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Avalanche blind spot

pktwatch

pktwatch

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Sep 23, 2002
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Emporia, Indiana
They were doing a story on one of the national morning shows, I think it was the one with Katie Curic, anyway they had about 5 different types of vehicles that they were testing blind spots with. The first one the tested was the Avalanche. Needless to say it was the worst! They placed 2 cones behind the Avalanche and had a woman setting in it. They kept moving the cones back until she could see at least 1" of the cones by looking over her shoulder. They ended up something like 66' back from the Avalanche before she could see them, much further than the other ones they tested. I think we were all aware that the Avalanche is not the best truck as far as rear views go! I raised the front of mine to level and it is much better but you are still going to have less of a blind spot in a sedan!

Butch
 
Well....at least other people are aware now. So, now, if they see our reverse lights come on.....GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY. WE CANT SEE YOU >:D
 
Oh my! That's terrible! There is obviously only one thing to do! I think in this Nanny State that we live in, that the Federal Government should supply all us AV owners with free rear view camera systems. Aren't we "entitled"? After all, it's for the cheellllllrun. >:D

AV -R
 
Let me guess... the other vehicles were cars?! Did they compare the blind spots on a motorcycle? Why not it is equally as rediculous of a comparrison.

They should dropped the midgate, tailgate and taken off the panels. I think the blind spot just got a little bit smaller.
 
pdxkevin said:
Let me guess... the other vehicles were cars?! Did they compare the blind spots on a motorcycle? Why not it is equally as rediculous of a comparrison.

They should dropped the midgate, tailgate and taken off the panels. I think the blind spot just got a little bit smaller.
Click to expand...

Yea, they had a minivan, a sedan, a suv and I don't remember what else. There is nothing to compare the AV to!

Butch
 
Why compare rear view....who looks backwards that much while driving 90 on interstate..........Heck lets compare ride...........
 
Second that Nightshark.
I wouldn't let my wife drive it until I had my Snake Eyes system put in. Definitely my most valuable mod.


CT :B:
 
Backing up is why I have rear cladding - if I find something ti warns me :)

Maybe that is why I have two warning holes in my rear cladding - LOL
 
Maybe there should be a minimum height limit for Av owners, like they have on roller coasters. I'm 6'6'' and have no problem seeing out of my Av. Now, my '73 Firebird, that had a blind spot. You could hide a dairy farm in it!
 
Well, I know it has a blind spot... but 66' !! Now THAT is a blind spot. Let's face it, you wanted the biggest of the big, well everything is naturally bigger in comparison. :cool:

BTW I have changed the topic title to be more descriptive of the subject being discussed.
 
justhrowit said:
Well....at least other people are aware now. So, now, if they see our reverse lights come on.....GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY. WE CANT SEE YOU >:D
Click to expand...
This goes for all the tailgaters too. Many times all I see is a roof top, and when they turn on their high beams, all that does is gives them a better look at my rear axle >:D
 
What blind spo...BOOM BANG CRASH :-[

I've done it twice already in my first 3 weeks of having it. :8:

I jacked a little Ford taruas right in the rear lights, they were all broken and corner of bumber was dented bad... all I got was some gashes on my rear bumber cladding :B:
 
The TV comparing the AV to minivans is rediculous! Like comparing the AV to a tractor trailer!!!!!

A better comparison would be the AV to a full size custom van with or without windows!

The blind spot is most hazardous when backing. This can be minimized by good depth perception! And a little common sense:

For example several large corporations with large fleets, train their drivers to always back into a parking spot. ALWAYS. This allows you to pull past the spot and view what is in the spot, if anything, and what is in the area. Then you back in.

When you return to your vehicle to pull out, you walk IN FRONT of your vehicle, and then get in and pull forward to leave. Very little chance of anything being in front of the vehicle, and you not seeing it.

This also aids in pulling into parkig spaces in tight aisles. The truck swings much tighter in reverse.

My wife and I have been doing this for years and have found it to really reduce the occurences of backing into things we couldn't/didn't see.

Give it a try. It will also make you proficient at backing up!
 
I have the best backup vision there is, i tell my wife to get eeeeer i ask my wife to please get out and watch when i back up if needed :love: :love: :eek: :eek:
 
Are you sure they weren't saying Avalanche drivers must be blind for liking the way they look? ;D


Seriously, I have less trouble parallel parking my Avalanche than I did my extended Dodge Dakota. And i would have to say the mirrors are about the best I've seen. I have never felt unaware of my surroundings in my truck.

Matt
 
When I picked up the AV with my wife from the dealer. We went over to our regular restaurant. The first thing I did was back the AV into a parking stall. My wife was saying, You got to be joking? :eek: Had no problem. Parked perfectly between the yellow lines at the right depth. Didn't back into the other guy's grill.

Heck, beginner's luck. >:D
 
RENORCR said:
When I picked up the AV with my wife from the dealer. We went over to our regular restaurant. The first thing I did was back the AV into a parking stall. My wife was saying, You got to be joking? :eek: Had no problem. Parked perfectly between the yellow lines at the right depth. Didn't back into the other guy's grill.

Heck, beginner's luck. >:D
Click to expand...

Depth perception can be tricky with the AV! Glad to hear you didn't "adjust " anyone's headlights! ;D
 
Yea, nearly 34 years of backing into a parking space at work was great practice for the Avalanche!

Butch
 
That's why I keep my trailer hitch mounted, so that when I back into something, I don't sustain any damage to my Av. And I won't even be able to tell if I damage something else, so who cares? ;)
 
I usually look for back to back empty parking stalls so that I can pull forward to the second stall, which allows me to pull out when I leave. :0:
 
justhrowit said:
Well....at least other people are aware now. So, now, if they see our reverse lights come on.....GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY. WE CANT SEE YOU >:D
Click to expand...

i could not have said it better myself.
 
The blind spot that troubles me the most is when I'm pulling out of a parking lot and going left. While crossing the lanes traveling right and looking back to the right to make sure I am clear, the sail panel gets in the way. Usually I am confident that it is clear because I have checked beforehand, but you never know when someone is gonna pop out of a parking lot that you didn't see.

Backing is a delicate process. I realize how high the back is and small cars can get lost back there. I quicly learned this when my Corvette was parked behind me in the driveway and I couldn't see it at all. Lucky I remembered it was there!!!

Matt :B:
 
After dropping the rear to level it out, I would have to say that 66' is down to about 33'. Made a big difference.Now when i back out of my drive way i can see the neighbor's mail box behind me. used to have to guess where it was.
Zeeya
 
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