Well i bought my car over a month ago now. I didn't realize at the time it didn't have the spare in it...woops. Oh well. My battery was relocated to the trunk which then caused the thin plywood in the back to bow rather considerably. I then thought...i have to go back to school soon and will have to fully load my car :aigo: . Theres no way to do that if i can't use the trunk, or worry about it breaking all the time. So i thought up a plan and i thought i'd share it in case other people run into a similar problem. Look at the pics before you start so you understand in your head better.
1) I first started with one really long piece of 1X4. I would recomend a 2X4 and find one as straight as possible.
Note: Use a T-square and draw lines for cutting!
2) Next i did some measuring for the proper height. I found just shy of 8.25inches was the sweet spot, this could differ slightly for other people depending if your wood in the trunk is warped/bent. Cut two peices off the 2X4 8.25in in legth.
3) cross supports. 19" in lenght works perfect, you can go about 20" if you'd like. Cut two of these
4) cut two 4" pieces
5) Nail or screw the two 8.25" pieces to the END of one of the 19" piece...NOT under. If you nail under, it will throw off the measurements for height and cause an unleveled surface in your trunk. Be sure to keep the 19" cross support straight as possible and flush as possible with the two other pieces.
6) Now flip your assembled support upside down and place the extra 19" piece perpendicular to the other 19" piece in the middle. Mark 3-4 holes for screws
note: do not use nails for this part
7) predrill the spare 19" piece to a size slightly larger than the screw thread width, and predrill the assembled piece under the screw thread size
8) Screw in the 3-4 screws
9) flip the assembly right side up and place the two 4" pieces at either end of the recently added 19" piece. Make the two 4" pieces flush with the top.
10) nail/screw in the two 4" pieces
And the end result should look something like this:
TOP side
Bottom side
11) now just place this in your trunk and no more bowing or worring about the weight
Note: If you want to prevent possible scratching, use thin felt pads on the bottom of the support structure :icon_bigg
1) I first started with one really long piece of 1X4. I would recomend a 2X4 and find one as straight as possible.
Note: Use a T-square and draw lines for cutting!
2) Next i did some measuring for the proper height. I found just shy of 8.25inches was the sweet spot, this could differ slightly for other people depending if your wood in the trunk is warped/bent. Cut two peices off the 2X4 8.25in in legth.
3) cross supports. 19" in lenght works perfect, you can go about 20" if you'd like. Cut two of these
4) cut two 4" pieces
5) Nail or screw the two 8.25" pieces to the END of one of the 19" piece...NOT under. If you nail under, it will throw off the measurements for height and cause an unleveled surface in your trunk. Be sure to keep the 19" cross support straight as possible and flush as possible with the two other pieces.
6) Now flip your assembled support upside down and place the extra 19" piece perpendicular to the other 19" piece in the middle. Mark 3-4 holes for screws
note: do not use nails for this part
7) predrill the spare 19" piece to a size slightly larger than the screw thread width, and predrill the assembled piece under the screw thread size
8) Screw in the 3-4 screws
9) flip the assembly right side up and place the two 4" pieces at either end of the recently added 19" piece. Make the two 4" pieces flush with the top.
10) nail/screw in the two 4" pieces
And the end result should look something like this:
TOP side
Bottom side
11) now just place this in your trunk and no more bowing or worring about the weight
Note: If you want to prevent possible scratching, use thin felt pads on the bottom of the support structure :icon_bigg
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