Tundra met the bar-ditch last night.

Driving home from work, icy/slick roads. Thought the road was clear, took it out of 4WD and gave it a little gas....enough to spin sideways, sliding into the bar-ditch on the side of the road. Threw it in park, made sure no airbags deployed, put it in drive, 4-hi and got out. All within a minute span. Pulled over at the nearest gas station to find NO body damage (thought I took out a reflector pole) and just ice/dirt in the wheels. Prayed alot on the rest of the ride home, and thankfully nothing seems to be broken. Just thought I'd share, and say I'm thankful I was in a 4WD pickup...I did think I was gonna flip though once I hit the ditch.

 

Glad you are ok and escaped with no damage

 

This is why I always leave it in 4WD any time there is even a chance of ice that day. If I have to, I will take it out in the parking lots and put it right back in as soon as I get on the roads. A lot of people underestimate just how terrible 2WD pickup are on anything slick until they have an experience like yours.

Mind you, its not magic.

A couple weeks ago I saw it was starting to get a little snow, put it in 4WD, slowed down to 50....and a couple minutes later ended up doing a full 360 at 50 MPH down the highway. Didn't hit anything but I was doing 50 when I should have been doing 25.

 

Nobody crashes like Duke Caboom.

Glad you made it out relatively unscathed!

 

That's crazy. Glad you and the truck are ok

 

Crazy , makes me want to get a dash cam.

 

The hell is a bar-ditch?

glad you’re ok.

 

Great question. I assume a ditch outside a bar to capture driving patrons who're too pickled to make it out of the parking lot?

 

Its short for borrow ditch, sometimes called barrow ditch, or barrow pit depending on where you are from. (we usually call it the barrow pit in my area)

Its the ditch along the road where dirt was scooped out to build up the road bed. It can be pretty big...say 12' wide and 6' deep.

 

Reminds me of when I looped my f350 around on the highway, went through a ditch backwards, immediately threw it in reverse to gain momentum, back to drive, and then k was back out of the ditch and on my way. I missed the reflector pole by 3-6".

If you spin out and there's any clear road that isn't icy or snow, put the pedal down. That's the only thing that saved my bacon. I would have flipped because it was a very small patch of slush and a semi truck making it nearly impossible to see around that got me.

 

Your right on how bad a 2 wheel drive truck is on a little black ice. (2 weeks ago today) Glad you made it.

 

BTW, It was facing the other way when it was sliding sideways.

 

Lol.

 

It's a southern thing. Since moving to utah from texas I've noticed they dont really have them up north. Alot more common in the south and are usually fairly deep. It's a big problem when you end up in one. Alot of times they're alot deeper than the one pictured. Typically they use them in the south to prevent road flooding.

 

I’ll say a little thanks to JC today. We’ll be hanging out later.

 

I guess it depends on where you live in the south. Round here you're pretty much done for if you dip even 1 tire off the road. You'll do major damage. A lot of our country roads are not wide enough for 2 vehicles so 1 person has to stop to let the other pass.

 

Yea it's like deep south, south texas , Louisiana Mississippi etc not Tennessee mountains south. Think gulf coast regions

 

That is a nice bike path!

 

Black ice late in the evening led me to my Tundra this fall. Driving slow down I-90 with three vehicles. Right before a bridge the car ahead started spinning, just slid straight but across the lane into the guard rail. With a full time all wheel drive. Was lucky the guard rail stopped me.
All the airbags deployed on the driver side so the vehicle was totaled.


Once the insurance company confirmed I had to by something. Found the Tundra. No injuries thankfully.



Be safe out there.

 

On the South Coast of St. Barts, you’ll just slip off the mountain cliff edge and into the sea never to be seen again.

 

Thanks for all the kind words. Went back to the scene last night and saw the ruts my tires made. Thinking I could’ve rolled if not for the grace of God.
yes, bar ditch is a southern thing, and normally a bad thing to end up in, sometimes resulting in a tow due to mud or angle you’re stuck in at.
Sorry to see your truck like that Zombie. Glad you were ok though!

 

yep. Coulda been a lot worse. Glad it wasn't. I'll have to use that word (bar-ditch) next time....'round here in the PNW we got 'em, but we just call 'em, 'the side of the road'. haha

 

They have them everywhere up here so not just a southern thing, but like I said, we call them Barrow Pits. Same thing though. Pulled many a dead guy out of them over the years. Glad your okay.

 

Those probably aren't used as much in the northern states because if the weather is bad enough the gutter is needed to act like a bumper. A deep ditch would just be a little frozen pond next to the road for people to slip into.

 

It also has to do with the lack of moisture in the south at times, and when it does rain, there is a lot of flash flooding, so the bar ditch gives the water some place to runoff.