Sprinter Cargo Securement

[RLENT]

Wonder if any of you Sprinter owners can help with a question or two. We have a Sprinter 2500 Cargo which we're outfitting to run expedite. It came with the factory tie-down rings (d-rings) bolted towards the bottom of the walls in the cargo area. They are mounted on bolts which screw into body frame structure which supports the body skin.

I've looked in my owners manual and there is no info regarding load ratings for these rings - just a warning about over tensioning rachet straps run between the sidewalls and possible failure under heavy braking. How suitable are these d-rings for load securment ?

We do plan on running E-Trak on the side walls and mounting it to the frame structure of the body (about 20 - 30 inches up the wall) - as far load securement we will likely only use these to run load beams across. No rachet straps - as we've been told that there possibilty of collapsing the body.

We also plan on running E-Trak on the floor the length of the cargo area. What should the spacing be center to center between the two runs on the floor ? As far as the securing the E-Trak to the floor, is it enough to screw the E-Trak into the existing plywood - or do we need to screw all the way down thru the plywood and metal floor - or bolt it down ?

Also is anyone using eyelets or pan mounted d-rings on the floor to attach your rachet straps to ? Screwed into the plywood or run all the way thru the truck (metal) floor and bolted ?

Any advice appreciated.

 

[Moot]

I am not a Sprinter owner but I do have E-track on the floor and walls of my van. Some don't like E-track on the floor because it tends to collect dirt. An occasional shot of compressed air and a vaccum cleaner will keep it clean.

As for securing it to the floor I use wood screws into the plywood and about every 18 inches run a stainless steal bolt (where possible) or a self tapping (Tek screw). MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE DRILLING! You don't want to drill into the fuel tank, brake lines, fuel lines etc. When using self tapping screws I find it is easier to drill a smaller diameter pilot hole and then drive the screw.

Spray all the protruding ends of the bolts and Tek screws with a rubberized undercoating.

My E-track is installed so that the top of the E-track is flush with the floor. This involves more work but I prefer it this way rather than on top sticking up.

 

[RLENT]

Hey Moot,

Thanks. Yeah .... got plenty of compressed air and a shop vac here ... oughta be able to keep it fairly clean ..... unless it freezes up. :9 Got it on the drilling .... when I put the bulkhead in I managed to drill one of the holes right above the fuel tank ..... was a real treat trying to get my hand up in there to put a nut on the bolt. In fact I think I ended up getting the 12 yearold neighbor kid to do it. Will be sure to cover any exposed heads w/ undercoat.

And I plan on getting some of that trick hard plywood (birch ?) that I think Terry mentioned in one of his posts and laying that around the E-Trak so it's flush.

This afternoon the wife and I went to Cross Truck down in Canton after doing our individual donations for drug screens and picked up four 10' lengths of E-Trak and a few other things for starters:
Six pan-mounted (flush) d-rings rated @ 6K pounds
One 84" to 102" load beam (I'll need to cut down to fit the van.)
Two heavy-duty E-Trak sockets for 2 x 4's (use on the floor E-Trak as a forward stop)
Four lighter-duty E-Trak sockets for 2 x 4's (thinking I might use these for a frame for a bunk or as backside stops on the floor.)
Eight plastic corner protectors for straps.

I still need to get straps ...... I'd like to find some with clip hooks on at least one end .... so they don't come undone while I'm trying to hook the other end. I figured I' try to look for something along the lines of 3" and at least 5K rated.

We slid by Tractor Supply on the way home and I grabbed some self-drilling metal screws (for the E-Trak on the side walls) and carraige bolts for the d-ring pans.

Any guess on the spread between the E-Trak on floor in your rig ?

 

[targuard86]

I've pulled on the D-rings in a sprinter hard enough to bend the lip on a 55 Gal drum and never had any problems with them giving way.

 

[RLENT]

Andy,

Thanks ... that's good to know - I get the point - apparently they are pretty tough.

Figuring that it was a full drum, it probably weighed in the neighborhood of 400 to 500 lbs.

Out of curiosity, how comfortable would you feel if it was a 2500 lb. steel die or large piece of equipment rather than a drum.

Obvously I guess one could use several straps and rings. Maybe I'm answering my own question here.

 

[Moot]

RLENT

I am at about 34" center to center on my E-track. It came out that way so I could catch the raised part of the floor to run the bolts and screws through. For the E-track sockets on the floor I use a 2x6's instead of a 2x4's for a forward stop. the 2x6 has a length of E-track mounted to the back side. This allows me to run a strap around a small box or skid to keep it from sliding.

On this van instead of plywood the floor is 10' x 8" x 7/16 plastic composite boards used for fascia. This has been holding up very well but weighs more than plywood.

 

[bryan]

Hi

I don't have a Sprinter but don't do what I did with my first van.I put the floor e-track right beside the wheel wells.I figured it would save me from having to cut the plywood twice, but then they were spaced to far apart for 30 x 30 bins.Even when I crossed my straps over the freight the bins would still slide.My next van I moved them about a foot away from wheel wells and they worked fine.Good luck

 

[RLENT]

Moot,

Thanks .... 34" sounds good to me. I'm not sure what would it take exactly for me to hit the raised ribs on the floor (if there are any) .... came from the factory with a layer of hard board (probably plywood) covered by a non-slip surface (about 1/16 or 1/8 thick .... almost like rough masonite) that is pop-riveted down .... probably just through the plywood. Looks to be about 1/2 to 3/4 thick overall.

I suppose I can crawl under it (... brrr) and see if the corrugations in the floor are apparent and try and get a measurement. For the thru bolts on the floor e-trak I'll probably fab up some backing plates out of 1/4" or 1/8" steel .... say 2" x 7" or so with two holes in them to run the nuts up against.

Got it on using a 2 x 6 rather than a 2 x 4. When you say e-trak is on the backside of the 2 x 6 are you meaning cargo or cab side ?

I imagine the plastic boards would hold up real well ..... how are they as far sliding pallets on ? Fairly easy ?

Randy

 

[RLENT]

Bryan,

Thanks ... good point. It's hard to know exactly what to do when you've never done it before .... fortunately there is EO. :+

I think I'm around 52" between the wheel wells with an overall width of around 62" or 63" fore and aft ..... so if I go 34" or thereabouts on center like Moot suggested I thinkI should be good.

With a 62" x 162" floor area to cover I've consigned myself to having to do alot piecing in and fitting for the plywood,

 

[Moot]

The 2 x 6 in the foreground has E-track on the backside. The 2 x 6 in the back ground has the E-track facing the camera. Of course both 2 x 6's can be flipped but they have E-track on only one side.

 

[RLENT]

Got it thanks !

I was just trying to follow exactly how you were using the strap to secure things. I understand now.

 

[Moot]

RLENT:

How much of that 162" floor will be available for cargo? If more than 8' you want to go to a real lumber yard for some longer plywood.
Avoid any seams that run perpendicular to the length of the floor in the cargo area. This will prevent pallets from getting snagged when being pulled by a forklift.

On my first van I added some wood stain to polyurethane to thin the poly and tint it. I applied several coats of this thinned mixture to the plywood and let it soak in. Then I applied several coats of un-
diluted poly.

 

[RLENT]

Mr. Moot,

At least initially, the entire 13' 6" (162") will be available for cargo. That's pretty much right up to the triangle holder behind the driver's seat.

I may eventually end up putting in a sliding partition, so that I can create a sleeper area. I don't know however whether it's possible to get plywood locally that long. I've got a call into Carter Lumber and a guy there is checking on availability.

I know that if there have to be any seams in the plywood, theoretically they should be in the rear - as it's more likely a forklift operator might be able to scoot a pallet over it in the back than in the front. On the otherhand, it is possible to load a pallet, forward, thru the sidedoor - if I used that routine then a seam about 4' back of the front might be .... ahh .... moot. :7 The only downside to sideloading is the pallet can't be any wider than about 42" max.

Thanks for the tip on the poly.

 

[Moot]

RELENT:

Another option is composite deck boards. They run an inch or better in thickness and could not be used on a conventional van with a 48" high door opening. But would work on a Sprinter. There are several manufacturers of this and different styles. Some solid and some hollow core. I'm sure they come in long lengths. If you go this route stay away from the radius or nose edge. You want a straight profile so they butt tight all the way.

Are you going with a general expedite carrier or are you doing some form of specialized thing like airfreight or local courier. I'm just curious, do you need that much room for freight?

Another thought on seams: A guy showed me how he joined perpendicular seams. Where the two pieces of plywood joined he cut a less than 45 degree bevel. Say maybe 30 degrees on each piece of plywood. When joined together the joint formed a V groove on the top side. He then filled the groove with resin used for fiberglas minus the cloth and after hardening sanded it level. He had a smooth seamless floor. Thinking about this one could brush or roll a thin layer of resin on the entire plywood floor and have a much more durable surface than polyurinestain. And I'm sure more expensive.

Anywho, more stuff to think about. That's what you get for asking.

 

[Moot]

I must add that this is great fun building a van with someone else's money. When you get done please post some pictures.

The cool thing about vans is there are as many different van setups as there are expediters. With the exception of Alumabunk and Phoenix conversions we are left to pertty much build our own. And very one has there own ideas and skill levels.

I really enjoy looking at other vans. Many of you do some amazing things within a limited space. I think all you big riggers should peak at some vans when you get the chance. You just might an idea you could incorporate!

 

[RLENT]

Got it on the composite board .... it had crossed my mind, as has some kinda T&G board.

The carrier I'm going with is a smaller outfit near where I live - it's not airfreight AFAIK but there is some local stuff. They run mostly midwest and some Canada and mostly automotive-related but nothing directly to the biggies. They will run the lower 48 but they just don't get alot of call I guess. They have cargo vans, some extended vans, and some cab forward straights up to 20' boxes. They don't haul HazMat and don't require a CDL for vans (although I intend on at least a Class C with HazMat eventually.)

They have one customer that regularly ships oversize 54" x 48" pallets (length = 54" x 3 = 162") They would like me to be able to take 3 at time, although I don't know that it will be a regular occurence - but they would like me to be able to handle it if/when it comes up.

There was some talk about building a false floor in the Sprinter to bypass the wheelwells - that would allow me to easily take three oversized pallets sideways (length = 48" x 3 = 144") - they will fit thru the backdoor - however I'm not keen on this idea as it would raise the center of gravity (12") on the truck.

Great idea on the seams. As long as both edges were screwed down real good I would think that would work just fine.

Yeah, it's fun spec'ing a vehicle and building it - although I'd agree it would be alot funner if it were on someone else's dime. I looked at Midway Specialty's Sprinter Sleeper - it a real nice unit .... but not without some issues. I'm about 6' 2" and there ain't no way I'd be able to stretch out in it ..... and it permanently cuts your cargo area down by about 1/3. Not to mention it's rather pricey at $7K or so.

When I get it all set up I will snap some photos and post them online.

 

[Moot]

RELENT:

I didn't realize you owned a dual wheel Sprinter. I agree that raising the floor 12" and thus raising the center of gravity is a major safety issue. Be safe and keep it low. Good luck.

Moot

p.s. At 6'2" you can't sleep crossways. Might I suggest the MootBed.

 

[RLENT]

Moot,

>I didn't realize you owned a dual wheel Sprinter.
I don't - but the width between the wheelwells on my SRW Sprinter is about 52" or so - which prevents me from loading 54" X 48" pallets with the long dimension of the pallet across the vehicle (overall length for 3 pallets is 12') - rather than the long dimension of the pallets running the length of the vehicle (overall length of the pallets is 13' 6")

Make sense ?

>Be safe and keep it low.
Absolutely.

>p.s. At 6'2" you can't sleep crossways. Might I suggest the
>MootBed.
Yes ... I have the link to the MootBed saved for when the time comes.:7

 

[RLENT]

Ok, I've pulled the plastic covering off the sidewalls so that I could take some measurements for mounting the sidewall e-track. The attached image (not my van but it's the same for all intents and purposes) shows the height, off the floor, of the bottom of the frame rails.

The higher rail is the larger of the two, but even so it isn't wide enough for me to screw both edges of the e-track into it. The rail is only about 4" wide and the e-track is 5" wide.

Question is how and where exactly to mount it ?

I could mount it directly to the frame metal (keeping in mind I will be putting the grey plastic back on before I do so) but then I will only be able to screw either the bottom or top of the e-track in completely (all holes) The other side will only be secured every three or four feet - into the upright frame members. Does that seem adequate ? If so, which side should I screw in completely - top or bottom ?

The other alternative is to get some 1" x 6" or 1" x 8" flat board, mount it in these locations, and then screw the e-track into that completely (in every hole in the e-track)

Any thoughts or advice appreciated.

 

[RLENT]

BTW, the right side wall (with the side door) is just long enough to take a 10' section of e-track before the door opening.

I'll have to piece in the left side wall with a short piece of e-track since it is longer than 10'