Fordzuki's first flop

[Loanranger]

We were headed out to Tahuya today, and ended up turning back because of the snow. So I gave a buddy a call, and headed over to his place for some backyard wheeling.

It started out all inocent like, crawling through a hole his son had dug, and playing around a little in the mud. Then I found a nice hillclimb to cut in. It started as sticker bushes over the whole side of the hill, and after romping up into it a few times, I found a real nice line up the hill, and started making runs at it. The line I was going for you had to head up to the right, then the hill would kind of throw the front over to the left, and you could romp up to about 3/4s of the way up, then there was a dip or ledge that the front tires drop into, and up and over the top. Well, it was nasty slimey mud as the day went on, raining off and on, and hailing at times. I had gotten up 3/4s of the way so many times, but the carb would start cutting out at the top, so I'd have to roll it back down and make another attempt. Well, after thinking about it for a minute, and by now REALLY wanting to make it up this hill, I realized I was very low on gas, and every time I'd get vert, the pickup would run dry.
So I sent my buddies son to the store for a fiver of gas, and got back to it when he got back. Well, it was getting really sloppy now, but I had to take another try at it.......
I'll let the pics explain the rest....

Right about here is where it started.

Hit it a little hard, and instead of a little bump to the left, it swung the front end HARD to the left.

 

[Mechanickid]

is it just me or does the rear axle look bent in the last photo?

 

[midget]

More importantly if your rocking that much around in the cab you need to tighten up those seat belts. It does kinda look bent though to be honest prolly just an illusion though because of the offset housing might want to check it to be sure though.

 

[Loanranger]

more......

Let it sit for a few and she fired right up, the tie rod is taco'd, not sure if it happened in the flop or some time earlier. Also lost a rear brake hose in the ordeal, but I got a few on the shelf to replace it.

The new cage work worked like it should, it saved the windshield and frame from any serious damage, as the bulk of the weight was resting on the new roof slider.

 

[Beanmachine7000]

is it just me or does the rear axle look bent in the last photo?

I agree, I think it might be caked on mud making it look like that though... At least you got plenty of pictures of it flipping!!

 

[kcm1582]

Nice truck man. The first roll is the worst. At least you got it out of the way.

 

[metalmacguyver]

Nicely done!


So the brake line was the only thing broken?

 

[Iron Ranger]

Good thing you got a rollcage in that thing, because to me, it looks like that's what Fordzuki was built to do.

If it rolls over, no biggie, just rightside it up and off you go.

 

[dogboy]

Nice flop!! At least you got pictures of the first one! Get any flat tires from the thorns?

I'm gonna have to agree with others, the rear housing looks bent. In one pic it even looks like the tires are leaned in at the top too.
And I held a straight edge up to the screen, and the axle bends in relation to that edge, but that probably isn't very accurate.

 

[compleckz]

nice pics, i have a hill almost exactly like that in my backyard, covered in pricker bushes.. i'l be staying away from it.

 

[Sunk]

Nice flop... Good work with the camera too.

 

[skyy_4life]

how did u manage to snap off that many pics? did he roll it 7 diff times u just got 1 pic per roll and they happend to line up? j/k

 

[PaleBlue90]

looks gnarly

 

[Loanranger]

Damn this really took off. Let's see if I can keep up.

is it just me or does the rear axle look bent in the last photo?

The rear was actually taco'd when I got it, unfortunately I didn't notice till after I had all the brackets welded on. Must've been why it was so cheap. Nothing done today would have bent the housing. It's custom rear camber for cornering.

More importantly if your rocking that much around in the cab you need to tighten up those seat belts. It does kinda look bent though to be honest prolly just an illusion though because of the offset housing might want to check it to be sure though.

There was no rocking around in the cab happening. The position you see me in right before it landed was the position I went to just before the tire left the ground, and the position I was in after it landed. By the time the next picture was taken I was out of the harness and crawling out. The reason for the loose shoulder harnesses is manueverability. They are snug enough to keep me out of the windshield and roof, but slack enough to be able to move and see what's going on around and under the vehicle. The lap and crotch belt are snug and keep me in the seat. IF I were going 100plus mph, or had a chance of multiple rolls, I'd agree with you, but at slow speeds, there's no reason to be strapped in that tight. It cuts down on visibility, and manueverability.
Like said above, also I've been running the taco'd rear for two years now with no breakage, and I don't run it on the road enough to worry about tire wear.

Nicely done!


So the brake line was the only thing broken?

Thanks, I still need to take a good look over the rig, I spent tonight just washing it inside and out to get all that mud off it. I'm not even sure that it is the hose, but the rotor and wheel where covered in fluid, and it was the one in the air, so it shouldn't be diff oil. I can't tell in the pedal, cause the front and rear systems are isolated. We were also tromping through alot of brush and branches, so it could have even been a stick that grabbed it. The tie rod I think is the same thing, more likely I hit a stump sometime during the day, rather than it bent in the flop.

Good thing you got a rollcage in that thing, because to me, it looks like that's what Fordzuki was built to do.

If it rolls over, no biggie, just rightside it up and off you go.

That's pretty much it too, like I said before, I'm thinking the brakeline and tierod happened earlier in the day, and aside from losing a little gas and P/S fluid, everything is happy.

Nice flop!! At least you got pictures of the first one! Get any flat tires from the thorns?

I'm gonna have to agree with others, the rear housing looks bent. In one pic it even looks like the tires are leaned in at the top too.
And I held a straight edge up to the screen, and the axle bends in relation to that edge, but that probably isn't very accurate.

No, no flat tires, I guess my buddies son ripped a hole in one of his tires out there on a branch, but they're pretty much street tires.
Cameras do weird things to axles, though it IS taco'd, I think the pictures exagerate the amount of bend, cause I know it's not as bent as it looks in the pictures.

Nice flop... Good work with the camera too.

That was actually my buddie's son. Might have to take him wheeling with me from now on for a photographer.

 

[Loanranger]

I'll have a few vids up here soon of the hillclimb, no vids of the flop though.