Ram 1500 protection for crashes

[Nicksta98]

Hello just wondering if there’s any options to help in a crash weather it be front sides rear or a roll over I was thinking a full steel bumper front and rear rock slides for the side and a roll bar would this actually help protect you in a crash any help would be great

 

[kurek]

The topic of collision safety is a tough one to armchair quarterback, none of us here happens to have a crash test facility and a fleet of sacrificial trucks to test on and you can probably imagine that's a really specialized field of engineering.

That said, the best way to survive any collision is to not get in it. That means the number one, two, three and four things that any of us can do are stay attentive while driving, exercise defensive driving techniques, properly maintain our vehicles so they don't fail unpredictably at the worst time and don't carry around unnecessary junk in the cab that can turn into a projectile if a collision or rollover does happen.

Big steel bumpers may give you a battering ram up front but if they're high clearance off-road style bumpers you're as likely to ride up another car with your tire, roll onto your side and now the roof of your vehicle has to protect occupants from collisions while sliding, or in the middle of oncoming traffic. That's probably not better. Same goes for lifted trucks in general it's not that they will necessarily be prone to roll over in everyday driving but if they hit a low car that's an easy recipe to end up on your side or worse. Adding weight to the vehicle also will affect its handling and may make you more prone to get in a collision, and changing the mass and dimensions of the front bumper may affect the survivability of an airbag deployment.

Remember that when a vehicle impacts with something hard enough to deploy airbags your head is already traveling toward the steering wheel and windshield at 1000-1500 inches per second. The airbag propellent takes time (not much, but not zero either) to combust and the bag needs to accelerate and then decelerate in time to catch your face when it's not moving too fast anymore, because if it's traveling toward you at 250mph and you're wearing glasses the airbag itself could be your cause of death.

The timing there is surgical and messing with it by changing the structure at the front of the vehicle might not have a positive effect on safety.

I have seen a thread on some other forum full of photos of older SUVs with rock sliders, that had been involved in various T-bone collisions. The sliders did seem to have a beneficial effect on how much cabin intrusion took place but those were also older vehicles which did not have side impact airbags and weren't built to any of the same collision standards as today.

Sorry I don't have advice on anything to buy, if you have to buy something to feel safer get the best quality tires for your climate that you can afford, and buy a lift for your driveway or garage so you can easily give your truck routine cleanings, rustproofings and safety inspections.

 

[CanRebel]

You could purchase a used M1 Abrams
Otherwise I agree with person above. Would adding things help? maybe or maybe not. Unless you have way to do testing.
You really aren't going know for sure.

 

[Phirebeard]

IIHS ratings are here (click). Ram receives a "Good" (highest) rating in most of the categories. Todays vehicles are built to much higher safety standards for collisions with crumple zones, additional bracing in the doors, and side impact airbags. If you still feel like you need to add more, I suggest a full roll cage and a helmet.

 

[Burla]

I use a super bumper for my tow hitch and a beefy bumper for front obviously. My past has driven me to also care about this as a drunk driver once hit me head on on the freeway and was .33 drink at 1pm in the afternoon. Roll bar has you covered. If you want rock slider protection, you need to drill it into frame. Those bolt onto factory bolts sliders wont help you in a t bone.

 

[62Blazer]

Adding beefy bumpers and rock sliders will protect the truck in a crash, but will do nothing to protect the person driving it. In fact those items have the potential to make things worse. Vehicles are designed and built with crumple zones that are meant to absorb the impact while sacrificing the vehicle and not transfer the force to the driver.
An internal roll cage that is properly built (not the 80's style chrome rollbar in the bed), racing seats, 5 point harnesses........and wearing a helmet....are the things you could do to improve occupancy safety. Look at the typical race car requirements for an idea, but you will also be sacrificing comfort, ease of entry/exit, etc....when you do those things, and is exactly why new car manufacturers don't do it. If you ever crawled into and out of something like a NASCAR and spent several minutes getting buckled up each time you would know why the general public wouldn't buy a daily driver like that.

 

[hunterdan]

Adding beefy bumpers and rock sliders will protect the truck in a crash, but will do nothing to protect the person driving it. In fact those items have the potential to make things worse. Vehicles are designed and built with crumple zones that are meant to absorb the impact while sacrificing the vehicle and not transfer the force to the driver.
An internal roll cage that is properly built (not the 80's style chrome rollbar in the bed), racing seats, 5 point harnesses........and wearing a helmet....are the things you could do to improve occupancy safety. Look at the typical race car requirements for an idea, but you will also be sacrificing comfort, ease of entry/exit, etc....when you do those things, and is exactly why new car manufacturers don't do it. If you ever crawled into and out of something like a NASCAR and spent several minutes getting buckled up each time you would know why the general public wouldn't buy a daily driver like that.

Couldn't have said it any better.

 

[Jeepwalker]

In my mind, and based on years of seeing crashes, the best thing anyone can do is to adopt strategies to avoid an accident in the first place. Don't text, pay attention, defensive driving strategies, intentionally drive in patterns that make fewer turns that cross traffic (esp high-speed traffic). Look twice when leaving stop lights ...Don't dart away from stop lights. Look around and ALWAYS have an 'escape plan' every moment you drive should something unexpectedly happen. Learn how to spot high-risk intersections and avoid them. Obviously don't drink and drive. Make sure your tires and brakes are in good condition (my brother totaled his truck b/c he hit water on bald tires!). Don't lift your truck or install larger tires (for better handling).

Insurance companies know exactly what the risks are. Risks and safe driving practices are well publicized on the internet. And it's well-known that a certain percentage of people are 'safer' drivers, and some (chronically distracted drivers) are unsafe drivers. Safer drivers apply safety strategies as a 2nd nature and seem to avoid accidents. I used to help a buddy at his salvage yard. Almost all of the seriously wrecked cars that came in, you talk to the cops informally, the vast majority of tragic wrecks were a result of stupid driver error, drinking, not wearing seat belts, speeding and all the normal things. It was never ..an airplane engine or meteorite fell from the sky out of the blue, he ha. The package carriers (like UPS, Fedex, etc) know some drivers are just safer drivers. That's who they put in their trucks. We had a good friend who worked for UPS and he was telling us about their screening for safe drivers.

Adopting strategies and making them 2nd nature will likely keep you safer than trying to predict and work around all the ways you could get maimed or killed in a 5,500 lb projectile (top/rear/front/side). Obviously nobody can avoid all accidents. Wear a $20 bicycle helmet if you really want to avoid serious brain injury which is a common killer.

And most importantly (and this costs nothing you can do TODAY) -- SLOW DOWN!! LOL

..drive safe and stay safe my friend.

 

[GTyankee]

Some Safety points of your Ram

2019 RAM 1500 - Deep dive into RAM's stronger and lighter frame

No all-new pickup truck would be complete without an all-new frame. In this video we dive under the skin and look at the frame, suspension components and tal...

www.youtube.com

2019 Ram 1500: Materials/Chassis Engineering

Larry Sak, Head of Materials, Fasteners & Engineering Standards, offers a close-up look at how the materials used in constructing the framework and chassis o...

www.youtube.com

 

[Octane]

Read up on the Smith System and memorize and practice it.I have utilized it and have over a million accident free miles.But there is that one idjit out there that will getcha sooner or later."Five rules of the Smith System".Outside of defensive driving and maybe armor plating your truck this is about the best

 

[kurek]

and some (chronically distracted drivers) are unsafe drivers.

It's weird when driving to see some bonehead pull off a risky maneuver in a car which already has the exact kind of damage they narrowly missed.. dude that already bit you and you're still doing it? Unfortunately that person simply isn't going to learn from their mistakes and we all share the cost and risk from it

 

[Sherman Bird]

The topic of collision safety is a tough one to armchair quarterback, none of us here happens to have a crash test facility and a fleet of sacrificial trucks to test on and you can probably imagine that's a really specialized field of engineering.

That said, the best way to survive any collision is to not get in it. That means the number one, two, three and four things that any of us can do are stay attentive while driving, exercise defensive driving techniques, properly maintain our vehicles so they don't fail unpredictably at the worst time and don't carry around unnecessary junk in the cab that can turn into a projectile if a collision or rollover does happen.

Big steel bumpers may give you a battering ram up front but if they're high clearance off-road style bumpers you're as likely to ride up another car with your tire, roll onto your side and now the roof of your vehicle has to protect occupants from collisions while sliding, or in the middle of oncoming traffic. That's probably not better. Same goes for lifted trucks in general it's not that they will necessarily be prone to roll over in everyday driving but if they hit a low car that's an easy recipe to end up on your side or worse. Adding weight to the vehicle also will affect its handling and may make you more prone to get in a collision, and changing the mass and dimensions of the front bumper may affect the survivability of an airbag deployment.

Remember that when a vehicle impacts with something hard enough to deploy airbags your head is already traveling toward the steering wheel and windshield at 1000-1500 inches per second. The airbag propellent takes time (not much, but not zero either) to combust and the bag needs to accelerate and then decelerate in time to catch your face when it's not moving too fast anymore, because if it's traveling toward you at 250mph and you're wearing glasses the airbag itself could be your cause of death.

The timing there is surgical and messing with it by changing the structure at the front of the vehicle might not have a positive effect on safety.

I have seen a thread on some other forum full of photos of older SUVs with rock sliders, that had been involved in various T-bone collisions. The sliders did seem to have a beneficial effect on how much cabin intrusion took place but those were also older vehicles which did not have side impact airbags and weren't built to any of the same collision standards as today.

Sorry I don't have advice on anything to buy, if you have to buy something to feel safer get the best quality tires for your climate that you can afford, and buy a lift for your driveway or garage so you can easily give your truck routine cleanings, rustproofings and safety inspections.

My relative was a forensic photographer for a fire department years ago. This means she saw dead people in all forms both at fire scenes and at accident scenes. When my daughter had a horrific crash in an old Chevy Cavalier and the other driver was in an F350. we were talking about accidents and safety systems 'round the table at a barbeque. Any guess which vehicle won that contest?

Because the Cavalier was an older model, it did not have SRS (airbags). Fortunately, my daughter had her seatbelt on, but suffered a nasty sternum bruise.... other that frayed nerves, she came out alright, miraculously.

Said relative advised that my daughter was very lucky to have survived this terrible crash, and advised that her next car should have SRS airbag system.. She further stated that these safety devices were merely to mitigate injury, not stop injury altogether, IOW, to save peoples' lives, no guarantee against some level of injury.

 

[jagman_xjs]

As far as a wreck in concerned my 19 Classic had a 4 star frontal rating and a 5 start side impact rating. It does help some when a jerk is on his phone and blows thru a red light. He could not tell just one story so I figure he was going around 50 to 55 when he hit me. Of course the RAM was totaled and I wound up in the hospital. BUT live to see more days. These are the Copart pics. I was sure glad for the 5 star side impact rating. Not much you can prevent when the hit is direct to your door. https://autoauctionspot.com/ram/1500-class/2019-1C6RR7FT4KS519008.html

 

[Sherman Bird]

As far as a wreck in concerned my 19 Classic had a 4 star frontal rating and a 5 start side impact rating. It does help some when a jerk is on his phone and blows thru a red light. He could not tell just one story so I figure he was going around 50 to 55 when he hit me. Of course the RAM was totaled and I wound up in the hospital. BUT live to see more days. These are the Copart pics. I was sure glad for the 5 star side impact rating. Not much you can prevent when the hit is direct to your door. https://autoauctionspot.com/ram/1500-class/2019-1C6RR7FT4KS519008.html

in 1984, Mercedes developed a seat which would not collapse backwards when the vehicle was struck hard from behind, thus saving lives. They shared the design with all the world's auto makers in a humanitarian gesture, I read. And not ONE of the other automakers instituted the design until government regulations forced it years later.
Fortunately for me, I was very blessed by good defensive driving instruction 50 years ago which taught me that a green light means absolutely nothing, as exampled from your experience. I've narrowly avoided many such incidents like yours by employing those defensive tactics. Just think how you'd have fared were you driving a Mazda3 or a Corolla!

I was cured of commuting on a motorcycle years ago by people who drive so carelessly here in Houston, Texas, not by having an accident, but because the level of defensiveness needed was exponentially higher on a bike..... BTW, there are now riding jackets with built in airbags! Go figure!

 

[Jeepwalker]

As far as specifics go: as someone mentioned above, side rock-slider rails probably would help against side impact. However, you don't want them to deflect another truck slide up (over) the top of the rails, but IDK how anyone can predict what would happen? They should help keep a bumper from intruding a couple inches into the cabin which might be enough to save a life. Although if ya live in the snowy N. they DO attract and hold snow/ice and road salt and seem to lead to premature rot of rocker panels (just what I've noticed). Most out-of-the-box grille guards I'm seeing these days aren't strong enough to offer much additional protection in a 'real' collision, and may in fact hinder deployment of the air bags, which 'could' make matters actually worse. So I wouldn't bother with one, unless you like the way they look on your truck.

Some minor side glass tinting could help too. It helps to keep glass from shattering and shards filling the interior. Same with the windshield (film w/o the tint). If you've ever felt those micro-shards of glass spray across a vehicle, it's quite un-nerving.

 

[Badger 13]

Burla, is the super bumper you use on your hitch the shock absorbing one ? After you mentioned yours, I looked them up. Appears to be a great idea, just seems to stick out a litter far ?