Lots of metal, indeed, Dellman. Truckernix, she never got close enough, to my way of thinking. Her big, new car was bent like a banana and they had to extract her through a window, but she had been roped in properly and, while shaken, was unstirred. Epic #1 kept her cab integrity, although the front clip was pushed over substantially and her frame was slightly bent. I had been approaching at arounf 40 mph and, upon seeing her charge, was able to shed more than half of my speed, I think, although at the point of impact I neglected to look at the speedometer. I do remember that with the load I was packing I had nearly a 50/50 weight distribution, and don't think antilock brakes could have slowed me sooner. The investigating officer was properly impressed with the performance of my brakes and, in all modesty, I cannot blame him.
I would be interested to read, 64Fleetside, what the impact speed was on your poor old black truck. That looks like a side impact from a rear oblique; am I right?
65C10, an empty pickup has a very uneven weight distribution, and on hard braking even more of the weight transfers to the steering (front) axle. Be always prepared for the rear axle to break traction first, and pay particular attention to the condition and adjustment of your front brakes. If there was ever a place for fine tuning, that is it on a pickup truck.
I really do miss Epic #1, even still. That truck would go anywhere and do anything I asked of it with aplomb, and with significantly greater fuel economy that has been hitherto achievable by #2. This pic
[IMG]http://thumb11.webshots.net/t/22/23/2/71/70/2917271700096215731cGHBbH_th.jpg[/IMG] was taken circa 1983 on a weekend expedition into our mountains to kill and eat trout. On that trip - and many others - I successfully traversed trails most four wheel drive owners would categorically refuse to attempt in their big, shiny (apparently) capable vehicles, with nothing more than a Jack-all and a number of spares.
