Shahram
I ain't got herpes no more.
Last weekend, I took my wife and ten-month-old son on a beach camping trip. It was my son's first camping trip. My wife will fill the entire Cruiser up with the most frivolous gear when it's just the both of us; add the baby, and you're basically moving for the weekend. If women come with baggage, then babies come with furniture.
We did not have the option of laying down the middle row, because the baby seat goes there. I didn't want the hassle of having my wife and kid all the way in the third row either. Nor did I want to pack my kid in with the gear, or have gear in the front seat with me. So, I had to maximize what space I had (cargo area and roof), and go from there.
I have one of those smaller sized roof cargo boxes (15 cu. ft.), and in that I put the light-and-bulkies, including the tent, therma-rests, folding chairs, ground tarps, canopy.
In the back, I knew I could fit the gear in if only I could put the heavy stuff (cooler, tools, gerry cans, etc.) on the bottom, and medium weight stuff (portable crib, baby's gear, camp kitchen, personal gear bags, dry goods, etc.) on top of that, I'd be okay. Only problem was that I'd have to stack stuff above the level of the back of the seat. With my son facing the cargo area in his child restraint system, a sudden stop could result in bins and gear going up over the back of the seat and striking him.
Time and budget did not permit the purchase of a proper steel bolt-in cargo barrier. However, I didn't need something stout enough to hold back air tanks, spare tire, or a portable welder, just bins of food and baby gear.
I went to Home Depot, and purchased two racks of pre-prepared wire shelving, some industrial ducting zip-ties, and four lashing straps. I think the entire thing cost around $30.00 altogether.
I measured the distance between the carpet and the headliner, just behind the 2nd row of seating. Could have used a set of bolt cutters to cut through, but used an angle grinder with a cutting wheel to cut it down to size. Amazingly, the two shelves, when put between the wheel wells, fit almost perfectly. I joined the two shelves together with 12 of the largest zip-ties I could find. Then I strapped the makeshift barrier to the rear grab handles with lashing straps, and finally wove one more strap through the bottom rungs and around the rear seat to fasten the bottom to the seat.
We had the truck packed to the roof with miscellaneous small items and gear bins by the time we were done. The back and front seats were empty.
Here are the pics of the finished product.
Is it a ghetto mod? Definitely. Would it have protected my wife son from gear hitting them in the event of a head-on impact? Probably not. But, I believe in the event of a slow roll, or sudden brake action, it would have kept the cargo at bay. Plus, it allowed me to pack the hell out of the rear area without having gear spill out all over the place.
We did not have the option of laying down the middle row, because the baby seat goes there. I didn't want the hassle of having my wife and kid all the way in the third row either. Nor did I want to pack my kid in with the gear, or have gear in the front seat with me. So, I had to maximize what space I had (cargo area and roof), and go from there.
I have one of those smaller sized roof cargo boxes (15 cu. ft.), and in that I put the light-and-bulkies, including the tent, therma-rests, folding chairs, ground tarps, canopy.
In the back, I knew I could fit the gear in if only I could put the heavy stuff (cooler, tools, gerry cans, etc.) on the bottom, and medium weight stuff (portable crib, baby's gear, camp kitchen, personal gear bags, dry goods, etc.) on top of that, I'd be okay. Only problem was that I'd have to stack stuff above the level of the back of the seat. With my son facing the cargo area in his child restraint system, a sudden stop could result in bins and gear going up over the back of the seat and striking him.
Time and budget did not permit the purchase of a proper steel bolt-in cargo barrier. However, I didn't need something stout enough to hold back air tanks, spare tire, or a portable welder, just bins of food and baby gear.
I went to Home Depot, and purchased two racks of pre-prepared wire shelving, some industrial ducting zip-ties, and four lashing straps. I think the entire thing cost around $30.00 altogether.
I measured the distance between the carpet and the headliner, just behind the 2nd row of seating. Could have used a set of bolt cutters to cut through, but used an angle grinder with a cutting wheel to cut it down to size. Amazingly, the two shelves, when put between the wheel wells, fit almost perfectly. I joined the two shelves together with 12 of the largest zip-ties I could find. Then I strapped the makeshift barrier to the rear grab handles with lashing straps, and finally wove one more strap through the bottom rungs and around the rear seat to fasten the bottom to the seat.
We had the truck packed to the roof with miscellaneous small items and gear bins by the time we were done. The back and front seats were empty.
Here are the pics of the finished product.
Is it a ghetto mod? Definitely. Would it have protected my wife son from gear hitting them in the event of a head-on impact? Probably not. But, I believe in the event of a slow roll, or sudden brake action, it would have kept the cargo at bay. Plus, it allowed me to pack the hell out of the rear area without having gear spill out all over the place.
