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We went to IKEA yesterday and while there, husbandman found a really large triple-thick heavy duty corrugated cardboard piece on a pallet waiting to be put in their recycling. We asked if we could take it home. Score! So large I had to put it vertically between the front seats, and it went nearly the whole length of the interior center of car - ended just prior to the gear shift. (phewf!)
After doing some general loose measuring, I cut the big piece down to what I'd be carving the main cover piece.
I had a "regular" piece of cardboard on which to lay out the curve to get it right before cutting the ginormous thick board.
Cut it to fit right.
Then transferred the curve to the big board.
Cutting the driver's side first, which was a lucky move on my part, due to the shapes of the interior below the cover slot/rack. There is more wiggle room under the passenger's side than the driver's side.
Checked out the fit on the Fit. Adjusted it slightly.
Measured from post to post, outer edge to outer edge, and transferred the curve to the other end of the board.
Cut. Put it in. Some of it worked nicely, but... I see that my original design plan won't work, so designing as I go...
Cut off the "gap" coverage part of the board, between the reclined Magic Seat and the upright position. I thought I could fold it. Board far too thick. So I cut off that piece and set that puzzle piece to the back of the priority pile.
By this time, my hand's getting sore and my blade is getting dull. Did I mention how thick and heavy duty this cardboard is?
Then notice the squareness of the back end has a YUGE gape and so that must be rectified with a curved piece to fit the curve of the hatch door.
Mull and ponder, mull and ponder, scheme and design....
With the main board in place, I sat inside on the folded down seats, and measured the distance between the board and the curve, marking the measurements along the board.
Transferred those measures to the piece to become the back end board. Used my straight edge to make a point to point line that the curve followed.
Cut that out. Ouchie hands, and now the blade doesn't even want to go through all the thicknesses and the glue. oof. nevertheless, she persisted.
Put the main board in, sat on the back seats again and put the curved piece in place to see how it'll go. OK, a couple small adjustments in cutting.
Put the back seats upright again. With hatch open, looked at gap between back seat-back and board. Put back seats reclined. oops too much material there by the seat lock-thing-mechanism. (Technical term, donchyakno) Carved those down a little.
Now, to figure out the material to cover it with, how to apply it, how to make sure the "hinges" where the three pieces will be held together will be strong enough.
When I made mine, I used black felt from Walmart to cover it. I used a spray adhesive to apply it. I used two pieces of foam board glued together, but it started to bend after a week. I fixed this by using an aluminum curtain rod. Since then no bending. You can see pictures by clicking my sig pic
I didn't do anything special to make it hinge. The curtain rods give it enough thickness, and the cover pivots on the pegs when the hatch is raised. The whole thing is probably 1/2" thick at the most. It came in handy when I had to haul some stuff and I was able to wedge the cover between the rear passenger door.
Last edited by 2Rismo2; 03-09-2017 at 11:07 AM.
Reason: Typing too fast!
A shot of the edge of the cover, in down position (and maybe up, too), to see the spacing and the notch/peg, and how the notch/peg helps or doesn't help the "hinge" function....
Honda should just put all this Handi-craft to bed and simply make the Cargo-Cover standard.
If we all paid for them as part of the vehicle?
It's only because they aren't standard, and as an aftermarket add-on seem ridiculously expensive that we have people combing IKEA for large pieces of cardboard and then courting life long Carpel Tunnel Syndrome desperately trying to trim down thick pieces of cardboard with dull razor blades.
I admire the creativity....and often the very usable finished products.
But really?
I think Honda needs to just make the piece...standard equipment.
Maybe because the Fit is the cheapest model in the Honda lineup is why they don't include it. For example the new civic hatchback, the cargo cover is included and from videos it seems pretty nice.
aigi - Shoot me a PM with your email and I'll email you some pictures I took today. I don't really feel like uploading them and posting in case they're not what you're looking for.
We're in for a big ass Nor'Easter, forecasting 1-2 feet of snow, so I don't think I'll be getting to finishing my project this week.
I will be hauling out my little sabre saw instead of trying to cut down the area that needs to get a titsch smaller to be able to raise and lower - and fit the felt around it, too.
Gotta find the part # and where to order the clip thingys.
[edited]
Seems like this is the part. Wasn't hard to find, now to see if I can find a better price.
If your DIY doesnt work out, keep an eye on craigslist/ebay or even local junkyards. I've seen plenty of used covers online for fairly inexpensive compared to new.
However, I am rooting for your DIY to be successful. Its very satisfying to fix a "problem" yourself. =)
03-08-2017, 04:08 PM
