Damage to truck from ditch?

TreeMan · Dec 12, 2016

Hey all, first post here! Hopefully not my last.
On my way home from work tonight I hit a patch of black ice on the highway, skidded sideways and ended up in the ditch. I managed to get myself out after driving in the ditch to a less hilly part and getting a good run at it.
The truck drove fine the rest of the way home, no issues whatsoever. I did a thorough walk-around and inspected everything underneath and everything looks exactly the same.

Is there anything I should be keeping an eye out for? Or are these trucks pretty durable as far as suspension and alignment go?
It's a 2015 ram 1500 4x4 crew cab.

Burla · Dec 12, 2016

Glad you are ok. How hard did u hit? If the frame is bent at all, you would want to get your insurance involved, those are sometimes a total.

TreeMan · Dec 12, 2016

I was going 110km/h when I started to slide, was on the brakes the whole time so not sure how much I managed to slow down before I got to the ditch. Definitely left some skid marks on that road.
I don't think I was going too fast since I only slid in about 8 feet.

jasonw · Dec 13, 2016

Unless you hit something in the ditch, or it was a very steep one, I doubt the frame is damaged. Drive it for a while, and if you don't feel anything wrong with it, I'd let it be. If you a super-paranoid, even though everything looks/feels good, take it to a reputable shop and they can usually check it out for you.

JRust · Dec 13, 2016

I would at least go get the alignment checked. Rather than just drive it & see. If there was an issue you'd wan to get insurance involved sooner rather than later.

cbsmith · Dec 13, 2016

Get it to an alaingment shop and see what it looks like. If it is way out then yup can talk to insurance, there is usually a timeframe to report accidents to them so you don't want to wait a long time.

baum · Dec 13, 2016

you may want to inform your insurance about it if you think you may have a claim down he road. Not only do you have to worry about your truck, but sometimes soreness to ones body doesnt come up until a few days down the road.

Jimmy68 · Dec 13, 2016

Ya seem kinda worried. Lol. I've done worse, harder and never even thought about it. Lol. You must be from Edmonton area.
Hello from down South.

MADDOG · Dec 13, 2016

While you are at the alignment shop see if you can't get it up on a lift and inspect the underside for obvious damage, bent suspension, etc... I don't think you did any damage but I'd check anyway.

ADUBIS · Dec 13, 2016

Better to pay for an alignment check today than four tires next year if it's out

TreeMan · Dec 13, 2016

Thanks for all the replies. I'll be taking it to an alignment shop to check it since it's free anyways. I've got a year to let my insurance know about anything so I'll wait on that, I'd be very doubtful that anything that serious would be wrong though haha. I just haven't slid into the ditch for a long time and I know that some of the parts of these newer vehicles aren't quite as strong or sturdy as they used to be back in the day.
And hey Jimmy, not from Edmonton lol. I live between Calgary and Red Deer in a tiny little town.

huntergreen · Dec 13, 2016

hope you took pics in case you have a claim.

Wild one · Dec 13, 2016

TreeMan said:
Thanks for all the replies. I'll be taking it to an alignment shop to check it since it's free anyways. I've got a year to let my insurance know about anything so I'll wait on that, I'd be very doubtful that anything that serious would be wrong though haha. I just haven't slid into the ditch for a long time and I know that some of the parts of these newer vehicles aren't quite as strong or sturdy as they used to be back in the day.
And hey Jimmy, not from Edmonton lol. I live between Calgary and Red Deer in a tiny little town.

If you don't have a shop already in mind,take it to Dan at W&B in Airdrie,across from the Dairy Queen,he's pretty decent to deal with.
If youy're looking for a good dealer Mountain View Dodge in Olds is better then Airdrie Dodge or the dealers in the city,when it comes to issues,lol See Charlie at MountainView.

Treburkulosis · Dec 13, 2016

I agree on checking the alignment.

RamInfo · Dec 13, 2016

I'd check alignment just because it's inexpensive and you can't do it too often. Beyond that, so long as you didn't hit any culverts or the like, I'd relax and drive it. I used to drive late model stock cars with suspension components much less robust than what we have in our Rams, and never saw an issue from a simple spin--so long as we didn't hit anything in the grass or tag the wall.
Best,
DG

Murphy Slaw · Dec 14, 2016

huntergreen said:
hope you took pics in case you have a claim.

No big deal.

He can just go right back to the ditch and drive back in again.

:favorites13:

Murphy Slaw · Dec 14, 2016

In all seriousness, people around here drive through ditches all the time.

For fun....

Jimmy68 · Dec 14, 2016

TreeMan said:
And hey Jimmy, not from Edmonton lol. I live between Calgary and Red Deer in a tiny little town.

I see Crossfield. Went by there Saturday on my way to Nisku.

TreeMan · Dec 14, 2016

Wild one said:
If you don't have a shop already in mind,take it to Dan at W&B in Airdrie,across from the Dairy Queen,he's pretty decent to deal with.
If youy're looking for a good dealer Mountain View Dodge in Olds is better then Airdrie Dodge or the dealers in the city,when it comes to issues,lol See Charlie at MountainView.

Funny thing is I had emailed him before I even saw this haha.
And yes, I agree Mountain View Dodge is way better than Airdrie. I actually work across the street from Mountain View so it's convenient too. Have had a few bad experiences with the service side of the Airdrie dealership.

Damage to truck from ditch?

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