>Ken,
>
>Question - is that your van in the pic ? No E-Track on the
>floor ?
Not. Not my van. See my followup under Moot's. That's just a pic from inlad.com that shows how to secure the e-track to the walls. It's just a pic that came in handy when I was installing my e-track.
>
>I assume that there's two pieces of E-Track on that
>sidewall, given the length of the wall ?
Dunno. That looks like a short wheelbase Sprinter, so my guess would be one piece.
The e-track on my walls match that on the floor, which is 9 feet.
>
>>You'll find that for most loads, a single wooden 2x4 or 2x6 load bar
>>across the floor, set inside of those 2x4 e-track fittings, will secure things just fine.
>In all liklihood, for a pallet of some height and weight I
>would do the above .... plus add an aluminum load bar (2K
>lbs WLL) running side-to-side, in the wall E-Track.
I just add a wooden 2x4 across as a second load bar.
A 2K lbs WLL load bar is nice, but the walls of the van will give way long before the rating of the load bar gets tested.
>
>I notice that the top row of holes in the E-Track appear to
>have a screw approximately every 10 to 12 inches. I think my
>E-Track is 12 gauge ... which is almost 1/8".
Yes, it's 1/8" thick.
>
>Maybe I'm being overly paranoid here,
Yes, you are.
>but given that the
>screw holes in E-Track will only take a 1/4" (or maybe 5/16"
>at most)
It's a 1/4" screw. Holes are exactly 2" apart, center to center, and the rows of holes are exactly 4 1/2" apart, center to center.
>screw I guess I just don't have a ton of confidence
>that if I am involved in a collision that with that few
>screws it's going to hold.
The power of a few screws can add up quickly. (there's a joke in there somewhere, I just can't find it at the moment) In order for it to be a problem, the strain on the e-track will have to be enough that it will bend the e-track itself, and it will need to be very acute. Otherwise, all of the strain gets distributed evenly across all of the screws. In an accident, it's a sudden stop (like running into a brick wall) that you are the most concerned with, and that kind of a stop by it's very nature will strain each screw equally, regardless of where the strap fitting is inserted into the e-track.
>And I won't have any sort of
>cargo bulkhead in the vehicle (at least initially, and
>perhaps permanently.)
>
Me neither. Too often I need to get between the load and where a bulkhead would be, in order to properly secure the load. I also wanted the openness of not having a bulkhead. After living in a short wheelbase E-350 for so long, I wanted it to feel like Montana. I do have a permanent bunk built in there, and it acts as a partial bulkhead, even if it's only 21 inches high.
When I'm in doubt, I'll brace the load with the 2x4's across the wall, and also run an (two of them, actually) e-track ratchet strap around the 2x4. For example, picture a single barrel in the middle of the deck. I place a load bar forward of the barrel, between the barrel and the driver, with the load bar going from sidewall to sidewall. Back between the barrel and the rear door, I insert an e-track fitting from a strap into the floor on the row behind the driver, then run the strap over the top of the 2x4, then loop it back down under the 2x4 and bring it towards the rear or the truck, and insert it in an e-track slot 3 or 4 slots forward of where the other end of the strap is inserted. I do the same on the passenger side e-track row. Then tighten the ratchets until there is just a little tension on the wall e-track, but not much. Just until the ratchet stops. Too much tension and you'll rip the e-track right out of the walls.
What you have, when viewed from in between the driver and passenger seat, looks like I'm locked and loaded with a really big sling-shot. hehe
Corny, but hopefully that's a description that can be visualized.
>>next up is the e-track straps crossed over in the X configuration.
>Given E-Track on the sidewalls only in the picture I'm
>curious as to how exactly this is done ?
The X configuration if for floor e-track, not wall mounted e-track. Although, now that I think about it, you
could do an X with sidewall straps. Attach a strap to the wall at the right rear and then to the left front, then one from the left rear to the right front. Then you have a hovering horizontal "X" above the deck. That would certainly keep a single barrel from sliding left to right, as the natural "V" in that X would keep the barrel more or less in place. Buuuut, I'd be wary of something like that. In general, you really don't want to use the sidewalls of a van as the primary load bearing contact point for anything heavy.
One time I saw a Sprinter that had been carrying a single 750 pound barrel. The driver simply inserted an e-track strap in one wall, then strung it across to the other wall, creating a load bar out of a strap. He had to make an emergency stop with his 2 week old van, and the barrel slammed into that strap and the walls slapped together. Totaled the van.
No matter how securely you mount the wall e-track, no matter how strong of a load bar you put there, the walls of a Sprinter will, absolutely, give way before everything else will.
For a single barrel, however, I always lay a 2x4 across the top of the barrel, with the 2x4 being oriented so that the ends of it sit above the e-track on the floor. Then I run a strap over each end of the 2x4 and ratchet it down. Same principle as a battery holder.
Brace with the wall tracks, but never think of it as the primary securement point (I'm talkin' Sprinter here, not a box truck that's designed for wall-bracing). Think from the floor up. Use the wall track as a secondary bracing point. Anything under 500 pounds and the wall should be fine for primary securement. Like empty automotive milk crates or something. But for a couple of skids, 2500 pounds, I'll secure to the floor, then maybe use a cross bar an inch or so forward just to keep the load from shifting.
>
>>You don't really need them ultra-secure to the walls like you would
>>with them on the floor
>The "them" in the above sentence refers to E-Track (and not
>barrels) correct ?
Corrent. "Them" is the e-tracks.
>I could see where that could be the
>case, since one one wouldn't want to tension much
between
>the two side walls, like one might with a strap that's
>hooked into the floor.
Correct again. Too much tension will bow the walls. Tension on the edge and you hit a bump will bow the walls. That's why, with anything heavy, you want to refrain from making the walls the sole bracing contact. A much better single bracing would be a load bar across the floor, secured in the e-track down there. If it's a tall skid, place a second load bar on the walls to help out the floor. If it's heavy and tall, strap it down to the floor. Period.
>
>Thanks for the picture and the feedback .... it helps to see
>what others have done.
It's a never-ending process, too.
After having said all this, it's way better to over-do it than under-do it. Better to be safe than stoopid. After a while you'll see others out here and how they are doing things. You'll see vans with no e-track at all, or the plywood deck just laying there, not even screwed into the floor. Or no decking at all, just bare metal floor, with all the pots and bracing exposed. Rubber bungy chords for tie-downs, or motorcycle straps. You'll be thankful that you were a little paranoid when you see things like that.
Also, and this is how I do it, you can do it however you want.... from the back of the bunk to the rear door, my van is all business, all about freight. I store non-freight related stuff along the walls, but it's always neat and tidy. When I open the read doors the shipper or consignee sees a cargo area that is designed to haul their cargo safely and securely.
From the bunk forward, that's where I live, but I always keep it neat and clean, as well. A Sprinter is still an unusual vehicle, specially one like mine where the fridge and microwave towers above the bunk, and often a shipper or consignee will want to check out the living space, take the nickel tour. I'm not anal about cleanliness, not even close, but no matter what, my living space is neat and clean when I pick up or deliver a load, because I have had people want to see it much more often than I would have expected.
Even if I haven't showered or shaved in a few days, something that shippers and consignees usually understand about drivers, when people look in the van they don't see the aftermath of Katrina. They see neat, clean, orderly, professional. They can't help but to think that I will treat their freight with the same care. I've had them tell me as much, or they've told me they have worried about freight that they placed onto some vans because of how much of a disaster is was in those vans.
If the van is dirty, I wash it, sometimes when going to pick up a load or to delivery, especially if it's been in an area with a lot of snow and salt and I'm heading to an area where there isn't any. If I've been driving around up north foe a few days and I have a load going to South Carolina, somewhere along the way the van will get washed.
Sorry for rambling. At least I'm famous for that.
