[Tejas@perioimpl]

And the winch couldn't have been fixed at a better time because exactly two days later, this happened:



But more on it tomorrow.

[cool_dube]

Going by the tire marks and orientation of the Pajero, looks like he was backing up (or down - not clear from the pic) the slope, spun the wheels towards the top, got sudden traction, and the rear left wheel hit the smallish boulder seen in the pic at enough speed - and possibly just the right (or wrong) angle - to lift/topple the car. Will let Tejas validate my hypothesis.

Hope no one was hurt - at least Tejas wasn't, going by his smiling face in the pic But it takes something to topple the mighty Pajero

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Going by the tire marks and orientation of the Pajero, looks like he was backing up (or down - not clear from the pic) the slope, spun the wheels towards the top, got sudden traction, and the rear left wheel hit the smallish boulder seen in the pic at enough speed - and possibly just the right (or wrong) angle - to lift/topple the car. Will let Tejas validate my hypothesis.

Hope no one was hurt - at least Tejas wasn't, going by his smiling face in the pic But it takes something to topple the mighty Pajero

Good one!

It looks like he went up (tire marks avoiding the rock) and then skid all the way back and got flipped on hitting that rock.

As for Teja's "smile"; looks like an uneasy one, with the brain doing the calculations on how he ended up like this.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Sorry guys.
There’s a dash cam footage from inside the car that needs to be uploaded to YouTube to post here.

It’s a great learning experience and I want to share it with everyone.

Give me sometime to do it the right way.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

https://youtu.be/6w77OjEuo5Q

This happened a few months ago while doing a recce of a land to make some new tracks. The slope was slippery and for some reason there was an intuition that I may roll back and I radioed the car behind to stay further back as can be heard in the video.
On the slope climbing, lost traction and immediately followed abort hill climb procedure and shifted to reverse to control the descend. However, the car changed angle slightly and came towards the rock in reverse as you can see in 0:18 seconds (the rock on the right side on the tyre tracks). Of course didn't realise that happened and the rest as you can see is history.

The learnings from this are more important than the potentially viral video and hate comments that may follow.

Firstly, in hindsight I've thought of a lot of scenarios and there is no point what could or could not have been done. However, the fact that we followed all safety precautions saved the people in the vehicle from further harm.

Firstly, the fact that reverse was engage meant the vehicle didn't roll back faster and MAYBE that could have lead to multiple rolls? The reverse also helped to slow down the roll and gave precious seconds to counter steer (didn't work though) and also gave enough time to make sure that hands where closer to the midline of the body.

Also to note, seat belts save lives. If everyone was not belted, even though the car saved us, the person falling from the top side of the topple would have injured the person in the lower side.

The most important point is to remain calm as can be seen. Forget the co-passenger's sudden abuse which is natural but concentrate on the after.

So what do you do in such cases:
1. Belts. Always fasten seat belts.
2. Learn the aborted hill climb procedure and practice multiple times on smaller slope till it becomes second nature and reflex.
3. Drive with windows up or half window so inadvertently you do not put you hand out during a topple
4. When you are toppling try to get your extremities towards the mid line of your body.
5. Switch off engine as soon as you topple
6. Carry belt cutter, window breaker and fire extinguisher safely secured and within reach incase your seat belts lock and / or there is a fire.
7. After the side ways topple, the person on the lower side releases belt first and climbs out of window or opens door. Only then with the support of the guy outside the passenger strapped to the top will climb out. This is because if he releases first, he may fall on the person below and cause harm to him.
8. Once out, access for personal injury, take few breathes to calm down and have a sip of water.
9. Secure vehicle
10. Plan next steps to recover vehicle.

Also to note that all equipment in the car must be secured else that could fly around and injure you.

What happened next? Well, we straightened the vehicle, checked that no engine oil had entered the head of the engine and drove out under full power. Minimal damage to body panel was seen. Finished the track - very important - you do not want to psychologically get affected and make sure that your confidence level stays strong.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

.. Finished the track - very important - you do not want to psychologically get affected and make sure that your confidence level stays strong.

Glad that all of you came out safe.

The amount of times seat belts save people, on road or off road, is underrated. Unless you are driving over an ice road or on a very very narrow cliff road with a steep fall besides it, where jumping out has better probability of survival, I see no reason why seat belts shouldn't be used.

Good presence of mind in switching off the vehicle immediately. Many people end up forgetting this, or in worse case, jamming the accelerator.

For people who go through a roll in an off road incident, either they come back, with confidence or they stop. No two way about it.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

The damage wasn't too much.

The rear panel got damaged more because it landed on a rock. The rhinorack took quite a brunt and came off without any issue.

The most surprising was that the snorkel took the brunt and pushed the front panel in but itself did not crack.

[Justin]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

7. After the side ways topple, the person on the lower side releases belt first and climbs out of window or opens door. Only then with the support of the guy outside the passenger strapped to the top will climb out. This is because if he releases first, he may fall on the person below and cause harm to him.

I am not sure regarding this point, as for the person at bottom to get out, he would need to stamp his legs somewhere to climb up, which makes it difficult while person is seated on top of you, you may end up stamping on them ? I have been involved in a rollover while off-roading last year, 2 complete rolls and ended up vehicle landing on side. I was the passenger on top, IIRC, there was not enough space for the person below me to go out first. Waited for others to help, and I looked for places to get on hold so that I won't fall down after releasing seatbelt. The vehicle being Toyota FJ Cruiser, there were plenty of grab handles so I caught hold on them and managed to find a place to stamp my feet. Other person released my seatbelt and I managed to climb out without much effort with help of people outside.

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

1. Belts. Always fasten seat belts.
4. When you are toppling try to get your extremities towards the mid line of your body.

Very true, I can't imagine what would have been the condition otherwise. Infact, only few inches headroom was there, but the roof cage took the impact well. We both came out unscathed.

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Also to note, seat belts save lives.
The most important point is to remain calm as can be seen. Forget the co-passenger's sudden abuse which is natural but concentrate on the after.

The person at top get that sitting in air feeling when held by seatbelt. Don't panic and stay calm, vehicle would do the rest, just make sure you turn off the engine quickly after rollover.

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Finished the track - very important - you do not want to psychologically get affected and make sure that your confidence level stays strong.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

The amount of times seat belts save people, on road or off road, is underrated. Unless you are driving over an ice road or on a very very narrow cliff road with a steep fall besides it, where jumping out has better probability of survival, I see no reason why seat belts shouldn't be used.

Only acceptable time not to wear a seat belt is during water wading. Else always belt up.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

The reverse also helped to slow down the roll and gave precious seconds to counter steer (didn't work though)

A noob question, aren't we supposed to turn the front wheels in the same direction as the rear of wheel is sliding?

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

A noob question, aren't we supposed to turn the front wheels in the same direction as the rear of wheel is sliding?

To put it simply or to avoid confusion:

Always steer into the direction of the tilt/ perceived topple. That may help prevent it. If you steer in opposite direction, it usually guarantees a topple.

This is for offroad in off camber / side slope situations.

To counter a skid is when you turn in the same side as your rear - it is for On road / on dirt track

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

To put it simply or to avoid confusion:

Always steer into the direction of the tilt/ perceived topple. That may help prevent it. If you steer in opposite direction, it usually guarantees a topple.

absolutely, that's what I mean. Maybe I misunderstood what you implied by counter steer.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

A few minor mods/repairs/DIYs during the lockdown days.

The centre arm rest of the Pajero is in two parts. Top smaller compartment and a bigger bottom compartment.

The top compartment engaging mechanism is plastic and was broken so decided to use a magnet to repair it and make it engaging again.

1. Removed the armrest:



2. Dismantled. You can see the broken stubs in the rear part:



3. A neodymium magnet screwed to the base of the top cover (where the leather part is):



Metal Strip to the lower part:

Bottom View:



Top view (visible when opened):



Done!




Easy and simple!

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Technically not a Pajero mod but a shoe cleaning instrument.
Maharashtra mud is very sticky, bordering on clay type consistency and this results in a lot of mud being brought into the vehicle with the shoes/boots.

Not only does that cause the vehicle to get dirty, but also is a risk of the foot slipping of the brakes.

So a cleaning brush!

Items needed:

A hard brush for the soles
A semi hard brush for the top part of the boots
A handle
Something to hang the brush
Nut bolts, drilling machine.

1. I had some fibre glass rods with me. Best because light weight, strong and not affected by water.

Screwed on the semi hard brush:








2. The harder clothes brush at the back of it:



3. A little hanging option. Great to hang after washing at home.



4. Easy to use and possibly the cheapest and most useful DIY I have done!

Maybe I should patent it!

[Tejas@perioimpl]

The next mod I did was finally fitting the rock sliders after buying them nearly two years ago.

Heavy duty stuff to be used with a hi lift jack if required.

Removing the old Footsteps:




Removed:



Fitting the new sliders:



These are bolt on and all you need to do is to remove one single bolt of a clamp holding the fuel line and slide it between the line and the chassis and bolt the clamp back.

Fit: