BajaNomad

Driver destroys his new Jeep Wrangler

LancairDriver - 3-16-2021 at 11:05 PM

This driver had been four wheeling in 4wd low and hooked up to flat tow it without taking it out of gear. Totaled out a new Jeep.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/39794/rv-driver-annihilates-th...

TMW - 3-17-2021 at 08:05 AM

Lesson learned, hopefully.

pacificobob - 3-17-2021 at 09:00 AM

his next purchase will be an asskicking machine

4x4abc - 3-17-2021 at 09:26 AM

I ran into a guy just outside Mulege years ago. He was flat towing a Subaru behind his large Motorhome. He had pulled over scratching his head about dense smoke coming from the hood of the Subaru.
He decided to open the hood. The rushing in oxygen created a firestorm. Too hot to uncouple the Subaru.
He and his wife were videoing the event. Within a minute the motorhome was in flames. It burned quickly.
Focussing on the video recording they had forgotten to get valuables out of the motorhome. By the time it entered their minds, it was too late. Could no longer get in.
The fire was quite a spectacle.
Mulege fire department arrived. Their shiny cylinders had only compressed water in them. No effect.
Connecting the large water hose took 15 minutes. Only to find out that the pump wasn't working. Took 30 minutes to fix it.
By then there was nothing left of both vehicles.

motoged - 3-17-2021 at 12:24 PM

That would be a video to watch :O

I have been researching Wranglers and their reviews aren't very good..... an earlier demise than expected or wanted.

AKgringo - 3-17-2021 at 12:38 PM

My dad trashed an engine in his Volkswagen Baja Bug while it was hooked up to his motorhome. Fortunately, he was aware enough that something was wrong, that the damage was limited to an engine swap.

He was a long time commercial trucker, and had made many trips towing the bug, but somehow it got left in gear after he hooked it up!

HeyMulegeScott - 3-17-2021 at 03:37 PM

The owner's manual has a pretty easy to follow sequence where you put it into reverse and rev a couple of times to check that it's not in gear after putting the transfer case in neutral. I did once forget to get mine out of neutral once after towing but luckily was able to jump in and stop it from rolling.

KurtG - 3-17-2021 at 07:20 PM

Quote: Originally posted by HeyMulegeScott  
The owner's manual has a pretty easy to follow sequence where you put it into reverse and rev a couple of times to check that it's not in gear after putting the transfer case in neutral. I did once forget to get mine out of neutral once after towing but luckily was able to jump in and stop it from rolling.


That assumes that the owner read the manual. While I am compulsive about that and buy a shop manual for every vehicle I own I realize when talking to others that I am in a quite small minority.

BajaMama - 3-19-2021 at 08:21 AM

Oh no - that is too bad, especially since is is fairly easy to take it out of gear, just a few specific steps (in the manual BTW) to do.

PaulW - 3-19-2021 at 08:25 AM

Some more details
https://jalopnik.com/jeep-wrangler-engine-explodes-after-own...

pacificobob - 3-19-2021 at 08:28 AM

Quote: Originally posted by KurtG  
Quote: Originally posted by HeyMulegeScott  
The owner's manual has a pretty easy to follow sequence where you put it into reverse and rev a couple of times to check that it's not in gear after putting the transfer case in neutral. I did once forget to get mine out of neutral once after towing but luckily was able to jump in and stop it from rolling.


That assumes that the owner read the manual. While I am compulsive about that and buy a shop manual for every vehicle I own I realize when talking to others that I am in a quite small minority.


i feel the same. however, as an example, my f150 has a 550 page manual. every consumer product seems to have a lot of printed materials....who has the time to read, and retain this information?

dravnx - 3-19-2021 at 08:42 AM

An old buddy of mine (he was old and has since passed) left his Honda Civic in gear one time. It was a manual tranny and he burned up the engine. He was one of those guys who had a well capitalized fun budget but griped and complained about spending any amount on anything. It gave me some good chuckles to see him pay to fix his mistake.

AKgringo - 3-19-2021 at 08:50 AM

Quote: Originally posted by PaulW  
Some more details
https://jalopnik.com/jeep-wrangler-engine-explodes-after-own...


Thanks for posting this link, I learned a bit about proper towing!

I have an older model Kia Sportage that is set up for flat towing behind a motorhome. I have never towed it more than a couple of miles yet, but I thought that the transfer case and the transmission were supposed to be in neutral. Now I can see that could cause problems, even with a standard transmission.

HeyMulegeScott - 3-19-2021 at 09:15 AM

Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
Quote: Originally posted by KurtG  
Quote: Originally posted by HeyMulegeScott  
The owner's manual has a pretty easy to follow sequence where you put it into reverse and rev a couple of times to check that it's not in gear after putting the transfer case in neutral. I did once forget to get mine out of neutral once after towing but luckily was able to jump in and stop it from rolling.


That assumes that the owner read the manual. While I am compulsive about that and buy a shop manual for every vehicle I own I realize when talking to others that I am in a quite small minority.


i feel the same. however, as an example, my f150 has a 550 page manual. every consumer product seems to have a lot of printed materials....who has the time to read, and retain this information?


The Jeep manual is surprisingly thin and doesn't cover a lot of detail on using it offroad. For example, there's no instructions for turning off electronic stability control in 4high (you have to hold down the ESC button).


pacificobob - 3-19-2021 at 11:55 AM

part of the problem with technical publications for consumer items is the common practice of printing 1 manual to cover an asston of devices. one example is the manual for a minisplit a/c i use is that one booklet covers 30+ models.

cactuspete1970 - 3-19-2021 at 02:08 PM

Manual aside
The driver has to be a idiot.:no: