Wooden van racking in a car accident, scary stuff.

[Brice Burrell]

I saw this posted over on the JLC forum and I thought I'd share it.  Here's a video showing wooden tool shelving in a van simulating an accident.  Scary stuff. 

wooden van racking crash test

 

[arbfincarp]

very scary stuff.

 

[Steve R]

Hey with the right polyurethane... it would have held together...... [eek] NOT!

They didn't seem to even be loaded with anything but empty bins. Add a several hundred pounds of tools and anyone in the front cabin would have to be removed with a wet vac.

I would like to see some tests with the custom metal racks. I would think that if they are not tied to the frame they would also just go forward and crush the driver and passenger.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[speed]

scary stuff, my transit has a steel bulkhead to hopefully provent that happening.

the racks was not really fixed to the van tho was they? just a few metal straps, if i built it i would screw everything in to the rails of the van and to the floor.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Bulkhead, bulkhead, bulkhead. A van is for driving with a load and any load in the back is dangerous in case of an accident.

 

[Kev]

Physics wins ...

There's not a lot you can do here. Imagine you've got well installed steel racking - then a cement mixer drives into the back of you at speed.

Lesson here? - the apprentice drives your van to the site!  [scared]

... maybe not!

 

[woodguy7]

Yea, scary stuff but not a fair test.  Why were the seats removed, they would have given a lot of protection.  I'm not saying totally safe but I don't think it would have looked so bad.

Anyway, most vans in the UK come with steel bulkheads or some form of cage behind the drivers seat.

Woodguy.

 

[fritter63]

So, is that a James Bond van?

Have to nit, those aren't wooden shelves, they're MDF shelves (right?). And nobody ever claimed they were strong!

 

[EWTHeckman]

I also have to wonder about the appropriateness of testing without at least a driver and passenger seat in place.

Did anyone else notice that the van wasn't even moving until the test started? It wasn't a "crash" test like you might where the momentum of the shelves and the objects on them carries them forward as the van comes to a sudden halt. Somehow they jerked the van body into motion, kinda like pulling a tablecloth out from under a bunch of dishes. It just goes to show that Sir Isaac Newton was right that an object at rest tends to remain at rest.

It also shows that whatever you do, do NOT "gun it" in reverse!  [eek] [scared]

Finally, that cheerful music accompanying all the destruction in that test was just downright creepy.  [blink]

 

[jmbfestool]

Bulk head! Safe!  

My racking is against the bulk head fixed  so wont have any travel so would be save ALSO depends how well you built the wooden racking that one in the video just seems thin plywood like most people who rack a van use with just a couple of crappy angle brackets to hold it in place but I have 12mm plywood with 2x1 in-between both layers and every upright is fixed down and at the back is fixed I have glued it all also!! My racking is part of the van now you try and rock the racking in my van you rock the van!   I hate crappy wobbly racking which creak when driving along.

I like everything to be solid so when you go round corners when hand brake turning you dont hear any creaking or tapping or banging. lol

JMB

 

[EWTHeckman]

I like everything to be solid so when you go round corners when hand brake turning you dont hear any creaking or tapping or banging. lol

How about other drivers and pedestrians? Can you hear their screams?  [big grin]

 

[ifit]

their promotional video partially worked then, it scared you all but you were then supposed to look at the video of their racking in action to see how safe it is the you all rush out to buy it

bott

 

[fritter63]

Finally, that cheerful music accompanying all the destruction in that test was just downright creepy.  [blink]

You Only Live Twice

I'm sure there's some irony in that selection....

Shaken, not stirred!

 

[Frank-Jan]

Here is their 2009 promo video, with English voice-over: link

My own racking looks crappy compared to the fancy bott vario, sortimo and consorts' stuff. But I don't think 18 mm ply, with the uprights scribed to the sides, attached to the steel bulkhead, and to the floor and the wall with brackets will do as bad as the test of the first video.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I also have to wonder about the appropriateness of testing without at least a driver and passenger seat in place.

The test is not about how to protect the driver from flying objects, the test is about making the storage system in such a way that everything stays where it is and nothing gets airborn in the first place.

Read two comments about the seats not being in place. I assure you, you don't want to do that test in real life.

Did anyone else notice that the van wasn't even moving until the test started? It wasn't a "crash" test like you might where the momentum of the shelves and the objects on them carries them forward as the van comes to a sudden halt. Somehow they jerked the van body into motion, kinda like pulling a tablecloth out from under a bunch of dishes. It just goes to show that Sir Isaac Newton was right that an object at rest tends to remain at rest.

It makes no difference. This experiment tests the exact same conditions as a van crashing into a wall. Inertia is the keyword. In a real crash inertia prevents the storage racks from stopping at the same time as the rest of the van so that's why they fly forwards. In this test inertia prevents the storage racks to accelerate as fast as the van and that's why, relative to the van, they fly forwards also. With this setup you can do multiple tests without wrecking the van at the first try.

 

[nickao]

It seems to me one needs to make the shelves, storage etc, act like its part of the vehicle, the best way to do that I guess is what they are trying to determine. Its like a seat belt. Once you strap in you move like the vehicle, it keeps you in your seat, you become in a sense, part of the car. You stop and your body stops with the auto. Unlike when you have no seat belt, the car stops, but your body wants to keep going forward.

So either the storage shelves, etc need to be  integral to the structural design of  the vehicle from the start(probably the best way) or they have to design a way to affix the stuff that works as well as a seat belt does for a human, making the storage system move and act like it's part of the auto.

The method of testing is pretty cool allowing for several tests before the vehicle is trashed.

 

[EWTHeckman]

It makes no difference. This experiment tests the exact same conditions as a van crashing into a wall. Inertia is the keyword. In a real crash inertia prevents the storage racks from stopping at the same time as the rest of the van so that's why they fly forwards. In this test inertia prevents the storage racks to accelerate as fast as the van and that's why, relative to the van, they fly forwards also. With this setup you can do multiple tests without wrecking the van at the first try.

I mentioned it for two reasons:

1. It was interesting.

2. So I could make the joke about gunning it in reverse. So much for that idea… I'm gonna go soak my head now.

 

[EWTHeckman]

The method of testing is pretty cool allowing for several tests before the vehicle is trashed.

I imagine it's also harder than running the vehicle (or a replaceable sled) into a barrier because you need to get it moving almost instantaneously.

 

[andvari]

50 kph isn't particularly fast. Lots of folks drive their vans around at twice that or more.

Since E=0.5*mv2 that's 4x more energy to dissipate.

I'd like to see a more stringent test.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

If I had to listen to that music, I couldn't wait for the racking to crush me. [big grin]