Hauling lumber and driving with hatch open (annoying beeps)

I was hauling a few boards of lumber yesterday. I loaded them like the 9' 6" surfboard in this thread, http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/66747-96-surfboard-fits-2.html

I did have one board that was 12' long so I let a good foot hang out the back and bungeed the hatch closed from the inside.

I was pretty impressed with everything until driving home, the door ajar bell beeped constantly.

I thought in the future I could try to make a plug to go in the hatch latch to fool it into thinking it was closed.

Anyone have experience with getting rid of the beep?

I know the easy solution is to turn up the music:rockon:

Solved! Attached some pics as well.

I was looking at the latch pin and I decided it was pretty close to the key that used to unlock my spare tire on my clunker. So I stuck it in the hole and it latched in. I did have a moment of panic as when the latching pin took hold (you can see it in the 2nd pic) I thought I got that key stuck in there and I'd have to disassemble the back of the car to get it out, etc... Then I thought about it for 30 seconds, pressed the handle on the hatch and the key literally popped out of the hole.

I may cut this key down in size as the long end sticks out quite a bit, but there is an easy solution for those beeps.

You beat me to it. I was going to suggest a link from a chain. Available in any hardware store in various sizes and thicknesses.

Do you have to put anything in the lock? Can't the lock simply be closed on nothing?

that's the beautiful thing.. it will close-in on anything. if you get a piece of rope and put a loop-knot in the rope and toss the loop into that latch and push down, it Will close in on it.. then you can string it through the hatch's loop and pull down to tie.

you can fit anything 10 ft into a prius if you don't mind putting it on your dash. 8 ft is to the dash with the passenger seat down.

i work construction, i do this ALL THE TIME! hehehe i have a steel trailer too... for hauling trash and misc construction bits (concrete, roofing material, etc)

btw.. i don't really "recommend" it.. but on my GenII.. you can literally push the black latch down with your finger. keep your finger clear.. but it is possible to make it latch on itself by simply pulling the top "latch" over itself ( across then down in a sense...)

This is the first thing with my new Gen III that I find distressing. If this has been an issue with the Gen II's why did the engineers not fix it. Every other car I owned was engineered to stop the beeping .

I to was caught unaware and had the car fully loaded for moving my daughter to college. Ended up driving 1 hr with that beep as it was raining and we couldn't unpack and repack without soaking everything.