Replacing rear carpet panels with wood?

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 16 Nov 2016, 07:56

precopster wrote:I often had 140KGs/300lbs PLUS in the rear of my 2000 wagon and it took it like a champ. Yes the rear springs are probably a little lower than the factory intended and I don't have NINO-MATS The luggage boards are steel reinforced with box tube. Try doing that in a Camry or Mazda.

I stayed off freeways when lugging weights as I didn't want printers breaking through the rear seat area if anything happened. I now have a VW diesel Transporter with cage for the heavy stuff.

Front bumper only stayed on because of a single zip-tie after a hit and run.

This is how my wagon ended up tonight on her last night of ownership. She was worked hard as an A3 printer carrier for 5 years and almost 100,000kms in my ownership. Her last odometer was 352,000kms with only one breakdown due to a failed regulator. Recently she carried back the entire engine/transmission assembly for my 2001 XC70 and there was some oil/grime spillage. The carpets and boards were already torn up by the printers.

My family rarely rode in her except for morning school drop offs as the A/C never worked. I'm going to miss that reliable engine that still has original MAF and engine mounts (sagging now)

See? I'm not the only one who occasionally (and carefully) puts my wagon to real work! But MAN, that's NASTY! And to think mine looked bad when I bought it...

I've shampoo'd it a few times since then, and the carpet is much cleaner now. I keep a sheet of cardboard over it too. I would like to get one of the factory cargo mats eventually, though.

Post by **sleddriver** » 16 Nov 2016, 13:16

bmdubya1198 wrote:Not like I was hauling it cross country. Yes, the car does have a load limit, which I had not exceeded. I'm not an idiot.

My reply wasn't intended at you. Your post popped up before mine while replying to the OP, so it got between mine and his. No, I don't think you're an idiot and yes, you were well below the weight limit.

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 16 Nov 2016, 14:09

sleddriver wrote:
bmdubya1198 wrote:Not like I was hauling it cross country. Yes, the car does have a load limit, which I had not exceeded. I'm not an idiot.
My reply wasn't intended at you. Your post popped up before mine while replying to the OP, so it got between mine and his. No, I don't think you're an idiot and yes, you were well below the weight limit.

Haha, no worries, just bad timing with our posts!

Post by **cuhfs** » 16 Nov 2016, 20:47

Plumsmooth, +1 on the 850 wagon work vehicle (pickup truck substitute). I have one dedicated as a trash hauler, trailer tow vehicle, just got roof rack for it from P&P for lumber. This is a beater vehicle that would be junked if I did not need a utility vehicle. Frankly, I wish volvo made a pickup truck for real.

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 17 Nov 2016, 07:33

cuhfs wrote:Plumsmooth, +1 on the 850 wagon work vehicle (pickup truck substitute). I have one dedicated as a trash hauler, trailer tow vehicle, just got roof rack for it from P&P for lumber. This is a beater vehicle that would be junked if I did not need a utility vehicle. Frankly, I wish volvo made a pickup truck for real.

Why would you ever need a Volvo truck when old Volvo wagons exist?

There's always this option...

: T-5R Pickup.jpg (84 KiB) Viewed 1126 times

Post by **cuhfs** » 17 Nov 2016, 19:34

that's awesome

Post by **SonicAdventure** » 18 Nov 2016, 13:23

I too have a wagon that gets used to haul stuff quite a bit. I have also considered options to do something like this as well.

One solution would be to make a tight template of the rear area and cut it out of nice 1/4" plywood and then rhinoline the plywood. It would be durable and easy to remove for cleaning.

Another idea would be to cut the template from a sheet of Kydex gun holster material. That would likely be pretty expensive but it would be pretty damn durable.

The most obvious route is to find an allweather one from a junkyard. Around here they sell them for around $5 at Harry's u pull it. Just have to be in the right place at the right time.

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 18 Nov 2016, 15:50

SonicAdventure wrote:I too have a wagon that gets used to haul stuff quite a bit. I have also considered options to do something like this as well.

One solution would be to make a tight template of the rear area and cut it out of nice 1/4" plywood and then rhinoline the plywood. It would be durable and easy to remove for cleaning.

Another idea would be to cut the template from a sheet of Kydex gun holster material. That would likely be pretty expensive but it would be pretty damn durable.

The most obvious route is to find an allweather one from a junkyard. Around here they sell them for around $5 at Harry's u pull it. Just have to be in the right place at the right time.

That's a good idea with the Rhinoliner on plywood. Heck, you could even do that to the stock panels if you really wanted to. Just take them out of the car, remove the carpet, and spray them.

Post by **j-dawg** » 18 Nov 2016, 19:04

98v70dad wrote:weathertech cargo liner will cover the nasties you already have and hold any liquid that you spill since it has a lip all around. Get a used one - they're cheaper.

I have one of these. It's durable and will contain gahbage juice. Recommended.