"When" not "if" - Trail Damage

I did a bit of wheeling this weekend with a buddy and, unfortunately, my buddy found a tree with his bedside. There were a couple of bad decisions leading up to his damage (wrong line selection, trying to drive out of said wrong line selection instead of getting help out).

When chatting with my parents about what I did over the weekend, they both made the comment of "You're going to be really upset when that happens to your new truck." several times. I kept telling them "I don't think that'll be me - I know what my truck can and can't do, and I keep it pretty well enough away from that line."

But, it got me thinking - for those of you that do moderate wheeling, is it a matter of "when" rather than "if"? Is damage a certainty when you wheel?

Also, why don't you post a picture of your "ooops" moment and tell us how you got the damage!

 

It happens

 

I Gotta pay to play.

 

Goes with the territory, just be prepared and smart out there to mitigate the worst of it.

 

I'm one of those who goes nuts of any little scratch or ding on my truck. I think if you know the trails you're wheeling and are properly set up for the level of difficulty of the trails, you can minimize any potential damage to your rig. That being said, if the idea of pin striping or a new dent sickens you, off roading is not for you. Shit happens, even to the best of wheelers on the most moderate of trails. It can be as simple as a greasy off camber that makes you slide, a slick rock, an unseen tree stump, etc. Shit happens.

 

It’s 100% when not if!! unless you stay on logging roads or something you will sooner or later get some kinda damage. I have scratches and a few really small dents. after the first few scratches you just kinda stop caring and worrying about every little stick and branch.

 

Certainty? Not exactly.

But I would agree that it is more of a "when" rather than "if" if you're going down moderatly challenging trails. There's a lot trails in the CO area that have millions of trees just waiting to reach out and give you a hug when you drive by and leave you with some nice pinstriping.

Accidents happen and if you're not prepared to accept it then you might want to pick a different vehicle or a different hobby. Devin rolled his runner last year on Cascade Creek while backing down an obsacle. Shit happens.

 

You can be as careful as you can be but the unexpected will eventually happen.

The same could be said for street driving also

 

all depends on your derp factor IMO.

I have seen destroyed 2013's that are rarely wheeled and I have seen cherry 2005's that are wheeled a ton.

I got two dents.

 

Definitely going to happen. If it's not pinstripes, it's bent exhaust, or in my case this weekend, slamming a control arm into a rock at 20mph and throwing my steering wheel to 9:00 o'clock when going straight and slipping 2 adjusters.

It wasn't John Bull that killed me...it was 3N16.

 

Mine got scratched at the mall. Slipped off a curb straight into a cart. My spotter was busy directing other trail rated traffic. Bummed.









On a more serious note: If you wheel, body damage will occur.

 

That must have been a nice "oops" moment!

 

It happens to the best of us. If you're worried about little things like pinstriping or denting your truck, you might not want to go offroading. Being careful and knowing what you are doing will help a lot, but there are always situations/circumstances where dents, scratches, and even serious damage will be inevitable.

 

Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes, have bad days, have things go wrong.

No matter how diligent you are, something unforeseen can still happen.

 

You can probably avoid major stuff if you're cautious, I think little dings and dents are bound to happen though.

 

Did you make it through all of JB?

 

Driving over some unseen log and have it lever up and rip most of the front flare off. Yeah stuff like that happens. It's still holding on somehow with 3 of the clips broken, gee, maybe should get more clips...

 

"That line" will sneak up and bite you. Gotta pay to play. Scratches in paint from tree limbs and what not is expected and keeping your truck clean and pampered can help ease your pain with it.

The more you get out the more you are going to want/feel comfortable with. It's most definitely a matter of when, these trucks are completely capable. With your lift you have already taken a good step. Some armor {high clearance bumpers} and sliders would be a good next step, even if you don't plan on getting crazy into it.

 

Ive somehow been very lucky. Ive had my 1st gen for a while, and gone on plenty of wheeling trips with other people caked in armor front to rear, and usually I've gotten though all the trails unscathed. (maybe its the all driving skills ) Just coming back from the Moab trip, where I would come up to some obstacles, and say to myself, "well I'll just get a new bumper after this trip", but after making it though the obstacle basically untouched I don't really know how that happened.

But yes, trail damage will happen, from just pinstripes (main reason why I sold m 2nd gen, cause it was too pretty) to dents, dings, broken lights. I'm just fortunate it hasn't happened to me.

 

Sliders are up right after new wheels/tires.