dieselJon

I was driving to pick up my bro at his bosses house, a cattle farmer. There is a dirt road that is 1 lane, trees on either side. It has been raining lately. I picked up my bro yesterday and went down it. Nothing spectacular happened. So going to pick him up today, I left in 2wd like yesterday. I am in 3rd going about 20mph, up a muddy hill. It starts sliding toward the trees on the right hand side. I quickly trun to the left but to no avail. I run over a 6" diameter sapling, about 10-20 ft tall, then precede to hit the 2 FOOT diameter tree right behind it!

I hit it at about 10-15mph. After my head returned from the whiplash, the truck is still running. I jump out, run to the front of the truck and see antifreeze pouring out. I run to the truck back it up and shut the key off. Like a idiot, I stare at the dash wondering why the truck is running after I turn off the key. Then it hit me like I hit the tree, pull the cable. I did. I call my bro, and he said he is coming. I call my mom, ring-ring-ring-ring-voicemail. I try 2 other times after that only to get the same thing happen. By now I am hysterical, trying not to cry at the lost of the truck and feeling VERY helpless. I try my dads cell but it went straight to voicemail. Man, he has his phone off, I think. I call mom and finally get a answer, "CALL YOUR FATHER!! I am on the other line." WHOA! I call dad and get a answer. "Whats wrong?" He asked. "I hit a tree." "You had to take that dirt road, didn't you?" YEP!

By now I notice a few thing on me hurt. I look at my arm and notice a cut. I feel the back of my neck and get a little blood. The mirror on the passenger side hit a tree or something and WHAP! hit the side of the truck and sprayed me with glass as the passenger window was down. I hurry to the back of the truck, jump in the bed, open the toolbox, and get the towel out and press it on my arm. By now my bro is coming over the hill I just attempted to climb in a Polaris Ranger. We look at it, me a little hysterical still, and jump into the Ranger and head to the farm, about a mile. To make it short, the farmer pull me to the main road and my dad towed me home with the Ford E350 van.

Now imediate damage. Radiator, intercooler, passenger fender & door, passenger mirror, grille, front and rear bumpers, headlights, turn lights. To be seen, frame, intercooler boots (saved the turbo, the are pushed flat right now), front end, steering, etc.

So now my dilema is this, repair, replace, project truck. If the frame is bent, I am either going to gut it for another 1st Gen, or give another vehicle a Cummin heart transplant (87 1500 Suburban comes to mind). If is not bent, then all 3 come to mind.

Needed to vent,

Jon

rbrettctd

Wow! That sucks! I guess youre alright?
Well if you rebuild it....pm sent.

MikeThomas

Well, at least you are OK. You can rebuild a wrecked truck...yourself...well thats different. Im sure you will get a lot of help from the folks around here.

dieselJon

I forgot to add these.

After my mom heard what happened she called asking the usual question, am I alright, do I need the fire department, etc. She really does love me

Also the tool box is now buckled. I am thinking about the frame now.

Jon

whereswaldo250

WOW sorry to hear about that, at least you are ok and the truck well... everything will turn out fine either way you go.

dan1stgen

**** tough break man i know how you must feel ive totaled 3 vehicles in 8 years of driving. youll be back and beter than ever

dieselJon

I am getting pics here soon. So far I have taken off the intercooler and it looks unscathed. The cab looks like it was pushed back about 2" or the frame is bent. I am trying to take off the fender but I need to take off the door and to take off the door I need to take off the fender. Vicious circle, aint it. I almost have the radiator off but I am going to have to cut stuff off.

Things I have found to be really useful is the pry bar for taking off the wheels and a 3lb hammer. I am not going to destroy stuff that ain't already destoryed.

Any of you guys know how hard it is to either replace the cab or put the engine in a Suburban? I am not going to be without a diesel as my bro is going to lend me his for awhile, a 86 Ford F250 6.9 IDI.

Jon

rbrettctd

Being an older burb I imagine the engine compartment is big enough. We thought about dropping one in my buddys 91 but he changed directions. I would recommend dropping your whole drivetrain in there if its all good (axles and all). And if you go the other way, the cab wouldnt be hard to replace.

wannadiesel

I'm sorry to hear about your truck, Jon.

How about a Ramcharger swap? Much simpler than a Suburban swap.

dieselJon

Gotta find a RamCharger in decent shape. All the ones out here are gutted or really bad shape.

Jon

broncobilly

Jon,
Sorry to hear about your rig. That's a bummer! I've had a few "mess up's" in my day I saw on the web somewhere a guy swapped a 4B into a burb. I don't know if you could with a 6B? I am thinking of swapping a 4B into my 70 Bronco. A guy in the last DieselPower mag did that with a 66. Pretty neat!! Anyways, at least you didn't get injured too bad. You can always look for another rig.

dieselJon

Here they are:



Here is what it looks like on the inside. Notice the mirror. Also if look through the steering wheel, that is my Bible. It WAS on the seat before impact.





Jon

91.5CTDBanks

Wow Jon, sorry to hear about the truck. The main thing is you are alright. Is the truck drivable with some minor repairs? If so, you may be able to drive it until you find a donor. Either another CTD dodge or straighten your frame and add good parts. Best of luck.

dieselJon

Nope, not drivable. I need at least a radiator fender, some headlight wiring that got cut, the whole front clip, the cab was moved back, the door is useless, the fender is now taken off, and I am slowly making my way to the radiator.

Thanks for all your replies!

Jon

KB440

Sorry about your truck. Looks like you hit the tree pretty hard.