Another one of my weird ideas. Any engineers reading this?

Since you mention it, I have not actually seen compartmental intrusion trap anyone driving a vehicle that is, say, less than 10 years old. I've been on the job 10 years and typically all we have to do for extrication on new vehicles is the occasional door pop.

They teach us how to do a dash roll with the spreaders (aka jaws of life) to remove someone's legs pinned under the dash but the last vehicle I did one on was a Datsun.

Take that for what it's worth, but modern car manufacturers are doing something right.

 

I loved mine on my 1st gen Tundra. It’s not as big as you think.

 

Yeah there’s just too many variables, what you hit, where you hit it, where it hits you, how fast, etc.

That’s why nobody’s done it yet. Too many compromises and trade offs to pick - it comes down to what you set the rig to be on your own accord - cosmetic/offroad functionality or full send safety. In the end you’re gonna have to take your pick because you’re either in the plate bumper club or the I’m saving the fuck out of my family club.

 

you are clearly very concerned about your sefty and your families safty which is a great thing. Then maybe look into why you want the bumper in the first place? Winch mount or is it for looks and then weigh your perceived risk vs reward. If you're a mall crawler/ fire road offroader then a plate bumper may really not be necessary and leave it stock for the peace of mind.

 

This exactly.

 

It’s great on some trucks, but the third gen Tacoma already has such a massive front end, and I think their bumper for this truck is quite a bit bigger than the others. Big loss of approach angle.

 

It's not about the airbag firing or not firing, it's all about the plate bumper changing the deceleration rate, or the amount of g's the passengers will feel.
Seatbelts, crumple zones and airbags all do completely different things in a wreck and all are important.
Seatbelts hold you in place and keep you mostly from flying around. Airbags keep the parts that do flop around (head, legs) from getting injured so much. Crumple zones are the key though. They actually absorb and convert the kenetic energy from the impact into bending forces and can make the accident a survivable event.

If we really wanted the safest vehicle we would wear helmets and HANS devices.

 

Definitely not for looks. Nearly all my previous trucks have had a winch, and found it useful on occasion. But those ranged from model years 82 through 91, so this concern wasn’t even a consideration.

 

From the sounds of it you’re leaning towards the plate bumper club for off-road functionality. Yet at the same time I’m sure your heart is leaning towards 100% safety in the event of an accident.

There’s no helping you here, I think it’s on you to decide what you’re going to do with YOUR truck.

 

Agreed on the newer vehicles. It is amazing what testing and analysis and careful design have done.

I came across a maybe 20 year old POS that hit a light pole about a year ago. Totally trapped the driver. She didnt seem too badly hurt, but all could do was wait for the real guys to get there and be happy it didnt light on fire.

I remember the NPR Car Talk guys for decades would advocate repairing vehicles, and how often people would replace them when it made better financial sense to repair... I am guessing about 20 or 25 years ago they definitely seemed to change their tune, when it become obvious how much safer the new vehicles are in reality.

 

We we’re told to stop calling them MVAs bc accident means no one is at fault ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Keep in mind, it depends too on what you hit. Vehicles are designed to crumple and absorb energy, if you have a body on frame vehicle with the crash bar removed with a plate bumper bolted to the frame, and you hit a monocoque sedan, that sedan is going to crumple to save its passengers as designed. However, where both vehicles should crumple to share the dissipation of impact energy, you have likely shifted nearly 100% of that responsibility to the sedan, meaning it is going to crumple far worse than if the energy dissipation were shared between vehicles, possibly endangering the sedan’s passengers.

 

With all due respect do you really think I don't know this?

Yes, crumple zones do absorb a tremendous amount of energy that is not transmitted to the driver. If I hit a brick wall doing 60mph in my 65 Chevy I'll probably tear my aorta. Do the same thing in my Tacoma, I'll be able to crawl out through the window.

But he DID ask about airbags at low speeds which takes crumple zones out of the equation. Besides, slamming head on to someone on the interstate with a plate bumper in place will have such a minuscule impact on the the way the the car caves in on itself it isn't going to make a bit of difference in the outcome.

 

Who is "we"?

 

If you want a winch, but safety is a concern look into a front receiver and a hitch mounted winch. You could use it front or rear that way.

 

That’s some dumb logic. You can definitely have an accident all while it being your fault. I think you need to look up both words in the dictionary.

 

Lol I know you knew, there are 75 others viewing this thread right now that may not know. The explanation is for them.
You are right... the vehicle won't even know the plate bumper is there in an accident at 60 mph.

 

This is why I asked him who "we" was. If I'm cutting someone out of a car, or starting an IV on someone with multi-system trauma, I'm not too hung up on semantics.

 

still could possibly happen. I remember seeing a test with a newer car and the tire was all the way into the cabin. haven't been able to find it again.

also props to the taco for doing well in the test
https://youtu.be/lsPJig3VkVg?t=1m25s

 

I hear ya man. It is big. I don’t know whose truck this is but it’s on fire... touched in all the right places...