Do you think a front cargo rack is too dangerous?

[Naio]

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.)

[JTLance]

I always thought it looked silly and wasn't safe, regardless.

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

[ScottG]

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.

[pianotuna]

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.

[JRscooby]

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.

[Optimistic_Para]

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.

[NRALIFR]

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.

:):)

[JimBollman]

This is an old photo but I use the same setup on my E250 B now. The front hitch is rated at 500lbs and the straps are my backup for a failure and stabilizer for wobble. They hook into the front tow hooks and the bumper.



I carry about 200lbs.

[DrewE]

The fiberglass raised roof might not have the structure to support a standard roof rack, even if you could clamber up and down reasonably.

I think your friends concerns are probably unfoudned in your case. I also suspect it would be pretty obvious when driving if the cargo carrier started doing inappropriate things, assuming you can see it at all...and quite possibly even if you can't. My concerns would be a little more basic: are the lights obscured? is the radiator airflow impeded to any great extent? is the cargo secured sufficiently well so it won't suddenly come loose and bonk the windshield? does it overload the front axle overloaded (pretty unlikely here, I think)? And those questions are fairly easily answered, too.

As for someone to check it out, one option may be to look up a truck chassis/frame/spring shop. If you were around me I'd suggest Bailey Spring and Chassis, but they're a pretty long drive from southern New Hampshire and I'm sure there are a fair few decent ones that are closer.

[Naio]

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.

[RICK-ards_Red]

When in doubt have a "qualified" expert look at it for proper safety and structure requirements.

[DownTheAvenue]

Naio wrote:
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.

I suppose what your engineer friend said is certainly possible, but to him I would ask what about all the snow plows installed on pick up trucks? A front rack can be very safe, or it could be a disaster waiting to happen. If what you have is stout, well made, and at or below its design capacity, then it is perfectly safe. The speed of the vehicle to which anything mounted on the front has little to do with the safety. His ascertain seems to be something flimsy is ok at low speeds but not at high speeds. That makes no sense.

[wanderingaimles]

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.

[Old-Biscuit]

W/O photo of set up hard to even ponder a guess

YES...NO...probably

[Lwiddis]

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

[valhalla360]

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.