She sang a little while and then she was gone...

My poor and stunning white Taco was killed today when a lady turned in front of me. She didn't have a chance of making it and her Chrysler 300 got eaten by the ARB.

I hit her broadside, right in the rear passengers door- narrowly missing her daughter in the front passenger seat. The ARB now sit deeply embedded into the engine bay. The PS front tire is back to the cab mount. The cab shifted enough to heavily dent the camper shell. somehow the truck was still running and I had to turn it off.

She took it like a champ and I'm only sore and bit my lip somehow, in the same way I would as I formed the word FFFF-------. I never finished my exclamation as the airbags and curtains deployed.

A nearly irreplaceable truck. Damn.

 

Chrysler 300s are the devil.

 

My condolences.

 

There are so many idiots driving... always need to watch what everyone else is doing, then something like this happens wherein you have no control. Glad you walked away, sorry you lost the truck... but for every Tacoma that dies, another is borne. Time to visit the dealership once the insurance check arrives.

 

Ouch... glad you are ok.

 

I was feet away from the intersection when she tried to "make it" and then she didn't really try. She nearly got her child killed by the ARB. The passengers door was dented in about 18". If it was the front door, the kid would have been badly injured.

I may be going after a diesel Land Cruiser. I was testing a HZJ75 troopy before I found the Taco.
Who knows. I'm just disgusted. She was too pretty to fall is such a way. I did my first bout of mudding to test the new tires this past weekend.
Ugh.

 

Damn, glad to hear you are okay.

I've been debating about getting an ARB, but seeing how much damage yours withstood... I think I'm convinced. I can't imagine what would have happened if you didn't have all that steel....

 

The impact was around 45-50, basically no chance to brake.

The only structural damage to the ARB is the uprights have small splits at the top of the bumper. The splits are maybe 1/2". It looks like a few hours with a welder and straightening the mounting brackets and it's be good for trail use.

 

Be curious how the frame did with that non absorbing bumper in place. And how folks with OE bumpers fare in the same type hit.

There comes a point, front and rear, that the aftermarket bumpers make things worse instead of better. Unfortunately, we don't control the accident severity, angles, etc.

 

Compared to that small aluminum beam that comes stock? I doubt that is capable of absorbing a significant amount of energy. IIRC the ARB has crush cans between the bumper and frame which will 'absorb' some of an impact as part of the airbag compatibility system.

I have wondered about engine cabin ingress with a steel bumper, although you are able to more firmly bind the frame rails together with an aftermarket bumper.

 

glad you are ok!

 

At least you are okay, and the daughter.

The truck can be replaced.

 

The trucks frame has marks from her car. The bumper and any other bumper was beyond any use, although I will have an ARB on anything that can use one. I suspect I may have sustained serious injury without it, but of course that's debatable. I'll say that the impact "felt" very soft considering the damage.

Lesson of the day- take a lot of photos of your truck, take pics frequently enough to be able to show that the truck was in good condition. If it's a beater, no matter, but if you're invested in the truck and extras, be able to show that the pieces are in good shape. I'm early in the process, but I think it's a saving grace that the truck build started in august of 2017 and was finished up last January. That should avoid any claims of depreciation of equipment.

 

Man I'm sorry to hear Glad you're okay though!

 

Glad you ok

 

My insurance gave me a price and we will come to a deal if hers doesn't get on with it. Her's only started working on it this week and she hasn't reported the wreck.

I had itemized coverage for all of the extras, so my company took that into consideration.

Part of the discussion will be whether I keep the truck to part out some of the stuff, or settle and keep the wheels and tires and Pelfreybilt tire carrier, Prinsu caprack, etc.

 

What absorbing capability does the OE front bumper have? I've replaced mine and didn't see anything that would absorb impact. There's no shocks like there were on my '74 Cutlass, and there's no styrofoam like there was on my old Civic.

 

This kills me man- loved that truck. How'd my skid hold up? Hah. I was just driving around on Monday thinking haven't seen ya in a while.