Cargo Board

[MINIAC]

Top:



Bottom:



Materials:

1. 4'x4' sheet of 3/8" plywood
2. 4'x6' piece of outdoor carpet
3. 1 roll of heavy duty indoor/outdoor carpet tape
4. hardware (eyelets, washers, bolts) for bungee tiedowns
5. miscellaneous wood bits:
   • 1/2" dowel for pins to bracket rods in seat back
   • 1"x2" blocks for feet which rest on hatch sill

Pattern:



NOTE: The bottom 16" measurement should read 26"

[gromit]

My solution to moving a 80 pound, high drive male GSD (German Shepherd Dog) in a MINI. My platform isn't elegant but makes up for simplicity in cheapness and utility.
Step One: Assemble Materials - Indoor/Outdoor carpet stapled to sheet of Plywood and frame made of 2x8s to level boot to same level as seatbacks.

[gromit]

Level the playing field.

[gromit]

Add the playing surface.

[gromit]

Add dog, Gromit's his name, bitin's his game.

[Dark Silver S]

Nice work, guys!

Gromit looks lonely. I need to take a photo of my 80 pounder AND my fifty pounder both in the back at the same time. The big one curls up in the boot well, and the smaller paces.

Now, what both of you are missing (and I can see that it would be very easy to add) is a flap to protect the bumper when loading, and an upright to protect the backs of the front seats.

[MINIAC]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dark Silver S

Now, what both of you are missing (and I can see that it would be very easy to add) is a flap to protect the bumper when loading, and an upright to protect the backs of the front seats.

I thought about bolting an aluminum right-angle strip along the front of the board to limit how far the cargo could move forward, but opted for eyelet tiedowns to keep cargo "bungeed" in place.

The bumper below the hatch opening on my MINI is protected by Clear Armor

[Dark Silver S]

Quote:

Originally posted by obehave
Which brings to question...........the cat in the Avatar??? Bait...... or what

The third in the unholy triad. That's actually Kowalski! The three get along very well. IIRC, when that photo was taken, Kowalski was saying, "You brought ANOTHER DOG home???"

Quote:

and MINIAC said...
I thought about bolting an aluminum right-angle strip along the front of the board to limit how far the cargo could move forward, but opted for eyelet tiedowns to keep cargo "bungeed" in place.

The bumper below the hatch opening on my MINI is protected by Clear Armor.

I had in mind more something to protect the seat backs. Recently I had to move four computers w/ 19" monitors, and the towers scratched the seat backs a bit. In case anyone wondered, four computers w/ monitors fit in a MINI, but there's not much room left over.

Does your Clear Armor protect against dog scratches?

[MINIAC]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dark Silver S

I had in mind more something to protect the seat backs.

I'd bungee down the cargo so it wouldn't slide into the seat backs and cover it with a towel or blanket to be doubly safe.

Quote:

Does your Clear Armor protect against dog scratches?

Clear Armor is 8 mil 3M polyurethane ... if it protects paint against rock chips, so it should do the same for dogs claws.

[George DeVeny]

I'm thinking of a cargo board to use with the rear seat removed. I followed MINIMAC's FAQ for seat removal and it worked great. I'm carrying a road bicycle inside and looking for more storage room. Thus, the seat removal. Maybe hinging the board would provide access to the rear boot and also under the board in front where the seat used to be. Just brainsorming right now.

[dco43054]

My cargo board? A '97 Ford Explorer!

Dave

[YuccaPatrol]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dark Silver S

Nice work, guys!

Gromit looks lonely. I need to take a photo of my 80 pounder AND my fifty pounder both in the back at the same time.

Even your 80 and 50 pounders would look lonely next to our 170 pounder and emaciated 90 pounder

Sorry the 90 pound girl is so small, but we rescued her from a bad situation and she is slowly gaining weight and should reach her goal of 120 pounds within a few months!