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147 Posts
I went back and forth about posting this or not. My wife has told our next door neighborhood (one with the new RZR XP900), called my brother-in-law, her mother or heck maybe even the LA Times. Anyway here goes.
Picked up my new 13 Mav XRS Aug. 21 and joined the forum. Read like a madman. Changed over the tie rods, put on a full STM Rage 3 for fear it might explode. Blingstar doors, harness bar and 3" harnesses, you know the whole 9 yards. The one thing I didn't enter into the equation was human error; aka loose nut on the steering wheel. Arrived at the desert around 7:00 PM and made camp. Couldn't wait to drive the Mav, break it in nice and slow, the motor, the belt, get the a feel for it. So, my oldest boy and I got in the Mav after dinner for a short cruise, first tried 4X4 low, naw this isn't no fun, switched to 4X4 high, OK that's getting there, then switched to 2-Wheel drive high, now that's what I'm talking about. Picked up some speed, the rear end felt kinda loose, like a Ford truck in the rain, but I like it. Found myself putting it into a controlled slide by punching the gas and cranking the wheel, weeeeeeee this is great!!! Got to a long straight and pushed her down to the wood and Wow!!! This thing has some guts. Now let's stop for a second, I'm guessing you folks got a pretty good idea where this is going from here, now realize the last 4-wheel off-road car I owned was a 2180cc mid-engine sand rail that handled like a Porche Carrera, although I sold that in 1987 for $8,500 before the birth of my first son (just a little background which doesn't really mean sh#t). So let's continue, so I'm having a total blast pitching it out on every turn stabbing the throttle on ever straight and being 17 again in my Mach 1 Mustang. I look a head and here comes my camp site about 200 yards away, I can see the fire and my wife and 2 other sons roasting marshmellos. And this is where everything went wrong in a split second. I noticed I was coming in too hot to the camp site, so I pitched it out to show the family what a real expert driver old Dad is. Now its in a left handed slide and the head lights are showing me some pucker bushes on top of humps of sand coming up fast that I'm sliding into, so at the last second I crank the wheel to the right to miss them, still on the gas mind you and the Mav instantly flips over on my side and then onto its top. I'm kinda dazed and confuzed hanging upside down from my harnesse. My son is asking me are you all right Dad, over and over. Yes I say, yes I am. He said, shut off the motor Dad, OK I said and I did. My mind is racing, the fun is over, I am so embarrassed, ashamed, humiliated, feel foolish, stupid, what the hell are you thinking, your 58 yrs. old. Gonna break it in nice and easy, well that's out the window. By now my wife is standing next to me, of course I'm upside down and reading me the riot act. Right now as I'm typing this anxiety is rushing over me and I feel like a stupid asshol#. OK, I un-buckle myself supporting my 205lbs on the steering wheel and crawl out. I'm still getting a good ass chewing from my wife. I asked for help pushing the Mav back on its wheels and the five of us pushed it back over without to much effort. Got the flashlight and looked her over real good. Well, the Turnkey top looked like bowed, the plastic was cracked in several places, the roll bar was just slightly bent towards the passenger side, the hood with the big X on it was scratched bad, the front bumper was bent in towards the driver's side, the Blingstar door on the driver's side was touching the bottom black door sill where it was about an 1.5" before. I then began checking for any compound fractues, stuff that didn't work like knees, hips, shoulders, fingers, any pain, but all was good. My son was fine too. So after about 15 minutes I had my son start the Mav and drive it over to the motorhome and park it, about 75 feet away. Started right up, no smoke, sounded good, parked it. Went in the motorhome took a shower and went to bed. Woke up in the morning and man was my neck sore, oh man my ribs on my left side were really sore, must of hit the Blingstar top door rail with my rib cage. Started the coffee pot and felt like I got in a fight in a bar and lost.
But I kept telling myself the rest of the trip, stupid is what stupid does, if you act the fool you pay the piper. All the time spent in the garage after work every night, installing parts, fitting accessories, time, money, pissed away because you haven't ever grown up, your hair might be gray, but that don't make you smart. OK, OK, Now, I do have Allstate Insurance full coverage, not cheap. I also have 3-years of payments. I'll put it to you gentleman, (A) do you bite the bullet and buy new plastic or crazy glue the cracks shut, pound out the roof, re-fit the Blingstar door, paint the roll bar and door with textured black paint where the rocks scratched them up, or (B) just drive the son-of-a bit#h sounds like you might roll it again, or (C) call the insurance company, take it back to the dealership for an estimate and get the insurance money to fix it back up to near new? One other thing before I go hang myself from the garage rafters, my son said that I didn't shut the engine off for a while due to being dazed and confuzed from the roll over. I asked him how long he thought it was, he said 15 to 20 seconds. When I drove it the next day I thought I heard a ticking coming from the top end of the motor. Now remember I rolled it over with 3.3 miles on it so I don't know if it was ticking all along or not. Runs fine though, there was some engine oil in the pre-filter, but not a lot by any means. I'll check the oil level tomorrow. Well, that's it, let the comments begin, I'm going out the the ski boat now to get the ski rope and retire to the garage.
Picked up my new 13 Mav XRS Aug. 21 and joined the forum. Read like a madman. Changed over the tie rods, put on a full STM Rage 3 for fear it might explode. Blingstar doors, harness bar and 3" harnesses, you know the whole 9 yards. The one thing I didn't enter into the equation was human error; aka loose nut on the steering wheel. Arrived at the desert around 7:00 PM and made camp. Couldn't wait to drive the Mav, break it in nice and slow, the motor, the belt, get the a feel for it. So, my oldest boy and I got in the Mav after dinner for a short cruise, first tried 4X4 low, naw this isn't no fun, switched to 4X4 high, OK that's getting there, then switched to 2-Wheel drive high, now that's what I'm talking about. Picked up some speed, the rear end felt kinda loose, like a Ford truck in the rain, but I like it. Found myself putting it into a controlled slide by punching the gas and cranking the wheel, weeeeeeee this is great!!! Got to a long straight and pushed her down to the wood and Wow!!! This thing has some guts. Now let's stop for a second, I'm guessing you folks got a pretty good idea where this is going from here, now realize the last 4-wheel off-road car I owned was a 2180cc mid-engine sand rail that handled like a Porche Carrera, although I sold that in 1987 for $8,500 before the birth of my first son (just a little background which doesn't really mean sh#t). So let's continue, so I'm having a total blast pitching it out on every turn stabbing the throttle on ever straight and being 17 again in my Mach 1 Mustang. I look a head and here comes my camp site about 200 yards away, I can see the fire and my wife and 2 other sons roasting marshmellos. And this is where everything went wrong in a split second. I noticed I was coming in too hot to the camp site, so I pitched it out to show the family what a real expert driver old Dad is. Now its in a left handed slide and the head lights are showing me some pucker bushes on top of humps of sand coming up fast that I'm sliding into, so at the last second I crank the wheel to the right to miss them, still on the gas mind you and the Mav instantly flips over on my side and then onto its top. I'm kinda dazed and confuzed hanging upside down from my harnesse. My son is asking me are you all right Dad, over and over. Yes I say, yes I am. He said, shut off the motor Dad, OK I said and I did. My mind is racing, the fun is over, I am so embarrassed, ashamed, humiliated, feel foolish, stupid, what the hell are you thinking, your 58 yrs. old. Gonna break it in nice and easy, well that's out the window. By now my wife is standing next to me, of course I'm upside down and reading me the riot act. Right now as I'm typing this anxiety is rushing over me and I feel like a stupid asshol#. OK, I un-buckle myself supporting my 205lbs on the steering wheel and crawl out. I'm still getting a good ass chewing from my wife. I asked for help pushing the Mav back on its wheels and the five of us pushed it back over without to much effort. Got the flashlight and looked her over real good. Well, the Turnkey top looked like bowed, the plastic was cracked in several places, the roll bar was just slightly bent towards the passenger side, the hood with the big X on it was scratched bad, the front bumper was bent in towards the driver's side, the Blingstar door on the driver's side was touching the bottom black door sill where it was about an 1.5" before. I then began checking for any compound fractues, stuff that didn't work like knees, hips, shoulders, fingers, any pain, but all was good. My son was fine too. So after about 15 minutes I had my son start the Mav and drive it over to the motorhome and park it, about 75 feet away. Started right up, no smoke, sounded good, parked it. Went in the motorhome took a shower and went to bed. Woke up in the morning and man was my neck sore, oh man my ribs on my left side were really sore, must of hit the Blingstar top door rail with my rib cage. Started the coffee pot and felt like I got in a fight in a bar and lost.
But I kept telling myself the rest of the trip, stupid is what stupid does, if you act the fool you pay the piper. All the time spent in the garage after work every night, installing parts, fitting accessories, time, money, pissed away because you haven't ever grown up, your hair might be gray, but that don't make you smart. OK, OK, Now, I do have Allstate Insurance full coverage, not cheap. I also have 3-years of payments. I'll put it to you gentleman, (A) do you bite the bullet and buy new plastic or crazy glue the cracks shut, pound out the roof, re-fit the Blingstar door, paint the roll bar and door with textured black paint where the rocks scratched them up, or (B) just drive the son-of-a bit#h sounds like you might roll it again, or (C) call the insurance company, take it back to the dealership for an estimate and get the insurance money to fix it back up to near new? One other thing before I go hang myself from the garage rafters, my son said that I didn't shut the engine off for a while due to being dazed and confuzed from the roll over. I asked him how long he thought it was, he said 15 to 20 seconds. When I drove it the next day I thought I heard a ticking coming from the top end of the motor. Now remember I rolled it over with 3.3 miles on it so I don't know if it was ticking all along or not. Runs fine though, there was some engine oil in the pre-filter, but not a lot by any means. I'll check the oil level tomorrow. Well, that's it, let the comments begin, I'm going out the the ski boat now to get the ski rope and retire to the garage.