Question From A Co-worker

[midlifecrisis]

Yesterday a co-worker asked me a question about the Av. Apparently she had a bet with her husband that the Av must have some kind of second midgate to protect the front seat passengers from the 8' bed when hauling cargo. I told her that the cab is opened up to the bed when the midgate is down for hauling cargo that needs a 8' bed.

She said that makes no sense, since the cargo could shift and decapitate someone in the front seat since there is no barrier between the two areas. I tried to convince her that there is no problem with this. I've carried 8' lumber, but it sits low in the bed and is held in check by the back of the front seats. She asked "what happens if you have the lumber piled up high - couldn't it slide forward and hit someone?"

I could not convince her that it was a safe condition. Personally I've never even thought of it as being unsafe. The Av is certainly safer than when I used to load up lumber in the minivan above the seats with plenty of opportunity to slide or shift. Plus the lumber used to hang out the back of the van!

Anybody else ever get approached on this subject?

 

[jackalanche]

actually it is the back of the folded over rear seats that keep the first 10 inches of luber from sliding forward. As for human injury after that, no decapitation since we are protected by a seat back, but a 2x4 in the center of a load of lumber that is higher than the aforementioned "hump" could do damage to the dash in a sudden stop.

this is absolutely no different from hauling wood in any SUV with the seats folded down (or a station wagon with the seats down pre-SUV), in fact we avy owners have that hump which they do not have. I have hauled plenty of wood in my SUVs over the years and even had one piece bounce off of the lower dash once. The co-worker has not discovered some incredible oversight

 

[th-motorsports]

Let's not forget that there are 8 hardpoints for tie downs in the back of the bed. And cargo SHOULD be secured. Most SUV/hybrid(station wagons) do not have tie down points. And if they did, they are only on the floor. We have 4 that are high on the bed. If someone has bad luck, they can even be injured by a flying furby during sudden deceleration. Anyways, the co worker can rent a trailer to haul all that dangerous cargo and utilize the +7000 lbs towing capability that most suv and hybrids cannot.

 

[gandolphxx]

I would guess that if you had lumber stacked high enough to decapitate that you would be seriously overloaded - you could always put a 3/4" plywood shield behind the front seats and use the tie downs with tensioner straps.

 

[Guest User]

Tell her the Av is a Suburban with the back window chopped off.
Half-breed

 

[gandolphxx]

I think that in order to be a decapitation threat you would have to be overloaded,however if ?somebody was worried they could buy one of those adjustable pet barriers.http://www.accessconnect.com/Prod05.htm

Bet those are nice for unruly kids also

 

[wrchism]

It's thinking like this that makes me realize that indeed common sense isn't so common! If you use good judgment, the Av is a wonderful cargo hauler. No, you probably shouldn't stack concrete block floor to ceiling behind the drivers seat; but with careful loading, the use of the tiedowns, and prudent driving . . problems aren't likely!

Soapbox time . . I'm tired of so called 'consumer safety advocates' and people who do stupid things and file lawsuits; both of which are driving manufacturers to try to make idiot proof products which end up being expensive, complex, and hard to use - lawnmowers with blade brakes and/or engine kill switches for example. Grrrrrrr.

Ah . . I feel better now!

 

[midlifecrisis]

I guess her point was that as a full-size pickup owner, she can load sheets of plywood in the 8' bed and have it shielded against the passenger compartment.

But the argument is absurd as far as I'm concerned. I wonder if she has ever tried to park a 4-door pickup with a long bed on it? Not to mention the quality of the ride in one of those monsters.

 

[MrBill]

Some people like the Av, so people do not. She is one of the people who does not. Do Not try to change her mind. You will only get more crazy questions. If you like the Av for what it can haul then thats the important thing.

 

[jackalanche]

tell her the Avy is good for at least 10 sheets of 1/2 " ply before she might find the sheets sliding up against the back of the seat, but no way is a sheet of ply gonna slice through the two seat backs . . . .

 

[Chief]

I guess her point was that as a full-size pickup owner, she can load sheets of plywood in the 8' bed and have it shielded against the passenger compartment.

But the argument is absurd as far as I'm concerned. ?I wonder if she has ever tried to park a 4-door pickup with a long bed on it? ?Not to mention the quality of the ride in one of those monsters.

Ya, but if you own a full size pickup and it's raining cats and dogs good luck picking up 10 4 X 8 of sheet rock and keeping them dry.

The rest of the points are the beauty of the Av - shorter, handles better, and the ride - ooooooooo. Not to mention that with exception to the GMC rocket ship, you can suck the doors off of just about any other 4 door P/U on the road (well gandolphxx excluded but he DOES drive an Av)