Rollbar Question

I don't suggest you try it to find out. These vehicle were not designed to be driven upside down.

EJ, I'm not sure what you're asking for... You want comments from those who have considered a roll bar? (Yeah, it sounds silly, but it is what you said.) Or, do you want comments from those who have survived a rollover? Comments from those who have rolled over an F250, perhaps?

Is this roll bar you're considering a real roll bar, or one of those light bars you see in the front of pickup beds?

How fast are you planning to be traveling when you roll over? It will make a big difference in survivability.

Do you care if the occupants survive, or just the cab?

Inquiring minds want to know!

-- frosty

That's a real knee slapper. Don't quit your day job.

I want to know if the structural integrity of the F250 supercab will be maintained in a rollover.

If I want to survive a real rollover, I expect to install a real rollbar.

I am not planning to rollover, so I cannot plan how fast I will be travelling, but for the sake of this discussion, assume the speed will be between 25-75 mph.

You have an intuitive grasp of the obvious.

Hmm. Dad always said there are no stupid questions - only stupid people.

I would think that most of the structural integrity of the cab would be maintained in a 25mph rollover. With nine times the kinetic energy, at 75mph, I would expect not.

Thank you! Maybe some of it will rub off.

Well, your dad was half right. If you want to know whether the _occupants_ will survive, you should ask that question, which is a different question than if the _cab_ will survive, whatever that means... how can the cab die?

-- frosty

Your Dad was wise to recognize your limitations. He should have also suggested that you should not be driving a motorized vehicle with your limited mental capacity. If you insist on one with a motor, I might suggest a Bradley Fighting vehicle. However, even they can be rolled over if you were to try hard enough. Your problem is that you are overly concerned with a rollover when you should be concerned with a front or side impact. The only way to be reasonably certain, and it is still not guaranteed to save your life, would be to install an NHRA certified roll cage. As it is unlikely that you will be exceeding 135 mph, a six point cage should suffice. If OTOH, if you are running an under 10 second 1/4 mile, and over 135 mph, you might consider a 10 point cage. Your Dad must have forgotten to tell you that stupid questions - deserve stupid answers.

. . . . Rollbar Question Group: alt.trucks.ford Date: Tue, Oct 28, 2003, 5:01am (CST+6) From: snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (EJGroth) In a 2003 F250, will the cab (supercab model) survive a rollover. I am considering a roll bar and would appreciate comments from those who have done this. Thanks...

======== ======== you don't have the intellegence it takes to earn the money to pay for a 2003 F250...

does your parents know yer playing in the NG's???

what a freak'n moron question you posted.

pop bunkle

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Well, this is bordering on existentialism, but if the cab collapses flat in a rollover, one could argue it has died. One might also assume the occupants would be similarly flattened, and also dead.

Thus, if the cab's stuctural integrity is maintained in a rollover, the occupants stand a better chance of surviving.

Personification.

Typically, yes.

If you want to reach out in to the realm of "possible", perhaps the occupants survived because they were thrown from the cab and landed suitably prior to the cab collapsing. I agree it isn't terribly probable.

One of my friend's brothers unintentionally rolled his Jeep Wrangler

-D

Wow, philosophy in a truck n/g! Dman: was your buddy going 25mph when he rolled the Jeep? Or 75mph?

-- frost

Certain jeep models have a factory roll bar which I assume is functional. The manufacturer recognizes the propensity of the vehicle to flip, and thus makes an effort to reduce the risk of serious injury or death - no doubt motivated by zealous lawyers moreso than by concern for their customers.

Said lawyers prefer that the roll bar is called a "sport bar." And Jeep models with a roll bar have no structural top, even the hard top will collapse, hence the need for the "sport bar." My suggestion to the OP is that when considering survivability of a rollover in a f250, the chances of a roll have more to do with who is driving rather than what is being driven. And you gotta be driving pretty freakin stupid to roll a 3+ ton truck.

• * * Matt Macchiarolo
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I don't know about 'stupid', but, I would have to say that I would question the sanity and wisdom of anyone that really thinks that the "off road" package for the f-250/f-350 REALLY means that it turns the truck into a rock/mountain climber. If a person is using it for that, perhaps they DESERVE to win the Darwin Award. Now...I could see a scenario where the thing is loaded up with tree trunks or something, on a bad backroad, and, loses footing because the road crumbles away and the load shifts...but, again, in that case, it seems as if it is a case where insufficient attention to the dangers has been applied. Of course, sliding sideways off the Interstate because of driving too quickly on ice is always an option...but again...keeping a clue can ward off that sort of thing. Frankly, the only places I can see where a rollcage would be necessary would be either (a) if you are hit REALLY hard by something big enough to get you airborne (and in that case, I suspect you will have more problems than a rollcage can help), or (b) taking the truck on some sort of a racing circuit (in which case, it will likely end up modified to the point that only some of the outer shell is "original"). In any case, I like a bit of elbow room, and, so I would be loath to give up much of it to a rollcage that is going to be more ornamental than useful...but that is just me. Regards Dave Mundt

Perhaps, but it still leaves the original question unanswered - is the supercab designed and/or capable of surviving a rollover? Now I'm wondering if there are any federal requirements on crashworthiness pertaining to trucks in this category, i.e., the F250/350 series.

I guess that's why they call them accidents. Even safe drivers can have one if unlucky enough to encounter a late night drunk, hit black ice, or any number of other scenarios. Now I'm curious about this myself since I've seen pictures of older trucks that flipped and where the cab collapsed flat as a pancake. Makes me wonder if the newer vehicles were improved either by government mandate or consumer pressure.

I don't know, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't rather fast. Wranglers have a fairly wide wheel base, so I imagine it would take a fair amount of speed and a curve to make it actually roll.

I haven't seen a Wrangler without a roll bar. The SUVs (Cherokee and Grand Cherokee) don't have a roll bar. I think the main difference is that the Wrangler has nothing other than the windshield and the rollbar above the dashboard. The roll bar does indeed work or my friend's brother wouldn't be here. The bar was dented a little, from what I heard, but was otherwise undamaged.

-D

Unlikley. If you want something to survive a rollover, buy a Volvo!

PopBunkle wrote

Many of the people who I see with new pickups have no sense, and very little in the way of smarts. Doesn't seem to matter though. js

Really? And how do you make this determination. Do you wave them over and conduct an interview? Anyone who would make such an outlandish comment seems to be lacking in the way of smarts.