Posted on 01/10/2011 8:03:18 PM PST by Tina Grazier
This a very interesting video of a 4 Wheeler that flips backwards,
crashing on it's roof while trying to climb a rock. Good thing no one was hurt.
Driver error. Too fast and launched himself.
Need an ultra low-range. 1/4 mph.
Those who do this (and I have been one, on occasion) know that this is one of the risks involved. Plan B is always “turn it into a rock buggy” i.e. strip off (or cut off) all the bodywork, and weld a roll cage to it. Every off-roader knows you can’t get the really *big* tires on there until the fenders are gone anyway. Plan C is “sell the parts for funds to buy another off-road truck”. Also, most of the guys who do this do so on small budgets, saving their pennies along the way for various upgrades.
A modest off-road truck might cost you $1500-2000, along with an equal amount for initial upgrades. Such a vehicle, if treated reasonably, will last many years of off-roading. Since comfort and looks are secondary, the utility of the vehicle increases enormously. Most smokers spend more every year than a modest off-roader costs in maintenance.
It’s not the speed that did it. The idiots did not realize that, because of the upper rock, the incline was much steeper than it looked. It was simply a combination of a very steep incline and a high center of gravity.
blog pimp
Already posted much earlier today...
=8-)
Rock Crawlers have high centers of gravity but could surmount this due to low speed and throttle control. This driver probably could have stopped the flip by braking before the critical balance point just like on a motorcycle doing wheelie.
I totally disagree with you. He could have climbed it easily, but he lost control by over-revving.
Video evidence - stupid is as stupid does.
When you are doing 9/10s of a wheelie already, stomping on the gas is a bad idea.
I wonder if he tried to file an insurance claim?
Even so, most folks into this recreation get a little tipsy occasionally, more so than just the normal 1 tire in the air variety. First time I got to the tipsy point was inching across a very deep rut at an angle and the truck popped into too much of a lean with one rear tire in the air and one front tire barely on the ground. Several guys were right by me and quickly through their weight on the back bumper to keep me grounded enough. Another time, I was taking a bypass around a pile of rocks and threading my way between trees. I have no idea what caused it but for a second, the truck just popped up and almost went over. After getting through this, I inspected things to see what I missed and neither me nor any of the other folks could figger out what had caused the unstable pop up.
One of the other posters mentioned insurance excluding off road mishaps. This exclusion is not common at all. Your insurance company may cancel you after the fact but that is not much more likely than getting canceled after any other vehicle accident.
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