"SwissTony" (SwissTony)
03/10/2015 at 13:10 • Filed to: common sense, safety, road safety, packing, car tetris, tetris, 5 rules, jalopnik, oppo
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"SwissTony" (SwissTony)
03/10/2015 at 13:10 • Filed to: common sense, safety, road safety, packing, car tetris, tetris, 5 rules, jalopnik, oppo | 1
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I am sure most of you Jalops already know how to pack your cars properly, but here is some general advice, on how to haul cargo safely in 5 easy steps.
1. Low Center of Gravity
Keep your heaviest items low. This should be common sense for anyone, right?
2. Weight Distribution
For most cars, try to keep the heaviest objects before or on top of the rear axle. The closer the weight is to your rear bumper, the more effect it will have on your handling.
3. Check your tire pressure
If you have never done that before, don't worry, you will figure it out :-)
Most cars even give you a cheat note, where you can check the appropriate pressure for a heavier load. It is usually placed on the fuel cap or on the edge of the A-pillar/driver's door.
4. Use what's available
If possible, strap down whatever you can.
Some manufacturers provide you with a stylish luggage nets, but feel free to use seat-belts and any available material to tie things down.
A great DIY method is to wrap a blanket around your luggage, so that in case of a sudden deceleration, no single item will come flying through the cabin.
5. Know your limits
While its true, that most cars will take an awful lot of abuse before breaking, and we all hate to take more trips than necessary, but know your limits, and think about factors like weight & impaired visibility when loading your car.
Hopefully most of you already knew all this, but having seen some ridiculously overloaded cars recently, I thought maybe this could help a few.
MrDakka
> SwissTony
03/10/2015 at 13:12 |
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Check out that drop. Now if they could only stance it...
WhyWagonIfNotWagonFast
> MrDakka
03/10/2015 at 13:36 |
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Silly germans. Every Ford Taurus made up till 2005 does this with no mods whatsoever.
OPPOsaurus WRX
> SwissTony
03/10/2015 at 14:28 |
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i filled my sport trac with just over 1000 lbs. I nearly shat myself when i was told how much was in there. I think the limit was 1200. The bumpers were not yet hitting the frame so I figured I was fine. It was only a smooth 3 mile ride
I laso use my child seats for beer and wine transportation (only when kids are not present)