I am doing lot of camping these days with my rav4 2021. I convert back seat and cargo area a one big sleepig space. I have rooftop cargo which frees huge amount of space. But still, i have lot cluttering around bed area. It will be nice if i can free up some more space. One idea is cargo cover bar with extensible fabric cover can hold some stuff but not much. I am wondering if there are more solid material solution such that i can put more stuff during sleep "OVER" or "ON" the cargo cover not below it. Any?
solid trunk cargo cover aftermarket any?
jdrav4000
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I am doing lot of camping these days with my rav4 2021. I convert back seat and cargo area a one big sleepig space. I have rooftop cargo which frees huge amount of space. But still, i have lot cluttering around bed area. It will be nice if i can free up some more space. One idea is cargo cover bar with extensible fabric cover can hold some stuff but not much. I am wondering if there are more solid material solution such that i can put more stuff during sleep "OVER" or "ON" the cargo cover not below it. Any?
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I dont have a ton of posts, so it might be easy to search my posts - I replied to someone yesterday who build a shelf out of 1" steel C channel and plywood.
It's something that I'd love to try out myself. Not for camping purposes, but to better utilize the cargo capacity
It's something that I'd love to try out myself. Not for camping purposes, but to better utilize the cargo capacity
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Made a Cargo Deck For Additional Space
I keep the back seat available for my dog and the occasional passenger. That doesnt leave much room for cargo in back so I made a simple upper cargo deck. I used a 1" steel C-channel and cut the ends to fit in the slots that the factory retractable cargo cover fits in. Then just cut a...
www.rav4world.com
Your 'link' isnt working for me, just a heads up
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HIGH FLYING for Toyota RAV4 2019-2023 Car Modular Storage Molle Panel Trunk Shelf Luggage Carrier Organizer Aluminum Alloy (with Conjoined Cross Bar) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMQ4P2FK?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_EPTYJEAQ1BDQ1S8261EK
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WOW, that is AWESOME
Gosh, Im sure it's worth it, but at over 200 bucks ( the one without one piece bars is 50 bucks less, by the way, but still right at 200), Im just not in a position to buy at the moment. But the fact it can go vertical for a pet is really neat
If it wasnt for going to grad school in weeks and trying to be very careful with budget, it'd be purchased!
...but then, of course, there is the DIY style which would be ultra cheap (50 max) and could make it to my needs/wants
Anyway, have added to my wishlist, we'll see!
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Gosh, I'll be honest, I keep thinking about this.
Was looking at aluminum earlier at Home Depot. I know I COULD do it, but this has that vertical ability that, well, it'd take a while for me to figure out how to DIY it. And it looks great.
TEMPTING.
Honestly, it's tempting to get one and see what it'd cost to reverse engineer and help others get one at a low price
Was looking at aluminum earlier at Home Depot. I know I COULD do it, but this has that vertical ability that, well, it'd take a while for me to figure out how to DIY it. And it looks great.
TEMPTING.
Honestly, it's tempting to get one and see what it'd cost to reverse engineer and help others get one at a low price
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330 Posts
Ok, installed.
First, to go from horizontal to vertical is NOT simple...and Im not upset about that. I plan to just have it horizontal as a shelf, but to put it into vertical mode will take some moving around.
The fit and finish was really good. Which, in one way, is sort of bad...I know, that sounds terrible. But what I mean by that is this - if I want to go vertical I'll have to lay the back seats down to get the shelf out. That's because it's snug in there. Which is a good thing!
Installation was really quite simple to do it in shelf-mode
If a local person bought one and wanted my help (they wouldnt need it, but just hypothetically), I could have it from a boxed up item to installed in ten minutes. It's that simple.
The instructions are not great, but not horrible.
Today I get to use it for the first time (it came in the mail yesterday and I installed it within half an hour of it being dropped off), so I'll have more thoughts on it later.
But right now Im stoked.
I chose the cheaper option, the one with 2-piece crossbars
a) it's 50 bucks cheaper
b) it was in stock and able to get to me very quickly via Amazon
The other, while being more expensive, was also going to take about a week and a half. I didnt have a week and a half - going on a vacation this weekend and wanted it for said vacation.
Included with the kit were two sets of...holders. One small, one large; these would be great to mount a camp shovel or something...I dont really know. But the way they are built, and all the adjustment you have, you could lay them perpendicular to the shelf and put something like, for example, my hockey stick mounted to the bottom side of the shelf, keeping the floor 'clean' or empty. But that seems excessive for my needs. But they are included and I was pleased with how variable they could be. More than likely i'll use one of the straps to hold up my canteen/thermos in the back of the car so it doesnt roll over/clank around.
Here's my first youtube video installing something. It's horrible. But here's my thoughts and what you get.
There is another video I made, short, just over a minute, that goes over MY mistake. I had one of the bars mounted wrong and so not all the holes lined up to mount. It still was fitting fine, but just lacked a couple bolts to mount. I dont know that I'd have noticed a difference, but I did take a minute to flip the bar around and put more bolts into it.
First, to go from horizontal to vertical is NOT simple...and Im not upset about that. I plan to just have it horizontal as a shelf, but to put it into vertical mode will take some moving around.
The fit and finish was really good. Which, in one way, is sort of bad...I know, that sounds terrible. But what I mean by that is this - if I want to go vertical I'll have to lay the back seats down to get the shelf out. That's because it's snug in there. Which is a good thing!
Installation was really quite simple to do it in shelf-mode
If a local person bought one and wanted my help (they wouldnt need it, but just hypothetically), I could have it from a boxed up item to installed in ten minutes. It's that simple.
The instructions are not great, but not horrible.
Today I get to use it for the first time (it came in the mail yesterday and I installed it within half an hour of it being dropped off), so I'll have more thoughts on it later.
But right now Im stoked.
I chose the cheaper option, the one with 2-piece crossbars
a) it's 50 bucks cheaper
b) it was in stock and able to get to me very quickly via Amazon
The other, while being more expensive, was also going to take about a week and a half. I didnt have a week and a half - going on a vacation this weekend and wanted it for said vacation.
Included with the kit were two sets of...holders. One small, one large; these would be great to mount a camp shovel or something...I dont really know. But the way they are built, and all the adjustment you have, you could lay them perpendicular to the shelf and put something like, for example, my hockey stick mounted to the bottom side of the shelf, keeping the floor 'clean' or empty. But that seems excessive for my needs. But they are included and I was pleased with how variable they could be. More than likely i'll use one of the straps to hold up my canteen/thermos in the back of the car so it doesnt roll over/clank around.
Here's my first youtube video installing something. It's horrible. But here's my thoughts and what you get.
There is another video I made, short, just over a minute, that goes over MY mistake. I had one of the bars mounted wrong and so not all the holes lined up to mount. It still was fitting fine, but just lacked a couple bolts to mount. I dont know that I'd have noticed a difference, but I did take a minute to flip the bar around and put more bolts into it.
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330 Posts
Ok here are some 'tips' for you
-The side plates you use double sided tape for, I'd mount them as far forward (towards the driver) as you can. I got close, but couldve went a LITTLE more, a cm MAYBE, maybe not that much. But, in retrospect, I would have went a little further forward
-Instructions are lacking, but you'll be fine. If it were me, I'd mount the 'shelf' to the side pieces and then work on the two bars to get the rigidity.
-Again, I didnt get the vertical position and to remove this I'll have to lay my rear seats down. Thats 'bad' but at the same time it's because it utilizes as much space as possible...which is good!
As you saw in the video, I unboxed the thing and never left the cargo area of my car to install this. It was nice to be able to work right there, not chance losing anything. It was a pretty simple install, too.
Im taking a trip today with the family, back is loaded up (mostly) now. I'll put some food in in a few hours before we leave. But I like this. I like that it allows me to put stuff up on it.
It was beneficial for my hockey gear on Friday night, allowing more airflow to get to my sweat-soaked gear
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330 Posts
No
There is a pic, somewhere, of a little guy on top of it lol (like, not a midget, but just a small framed man)
Right now Ive got the shelf loaded up, about 40lbs on it.
I dont want to find the limit that'll mean some interior pieces have broken
The cross bars (by the way - did you get the 2 piece bars or the single bar?) are about 1" square tubing
With them being an inch, and there's one per 'end' (front and rear), that means you 'lose' 2" of space on the interior of the shelf.
There are raised areas on the front and rear so stuff cant slide forward or backwards. The front, of course, is a bit more important and it's taller. The rear...well, honestly, your glass aint THAT far from the rear one, but having a stop is nice.
But i had a thought: What If I replaced the bars with 1" angled aluminum? It'd then save me almost 2" of space front to rear on the shelf. Will it be as strong? No, I doubt it will be. BUT, do I NEED it to be as strong? If Im limiting to about 40lbs, maybe it'd be fine.
Issue, though, would be putting rivnuts into the aluminum, which would then decrease some space again, getting in the way.
Or putting it on the 'outside' of the shelf and using short machine screws/bolts and nuts.
Just spitballing here.
just finished installing my shelf as well!
Tbh instructions were confusing but got it eventually LOL
might change the screw on the sides as well in future and placement of certain stuff adjusted as I go, but in meantime I’m happy with what I got !
• I do have a surplus of screws,washers etc
•they also gave me the Small & Large bracket holders, wasn’t sure if it was by accident or with the package itself
•I don’t plan on putting my shelf vertical anytime soon, so the extra piece is just under my trunk cover
Worth it tbh, only time will tell for the structures durability , but I have high hopes
!
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Y'all need to put up cargo barriers so you don't have things flying into the back of your head in an accident. Make sure you pack smaller 'projectiles' down below, and the boxier things that'll actually get stopped by a barrier up top.
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330 Posts
Respect your concern, and it's a legit one
For me Im packing soft goods (foam padding) or large boxes which WOULD be stopped by the lip on the shelf, which raises up about 3 or 4 inches
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