Originally Posted by TurnerFam
it's easy to 'assume' someone did not leave their vehicle in Neutral, or for these 4-wheel drive vehicles, with the TRANSFER case in neutral, not the transmission - but that's not something to assume.
I lost a toad, a 2014 Ford Fiesta, in a similar situation, but it certainly was in it's Neutral position, at least WHEN we left the campground. 25-30 miles later the 'accident' happened... [we are seasoned RVrs - we had towed this car already 50,000 miles!]
What happened? Well, certainly the vehicle was initially in NEUTRAL, as you WILL KNOW, as a motorhome owner/driver, if your vehicle is being pulled with no wheels turning - as this will absolutely be a BIG DRAG on your motorhome - you would know it immediately. I imagine that his situation could be similar to ours:
We had left the campground on some dirt roads, in Manitoba, Canada, coming out of Angle Intlet, MN(which is a very small area of the U.S. totally surrounded by Canada and water... you MUST go thru Canada to get to it!), down some VERY dusty roads, and eventually, back into Canada, and down some quite skinny roads, though traveled extensively by commercial DUAL-DUMP trailer semi trucks, which are very long and heavy. I remember that one of those had just passed us when I felt a 'tug' on the motorhome, at first considering it as 'wind' generated by the passing semi, but even then realizing that it didn't feel 'normal'... then, a few seconds later, another 'tug', and I then started considering that something ELSE was amiss - and then suddenly realized that billowing SMOKE was showing in my rear-monitor - I instantly thought that my DIESEL motorhome engine was smoking!
But, when I could come to a stop, and pull slightly off the highway, I jumped out and ran back to find that my TOAD was billowing smoke, and NOT the diesel pusher engine right in front of it - there was no 'fire', but you certainly at first don't really 'know' if fire is present under the hood the car until you can see it - but then I noticed that the hood was ALREADY popped...and then I noticed that the hood had SHRAPNEL coming thru in several places - like a 'bomb' had gone off under the hood.
The tires looked PERFECT - with NO issues, no flat spots, nothing - I instantly KNEW that the car was in Neutral, and looking into the car, it WAS still in Neutral.
So, in the end, thru an insurance claim and many folks having laid eyes on the damages, which consisted of a engine 'blown up', and a transmission 'pierced' by a piece of metal, it was concluded, and I agreed, that the passing dual-dump semi truck had run over something in the road, throwing it over and under the toad, as we passed, piercing the transmission body as it also simultaneously knocked the transmission gear lever, located between the transmission and engine, into REVERSE!
you get the picture...
Insurance paid a total loss on the toad, via the comprehensive coverage. I had a $100 deductible. I only wish I hand't only recently put brand new tires on it : /
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