5 point harness not letting go

Infamous1 said:
Some sanctioning bodies specifically say no camlocks, I do not know why but have seen it in rulebooks.

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ECORS used to allow latch only type as the cam lock ones had the possibility of jamming up under race conditions (muddy/dirty/no cleaning or maintenance in a race)

I've never really experienced latch style not releasing
 
Me either and my drive by braille style has had me in some awkward release angles. I am watching though because it takes not working only once during a fire to really screw up my future in hand modeling.

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Hands on roof. Push. Shake the hips. It's common it seams with any brand. And to get it so you stay tight in the seat off-roading it seams to hang up easier.

You can also hit it and it'll break free a lot of times. But then your punching yourself in the crotch upside down. You might miss.

As with everything, practice makes perfect.

I've had too much practice...
 
If nothing else, this thread reminded me that I've been meaning to buy seat belt cutters since Sara was born. Six of them are in the mail.
 
Fabrik8 said:
Good idea.
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Camlocks are superior to buckle and latch style in almost every instance, EXCEPT of road use.
The combination of mud, dirt and "trash" can cause failures in both directions on camlocks. Debris in the mechanism can prevent a positive latch engagement resulting in loss of restraint at inopertune times. Or the debris can cause the latch to "seize" and not release when needed.

As Rob stated above. Cam locks were expressly forbidden in ECORS sanctioned events. That was one of the few rules that had zero discussion or debate between us. And if we agree on something its usually dead right or waaaay wrong :D
 
Fabrik8 said:
Are you planning on Velcro-ing them in six different interior spots within reach?
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I bought two life hammers and four of the cheapie razor cutters. I'll probably put one hammer in each rig, centered on the B spreader, then put a razor cutter on each side near the car seats, either on the roof spreader or the B pillar upright.

Not sure how to attach them yet, but leaning toward the tiny tie-wraps for all but maybe the hammer. I'm worried about it becoming a projectile. I'll have to wait and see how heavy it is and what it takes to hold it down.
 
shawn said:
I bought two life hammers and four of the cheapie razor cutters. I'll probably put one hammer in each rig, centered on the B spreader, then put a razor cutter on each side near the car seats, either on the roof spreader or the B pillar upright.

Not sure how to attach them yet, but leaning toward the tiny tie-wraps for all but maybe the hammer. I'm worried about it becoming a projectile. I'll have to wait and see how heavy it is and what it takes to hold it down.
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rare earth magnets. Should be strong enough to hold it to the roll bar, depending on weight.
 
I found a picture that showed the crotch belt as the last one on. I think that might help. If that one would come off then the rest would. From now on I will always do that.
 
my $0.02...

As someone who was in racing near 30 years, been upside down in two race cars, and turned over 30 times in the Jeep, (that reads...'fat guy hanging in belts'...worst condition possible for any type harness!) I have NEVER had so much as a hitch in a latch-type harness. I cant imagine there being any fix for this because I cant imagine there is any reason properly installed latch type harness would ever hang up. They slide in...they slide out. (And I havent worn an anti-sub belt outside of a race car)

That being said...there would only be one possible reason one might hang up.

I have seen two styles of "loop" ends. Both straight style and a slightly bent style. If the "loop" end was a bent style like the lower picture and "loop" side was installed upside down, That would def tend to hang up!
Image1.jpg
 
GubNi said:
I found a picture that showed the crotch belt as the last one on. I think that might help. If that one would come off then the rest would. From now on I will always do that.
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I've only ever seen the crotch between the two shoulders, and you should assemble it per manufacturer design. I don't think assembly order is going to affect much with the weird set of conditions that makes this happen.
 
I just spoke to John Crow. They did not know this was a possible problem. They are looking into this and going to try to duplicate the problem today. He suggested that my idea of putting crotch strap on last might help and he will also look into the idea of and angled connection bar. I'm excited they are responding in such a helpful way.
 
There are slightly different latch and link designs for different manufacturers, so this may be a case of small design details making a difference. The shape and offset of the belt plates, the shape/width and type (round or flat) of the central shear plate, etc., may have slight effects under your odd set of conditions as well. It's a common design, but sometimes the devil is in the details. I've rarely heard of this happening before (most everything we deal with is all cam lock though), but I can visualize the load paths and see how it could happen under just the right set of circumstances and loads.
 
ol'Jeeps said:
That being said...there would only be one possible reason one might hang up.

I have seen two styles of "loop" ends. Both straight style and a slightly bent style. If the "loop" end was a bent style like the lower picture and "loop" side was installed upside down, That would def tend to hang up!
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I disagree about there being only one reason. I'll go back to my previous statement: With the crotch strap under load, and the left shoulder strap under load, and those two belt plates close together, the lap strap plate is in shear. With the weight of a person loading that point, friction could make the lap strap plate very hard to pull from between when loaded in shear. The shape of the lap belt plate doesn't affect the shear loads.
 
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Fabrik8 said:
...The shape of the lap belt plate doesn't affect the shear loads.
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Sure it does. Instead of needing to pull straight 90 degrees to the shear load to come free of the other belts, it pulls at some angle, more in the direction of the angle of the lap belt, allowing a reduction of the shear load once the latch is released. (if Im saying that right!:rolleyes:)
 
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