I left the center door out of the divider in the full size Chevy van that i had. It was handy to toss trash in the back when you were up front [😊]
Originally took the door out because the damn thing rattled too much and drove me crazy. Didn't think much of the safety aspect of it since there wasn't a center seat, just a big steel box/console. Probably helped that there was a big Weatherguard 3 drawer pull out deal that spanned most of the width of the van. Made for a good bolt bin / storage area for little crap that you'd otherwise lose. Then a little toolbox for hand tools bolted to the top of that until the lock broke and I couldn't keep it closed anymore. So all in all, there was about 2' - 3' of door opening exposed at the top. ________________________________ From: Af <[email protected]> on behalf of Lewis Bergman <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2016 7:55 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AFMUG] cargo van partition/bulkhead question We mainly put them in because our drivers like them. They make them feel safer. We have cowards; what can I say? Anyway, none of ours have walk through doors they have a fixed panel instead. In our area, Texas Hot, I mainly like them as it keeps the front cooler. We have windowless vans and my guys put lexan sheets over the grill area and fill the gaps around the corners the same way. On Wed, Sep 28, 2016 at 8:14 PM Joe Novak <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: The only time I had stuff go flying is when I took the work van into the ditch due to black ice on hwy 39. The old Astro vans at that time had the cage behind the seats but the mid section/door removed. Stuff really goes when you hit the snow filled ditch at 65. I honestly had very little reason to believe conditions where bad... it was a sunny day but frosty. Maybe 5 degrees out. The snow from the ditches was blowing out into the road way (not very obviously). The wind took the back of the van and "redirected" me into the ditch. Astro vans do not have much weight in the rear and the road was a ice sheet. Can definitely be unexpected. Quite a few of the things in the back ended up in the front cab. Nothing hit me thankfully. On Sep 28, 2016 7:12 PM, "Ken Hohhof" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Some partitions (e.g. Adrian Steel) are ordered as 3 panels. I wonder if it would be acceptable to just install the side panels and leave out the center panel. The ones that let you stow a 6 ft stepladder sideways at the bottom are clever. From: Af [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Mark Radabaugh Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 6:26 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] cargo van partition/bulkhead question I don’t know that there is any legal requirement, but I wouldn’t want to have an employee injured in a work van without one and have to deal with that. I suppose in your van you can do what you want :-) I have had one (ex) employee total a Sprinter in a front end collision. There was a lot of stuff up against the partition. Just about ripped the ladder rack off the top. Mark On Sep 28, 2016, at 7:11 PM, Ken Hohhof <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Is there any legal or insurance requirement to have one of these? I hate them, and while I understand they are to prevent decapitation by a flying object from the cargo area, I can’t recall ever having such a flying object. I like having a rear window on the van for visibility, and even with a backup camera and sideview mirrors, being able to see out the back is nice. Are there other advantages to them? I guess the AC and heater might work better if isolated from the cargo space. I’ve seen claims it makes the cabin quieter, but anytime I’ve driven a van with a partition, there has been an annoying rattle from the door to the back. I could maybe see if you could put some shelving units up against the back of the partition. That might even make a van with dual sliding side doors viable.
