OBX Trip - Damage...

[Gambler]

I'm in the outer banks of North Carolina on vacation and took the tahoe out to the sand for the first time.

Shortly after I got out on the sand I remembered I needed to take the fascia off. I went to cross the ruts to get out and I was going a little too fast, the front came up and slammed down on the next one tearing the fascia off and bending the fenders:

Front Left Wheel well:

Front Right Wheel well:

If anybody has any ideas of how to fix that, let me know. The bumper buckled out and pulled out the pins from the wheel well. I'm thinking rivets might work, any thoughts?

Anyway, I kept trucking along and was driving on some back roads. I saw a puddle got out and looked at it and thought, it can't be that deep. I got a little bit of a head start before I hit it. The front started diving big time so I nailed the accelerator, it pulled out just fine water coming up to about the hood (where's the video camera when you need it?) but the water must have shoved the skid plate up into the engine bay...

I already replaced that, nothing was damaged other than the plate at that location. I'm going to take it out again later, but i'm staying away from puddles

 

[Vrrooom]

Wow, that sucks! I just got back from OBX today as well, went there from this past Friday; it was a great time. Luckily, I didn't have any damage from the beach. I crossed a rut pretty hard and had a scare, but all is good.

Speaking of the puddle, was that looking for wild horses north of Corolla? I went through the exact same puddle and it came to the hood; scared the s#it out of me!

Good luck!

 

[Gambler]

Speaking of the puddle, was that looking for wild horses north of Corolla? I went through the exact same puddle and it came to the hood; scared the s#it out of me!

Yep, that would be the one. We did find some horses at least...

 

[Rollin Thunder]

looks like you had fun. I love corova, Which is way north in north carolina, my parents have a nice house down there and they let me stay in it when ever its not rented, But when i sold my 06 i got the new one wiht no 4x4 so i had not been down there in a while, now with my jeep i can go again. I love the wild horses.

 

[PaulC]

Been there, done this...

Last February, I was preparing to travel through a suburban intersection that had a ridge of snow running across my path courtesy of a snow plow. Concerned that the ridge was high enough to cause me to become stuck, I pressed the pedal down a bit to increase speed/momentum...

Well, the "ridge of snow" had turned into a ridge of ice courtesy of a little warming then cooling. I was convinced by the sound and the impact that I bent my truck, and sure enough, my bumper wound up looking exactly like yours. My bumper cover had torn a little bit at the corners near the front wheel openings, so it had to be replaced. I cannot exactly recall the repair cost, but believe it was just under $1k.

 

[jameym00]

this is so funny. I have a house in Corolla and I brought my tahoe down here this June and I was worried about the clearence with the 24'' so I took it slow. So I read your thread and brought my wrangler this time and yesterday while I was out on the beach I saw two tahoes with a crease in the front bumper. Now the z71 has a different front which add 3" if ground it looks like. Did see the one guy stuck in a new surburban and watched him pay the 225 to get pulled out by a1 towing. Hahaha

 

[fco_gonzo]

sorry to hear that. I kinda did the same thing the frist time I took it to the beach I hit a rut a little to hard but the only thing that got damage was the plastic inner wheel well, which got trim off when I installed the lift.

 

[Onkoba]

I've had similar damage to my Z71 due to desert driving but fortunately did not buckle the front bumper. I proceeded with a home-made mod by removing the black valance/aero bit and added a couple more inches of clearance. I'm now able to traverse the exact same terrain without the damage.

 

[06Evolved]

I'm going to go ahead and guess that was your first time on the beach in OBX?

 

[Gambler]

It wasn't my first time out, but it was my first time driving myself. I knew I was supposed to take that piece off, I just totally spaced. I got some anchor screws that have pulled the buckles in the wheel wells to where they are supposed to be, but it doesn't look super. I plan on replacing the bumper at some point.