gotta watch those tight turns in parking lots...
 

...so, apparently I wasn't paying close enough attention while driving through a local shopping center parking lot the other day.

Turned down an aisle and heard/felt a heck of a whump and the right rear wheel kicked up a bit. Figured I had clipped the curb with the tire and so I pulled over to check and make sure I hadn't damaged the rim...

Well, it turns out that I hit a bit more than just the tire on a curb...

This is what I hit:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=77454
(note the nice blue "racing stripe" I added to the rock to make it look nice and sporty...)

...

and this is what that rock did:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=77453

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=77452

The running board is scratched up (I can live with that), and is pushed in noticeably so at the very least the rear mounting bracket is bent. The right rear corner of the cab is dented as is the lower edge of the bed and the paint is gone down to bare metal in spots on both panels.

So, a moment's inattention is going to cost me a nice chunk of change I'm thinking (bringing it in to the dealership for an estimate monday morning). Haven't called my insurance agent yet because I want to know what the repair bill is going to be before I decide whether or not to use insurance or just pay for the whole thing myself. Regardless, this one's not going to be a cheap way to learn to pay better attention to what I'm doing.

The worst part about the whole thing though... is that in the almost 6 months I've had the truck now I have managed to avoid picking up any dents or dings in any of the parking lots I've been in (my co-workers in particular are notorious for putting plenty of door dings in every other vehicle I've ever taken to work so it's been a miracle that I've avoided that fate this long with this truck). So, now my first parking lot ding is no mere door dent from some idiot that parked too close, it's this! grrrrrr...

honestly thats nothing, I watch my dad do bodywork sometimes and he could make that look new in 2 -3 hours, stealership charges $100 flat rate per hour of labour (where I live) and paint/materials extra so do the math.. hope this helps.

:(Sorry about this Wolf. That is one beautiful truck you have. On the positive side of things, it looks like your running board probably saved you some more extensive damage.

I know what you mean about the parking lots. I've been parking mine in no man's land trying my best to avoid the same thing. It's not easy. I hope it works out okay for you and not too expensive to fix.

I had just put new tires on my Mom's car for her. On the way back I pulled into a shopping center. There were four girls in skirts climbing on the big shopping center sign as I'm pulling in which diverted my attention........... and I hit the curb with the left front wheel. Wrecked the new tire and broke the aluminum wheel. (That was an all cash repair cause I didn't want Mom to know.)

Ewww..could be worse though. My sister once ran over a rock in a local parking lot and somehow managed to get it lodged under the radiator that was quite a sight seeing the car pulled off the rock that coupled with the terrible noise made me want to puke.

Been there, done that with my 97 (my nemesis was corner of a wooden building after working 85 hours that week). Truck was less than 1 month old.

Can't help with the repairs, but I can give ya' some reps for being man enough to show us the 'booboo'.

Sorry to see that Wolf. I'll take extra care now that I've seen your misfortune.

I'd be tempted to wrap a strap around the culprit and drag it far, far away. :-arrgh

I hope you get your beauty fixed like new real soon bro.

yeah well, I know I screwed up so it's only fair that I get screwed on this one, the only question is... how much am I gonna get screwed? If it's under $1000 (which I doubt) then I'll just write the check. But, if it's much more than that then I'll call my insurance agent, pay the $500 deductible, and let them cover the rest. The repainting of those two panels is where I figure things will get ugly fast (assuming everything else can be straightened out without too much trouble). Either way, I'll have an estimate from the dealership body shop monday so I can figure things out from there.

yeah, the running board tried to sacrifice itself for the good of the truck. Never really thought about that as a potential benefit to having the running boards but, now that I've seen what can happen I'm becoming even more of a fan of them.

That's a lousy place to put a rock just to keep someone from driving over the precious curb. But, like they said, could be worse. I had someone T-bone my, then new, '95 Ram before I had made the first payment- that was a heart breaker.

That sucks. You should've used the girls in skirts excuse...lol.

Man that sucks! Agreed why they need to put a rock there when its rolled curb. Almost a mountable curb. I'd complain to the store owner. I had a few scrapes in my truck when I first got it, but it only resulted in a scuffed rear tire. Good luck and reps for sharing!
EDIT: I have to owe you reps, gotta spread some around first.

They put those huge rocks around all of the lots here to keep the tractor-trailers from short-turning and ruining the landscaping. It seems to help in that respect as two of the local shopping centers spent over $10k apiece last year repairing damage caused by tractor-trailers. Since placing the rocks out, they've had no new damage.

Oh, I repped him for both of us.:-X22

I guess that makes sense. I thank you for repping him buddy!
Edit: After looking at the pic again I can't see why that rock can't be bumped back a few feet, theres no landscaping to wreck there. Maybe theres something there I can't see in the pic?

I'm not sure in that particular location. Maybe they just don't want people short-turning and running over the curbs.:-huh Hard to tell.

The rocks they place here are in areas where there are sappling trees that have been newly planted and mulch that has just been placed. Never fails, right after they landscape it, a big truck destroys it. They've run over trees and pulled trailer tires through the mulch which is disastrous because when it's been raining, the tires just make huge ruts through the mulch and the mud below.

Not long ago, a truck driver called for a report on damage to his truck. Brand new KW and he thought he could just push the rock out of the way with his front bumper. He ran over it and took out his oil pan.:( Gallons of oil all over the ground and he was miffed at the owners of the property when it was admittedly his own stupidity that caused it. Here's 'yer sign.:D