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, Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:49:30
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This past November 16th I left Jackman Maine at 5:30 AM on my way to Madison County, NY about a 500 mile trip. It was snowing. About a mile out of town there's a very long straight hill, and as I traveled up, I lost the back end, just a bit. I decided to pull over and put my EXPLORER into 4 wheel drive. I continued up the hill, however when I looked at my fuel gauge I decided to go back to town because I was low on fuel, and the next gas station was 60 miles away, and since 4 wheel drive uses a lot more fuel than 2 wheel drive, I did not want to take a chance on getting stuck somewhere in the middle of "no where" (looking back on this I realize I should have filled up the night before, but wanted to save a few cents because of the price of fuel in Jackman).
I made a "U" turn on the hill..(at 5:30 AM in that part of Maine there is not a lot of traffic) and started down towards town. I was going about 35 miles and hour when I fish tailed again. I slowed down to 25. I got about another 100 yards and fish tailed again. This time however, I was not successful in re-gaining control. My Explorer went from one side of the road (I corrected) to the other side of the road (I corrected again!) This oscillation continued on down the road. I am sure I traveled at least a quarter of a mile down the road, from one side to the other. As a matter of fact, I had enough time to put the car into neutral and switch the 4 wheel drive off, (I did this because I believe the engine was acting like a brake and locking the wheels, am I correct?) all the while trying to bring it under control.
I continued sliding down the hill until finally I was side ways and looking at a 50 foot drop on the right side of the road. I remember (very vividly), thinking to myself "Ok Jim, now you're gonna get hurt" I held onto the stearing wheel as tight as I could, and prepared myself for the pain that I knew was coming.
Well, I am sure God was watching this as it happened, because when I stopped rolling, I was on top of a big boulder. He just wanted to scare the hell out of me! The car was still running. I must have sat there in disbelief for a minute and after taking a physical inventory, I stopped the motor, I got out, I almost had to crawl up the steep bank to the top, and tried to flag a logging truck (it was on its way up the hill) down. He did not stop. About a minute or two after I saw a plow coming down the hill, he stopped and gave me a ride into town. I called AAA and the only towing company in town towed me out. The frame was bent, the steering was messed up, one wheel offset to the right, and the right rear axel was bent, (not to mention the mess on the drivers side seat)the front bumper was bent, and everything under it was broken off. I did not have a scratch! God was watching! Rolling over the top of that boulder brought the car to a "soft" stop. Thank you God.
So, whats the point of my writing this? I want to ask a couple of questions.
Did I do the right thing when I put the car into neutral and switched the 4 wheel drive off?
Has anyone tried this method to get the wheels to turn in order to regain control?
BTW: I was successful years ago and able to steer the car into a snowbank by putting it into neutral.
What do yo think?
posted by 205.188.11...
, Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:55:10, Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:49:30, Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:29:20
, Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:54:36
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