..and it was my fault. I usually don't post about the dumba** stuff we've all done, but figured I would on this one if it means helping a brother or sister out and making sure his or her head is in the game.
Had to tow one in today. Dead Mercury Moutaineer which slung the serp belt. Well, we have a tow dolly for these occasions, so I went and got it. Had to drop the rear shaft since it's an AWD drive and wouldn't pull with the rears on the ground and fronts on the deck. Got it up in front of the shop and wanted to roll it back in the grass. So I unhooked the straps and the safety chains. Forgot the rear shaft wasn't in it...
It jumped off the deck before I even had a chance to pop the deck release.
Let me set the scenario for you a bit. The garage is at my buddy's house. He has a nice size yard. Okay, actually a big yard with a pond in it. The driveway to the shop goes up a rather steep incline. The truck jumped off the deck and started on it's merry way. I ran after it, got the door open and before I could say "stop" the door hit me, knocking me to the ground. Luckily it knocked me
away from the truck.
But it get's better. The truck went down the driveway and flew into the yard, where it started towards a nice size tree. Before it got to the tree, it suddenly veered to the left, where it missed not just the first one, but also a second one, before skipping back across the driving, where it went between two other trees, heading for yet another, even larger tree. Somehow it veered suddenly to the left, again, before winding up in a ditch. Sideways.
No damage done to the vehicle, thankfully (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) except a blown left front tire which got rolled off the bead when it went into the ditch. Don't ask me how, but it missed six trees, all large enough to take it out...
The damage was done to me... The door hit me hard enough to actually leave paint on my jeans.
I've gotten used to working alone since my buddy went back to the steady paycheck. This is one instance where I should have called for help. The parking brake was useless. It's an automatic, 4 wheel disk Ford. The owners never use it and it's one big ball of unmoving rust in the rotors. I tried it when I first put it on the dolly.
Here's the damage to my leg:
View attachment 175235
Walking with a cane at the moment. When I first got home my wife had to help me up the steps into the house. Driving home, pushing the clutch in the Ramcharger was a pain in the ***. The further I went, the stiffer I got. And it seems like Elmira is full of traffic lights and colored blind idiots (oh, you mean the light's
green). My neighbor is a nurse who was gracious enough to come over and look at it. Keep it elevated, but move it (this deep of a bruise can cause a clot) and take something for the pain. Try to keep it clean.
The moral? Don't get complacent. Keep your head in the game. I'm not normally accident prone, but when I do have 'em they are doozies.
BTW, I almost got ran over by my own duster when I unloaded it, lol. I rigged up a safety strap and my ex was working the come along while I steered. The strap was too long and you never saw someone run backwards along the 4' spread of ramp supports so fast until the strap took hold. It was embarassing as hell and it scared the crap out of me. Duster has no brakes or driveshaft. It's a roller in every sense of the word.
