Rear ended w/steel bumper....A Story of Redemption

The two Fab Fours bumpers are now listed in BST for local transaction:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fs-2-fab-fours-rear-steel-bumpers-ne-ohio.486450/

 

This

 

First off, thank you Jim for the good information. Glad you're ok and the truck's fixed.

Second, do you think we can get the theme from JAWS added to your video as the grey car approaches?

 

Wow. Sorry that happened in the first place, but you did a great job writing it all up. Thanks for posting it.

 

Damn man, wish this was posted a few years ago. I got hit head on by a Dodge 3500 and my truck ended up having over $13k in damage. Due to that accident the highest offer I've gotten for my truck (2010 with 130k miles) is $14k. Before the accident I was offered $20.5k from a dealer that offered me $13k a month ago. DV sucks.

 

Try getting hit by a Mack Truck doing 55. I'd call you a dirty low down rotten name here to question your existence but I'm not going to do that in fear of your LENGTHY rebuttal.

 

Great write up OP, sorry to hear about your ordeal...two questions:

You said that you saw this developing in your rear view mirror and put the truck in neutral; were you not able to just drive forward forward instead and not wait to make the left turn or were there vehicles in front of you also?

That rental bill ($5000!) is huge. Are you able to recoup it?

 

There was not much time to decide....felt like I was going to get hit for sure so my first thought was neutral.

The rental bill was all covered by the kid's insurance....the recoup is in the DV, the total bill for repair and rental is right at 25K because a 3rd supplement came in. So, nothing left for DV since that was his coverage limit.

 

Kids are getting dumber...probably watching a 'How to become a YouTuber' video on YouTube while driving. That kid should have had his license revoked after that one. Glad no one was serioulsly hurt.

Can't you remove mods from your truck if it's been totaled?

 

@Two Tall thanks for documenting all the details, and nice truck

If you really get serious about bailing out on the Brotherhood of the S/C'd 4.0 for that torqueless 3.5, I have the perfect 3rd gen for you:

 

Sorry to hear about the whole ordeal OP, glad everything is looking good for you. My truck has been in collision repair for 2.5 months and I finally got the call today! The waiting process sucks.

 

Great info and glad your ok! Did his insurance company come to you with a settlement for the pain and suffering aspect? I'm not sure how that works but I imagine you can prove negligence and his insurance would rather settle vs deal with litigation.

 

Yikes, glad you didn't get too banged up. I'll be looking into that dash cam.

 

glad to see everything resolved and the truck back on the road

 

Glad it all worked out for you and it wasn't worse than it was!

I was almost rear ended in a rental while my truck was in the shop after a lady hit it in a parking lot. We were stopped for an accident on the interstate. I put my hazards on while we were stopped and waiting. I kept checking my rear view and noticed a car fast approaching, kept my eyes on it, and realized he was hydroplaning right for the little rental sedan with my daughter in the backseat... Split second decision and I cut the wheel towards the ditch and stomped on it! He ended up stopping about 6" from the back of the truck I was behind!!! My heart was beating out of my chest until we got home! Rental company asked if I'd been mudbogging haha!

My question though, would the damage have been as high if you were still running the factory rear? Aren't they meant to crumple and not transmit all of the force into frame? Kinda making me re-think adding a steel rear and tire carrier to my truck!

Again thanks for a thorough write-up!

 

See an earlier comment in the thread. His bumper didn't play any role, the factory tow hitch is what totals Tacoma frames in rear end collisions. Acts as a lever arm on impact, you can see the effect clearly in some of his photos. Very common issue in moderate to high speed rear ends. Have the tow package receiver hitch, result is frame unrepairable and totaled. Don't have the receiver hitch frame fine and relatively low cost repair.

You are right though that crumple or sheering of lower cost parts makes a big difference. And that's the whole problem with the tow package class IV hitch - it is really strong, bolted to the frame and hangs down. So the most of the force of the collision is applied to a receiver hitch much stiffer than the frame itself and worse because it hangs down acts as a lever and bends and even tears the frame. Without the hitch the bumper is held by a much weaker bracket and no lever action at work. In those collisions the bracket holding the bumper bends and can even have its bolt holes tear leaving the frame with little or no damage.

Oh and that near rear end of yours sounds scary, good job getting out of the way! I'm always really nervous being the last in a stopped line of cars.

 

I shall stay with the supercharged crowd...

The old bumper and the shipment damaged bumper have been sold to TWer @presta24 . Thanks for the meetup this a.m.! Both bumpers have a new home now.

 

Thank you! And I now know why your screen name is what it is!

 

Cool story, you should add the wreck pics to the thread in my sig

 

So if you saw the accident coming ? Why not speed up ? Just curious or was there a car in front turning?