(a.k.a., "I'm moving and my mattress sticks out the back of the car")

Okay... so I moved two months ago into a sublet using my ever-versatile Fit. My mattress is all foam/latex (IKEA), so I was able to squish it into the rear of my Fit with only a little bit sticking out the back. I was able to partially close the hatch over it by using a bungee cord looped through the trunk latch and under the bumper or something... and even then, one end popped off when I went over a bump. (Fortunately, I was only going about 1.5 miles away, but still... )

I'm moving again to my permanent residence and want to do the same thing... is there any way I can tie the hatch door down securely enough so I don't have to worry about it flying open en route?

TIA!

 

classact2575,
There are several tie-downs in the trunk of the Fit. There are places to attach rope/metal tie-downs. Let me know if this answers your questions.

 

uhm, use rope and make actual knots?

make sure the bungee cord(s) are very taught and well-hooked up? Also, loop it around stuff before hooking it on?

Use more than one bungee cord or rope.

 

A "belt and suspenders" approach would be good: Use rope (or preferably flat webbing) to keep the hatch from flying up, then use bungees to snug things up. The non-elastic straps prevent the hatch from excessive movement over a large bump, while the elastic ones keep it snugged up over small bumps. Ratcheted tiedown straps are very nice -- as long as you don't overdo it on the tension.

 

If you have a latex foam mattress from Ikea, and that's the only thing making you keep your hatch open, why don't you just fold/roll it up? They come shipped rolled up, so you could probably just roll it up and fit it in the car without having to keep the hatch open .

 

I'm assuming you've never actually done this? I don't know what it is, but once those things are unwrapped from their vacuum pack, that's it: you can't put that particular genie back in the bottle. You can roll them to a certain extent, but they are now wider and longer than they were when they were wrapped.

 

Good luck on finding a giant compression stuff sack.

 

I have -- of course you can't roll it as tightly, but you can still roll it, and I'd think you'd be able to fit in inside the car. Then again, I only have a full-sized mattress. I could see that if you had the high-end latex matress in a king size, then maybe even rolling and folding it may not be enough (the OP never mentioned a size).

I guess I'm mostly surprised that no amount of folding and bending could get the mattress to fit without need to have the hatch open .

 

While the stuff sack comment was mildly tongue in cheek, I think that several long straps (such as 2 around the roll, and one across the axis) would allow you to compress a mattress enough to close the hatch. It's a matter of tightening each strap incrementally and sequentially.

 

If you have a long journey, just remember that having the hatch open will draw exhaust fumes into your car. You can't smell the CO that will eventually kill you.

If you have to do it, do it with the windows open and the vent fan on max!

 

Okay, so I was able to ride with the mattress all the way in -- I stuffed it as far as it'd go, then basically folded up the last 1/4 that was sticking out and shoved it in. It was only a 5 minute trip, so no harm done.

I knew about the tie-downs, but I wanted to see if there's an actual spot on the door itself to attach them to... e.g. a hole or something to loop through.

 

I was wondering if anyone had an answer to the OP's question. What is there on the hatch door to tie something to in order to keep hatch down?

 

Yep. Hauled a six-foot ladder in a Civic years ago; hatch open, I could smell a lot of exhaust, so I rolled down the front windows. It was a 15* day and a 30 mile drive.
Oddly, running the Jeep with the rear window unzipped doesn't seem to cause this problem.
Moon