Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[Grumpycat]

Years ago headed north on I-65 sometime before Christmas there was no snow, then suddenly there was snow south of Elizabethtown KY where the road was 4-5 lanes wide, through a mountain cut. The median was lined with cars who have spun off. People were still getting out of their cars as I came through. A car or truck every 100' for a mile.

 

[masseyrider]

Sounds like what we see coming down from 7 k ft Donner Pass - Interstate 80 - on ski weekends.

Flatlander's SUVs stuffed into the roadside snowbanks. Clearly no sense of low-traction driving downhill. This isn't the same as your skiing, folks.

And going up to Silver Lake on 2-lane SR88 we were passed on a blind curve by a frantically fast BMW. 2 miles later we waved at the people as we drove past where he crashed though the roadside snowbank and was backwards, way down a gentle slope. In 3+ ft of snow. Nobody hurt but they looked like "this shouldn't happen to ME, I'm driving a BMW!"

Guy I was doing some work for decided to drive to Florida for Christmas end of the week.
There were predictions for a massive snow event up and down the East Coast.
I told him I wouldn't go, especially taking the route through Pennsylvania in the hills.
He said no worries, he has 4 wheel drive.
I told him sure you have traction to get going but the tire contact you have is all the braking surface you have to stop, 4 wheel drive or not.
He ended up spending Christmas somewhere in Pennsylvania and his truck in the body shop.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

It's amazing, really, that people did get around on bias ply tires and with 2WD decades ago.

It's almost as if they knew how to drive.

 

[Jstpssng]

It's amazing, really, that people did get around on bias ply tires and with 2WD decades ago.

It's almost as if they knew how to drive.

They still had accidents then. Chains and studded tires were also used.

 

[Dftodd]

I was hauling an aluminum extension ladder one time and didn’t tie it down. It was fine I was traveling on back roads except I forgot it was back there. It fell out and slid down the road and I slowed down immediately. I had to speed back up, it was going to pass me.

For a minute, I thought it was your ladder my friends and I ran over

We were driving on a back road near Lake Mary Florida. 3 of us packed in a regular cab Ford ranger.

We were following a guy when his aluminum ladder fell out of the truck slid sideways covering our whole lane.

My buddy driving had a really hard time trying to understand what we were yelling about since he didn't see it fall.

I'm in the middle screaming "Ladder, ladder, ladder!!!!" And the other guy by the window was yelling "Left left left!!!!" Then we braced our selves for a wild ride

Thankfully the ladder crumbled under the tires and it bounced us around a little.

Both of us who saw it fall, thought the tires were gonna get stuck between the rungs.

 

[Dftodd]

It's amazing, really, that people did get around on bias ply tires and with 2WD decades ago.

It's almost as if they knew how to drive.

I had a 2wd Ford ranger that I used for a few winters in Vermont. Good studded snow tires, and copious amount of weight in the bed of the truck really helped.

I did have a few times coming home where I couldn't quite crest the hill we live on in the mountains. On those nights, I would slide the truck into the snowbank on the edge of the road, and walk the last 1/8 to 1/4 mile home.

Then we would go down the next morning with gramps plow truck and tow it the rest of the way.

Getting up our road with a rear wheel drive truck was fun. It was a 1/2 mile up at about an 7% grade.

There was a semi level stretch of road for about 1000ft before hitting the intersection at the bottom of our hill.

I would burn my way up to the flat spot, then get a running start up to about 45mph or faster across that stretch, run the stop sign at the bottom of our hill with the truck in third gear with the gas pedal floored, and then fight to keep the truck between the snow banks up the hill

Once or twice the sheriff was approaching that intersection when i came blasting through

He would just shake his head and go on his way

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I would burn my way up to the flat spot, then get a running start up to about 45mph or faster across that stretch, run the stop sign at the bottom of our hill with the truck in third gear with the gas pedal floored, and then fight to keep the truck between the snow banks up the hill

Starting my driving career with a basic light 2-seater car on somewhat worn all season tires, and living on a hill, I'm quite familiar with the running start scenario.

What I did my best to avoid was spinning the tires, though. Once losing traction I was done.

 

[dstig1]

Well I know I have posted this before...but while we are on Ford Ranger stories...

Driving from LA to SD while on a business trip with coworkers. I was in front passenger seat. We're on the freeway (405?) that is prob 4 lanes wide or more but traffic is light as it is mid afternoon (this was 20+ yrs ago). One lane to our left and up ahead a few hundred yards is a Green Ford Ranger. Suddenly the rear end of the Ranger shoots up into the air a few feet and the driveshaft and a slew of smaller parts come flying out. I actually watched it happen by dumb luck looking the right direction at the right time. I saw the front of the driveshaft drop from the tranny, catch on an expansion joint and vault the a$$ end of the truck up in the air. They actually kept it together pretty well after that and coasted off to the shoulder. That was pretty wild to see in person!

 

[Dftodd]

Starting my driving career with a basic light 2-seater car on somewhat worn all season tires, and living on a hill, I'm quite familiar with the running start scenario.

What I did my best to avoid was spinning the tires, though. Once losing traction I was done.

I did too, but that little Ford ranger was only 94hp. By keeping it in third, I had little slippage. If I felt it slip I would back off the throttle.

If I could make it up in third, I was home free for cresting the hill. If I had to downshift to second, I was done. Time to slide it backwards into the show bank and hoof it the rest of the way

 

[masscity]

2 California accidents I remember well:

1) a truck carrying scrap metal overturned on a cloverleaf, the only help they could get that was close by was a dump truck and a tow truck due to the mass of stuck cars.
I got to watch for almost an hour as the tow truck picked up each piece of metal and put it in the dump truck, one piece at a time.....

2) Driving a friend to the airport early one morning on the 405.
It had not rained in months, but this morning had decided to drop just enough to wet the road.
I slowed down when I saw the oil slicks rising out of the roadway.

I had many cars fly past, most just spun off into the grass, a few spun into bridges.

Surprisingly, the people in the cars were only bruised. quite a few cars heavily damaged.

The weird part is people would drive past the spun out cars, and not slow down, and then spin out themselves.

No life preservation skills.....

When I got California in 1982 my cousins told me about the slickness of the freeways in the winter from the rain and all the

oil droppings throughout the year. I noticed it soon after that on cloverleaf getting on the freeway and my Datsun 4x4 was

sliding slightly.