safety of transporting a telescope in car boot

[mark3d]

hi all. does anyone know about the safety of transporting a dobsonian in a car boot? in terms of the force it would cause in any accident. i dont think it would fly up into the air but it may go forward at a lot of force injuring anyone in the back seat.

we have a hatchback, the type where a flap goes over the boot. the lightbridge fits in unassembled, preferably by removing the flap but im sure we could make it fit with the flap.

would it be safe to transport in the boot?

as my wife said if it isnt, then its probably not safe to take anything in the boot (e.g. lawnmower). that seems ridiculous, so maybe im being too cautious.

our observing buddy has a small 4WD with a cargo barrier that would no doubt be ok but i dont know about the hatchback.

going to contact the RAA (motoring body like RAVC) but interested in opinions here too

[goober (Doug)]

I used to strap my Dob down with occy straps to the child seat anchors. I never had an accident, so I'm not sure how effective it was.

[madtuna (Steve)]

personally, I'd be more worried about the safety of the occupants if you were in an accident than he dob

BANG!! SMASH!!
"help honey! my legs are crushed and I have blood spurting out of this open wound in my abdomen where the tree branch pierced me like a spear!"

"sit tight darling, help will be here soon..I'll be back in a minute, I'm just going to check my dob"

[mark3d]

hehe yes i meant safety of the occupants due to 11kg in the back

[madtuna (Steve)]

ahhhahaha!! I'm sorry..I just read it again lol..yeah I see what you mean now, I thought you were worried about getting a ding in your scope..
maybe if you put the wife in the boot and stuck the dob in the front

[space oddity]

At least if the dob hit you, you really would be seeing stars.You can get cargo nets to contain items. A cargo net type arrangement hooked up to the child restraint bolt should work well.

[citivolus (Ric)]

Keep in mind the acceleration forces you'd be dealing with in a collision, and anything attached to the rudimentary cargo hooks in most cars is not likely to hold. Pick up some nylon web cargo straps rated at 1000kg or so (the type with a ratchet), and attach them to the child seat hooks which are actually designed to hold a load in a collision, and you should be much better off.

[GTB_an_Owl (Geoff)]

JUST DON'T HIT ANYTHING and all will be fine

geoff

[mark3d]

hey citivolus i think you and Space Oddity are right. we are getting 2 restraint bolts installed tomorrow and a seatbelt strap - cost approx. $150. (current restraint bolts already in use!)

the weight of the light bucket x 40 is a massive force (nearly half a tonne?) and theres some horror stories out there.. so i dont want to spend the money but i will be much happier having done so!

thanks all

and yes Geoff, not hitting anything is plan A

[astro_nutt]

Consider a heavy-duty cargo net anchored to the floor..if they can hold a few loaded suitcases...mind you cover the lot with an old doona first.