Van Load Safety

[dancorn]

Picked up a load last that reminded me of an old safety concern. It was 8 feet long and plenty heavy. It was a 2200 pound steel roller chain for food service. While driving I worried what would happen if I collided with something or someone. The force could send the chain forward through the 2X8 attached to the front of the floor etrack and through the 2X4 and plywood bunk then through the seat and then through my old bones. I thought about a steel bar across the front of the cargo area at mid height of the van but have not come up with a good method to secure it on the right side because of the side doors. Also considered a couple of vertical straps from ceiling to floor . When I got the van from Iron Mountain it had a metal cage dividing the cargo and driver sections but this was too cumbersome.

Anybody have a good method to prevent cargo from moving forward during a collision?

 

[zorry]

Yeah,order a C next time.

Seriously,don't you secure the load to the e-track with straps ? The 2x8 should be a safety back-up,not a backstop to stop loose freight.

 

[zorry]

Also,you probably won't need a collision to move that item.
An abrupt stop,like a light change or deer running in front of you would of probably took you out.

 

[Rocketman]

Yeah,order a C next time.

Seriously,don't you secure the load to the e-track with straps ? The 2x8 should be a safety back-up,not a backstop to stop loose freight.

yeah, with a C, the same piece of freight unsecured has to travel through at least TWO pieces of aluminum sheathing which are at least 1/32 of an inch thick!

Securement is the key and waaaaay too many vans have none. A simple solution in most vans would be etrack fastened or welded to the walls and modified load bars to fit. I would probably be ok with etrack on the inside of the doors as well...if that is possible without messing up the function of the door.

 

[zorry]

The C idea was because most are equipped to properly secure that size load.

 

[dancorn]

Yes, it was strapped to the etrac but they are secured to the plywood floor with screws. I believe a collision could rip the etrac loose or break the etrac clip in strap hardware . What I was looking for here was some kind of temporary barrier idea. Still leaning toward the vertical straps or perhaps chains secured to the metal floor and roof but how best to anchor the hardware to the van body. Eyebolts?

Rocketman: I have side etrac but it stops at the doors.
Zorry: what is a "C"?

 

[zorry]

C is a small straight truck. Typically 14' body. 6 pallet,5000 lb or better load capacity.
Most would have e-track capable of easily securing that load.

If you feel that the load would've come loose take the financial hit and stay away from any loads you can't properly secure until you do the needed upgrades.
Your life could depend on it .

 

[dancorn]

C is a small straight truck. Typically 14' body. 6 pallet,5000 lb or better load capacity.
Most would have e-track capable of easily securing that load.

If you feel that the load would've come loose take the financial hit and stay away from any loads you can't properly secure until you do the needed upgrades.
Your life could depend on it .

Yes Sir, Thank you Sir.
And those upgrades would be....?

 

[mjmsprt40]

If you've already got E-track on your sides, it shouldn't be that hard to fit the doors with it too. Then a load bar fitted for E-track should do the job.

I'm really more concerned about sudden stops than I am about collision, since in a severe enough collision you're not going to stop that freight from shifting. E-Track and load bars will stop it in mild collisions, once it gets beyond a certain point it just doesn't matter what you do.

Back in the days I ran local delivery, I loaded the freight hard against the wall right behind the seats. The idea was that since it was already as far forward as it could go, it wouldn't shift in a sudden stop/mild accident. "Mild" in this case is up to and including hitting an animal. You can't guarantee anything in a severe accident.

 

[Rocketman]

Sounds like you have etrack on the floor and the walls. First upgrade I would do, would be to fasten the track directly to the metal floor or some type of metal structure. In fact, if the etrack sits on top of the wood floor and the wood floor is on top of the metal floor....your using up a 1/2" of door height with that configuration. I would take the etrack out...and the wood floor. Then, I would fasten the etrack directly to the metal floor and use 1/2" plywood to fill in and level the floor between the etrack strips. Personally, I have 3 strips of etrack. One is in center, the outside strips are about 35" apart....center to center...works out great.

If you had a setup similar to mine, you could possibly use the 2x8 you had and also use straps to attach just in front of that 2x8, pull the straps over the top of the 2x8 insl all 3 positions, go toward the rear of the van and put your ratchets back there...basicly reinforcing the 2x8. If your etrack was fastened to the metal, you could possibly run a couple of straps over the top, side to side also.

The biggest thing with any bulkhead is to have the freight tight against it. Preventing the freight from making that initial movement is key in avoiding disaster.

 

[ATeam]

Anybody have a good method to prevent cargo from moving forward during a collision?

This method will not keep the cargo from moving forward during a collision but it will keep you safe. Carry the cargo on top of the van like this guy.

 

[Rocketman]

this method will not keep the cargo from moving forward during a collision but it will keep you safe. Carry the cargo on top of the van like this guy.

perfect!!......

 

[Moot]

Get a drill, stainless steel bolts, nuts, washers and lock-washers. Secure your E-track with these. Drill through the plywood, through the steel floor and run bolts about every 10-12 inches. A GM van has a sheet metal pan at the rear that prohibits access for bolts. Use self-tapping sheet metal screws here. After installing the bolts, hose the whole underside where you drilled with a rubberized undercoating sold at most auto parts stores. Use a 2x6 with E-track beam pockets as a forward stop and then run at least 2 ratcheting straps from the first slots forward of the beam pockets over the 2x6 and over the freight in an X and secure. Use more straps, sidewall E-track, load bars etc. as the freight dictates.

If the freight has no room to move forward, then it ain't going anywhere. Do a google search for Sir Isaac Newton. He passed some kinda law that made it illegal for properly secured freight to kill you. Vanners get to hung up on 2000+ pound freight moving and killing or maiming them. If you don't have a bulkhead, you should be more concerned with the loose 20# box on top of a poorly wrapped pallet that breaks free, launches and busts your melon during a panic stop or accident.

 

[ebsprintin]

I second what Moot said. Once the load starts moving, it's too late to start worrying about it. That includes personal stuff too, like tools, kitchen utensils, cases of beverages...

eb

 

[Moot]

Carry the cargo on top of the van like this guy.

My van is just shy of 7' without the QC antenna. The van pictured must be pushing, if not exceeding 13'6". I wonder if the driver applied for OD permits for every state traveled through? What about a lead pilot car?

 

[LDB]

I had my etrack attached directly to the floor by a body shop. They used some sort of black adhesive goo that is stronger than welding and used on high end vehicles. They said the track would literally have to tear the van flooring loose before it would come loose from the floor. I have etrack on the walls because it is required but I never use it because securing up and over from the floor etrack is much stronger than securing to the flimsy walls of the van. I have straps from Lodi Metals that are much better strapping and ratchets than the truck stop junk. I use etrack clips against the skid with a 2x12 as a block to the skid moving forward any. I secure with straps in an X from rf to lr and lf to rr after that so it straps both the skid and the 2x12.

 

[blizzard2014]

Yes, it was strapped to the etrac but they are secured to the plywood floor with screws. I believe a collision could rip the etrac loose or break the etrac clip in strap hardware . What I was looking for here was some kind of temporary barrier idea. Still leaning toward the vertical straps or perhaps chains secured to the metal floor and roof but how best to anchor the hardware to the van body. Eyebolts?

Rocketman: I have side etrac but it stops at the doors.
Zorry: what is a "C"?

I never bought a generator or spent any money on creature comforts on my van. But the one thing that I did not skimp on was E-Track. My E-Track is bolted to the frame of the van with plates under each 1 foot section. They actually drilled into the frame of my truck and put I-bolts down through the frame and secured actual plates under them before tightening up the nuts. My E-Track is so strong you can probably put a forklift into each piece on the back of the truck and lift the van off the ground without breaking it loose. You need to have the E-Track put in by a professional ladder company.

Also, you can strap that by looping the straps around in circles every so many feet and have a pretty tight grip on it if you have enough load straps. I have had freight that would tip if I turned too fast and I had to use 6 straps on it. By the time I got done (15 minutes later) that 10 foot long HVAC unit on a skid was not gonna go anywhere even if the van rolled. Now on loads like that one and like the one that you pulled I would stop every 2 hours and re-tighten up the straps. They will get loose after a while and may need to be re-tightened again to ensure a good grip exists on the freight. Other than that you should be fine.

I have spun out on the ice at 65 mph before and my 1500 pound load only scooted a quarter of a foot to the one side of the van. Not once did it come towards me. I had two load straps going cross ways on each skid and they were on tight. That's about all of the advice that I can give on this subject.

 

[dancorn]

Thank you folks for your suggestions. I will be putting some of them in place, especially a third etrac in the floor as potentially tippy barrels make me fretful.

 

[ebsprintin]

As for barrels. Without the center track another way to secure barrels is to put a 2x8 ( or similar) or a pallet on top of the barrel/barrels then strap that to the floor. So it might look like a barrel sandwich.

eb

 

[Moot]

This van has E-track on the sidewalls. I use two modified, cheesy, made for pickup trucks, load bars that fit into E-track beam pockets and ratcheting straps to secure drums. My last van had no E-track on the sidewalls so I used small C-clamps attached to the lip of drums to keep the straps in place.