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Screw into "plastic" rear hatch? Need an attachment point

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Stevewoods, Oct 13, 2022.

  1. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    I have a Subaru Outback and am thinking of screw placement/anchoring using the hard "black plastic" as an attachment point. -- see the photo with the red arrow. I would try to attach on the bottom narrow edge of the "curlicue" on each side for rear attachment points. There are brackets up front that are part of the second row of seats, so no issue in that area. The screw would be pretty much hidden, especially if I use black.

    I was thinking about using light fishing line to then tie around the screw so I might place some sort of "curtain" on both the driver's and passenger side of the rear hatch because part of the hatch area is "carpeted" in that cheap "low nap" sort of carpet.

    So, my dog's yellow fur gets embedded in the nap (along with mud, etc.) and it looks bad and is really, really tough to remove on the bump-outs for the rear wheel wells.

    Velcro, even the expensive, super tough, super holding does not stick to carpeted area or the rear plastic...

    Do I need to use screw anchors? Superglue the screw before inserting into the plastic?

    Is this a harebrained idea? Any better thoughts? Yes, I posted on a major Subaru forum, got little response, except for a couple of nasty comments that -- at least in my opinion -- were anything but good-natured. I don't mind "ribbing" in good fun.....but, anyway.... Outback dog.jpg
     
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    So... You're trying to put up a curtain in your car? For what? Something about dog hair?
    Or are you trying to keep the dog out of part of the car? Because they make easy to install barriers for that, but I prefer free roaming dogs in cars, it's more fun for the dog that way. :)

    That being said, I'll restrain myself from being rude like the folks in the Subaru forum, but you aren't being clear at all about your objective, which makes your an easy target, kind of like having a "kick me" sign on your back. But this is a "safe space" here at Fred's house of Pancakes forum on Prius Chat.

    The one thing that does make sense is that you want to put some anchors in the side panel plastic to tie stuff to. If you want to do that successfully you need to remove the plastic panel so you can bolt your anchor into the plastic with large washers so it won't fail if a big load is put on it from everything going in and out of the car.
     
  3. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Sorry, basically, I need to dog-fur-proof the rear of the car from the floor up a couple of feet to keep dog hair off the low-nap "carpet" that you can sort of see in the picture. It's a "free-roam" zone for the dog.

    I have a waterproof mat on the floor of the hatch, but it does not extend up the sidewalls, all I need is a couple of feet up to cover the wheel wells, if you look, you can see where they bump out and that is where the dog fur rubs off and gets attached to the nap.

    Yeah, pulling that panel seems like something I do not want to attempt, but I will have to think about it.
     
  4. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Is the shopping bag hook not high enough? What about a 3M Command hook, I think those are available in colors besides white?

    If screw was the only option, I'd choose one with wide threads; wood over metal. Unless it is possible to pop the panel off, then you could get a nut and washer back there.

    Before that, I 'd check to see if any automotive body panel fasteners come in the right size for the space. Lots of different types, with some that pop up. Most are black.
    [​IMG]
     
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  5. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Go to a junk yard and pull off side panels of similar cars. You can practice on them there and then try it on your own car. They usually just pop off once you make sure there aren't any screws any where.

    As in it's going to be super hard to get any respect, let alone the time of day, from the DUI community if you're intimidated by a car's plastic side panel...
     
  6. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Shopping bag hook???

    Well, I thought the curlicue thing was the hook. But it is not. Shows how much shopping I do.

    I found the shopping bag hook. And, darn, it is perfect.

    Thank you, thank you, thank you, Trollbait
     
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  7. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The curlicue thing pointed to in the photo is for the retractable cover.
     
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  8. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Yeah, well that retractable cover was put away under the floorboards and has not seen the light of day -- other than when I had a flat tire -- for a few years. Yep, all is good...except for cleaning off the wheel wells again before I install the new "curtain."

    Again, thanks!:):):)
     
  9. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Don't mind DIY and have done a major bit of it back in the day -- back before YouTube and the internet.

    Normally, a friend or neighbor or relative helped you out with things.

    Or, if that was not an option, and you were lucky, and usually not, you had a book from the library that told you how to do whatever it was -- carb, shocks, water pump, thermostat, choke, etc.Sort of....the books often were not the right model and often had pages torn out.

    More than once I was under the car and not really having much of an idea of what I was doing, but got it done.

    But, here comes modern cars with computers and all, as well as things such as arthritis that interfere with trying to lie on my side and work on cars.

    I do what I can and if it "ain't good enough" for the DIY crowd of today, well....