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To Bulkhead or Not to Bulkhead

22K views 29 replies 14 participants last post by  tthrsn 
#1 ·
What are the other campers doing? I want a bulkhead for stealth and safety so we don't have to worry about securing every single object in the rear every time we move the vehicle.

We also have two dogs that I would hope survive a crash slamming into a bulkhead but it's better than those two dogs slamming into us or ejecting out the windshield.

But the bulkhead takes up space and it also prevents swivel seat (i just want to do the passenger).

What are other's thought process/logic around this type of decision?
 
#2 ·
I too have been wrestling with this thought... I have driven work vans with bulkheads, and they're hard to see around; and the steel ones are noisy. And possibly a death sentence for your dogs if they get pinned between "stuff" and the bulkhead in a frontal crash?

I'm thinking of building a raised platform with solid front for the back 4' or so, about 16" tall, and putting most of my (heavier) camping gear beneath that platform (I'll access it from the rear doors). Above the platform, I'll store soft things like duffles with clothes; and will try to keep it from sliding with a truck "air gate" that can be snapped across the back in a jiffy. My thought is that the only thing that should go airborn will be pillows and blankets and a foam mattress. I will try to keep as many cargo tie-downs in position as possible, in case I have to lash down a piece of furniture, etc
 
#3 ·
After seeing videos of Transit crash tests hitting a wall at 30 mph that became a concern of mine too. It made me decide to house all my heavy stuff (Battery, refrigerator, water, jack, propane tanke) in structures made of 8020 that are bolted to the floors and hopefully would be strong enough to restrain the heavy stuff flying forward. No way to know how much force it can restrain but I feel somewhat better because of it. Plan A is to avoid head-on collisions and what not.
 
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#4 ·
I am building an insulated bulkhead for safety, security of contents, climate control, noise reduction, and stealth. It will have a hatch for the occasions that I want to move between the back and front, or when I want to use the cab windows for light or air. No swivel seats though.
 
#5 · (Edited)
i went with a bulkhead for all of the reasons 'tthran' just mentioned, i am building my kitchen in front of the bulkhead, with a passthrough window, hopefully when it is done it will look something like this:

https://www.quirkycampers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Sink-Hob-in-handcrafted-kitchen-unit.jpg

https://www.quirkycampers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Stunning-carpentry.jpg

but right now it looks like this: (i removed the window glass)

http:https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170410/ed264861ad52e10502ca3cd0cca57586.jpg
 
#9 · (Edited)
I've thought about putting the galley east-west as in the quirky-campers. This is a popular configuration in the UK, in part because there is no passage from the front bench seat to the cargo area.

However, I don't want a full height bulkhead; I want to be able to clamber into the driver's seat at 2:00am if I think I need to get out of somewhere I'm camping quickly.

How would one build a STURDY, 2/3 height bulkhead that would act as a barrier for forward sliding/flying items in a crash, perhaps with bypass "windows" in top third? something similar to look to the quirky camper, but with a frame much sturdier than wood? Would metal framing suffice, or would there need to be a metal wall? Hmmm.
 
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#11 · (Edited)
I'm wrestling with that too. Mine came with a bulkhead which makes it super hard to take out something you paid for. But I want the swivel passenger seat and passage front to aft. So far I have taken out the right most panel and put an insert in the door vent area and with that open 90° plan to make that the bathroom door. It a bit of a compromise to at least keep the driver a bit protected and make use of what was there. Besides, it's an awesome place to hang stuff with magnet hooks.



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#14 ·
The bolts sticking down from your ceiling look like some bloody head wounds in someone's future...



...or do my eyes deceive me and those are just effects of the light?


LOL yup keeps the tall guys out for now. I still need to finish the forward ceiling panel and they they will all get shorter bolts and get covered with a padded removable molding with the screws going UP! Luckily, I can move around without trouble, my husband not so much.


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#13 ·
Keeping only the bulkhead panel behind the driver is an interesting approach to safety -- good for the solo vanner.

But can a partial bulkhead really be strong enough -- or perhaps I should say securely mounted enough -- to afford much crash protection? If so, I will need to look into buying a used bulkhead.
 
#15 ·
Keeping only the bulkhead panel behind the driver is an interesting approach to safety -- good for the solo vanner.



But can a partial bulkhead really be strong enough -- or perhaps I should say securely mounted enough -- to afford much crash protection? If so, I will need to look into buying a used bulkhead.


I hope to never find out, but figured because it met several other needs I'd go with it for now. Way more structural than a wood cupboard I figure.


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#16 · (Edited)
to keep stuff from hitting me in a wreck
Im running 2 cables/ropes
that is secured to the Rear door pillar -
Cables are against the van walls - Both sides -

one cable is 1 foot above the floor and the 2nd cable is
5 Ft above floor -

Lower cable holds Bags -cases and stuff that is stored
on the floor -

Upper cable is attached to shelf holds cabinets and the
stuff in them in place -
cabinets/shelves are Also held in 4 places with rope
and eye bolts to cross ribs in roof-

Cable has Loops/ Knots in it to attach carabiners to and short rope
that goes to the bags and cases so they can be moved -
this setup allows stuff to move but Not move very far Forward --->

I am storing my gear in strong bags and cases that have D rings
so that securing with carabiners is quick and easy -

Fridge is secured in the same way to slider pillar -

I built a lot of stuff out of wood but decided to Rip it all out
and replace it with lighter materials -
plastic wall panels and wire shelving -
so now there is very little wood and the wood used is very thin -
Lost several hundred pounds in weight

Bed frame is wood but is also attached to van with
4 Tie down straps -

I posted the Eye Opening transit crash video on this site and
knew it would make people Think some before just plopping
stuff in the thier van -

Seeing the vans rear wheels 8 feet high in air made
me question how I was going to build my van Safely -

A friends brother was killed when he was crushed by
a portable air compressor that was in back of van in a
fairly low speed crash -

So think of it this way -
Its OK if stuff moves in a wreck -
just dont let it move far enough Forward to hit You - Jay -
 
#18 ·
It's good to see so many of you thinking in terms of crash safety. I once had an unsecured chair come crashing into the dash board of my Class A just from hitting the brakes quickly to keep a safe distance from someone who slowed down without warning. No knobs or noggins were harmed in the making of that film, but it was a good education in how easy it is for everyday items to become deadly missles.

However, installing a bulkhead in my van would be totally counter to my goals of having as much room inside as possible (including a passenger swivel) and having the maximum outward view (through the windows-all-around option). So my plan is to secure everything as thoroughly as I can while still leaving the living area open and comfortable. This isn't all that easy because everything is acclerated forward with a multiple of its weight in a front end collision. In addition, because our vehicles are more likely than cars to roll over in the event of a crash, I want to prevent all the heavy stuff from moving in *any* direction, including upward.

Here is what I have come up with so far.
1. The constructed floor will be glued to the van floor and bolted to the frame with multiple L-brackets on all sides.
2. All the cabinetry will be bolted (not screwed) to the floor and to the van walls.
3. The water tanks are mounted over the axle and between the wheel wells, with no room to move left or right. They will be prevented from moving upward by an iron bar running between the tie-down bolts above the wheel wells and another bar along the front will keep them from moving forward.
4. The battery bank -- actually, the entire electrical bay -- will have similar restraints above and in front of them, though I haven't designed these yet.

This isn't a complete solution, but it's a start. Also, the only place I have full-height cabinets is right behind the driver's seat, and those will be bolted to each other and anchored to the van wall at the top, bottom and middle. So whoever is driving should be pretty well protected. But I don't take much comfort from that as the person who's life I value more than my own will usually be riding in the passenger seat.

I'd be interested to hear how those who are *not* installing a bulkhead plan on keeping the occupants safe in the event of a major crash. It's a vital question that is too often overlooked.
 
#19 ·
"This isn't all that easy because everything is acclerated forward with a multiple of its weight in a front end collision."

No, everything is still going forward because the friction between it and what it was resting on wasn't great enough to keep it from continuing on the path it was on before the sudden deceleration of the vehicle. Sudden stops when going fast enough are able to break cabinets, etc free of their mountings.
 
#28 ·
I have the medium roof and that was never an issue. I can't tell for sure yours looks like a high roof. I have to remove mine again when I finally do all my wiring to the front and insulate the headliner. I plan on doing everything I can think of at that time including rubber washers on all the mounting rivnut locations. The last few days I have been driving around with simply a wad of tissues jammed in right above the latch on the cockpit side of the partition and it worked wonders. I keep thinking of some kind of rubber clamp like a Kreg table surface clamp but that would prevent me from opening the slider from the cargo side. Have you done anything? I just haven't had the time to address it, probably a simple solution, but the slider aspect complicates it a bit. I cannot drive with it open as it tends to slide shut on me when inertia favors it.
 

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#29 ·
So, you did not have to cut the headliner to do the install?

I only mounted by the side bolts for now (also intend to pull the thing in and out several times throughout the build).

But, the steel in the ceiling of the van (yes, HR) does not connect flush with the partition because the headliner (about 1") gap. I'm wondering if it needs to be trimmed


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