roll cage for street trucks

[mysticclam]

Is a roll cage for a street truck going to make you less likely to get hurt or more in an accident? It seems like it would limit the crushing in a roll over but in a less lethal crash it gives you something to wang your head on.

I got to thinking about it after I saw this horrible accident yesterday, a full sized quad cab dodge with a camper on it t-boned what was some recent VW sedan, not sure which because it was obliterated. It was wrapped around the front of the truck like a glob of play dough. When we went back the other way 3 hours later, a flat bed was just pulling away with the truck and camper (now back on truck, it had come off and gone aways). You could see the car and the right side of the car was now smashed into the left side. The passenger compartment was completely flattened. Anyone in there had to have been killed.
I was wondering if a stout cage would have been even strong enough to keep the passenger compartment from crushing. Plus don't a lot of vehicles rely on a controlled crumpling to prevent injuries caused by going from a speed to stopped too suddenly? Would a ridged cage prevent that from happening?

 

[schmidlkofer]

probably would work and save your life.

 

[IZwack]

A truck wont "wrap" around another vehicle as much as a sedan because it has a set of chassis rails.

If you really want to minimize wrapping around other vehicles during side collisions, a set of rock sliders would probably work pretty well.

 

[mysticclam]

yeah I was thinking rock sliders for my truck too, but it was kind of a general automobile question. If my truck ever goes so far as to get a cage Id kind of like it to be external. My truck has a body lift on it and I kind of thought an exocage would hold it on where as internal cage might hold you in while the body tries to leave and squish you since the cage would probably be mounted to the frame better than the body on those lift blocks.

 

[schmidlkofer]

most roll cages attach to the frame.rarely the body...

 

[james t]

They run inner cages in racing. I think you'll be okay with an inner cage, since the guys in nascar and the like get T-boned at 180 mph and usually walk away. As for hitting your head or any other part on the cage well thats all in the design.

 

[mysticclam]

I wouldn't hook it to the body, that was the ugly thought I was having. If the cage was secured to the frame but the body separated from the frame....
I guess an internal cage could be done to provide head clearance but external ones look cool. Probably not as strong as an internal one though due to the longer lengths and less connections.

 

[Kinserin]

If the body seperated from the frame I doubt it would move the cage any. Most cages are 2" tubing (iirc?) and well, the thin body panels would crumple before they bent the tubing.

 

[UKExploder]

Go with the rock sliders, weld them to the chassis....most of the time the other guy will get the 'worst end of the deal'. In a wreck between a X and any usual sedan anway, don't ya' think? That's why the UK is trying to make us pay more for insurance for SUVs, the damage they do to other vehicles, not just because they are a SUV....