I've had a basket type one on my van for a while, but it has seen very, very little freeway speed driving. Mostly slow roads. An engineer friend saw it yesterday and said he thought it was extremely dangerous, because at freeway speed it could potentially set up a wobble, twist itself off, and end up underneath the front of the van. And, as he pointed out, that would be much worse than a rear rack coming off and dragging.Well, I found this image terrifying. But then I thought I should consult you all :-).(My rack plus contents ways maybe a hundred pounds, but one of the problems he pointed out is that the weight is necessarily evenly distributed. It's not possible to consolidate it in the center. This was why he was concerned about wobble at speed.)

Why not just add a roof rack, a van has plenty of roof space.

If under-designed or overloaded...sure it's a bad thing.If properly designed and loaded...no particular concern other than not parking too close to vehicles and fixed objects.

Gee, you need to be extra careful if you add to the front end. Safer on the roof too IMO.

W/O photo of set up hard to even ponder a guessYES...NO...probably

Is what you are carrying, so heavy as to pose an overloading issue? Plenty of folks use all types of front carriers ranging from carrying a cooler and fishing rods down on the NC Outer banks, to folks in other areas carrying things like these. (and yes, these are a bit big)Just dont block too much airflow to the radiator, or obscure the headlights, and you are likely safe so long as the size and weight are not too much for your vehicle.

Do you think a front cargo rack is too dangerous?

NRALIFR
Explorer
Nov 14, 2019
Several of us carry gear safely in racks, toolboxes, trays, etc hanging on a front hitch. I carry this box on the front of my truck on a carrier that I fabricated.

I don’t particularly like the concept of only using the hitch for support and stability because the box did wobble a bit.

Instead of trying to scare you with tales of how your front carrier is going to kill you, maybe your engineer friend could help you fabricate some stabilizers like these. They run between the rear corners of the box and the tow hooks on the front of the truck.

Once the turnbuckles are tightened up, the box is rock solid.

:):)
Optimistic_Para
Explorer
Nov 14, 2019
DownTheAvenue wrote:
what about all the snow plows installed on pick up trucks?

Apples and oranges. Snow plows are not mounted to a single point in the center. They are mounted at TWO points, each directly on the frame, so they can't oscillate from side to side as you drive down the road.

I have, in fact, seen an online post by a guy who fabbed a front carrier that used the snow plow mounting points on the front of his truck instead of a front trailer hitch. It was way more stable than one mounted to a trailer hitch would be.
JRscooby
Explorer II
Nov 14, 2019
I have a different look at it. If the rack, or something on it is going to fall off much better to have it on the front of vehicle.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Nov 14, 2019
Hi Naio,

I had a generator cage built for the front of my RV. It obstructed the air flow and the engine ran 20 F hotter. The cage is now on the back of the RV.

Is your "basket" going into a proper receiver? My generator was on a single point receiver on the rear for some years and weighed in at 200 lbs. It never got to wobble.

I like the idea of adding some stabilizers of some kind. Or using dual receivers, which is what I have now for the generator.
ScottG
Nomad
Nov 14, 2019
Just because someone is some kind of engineer, doesn't mean they have expertise in everything.
I (also an eng.) don't think you'd have any problem at all handling wise, unless you put a ridiculous amount of weight on it.
JTLance
Explorer
Nov 14, 2019
I always thought it looked silly and wasn't safe, regardless.

Geeze, If you need all that garbage, buy a trailer.
JRscooby
Explorer II
Nov 14, 2019
JTLance wrote:
I always thought it looked silly and wasn't safe, regardless.

Geeze, If you need all that garbage, buy a trailer.

Where is the safety issue compared to the same stuff on a wheel-less trailer on the back?
valhalla360
Navigator
Nov 14, 2019
Naio wrote:
Where/how would I find an expert to check it out? I like that idea, but I don't have any idea who to consult.

I don't have a lot of weight on the rack. Less than 100 pounds, and it is rated for 500.

The roof is not an option for me; I can't be climbing that ladder all the time.

If it's rated for 500 and installed correctly, it has been reviewed.

Unless the weight is distributed in an unusual way, it shouldn't be an issue.

That said, a dual receiver or otherwise stabilized system is much better.
Chum_lee
Explorer
Nov 14, 2019
"An engineer friend saw it yesterday and said he thought it was extremely dangerous, because at freeway speed it could potentially set up a wobble, twist itself off, and end up underneath the front of the van. And, as he pointed out, that would be much worse than a rear rack coming off and dragging."

So it would be OK if the rack (or it's contents) fell off the back and ended up under someone else's vehicle? As long as you don't know about it, . . . . no problem? Hummmmmmmmmmmmmm. At least if it's on the front of your vehicle, you can keep an eye on it.

Chum lee
JRscooby
Explorer II
Nov 14, 2019
Chum lee wrote:

So it would be OK if the rack (or it's contents) fell off the back and ended up under someone else's vehicle? As long as you don't know about it, . . . . no problem? Hummmmmmmmmmmmmm. At least if it's on the front of your vehicle, you can keep an eye on it.

Chum lee

Thank you.Everybody wants to witch about the "Me, me, it's all about me generation.