Devastated that truck is totaled.

I was at Rowher flats ohv last weekend and as I was trying to go up a steep hill, I got stuck and tried to reverse (bad idea). The car slipped and I ended up side ways on a steep slope. I got out of the car as soon as possible in case it would flip over . Since it would be dark by the time a recovery team showed up and I had no cell service, I decided to leave and call next morning for a recovery team.

the next morning as I was making g my way up with the recovery team ww found the truck had flipped over and was at the base of the hill. I suspect someone flipped it over since all my belongings including my laptop were stolen and

The truck still starts and drives but it is for sure totaled.

got this car as a a graduation gift and it meant a lot to me. I am beyond sad

 

Damn that sucks to hear

Nice photo of it on the hill tho..

 

That’s terrible but at least you didn’t get hurt. Insurance will pay, yes? Also, this is one of those sobering reminders that off roading can go bad very quickly.

 

Hate to see that. Hope everything works out ok. That's quite a POS to flip someone's car after they had to leave it to go get help.

 

Just glad your in one piece @124runner

 

You are fine, that's what matters. Go get another one!

 

Criminal, POS is not a sufficient word.

 

Glad you're alright, sounds like it could have been you in the car as well.

Lots of lessons learned here, at least (or opportunities to learn).

Next time, you won't go wheeling alone, won't leave the vehicle alone in an unsafe position, and I'm sure you won't leave valuables in the car (alone).

Have you walked up the hill and looked for your stuff? Is it possible some of it flew out the window as it tumbled down?

 

Glad you're OK. The 4Runner can be replaced, you can't! I hope the rest of your recovery process goes better.

 

Odd that the drivers side window is gone but the passenger side is partially down and intact...

 

I really feel your pain, and no matter how much you hate insurance companies...its not enough

when they are charging your premiums, they tell you premiums are increasing cause car values are rising so fast...
when they are having to pay to repair your expensive car, they want to use actual cash value, steal your car, and sell it to Copart...

cheer up...the people that pushed your truck down the hill will probably be baked to death in an abandoned smugglers truck soon

cheer up even more, maybe the insurance company will give you enough money to fix your truck...and let you keep with money to do some more upgrades

or, if its totaled...maybe you got time to get the last of the 2024's

 

I have been wondering how insurance treats off road accidents. Is this likely to be covered? Looking to learn from others and hope to never know first hand.

 

At least go back and look for your stuff. The 4R may have gave way and rolled down by itself.

 

Dang! I'm amazed the 4R came to a stop on the side of the hill like that without rolling. It easily could have gone over with you in it so as painful as this incident is just be glad that you didn't end up going for a ride!

 

Sorry dude. My condolences.

 

Sorry for your loss there. But glad you are ok and that nobody was hurt. The 4R is replaceable, life is not. So go get another one and post it here.

 

Very much depends on your insurance. Some are friendly, some have rules it has to be a "road" like trails that are still a literal mapped road even if it's 4x4 only (Union Springs up to Flagpole Knob in VA comes to mind), and others will give you shit if it's an unmaintained road. Always best to get an answer from them before you need it.

 

Why would anyone leave personal belongings especially a laptop in a car overnight? 4Runner as graduation gift but can’t write a post with proper English. 1st world problems.

 

Im sad for you…

 

Man I am sorry to see and hear this dude. I too have had some vehicles I have been emotionally attached to if that makes sense. So I can totally appreciate where you are coming from. It will take some time to get over.

My advice is if you can remotely afford it start working on finding one of the last 2024 models now and don’t wait for insurance. Find one and secure it a deposit before the 5th Gen and V6 are gone.

Hopefully in a short time you will have a new one and the hurt from this experience will start to hurt less than it does today. Do yourself a favor and start seeking a new one now and have fun in the search. Time is limited for the V6 and you don’t want to miss out

 

And you had to be that guy with this post. Look what everyone is saying, you are different indeed. Good for you.

 

Insurance is a contractual agreement, to pay for losses based on the contract. Insurance companies don't care if it's on road or off, BUT they typically have exclusions for racing.

 

I've worked for two of the largest insurers in the country. I've worked with most of the others. I've never heard of this, "on road", "maintained", etc. If you have collision, this is a collision loss. There may be an exclusion for racing or an "event" but that's the only exclusion I have seen that could remotely limit coverage off road.

 

I raised my eyebrows at a brand new 4Runner being a graduation gift, but I see the OP's from California, and having been raised there myself, I've seen way more expensive vehicles than a 4Runner being given as graduation gifts. But to respond to your question, I can't say I blame him. If I'd managed to bail out of the 4Runner at that angle the last thing I'd want to do is go climbing back inside to try to grab a laptop, which was more than likely down on a floorboard by then. Having the truck decide to roll while you are leaning in to grab something is infinitely more dangerous than having it roll while you're still inside and belted in.

 

I have family with decades in the industry who are avid Jeep people and I spent time on the repair side. By default, many insurance companies do not cover off-road accidents and I have seen many claims denied. I have State Farm because they specifically cover off-road use as long as it's not trespassing and I have as much in writing. When I had Progressive, I was told the above line of it has to be a legal surveyed road for coverage, even if it's basically a 4wd trail.

There are many small and very shitty insurance companies out there and I've seen denials for a sedan because they went down what they thought was a dirt road and jacked up the underside when they drove into a rocky wash.

If there's one thing I know about insurance, they are intentionally vague and things aren't often in plain text. If they can deny it you have to assume they will, so don't give them a reason.

 

A quick Google search seems to agree that insurance companies generally will NOT cover damage obtained while "off roading", unless the insurance is for an off-road vehicle. My own gut tells me that they would likely deny a claim at an OHV park, like in the OP's case. Hopefully I'm mistaken. I totaled a BMW motorcycle on a forest service road on BLM land (is that an oxymoron? ), and my insurance company (California Casualty at the time), covered it no questions asked. I think on a FS road you'd be just fine. Here was a post from another forum, written in 2019. Geico basically told they guy they weren't going to give a firm answer until an adjuster took a look at the claim (Note: this was not me, I copied and pasted this from someone else's post on another forum):

"Conversation with Geico respresentatives on March 6, 2019
ME:[sent internet inquiry as to what types of offroad activities wouldn’t be covered; asked specific questions about maintained gravel roads versus maintained dirt roads versus things like desert washes; Geico didn’t send me a copy of my original inquiry and there doesn’t appear to be a way to see it online; I asked them to be specific in their response both regarding my specific coverage and various road types]

GEICO:
We received your inquiry regarding your vehicle being covered when used for off-road. We will be happy to assist you.
Your personal auto insurance policy provides coverage when your vehicle is driven for personal use.
Please note that if an accident occurs when using the vehicle off-road, the claim may not be covered. After the claim occurs, our Claims department would determine if the claim would be covered.

ME:
That is absolutely nowhere near a specific enough response. Please provide what was requested, in detail. Thank you.

GEICO:
We apologize for any frustration in our response.
Because no one claim is the same, we are unable to provide a specific answer to your question. Each claim is reviewed individually by the Claims Adjuster assigned to the claim.
Typically speaking, your personal auto policy does not cover your vehicle while being used for off-road driving.

ME:
Which gets to a definition of “off road”
What is that definition for my specific policy?
Is a gravel road maintained by a county/state or the federal government (national park, BLM, forest service) “off road”?
Is a dirt road similarly maintained “off road”?
You have to actually define the terms.

GEICO:
We received your question regarding off-road.
Generally if a road is not maintained by the municipalities, it is considered off-road."

My own opinion is that Geico's last sentence is complete bunk, and a decent attorney would have a great case if they took that stance. A "municipality" refers to an incorporated city or town. That would mean that any private road, FS road, county road, or state highway would be considered "off road", as they are not owned or maintained by a municipality. Someone at Geico was talking out of their a$$ if they actually wrote that.

 

Let's see some.policy language that excludes it. Policies are available to everyone with insurance. Quote the contract language, anyone, the specific definition and exclusion.

I literally worked as a claims adjuster for two of the largest auto insurers in the country.

 

This 4Runner will have a second life, a very long one in Africa or middle east. So don't be sad, let it go.

 

I literally, on a couple dozen occasions, talked to claims adjusters who rejected claims for my customers' cars because they admitted the damage was from off-roading. I know it happens so your anecdotes mean nothing to me. Two whole companies doesn't give you purview into the hundreds of underwriters and thousands of agencies.

I don't have any policy language because mine covers it and I really don't give enough a fuck about an internet argument to go find some. I've seen it happen so whether you or anyone else believe me is no skin off my ass.

 

I missed the empathy classes at school. Men are responsible for their own actions and their women’s. Personal responsibility and not blaming everything on someone else.