A Great Start to February

[Boconnor303]

As my girlfriend and I were on our way up to Beaver Creek to ski, I hit a patch of ice coming down into Vail on Vail pass. I totaled my 2000 Limited, but thankfully we both had seatbelts and walked away virtually unharmed.

Fortunately it was early and there was nobody in front of or behind us, because my car fishtailed all the way across the right lane and onto the shoulder. (where looking back, I should have let her go because it was just snow) I managed to correct and get it back onto the road, but continued to slide right into the center divider, going about 50 (too fast for the conditions).

The luckiest part (aside from being alive and uninjured of course)was that after we hit the divider the car spun 180, back across both lanes and came to rest on the right shoulder, out of traffic. We ended up on the shoulder of a blind downhill turn facing oncoming traffic.


The view from where we stopped


A little closer look at where we hit


And the damage....






On a happier note... First time I've used this......Woohoo!



For those who know the area we were on I-70 WB just west of the Vail pass summit. Maybe some of you headed up skiing instead of working yesterday saw. Had to get a local tow off the pass and back to copper, which fortunately enough was within the 100mi free tow from AAA. Only waited a total of 2.5 hrs for the two tows and the estimates from the dispatchers were spot on.

So now I'm left with a bunch of parts (I think the engine is good) and the search for another 3rd gen. On the plus side I do have an elocker I hope to reuse....

 

[NoLight]

Glad you guys are ok!!!!

 

[michaelj]

Oh man. That sucks. Glad you guys are okay. There are other rigs available.

 

[JayRolla]

That does suck. Good thing you guys are okay. Had a big box truck pass me on highway this morning. I was doing about 35mph, he was doing about 50mph. Few minutes later I passed him and had hit another vehicle and pushed them both over the guard rail. IMO 35-40mph is more than enough in rough conditions no madder the vehicle.

 

[gamefreakgc]

That's so scary... glad you are ok. I've only been in one major wreck, that's when a 4Runner (ironic huh?) ran a red going about 50 MPH and blindsided my passenger's side where my wife was sitting. Nothing short of the grace of God kept us from the emergency room or worse. We had no injuries at all, neither us in our tiny little Corolla were hurt or the four teenagers in the 4Runner (his 4runner flipped and slid at least 100 feet). The police officer and firemen were shocked we walked away, the impact was so loud they didn't need a dispatch call, they heard it from the station. Scary stuff.

So glad that despite losing control, you stayed within the confines of the road and there was no one else around. It's crazy hard to stop in conditions like that so they would have hit you for sure and you'd probably be looking at more serious injuries.

 

[Ol'Blue]

Glad you guys are ok also. I know that road very well. It can be pretty shitty.

Anyhow- You have a lot of good parts in that truck. I would save it but that is just me. Is the frame bent?

Blue

 

[Boconnor303]

Glad you guys are ok also. I know that road very well. It can be pretty shitty.

Anyhow- You have a lot of good parts in that truck. I would save it but that is just me. Is the frame bent?

Blue

There are good parts, and that means good money. Plus a safety net when I find another and try projects that could break stuff, gotta love backups. We didn't get collision on it so now it's just mine to do as I please...which I like

I haven't gotten a good look at much of it yet, when I got it to my shop/final resting place I just needed to go home and have a beer. I'm almost positive it is bent though

 

[HOJeepster]

Glad you're ok and the truck did his job.

Next time, learn your lesson and leave Beaver Creek/I70 to the yuppies. Anyone willing to pay $170 for a lift ticket...:moony::reddance:

 

[planomateo]

Bummer, glad you are ok!

 

[ToyotaBrah]

Important thing is, you guys made it out. The 4Runner did its job.

 

[Boconnor303]

Yeah, I'm amazed at how minor the damage was for how hard we seemed to hit. The truck did better than I ever would have expected. Got my eye on a few to go check out today

 

[amalik]

Jeez, 50 was way too fast for those conditions my friend! Glad you are OK. She looks pretty beat up. Do you have full coverage insurance or are you looking at a part out and finding another 3rd gen?

 

[Boconnor303]

Jeez, 50 was way too fast for those conditions my friend! Glad you are OK. She looks pretty beat up. Do you have full coverage insurance or are you looking at a part out and finding another 3rd gen?

Oh yeah it was, I never fly around in the snow...i'm not sure what caused me to do it this time..

No collision insurance on it due to a miscommunication with an insurance agent while creating the policy. We were under the impression she had added collision on my vehicle, it turned out to be on a different older vehicle.

I'll be parting it out here soon..

 

[hang10]

Glad you're ok and the truck did his job.

Next time, learn your lesson and leave Beaver Creek/I70 to the yuppies. Anyone willing to pay $170 for a lift ticket...:moony::reddance:

Dammm $170 for a lift ticket.......another reason I stopped skiing 20 years ago and invested $300 in a 5ml wetsuit:surfer:

 

[Ron Helmuth]

Also glad to hear you are okay.

Interested in the 5 stars if you would want to get rid of those.

Best wishes in finding a suitable replacement.

 

[Frank12]

Wow! im glad you guys are okay, these 4runner are the toughest, Ive been in some fender bender and it once skid while i was driving it and i hit the guardrail hard but only cosmetic damage was put. I hope you can find another 3rd gen! or have a 5th or 6th. but imo 3rd gen are the best



i saw you wanted to part it, and I see what i beleive you got the rear spoiler? well the kind of plastic bug catch on the rear, my dad broke that when he owned the 4runner before me, and been looking for one ever since i would be quite interested in it! and maybe other parts, muffler (if its original and for the 3.4) and rear bumper.

 

[Slowgoat]

Glad you're ok!!

I feel ya on that road. I used to live up there.

Scariest thing I experienced, I went through the S turns down in Minturn sideways in the snow with traffic all around me.

I lost it in the first part of the S curve and everyone backed off from being near me. Then as I went around the second part of the S curve I got it straight and saved it.
There are no shoulders in that part of 70, so it was inches from disaster.

I think my heart rate stayed up for about 6 hours after that.

I was probably going the same speed as the OP in the above story.

70 can be scary.

I used to keep it at 45 or under in iffy conditions. Lots of people passed me and you'd see them in the ditch a mile or 2 later!

 

[Boconnor303]

Also glad to hear you are okay.

Interested in the 5 stars if you would want to get rid of those.

Best wishes in finding a suitable replacement.

Depending on the replacement I find, and if the driver front rim turns out to be damaged or not ill let you know

 

[Boconnor303]

Wow! im glad you guys are okay, these 4runner are the toughest, Ive been in some fender bender and it once skid while i was driving it and i hit the guardrail hard but only cosmetic damage was put. I hope you can find another 3rd gen! or have a 5th or 6th. but imo 3rd gen are the best



i saw you wanted to part it, and I see what i beleive you got the rear spoiler? well the kind of plastic bug catch on the rear, my dad broke that when he owned the 4runner before me, and been looking for one ever since i would be quite interested in it! and maybe other parts, muffler (if its original and for the 3.4) and rear bumper.

I'll let you know as soon as I find a replacement. I'll definitely have 1 spoiler available..

 

[RedRunner_87]

Glad you are ok! I drove that pass at the end of January in the snow with my Camry, and I was shocked at how fast people were driving. The I-70 can be crazy in the snow, glad you guys turned out OK though.