Anyone experienced with adding soft Kevlar to the cab?

Wear a vest w/plates, MICH helmet w/NODS... or enlist.

Vehicles are bullet magnets so I will get out as fast as possible if it gets real shitty. E&E most riki tik

 

What is a good source for getting Kevlar that is affordable? The 3m glass protection is an amazing product! But cost too damn much. Is your stuff less expensive?

 

Try McMaster Carr or Granger for Kevlar cloth.

 

Just buy one of these Toyota's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaAmVwUc26w

 

Move to a state or city that isn’t a gang war zone maybe?

and if the glass protection is so strong, just wrap your truck in it. Otherwise wear plates.

 

Theories are nice..but wouldn't want to reinvent the wheel..if it would sacrifice safety..
Testing is better.. Today had a tought of using 2 part epoxy to make the soft panels hard and mold to the body contours..also had a thought of adding soft kevlar panels to the seats and head rests, maybe even the sun visors too..
A stand alone kevlar vest or soft panels of 7 to 9 layers of kevlar will stop most average pistol calibers already..
The question is how does adding some type of impregnation effect the performance..Only real world testing will tell..
The Hurricane / Security film will stop spalding aka glass shards from giving you a death from a thousand cuts as well as protecting from riot and smash and grabs..that alone is worth the cost and labor to add to any vehicle as the Hurricane / security film is widely available and installs similar to any window tint as well as it comes in clear, tint , mirror flavors..
I have heard about anti personnel devices being placed inside drivers doors that exit thru the door jam as any car jacker would have to stand inline to the door jam to take the driver out.. that may be a bit much as it could malfunction and pose a threat to yourself and family as well as pose some legal implications in some areas..
The Soth African flame throwers at the bottom of doors pointed upward at a 45° angle are not exactly legal in the states that I'm aware of..and having pressure devices filled with flammable liquid materials doesn't sound safe either..
I would think that a criminal would try to grab a more lucrative / luxurious vehicle then a medium sized truck but we all know the criminals typically have IQs much lower than average room temperatures..
Wearing soft body armor and kevlar helmets while driving isn't practical and the helmet isn't legal to use while driving a vehicle unless its a motorcycle..
Have you noticed the motorcycle cops will pull someone over for not using a seatbelt but they themselves don't use seatbelts..So adding kevlar to the cab of a vehicle seems alot more practical and wouldn't draw attention..besides getting the family to use kevlar vest and helmets just isn't going to fly..

 

Handgun rounds will cut through glass pretty easily as well.

FWIW, my son has traveled to Mexico City for business on a few occasions. He told me that the vehicle that they were driven around in was an armored Highlander.

Maybe the OP can look into how that is accomplished.

https://www.armoredcars.com/vehicles/armored-toyota-highlander/

 

Threads like this make me laugh. To the OP, stay home and order your food thru Amazon and Grub Hub or buy an MRAP but you still have to at some point exit the vehicle.

 

But if he did that, then YOU would miss out on this good laugh you say you had.

 

Holy shit, god bless america. Fucking downtown Baghdad.

 

Having friends and family directly affected by gun violence is no laughing matter..and spending a few hundred thousand dollars just isn't practical for an armored personal vehicle..Using soft body armor for nearly 30 yrs for work and personal time already I can tell you it gets uncomfortable and asking family to do the same is a losing battle..
Sure situational awareness and having training with the proper PDW platforms helps but getting a good site picture while driving is difficult and really borderline Gross Criminal Negligence as friendlys are everywhere..Stopping to get out of said vehicle isn't an issue in the slightest degree as that's where the hot brass can fly uninterrupted with minimal issues with collateral damage.. as mentioned earlier the vehicle hinderance is the issue with the confined space to work in..and adding even minimal protection would greatly increase safety to friends and family members..

 

Vehicles in an ambush situation are bullet magnets anyway. You'll want to get out to engage, or floor it to GFTO.

Rear and front glass alone are huge surface areas that provide no cover. Lining the doors with 7 layers of kevlar is pointless.

Your best bet is probably wearing a plate carrier but you'll look like a jackass and the cops will pull you over all the time.

 

Fk yeah . Gotta get them groceries.

 

The back glass is the easiest and cheapest to armor as it is flat..and even used convenient store / bank BP glass is available cheaply.. ArmorCo has ballistic kevlar at $58 per yard x 50 inches.. the hurricane/ security film is widely available everywhere even Ebay and Amazon and any tint shop can install it..Sure 3M is the gold standard benchmark product but there's many other companies making it too at much cheaper prices..my current ball park guesstimate is $2k to $3k for a protection level that will buy time to escape or engage..

 

@AgentCovert where do you live?serious question

 

All the replies are just fueling this moron. It seems that there are lots of trolls joining TW lately.

 

I’d wager you are more likely to be hurt/killed in a TA rather than a firefight or carjacking. Better off spending money making it safer for a crash than bulletproofing or making an expensive James Bond Rube Goldberg confabulation. Especially if it’s true that everyone guessing OP close to Chicago because yeah I’m around there too and this would be a stupid waste of effort and funds.

Can’t imagine living my life fearing things like this, quite bananas. Good luck OP, please come back later and share your results and how much it cost for the build.

 

So a want to protect yourself and family members is to a stupid thing?
That's interesting does your family know how you feel/ think about their personal safety?
Do you value decorating your vehicle with non tangible items such as blacked out badges and trim more important then actual safety features?
Perhaps you can go decorate your vehicle with badazzle shiny things as men are having a serious conversation here..