Heavy duty cargo barrier for scuba

[oztme]

Hi Guys,

Just bought a 2010 E70 MSport 3.0d (idiot killed our E53).

We need a heavy duty cargo barrier. The BMW one won't work for us; as it isn't rated for the weights we carry, and in the E70, you can't move it to behind the drivers seats.

We use ourr X5 as a scuba dive truck). No Kids. rear seats are ALWAYs folded down, and scuba tanks + gear (up to 400kg), goes in the back.

In the E53, the cargo barrier could be moved to be near the B pillar (ie: just behind the front seats), but the E70 barrier seems to only work near the C pillar (just behind the rear seats).

Looks like I might have to fabricate something

Anyone solved this problem?

Cheers + thanks,
Scott.

[motordavid]

We dive often, over the past 30 yrs, but usually in a rental car situ, or on a live aboard...
When I do dive out of a personal car, I have these foam racks:
Trident Foam Tank Rack TA03 with reviews at scuba.com

Or, for more solid conveyance:
The Scuba Tank Rack | Scuba Tank Holders | Best Scuba Tank Storage

We carry a lot of gear for the two of us, when doing shore dives from our car(s), but not sure it is ever more than 200lbs...

Have dived out of our X, our Vette, et al.
Gear bags, flips, cam, tanks, weight belts, not a problem...

Maybe you are driving on rutted roads with potholes or 'cross country'?

That SCUBA site is well know vendor here in the US, but you must have something similar in AUS.
GL, mD

[oztme]

Hi Mate,

Thanks for the reply. Very interesting info.

It's not exactly what I'm looking for though:

We're looking for a solution to stop stuff flying into the back of our heads if we have a big front on crash. We also have a lot of other stuff apart from tanks, like dry suits, torches, regulators, etc etc etc...

The E53 cargo barrier was good, because you could position it right behind the front seats. This is what the E53 cargo barrier looked like..

You could hang it behind the driver seat, or behind the rear passenger seat.

The E70 barrier doesn't do that AFAIK; as there's no holes in the roof up near the front seats to hang it from... HUH????

We were lucky (?!) that we were sideswiped, so the tanks went to the side of the car, not into the back of our seats.

Thanks for the link for the dive racks. They could be useful. I'll give them a yell. We dive on twin tanks (we're cave divers), so we'd need something slightly custom, but looks like good stuff.

If we had this crash head on, our dive gear wouldve been all over us..

[hd2000fxdl]

I see what you’re trying to do, you may be better off with a strapping system to keep them from flying around in the first place. The net you posted that you had in your E53 may have never come into use, but given the distance to gain velocity in an accident situation like you describe, well I'd say that net you had was (luckily) never put to the test because I'd doubt to would provide the protection that it appears you believed it had.

[oztme]

Originally Posted by hd2000fxdl

I see what you’re trying to do, you may be better off with a strapping system to keep them from flying around in the first place. The net you posted that you had in your E53 may have never come into use, but given the distance to gain velocity in an accident situation like you describe, well I'd say that net you had was (luckily) never put to the test because I'd doubt to would provide the protection that it appears you believed it had.

Hi again guys,
Yes; you're absolutely right. I think that net would've been too lightweight also. We are going to build a rack like motordavid linked to, and have tiedown straps for the tanks. We normally have 6 tanks (2 sets of twins), and two stage bottles; which are the bulk of the weight. We still have a lot of small stuff though, so a barrier of some kind is mandatory I think. Even a regulator is about 1.5kg (3lbs) of projectile...

Might get something fabricated I suppose. That last crash raised our awareness of safety and how powerless you can be when a git decides to run a giveway sign.

I do have to say the E53 performed admirably well...

Cheers,
Scott.

Thanks for your help guys..

[motordavid]

I get your concern now...
Twin tanks/cave diving? Ballsy...we have done many 'cavern' dives, (always being able to see a daylight lit way out), but my courage is ebbing by the year, lol!

Met Wesley Skiles several times at his dive joint in NW FL, and dove the pools/caverns in area. He was world class capable, very friendly, but met untimely death in a cave...be careful.

We have similar list of gear, though just single 3000 psi tank each, but 2mm wetsuits or shorties, flips, masks, regs, ol'Nikonos cam, and the usual assorted junque, but I have never given the potential flying impact much thought: aside from the tanks on that foam bracket, the rest of our gear is stuffed into a couple of dive bags.

Some decent Velcro strips may help hold down your gear bags, but if you are cave diving I am sure you have come up with work arounds.

Be Careful, and enjoy the underwater; it is my fave activity next to riding my m'cycles...
GL, mD

[oztme]

Thanks for your help guys. We'll probalby end up getting one custom built, that reuses the grab handles in the rear passenger row as anchor points (no rear passengers!)

On a related note, does anyone know what the rating is on the hooks in the rear cargo area? I'm referring to the small steel ones that you put in the rails in the rear cargo area, and can slide backward and forward..

MotorDavid: I prefer open water fish diving; but the Mrs likes caving. We don't push the envelope like you see on TV. Most of the caves I go in could safely accommodate an X5! You definitely should dive the great barrier reef one day (particularly before the current government destroy it)

Cheers+ thanks everyone,
Scott.

[ard]

^^ I recall a few years ago reading about the dive by David Shaw et al at Bushmans Hole in south africa in Outside magazine. It was truly a mind blowing story. THe cave is 900 feet deep.

You know the wingsuit guys flying around the alps in recent videos? This story makes wingsuits seem pretty controlled and safe!

Dave Shaw | South Africa | OutsideOnline.com



Anyway, sorry for the OT-