Yesterday, we had about an inch of snow on the ground in the morning with another inch or two predicted during the day. Since my car is uselesss with it's performance tires, I decided to take my 2wd truck to work after throwing some snow in the back for weight. I got to work with no problems, but the ride home was another story. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
The roads were perfectly clear until I reached our unplowed private road. I stopped a got the mail and then started up the hill but lost traction about half way up, a backed/slid down to the main road. Now some people say that I'm stubborn, and that may be true since I backed up a little bit and got a running start up the hill. Now this is a steep little hill rising about 30ft over a distance of about 150ft, or a good 20% grade. The second try, I made about 3/4 of the way up, but the I started slide on the way back down. The truck started sliding to the left instead of straight back. I cut the wheel, but it was now help, gravity and momentum were the only things in control. The bad part is that to the left is a steep drop-off - dropping 30ft over a horizontal distance of say 15ft. So as I was sliding backwards towards the ravine, I remembered to relax my arms & neck to prepare for a sudden drop and an immediate stop. Relaxed people fare better in accidents that tense people. I slid about half down the hill with the edge getting closer, when the truck stopped it's downward path suddenly and the front end began to pivot across the road. I guess it was conserving momentum. Finally the front end came to stop leaving perpendicular to the road. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
Now, I've always wondered what it was like when a car teetering off th eside of a cliff...will I think I know what it feels like, or least the feel of not know knowing what position your vehicle is currently in. I took deep breath, and open my door and it look okay. I step out of the truck and took a look at my rear tire. There it was just sitting inches away from the steep drop-off. If I hung from my tailgate, my feet wouldn't have touched the ground. How did I stop? I walked around the truck...barely, this road was slippery. There it was, my right rear tire was embedded about a two feet into a frozen snow bank that I made during the big storm.
So, now I'm in one piece and my truck isn't totaled..so now time for the cover-up before any sees this 17ft long truck sprawled across this 12ft wide road. I hiked up the hill to fetch my tractor. I grabbed some chains, a come-along, and some boards. I fired up the tractor, and was about half-way down my driveway when I saw the misses hiking up the hill. I'm busted, but it get's worse, the neighbors are also blocked by my truck. When we got back down there, the neighbor's son had already hooked a chain from his truck to my truck. It took some manuevering and a whole lot of pulling on his part and tire spinning on my part, but he was successful. So now the freak traffic jam of our little road was cleared. The misses wasn't happy, but her attitude soon changed when she couldn't get up the hill with her front wheel drive car with new tires. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif So we put some chains on her car, and she makes it up the hill. I leave the truck on the main road for the night, and ride up the hill on the tractor.
The tally so far...I've saved face with the wife, the neighbors will have a chuckle or two at my expense, but I did dig them out during the big storm, and I owe the neighbor's a case of beer. My neck didn't get broken, the truck wasn't totaled, and I'll eat some crow at the next neighborhood get-together...not too bad so such a goof-up. BUT WAIT, I received a private message at TBN, while at least it was private, a fellow TBNer saw my truck straddled across the road. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Now that's embarrassing. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
The roads were perfectly clear until I reached our unplowed private road. I stopped a got the mail and then started up the hill but lost traction about half way up, a backed/slid down to the main road. Now some people say that I'm stubborn, and that may be true since I backed up a little bit and got a running start up the hill. Now this is a steep little hill rising about 30ft over a distance of about 150ft, or a good 20% grade. The second try, I made about 3/4 of the way up, but the I started slide on the way back down. The truck started sliding to the left instead of straight back. I cut the wheel, but it was now help, gravity and momentum were the only things in control. The bad part is that to the left is a steep drop-off - dropping 30ft over a horizontal distance of say 15ft. So as I was sliding backwards towards the ravine, I remembered to relax my arms & neck to prepare for a sudden drop and an immediate stop. Relaxed people fare better in accidents that tense people. I slid about half down the hill with the edge getting closer, when the truck stopped it's downward path suddenly and the front end began to pivot across the road. I guess it was conserving momentum. Finally the front end came to stop leaving perpendicular to the road. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
Now, I've always wondered what it was like when a car teetering off th eside of a cliff...will I think I know what it feels like, or least the feel of not know knowing what position your vehicle is currently in. I took deep breath, and open my door and it look okay. I step out of the truck and took a look at my rear tire. There it was just sitting inches away from the steep drop-off. If I hung from my tailgate, my feet wouldn't have touched the ground. How did I stop? I walked around the truck...barely, this road was slippery. There it was, my right rear tire was embedded about a two feet into a frozen snow bank that I made during the big storm.
So, now I'm in one piece and my truck isn't totaled..so now time for the cover-up before any sees this 17ft long truck sprawled across this 12ft wide road. I hiked up the hill to fetch my tractor. I grabbed some chains, a come-along, and some boards. I fired up the tractor, and was about half-way down my driveway when I saw the misses hiking up the hill. I'm busted, but it get's worse, the neighbors are also blocked by my truck. When we got back down there, the neighbor's son had already hooked a chain from his truck to my truck. It took some manuevering and a whole lot of pulling on his part and tire spinning on my part, but he was successful. So now the freak traffic jam of our little road was cleared. The misses wasn't happy, but her attitude soon changed when she couldn't get up the hill with her front wheel drive car with new tires. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif So we put some chains on her car, and she makes it up the hill. I leave the truck on the main road for the night, and ride up the hill on the tractor.
The tally so far...I've saved face with the wife, the neighbors will have a chuckle or two at my expense, but I did dig them out during the big storm, and I owe the neighbor's a case of beer. My neck didn't get broken, the truck wasn't totaled, and I'll eat some crow at the next neighborhood get-together...not too bad so such a goof-up. BUT WAIT, I received a private message at TBN, while at least it was private, a fellow TBNer saw my truck straddled across the road. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Now that's embarrassing. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
