Replacement for foam over spare tire

Not sure about yours, but I know it's not advised to use metal gas cans anymore.

 

c4, that looks pretty good! I'd probably add some rubber to the feet and to the sides of the tubing so it doesn't scratch the panels and the trunk. But that's just the anal person in me.

 

Actually, I ended up spraying the frame and legs with the remnants of a can of clear Plastidip I had sitting around.. I had actually thought about feet of some sort, but everything had already been cut and measured and assembled, so I'd have had to carefully trim off a fraction of an inch off each leg to compensate for the rubber feet so that the deck remained the same level (and most importantly, level with the ledge on the plastic trim near the latch), but I remembered I had the leftover can and decided to use that up instead, so between the rubber coating and an extra couple of strips of duct tape on the well bottom (which you can see in the photo under the two front legs), I figure it's good enough.. If I had to do it again, I would probably have bought a new can of black Plastidip as it would have looked better all black, but it's all under the carpet and out of sight. I may still end up coating it in black though (if I have enough left over) as I really want to either black Plastidip or black cover-up vinyl coat the sides of the rear window because I think the bare paint around the window looks a bit cheap..

The item that did need protection was the perforated aluminum deck for obvious reasons, and a big roll of car door edging was just the ticket..

 

That's a great idea man. I'm gonna get on this so I can make more space. I already have the emt and bender.

 

Great setup. Looks amazing.
Wanted to do something with that space too. Was thinking of following your designs.

One small concern. Just wanted to bring it up. What happens on a rear end collision. I would worry that the aluminium sheet would end up into the rear seat passengers.

Do you think there is any danger in that?

 

Not a concern at all.. The sheet has a couple of cutouts that have to fit around where the rear struts are mounted, so it is essentially locked in place (you can lift it up to get access to the bottom compartment, but it cannot shift back and forth once in the lowered position) and in addition, the bottom of the rear seat is actually about 3-4" lower than the level of the platform when the seat is in the up position, so the sheet is actually against the seat back, and not the slot at the bottom, so the seat back would also prevent the sheet from moving forward. If you were really concerned, you could put a couple of hinges in to fasten the sheet to the support frame like I had originally planned, which would also guarantee that the sheet could not slide forward, but it would also make removal of the frame to get at the spare tire a fair bit more difficult as it would all be one unit that would have to come out all at once..

The one thing I forgot in my original build above and that is absolutely required is velcro... If you look at the foam forms and the original mat, there are a couple of velcro spots at the rear edge that hold the mat to the forms: these keep the mat from sliding forward when you put cargo into the trunk.. I forgot about the velcro but if you're loading heavy cargo, the mat will end to slide around, especially on the aluminum, which is much smoother than the foam.. A bit of velcro glued onto the edge of the aluminum sheet allows the mat to stay put as originally designed.

 

Great thread, I will be building a raised platform at some point as well. Storage under the cover as well as being level with the rear seat backs when folded so my 100 lb golden retriever has a better platform sounds perfect.

 

I bought one for my 1995 525iT wagon, loved it! It held 2 gallons I think. Kept it after selling the car for use on long trips.

 

Is this the one you guys are talking about and where I can get it:

 

This is the one I have, it holds 9 liters.

 

I'm hoping to buy a c on Saturday so was going through the manual and thought exactly the same thing, especially after watching a video and seeing how huge those foam pieces are. There is no reasonable explanation I can think of for not having the jack with the tire.

BTW, nice job on your solution!

 

great job. I guess no one has found a better solution yet. Such a popular car but no one makes an aftermarket bucket? I thought i saw it as an option in some manual somewhere. But i would think you guys would know about it.

i guess i have to make one too... ill have to think what to make it out of that i can work with around here.

 

That's awesome and inspiring.

 

speaking of bucket.. i wonder if a bucket could be cut down to the perfect height to be the support for plywood?
what's a clean way to cut down a bucket.. wait i have a rubbermaid roughneck shorty bin.. maybe it's too tall.. i'll try it...
or cardboard boxes..

I also wonder if it might be worth while to relocate the spare somewhere.. i have a hitch.. maybe a custom spare tire bracket..
maybe horizontal on the long back seat? maybe leave that sucker home and carry fix a flat and plug kit and air compressor.. I do have roadside for a tow.. but they can take hours.. but maybe we can have a prius owners group of our local areas.. we could list our areas and strategicly store them and contact whoever has the closest spare tire to bring it when we get a flat and then swap spare wheels later or something.. hmm of course this is probably only good if you live near a big city.. Or maybe throw the spare in the back when i know i'll be taking trips longer than say 50 miles..

hmm or maybe a tray that goes under teh spare so the spare can be a support for the plywood flooring.. or whatever material..
I have some flooring from an expedition or something maybe i can cut that.

hmmm..

I can use the cargo floor mat as the cutting outline.. I also picked up an auto drip pan for $3 on clearance at walmart last year..