's).. damn......

 

Dang, sorry to see that OP. Glad you are okay.
Just in case someone missed it in your post...DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE!

 

Thanks man. It's been rough on me these past few days, but what pulls me through is the fact that it could have been much worse. I am very happy not to be hurt. I thought maybe if i shared with yall, I may prevent someone from making the smae mistake I did. So I will rerepeat what Boerseun reiterated:

DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE

your truck will thank you

 

Nice!

 

well, at least I got some smashing pictures eh?

 

Damn, that's an expensive text. Glad to hear you're alright and have insurance.

 

For doing what you did, it dosent look all that bad.

 

Thanks. I am really impressed with both Toyota's engineering of the truck and ARB protecting it. Nothing got touched under the hood- even the radiator came out unscathed. If I hadnt had that ARB on there, I don't think there would be much to salvage. Lucky is the word for the night..

After i picked the tree up (yes, adrenaline can make you do amazing things), I started her up and drove it home. Impressive engineering. No airbags deployed thankfully too.

 

I should have taken a pic of the crumpled frame horn. Smashed about 6" in. Did exactly what it was designed to do.

Sad to be losing my battle scars, but definitely happy for insurance... except that my premium is going to be quite nasty once this sets in...

 

Holy crap...I'm amazed at all of the events haha

You should send these pics to ARB.

 

Sucks to hear what happened but glad you werent seriously injured. Texting while driving is as bad as drunk driving sometimes even worse cause your eyes are completely off the road!! Let this be a lesson to everyone else who texts and drives.

 

Sucks, dude.

Yes, let it. Good thing it wasn't other innocent people vicitimized by your texting and it didn't cost you yours, or anyone else's, life.

So what were you texting?

 

Def thinking about it. Coupled with a thank you note. I will definitely be putting another ARB on there when I get it back (or on next one if totaled).. ya, the bumper itself didnt bend at all- busted out all the bolts and skewed the mounts. It is very likely salvageable with alittle hydraulic force...

 

I was fighting with my girl. Yes, I am beyond thankful I didn't hurt anyone besides the tree... I usually don't mess with my phone while on the road, but when I'm just cruising in the sticks going like 15-20mph, I thought I was safe. But how wrong I was.

I just have to try to see meaning behind it all.. maybe it saved my life down the road because I surely will not touch that phone for a second while my wheels are rolling. Already, I ahve influenced many people to not be distracted by their phone while on the road, and I hope these pics persuade some more.. who knows, maybe it will save one of your lives or some other innocent driver on the road.

It is a small price to pay if I save ONE person from doing what I did.

Thanks for all the support everyone.

 

Good job on spreading the words of wisdom. Tough lesson.

 

Please feel free to repost these pictures to any other forums, threads, or sites to spread the message. I don't mind being used as an example- I am already the dumbass who smashed his new taco into a tree, so feel free to use me and the pics of my truck to convince anyone and everyone that phones+cars=

 

Ya, insurance will likely fix it (I hope or I am going to be taking a huge loss).

Was worried about the frame-didn't think it was fixable, but guy at the body shop says they straighten them all the time and Toyota manufactures new factory crumple zones for the frame. I looked up the welding procedures- it sounds legit, but frame damage/repair is always a red flag in my book... guess I won't be reselling it, not that I was going to anyway...

 

Yes, tough (and expensive) lesson indeed. But at least I am still here to learn it. That's what is important. Life is Grand, sometimes you just need a tree to fall on you to make you realize how much you take for granted on a daily basis...

 

So I think I got some ideas for names for the truck now...

- Taco Bunyan
- Babe (Paul's blue ox)
- Louie the Lumberjack
- Pine Crusher

Any likes? Poll time?

Sorry, alittle bit of humor about it all makes it sit alittle easier in my belly. It was all pretty scary, just about how much worse it could have been. But it feels good to laugh about it alittle bit now.