[dsraven]

I am a professional firefighter and a licensed mechanic. I spent years operating the rescue truck and cutting away car parts to extricate victims with the "jaws of life". I have seen pretty well every bone and internal body part in a human body, outside the human body, at accident scenes. it is amazing what the forces of impact can do. from working on cars, trucks and equipment I have also seen how stuff bolts together and is assembled to work as an assembly and how manufacturers have changed designs over the years with regards to safety. I have also seen some pretty scary home fixes that had been driving around on the same roads as our family and loved ones. while "back in the day" we would arrive on an accident scene and find people pinned or possibly thrown out of vehicles (or worse), nowadays often we find the occupants outside the cars exchanging insurance information after a similar impact crash. I am not saying to go overboard and build intricate roll cages with 5 point harnesses, but I would keep the safety aspect in mind when building your ride. this is also coming from a guy whose buddies home made seat belt mounts failed in a roll over and I was thrown out of the vehicle allowing that same vehicle to roll over me. lucky to be here today actually. lets think about things like mentioned previously in the posts above. there are upgrades for safety that could easily be accomplished for minimal dollars and could make a big difference in a crash. think about the steering columns that become spears in crashes, seat belts and where to install them and how much reinforcement and fasteners are needed, having head rests on seats for whip lash reasons, having no bumpers or hidden bumper bars, insufficient brakes that don't match the power output and performance level of the rest of the build, insufficient or "shaved" lighting to help others see you from all angles, suspensions that have been borrowed from vehicles with way different track widths than what is needed and then modified to fit, effects of wheel spacers, huge offset front wheels or different control arms to get the right look or accommodate a preferred tire size, effects of huge C notches on frame integrity, rusted out key structural areas patched with a new "skin" where there used to be several layers of structure before. we have all seen something done a little sketchy and, I get it, it's the owners choice. all I am saying is do a little research and thought on the effects of a crash on the occupants. lots of times there is another, safer, way to get the job done. we have all seen builds where there have been significant compromises in suspension and steering to get the truck "in the weeds". not much thought for any steering geometry changes like toe in changes during suspension travel, caster and camber changes, scrub angles, steering axis inclination, bump steer, anti dive angles etc. I think we need to be as diligent as we can be, within reason. heck, these days you need to be a certified, qualified electrician just to change the cord end on an extension cord at work. it's all liabilities these days. I'm not saying stop everything and sell your build for parts, just saying to think, then build the best we can with safety in mind. lets not scrimp on the safety items so we can get on the road or afford some flashy trinket. lets build from the foundation up as safely and correctly as possible. research and ask questions. like FAKKY is doing here.

while we are talking about modifications and dollars spent, lets think about getting appraisals and insurance for what we are running. I have seen guys with big dollar builds get paid out for the year and model of a stock vehicle (when it is stolen) just because they only insured for a stock vehicle. take some pics and keep a file. also, performance mods not mentioned to the insurance company could void your insurance coverage.

ok, end of rant. not intended to point fingers at anybody. just intended to make us think about what we're doing. just because somebody else did it doesn't make it right. lets not trade safety for aesthetics or speed of the build.