A warning to all! Groceries will destroy your trunk!

[Yojimbo]

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to write out a little warning to everyone about the dangers of grocery shopping! So today I stopped at Wally World after a good bit of Costco shopping. I had my grocery boxes in the back of the car and I guess at some point, they shifted over and blocked the little rope thing that pulls up your trunk cover when you open it.

Well as you can see by the photos, it proceeded to rip 3 of the plastic panels off the trunk. I managed to secure one in the Walmart parking lot but after inspecting them further, all the tabs that hold the pieces together have snapped off. Will I replace all 3 panels? No, they still fit fine and the clips holding them to the body of the trunk work fine, but now they just can't be connected to each other.

I will probably 3D print a solution to prevent the little rope thing from dangling down when the trunk is closed, that way if my box shifts again, it cant snap it against the side of the car.

Anyways, that is all. Good day!

 

[Snicklefritz]

Holy crap, that's what happened, the dangling cord got snagged. I hadn't thought of that possibility, but no doubt that is what happened when my son crammed in a bunch of books and a sleeping bag on top of everything else already in there and slammed the hatch and it didn't shut, and when he swung it open, the right side panel - with the cord hook on it - pulled off. I've been able to put it back into place each of the two times the panel has pulled down, but the nearest end tabs are highly compromised, and the right one is all but broken off, and the line between the right panel and rear panel does not line up smoothly anymore.


edit - I think that using a black duct tape, like Gorilla makes, would fit over the rounded ends and hold to the felt well enough to prevent the cords from lowering to dangle inside the hatch. That way there is zero chance of this happening again. I think that the loops are snug enough that they won't slip off when the cords coil up on top of the cover. Anyway, it's one idea that came to me.

 

[JSolo]

They need a spring loaded retainer of sorts on each side to take up the slack when the hatch is closed. Kind of like a tape measure retractor thingamajig. Now the hatch cover will go from $400 to $550 for replacements.

 

[Volfy]

Having owned so many vehicles with similar hanging package shelves, something like this happening has never crossed my mind. I do remember some cars have breakaway connectors that would pop loose if the tension exceeds a certain amount. Not on the Stinger obviously.

I guess we'll just have to be mindful of this and not force the hatch up when opening. I usually lift the hatch very slightly, just enough for the gas struts to take over and raise the hatch on their own. I'm pretty sure the springs inside those gas struts are nowhere near as strong enough to cause damage. If the cords get stuck, the hatch would likely be stuck 1/2 open as well.

 

[Yojimbo]

Holy crap, that's what happened, the dangling cord got snagged. I hadn't thought of that possibility, but no doubt that is what happened when my son crammed in a bunch of books and a sleeping bag on top of everything else already in there and slammed the hatch and it didn't shut, and when he swung it open, the right side panel - with the cord hook on it - pulled off. I've been able to put it back into place each of the two times the panel has pulled down, but the nearest end tabs are highly compromised, and the right one is all but broken off, and the line between the right panel and rear panel does not line up smoothly anymore.
View attachment 88004

edit - I think that using a black duct tape, like Gorilla makes, would fit over the rounded ends and hold to the felt well enough to prevent the cords from lowering to dangle inside the hatch. That way there is zero chance of this happening again. I think that the loops are snug enough that they won't slip off when the cords coil up on top of the cover. Anyway, it's one idea that came to me.

I have the power tailgate, imagine my reaction when I see it start to open and cracking noises begin. I thought the entire tailgate was failing and then the panels started falling. At that point, I just let the carnage continue, figured it already snapped the panel brackets, what more can go wrong... Tape could work, but I always have to justify this 3D printer, so I figured I'll try and make something for fun.

 

[D.J.]

I'm pretty sure the springs inside those gas struts are nowhere near as strong enough to cause damage.

There are no springs inside rear hatch gas spring struts.

Awesome video here by This Old Tony - I'm a fan of his work and video style.

 

[Volfy]

There are no springs inside rear hatch gas spring struts.

Awesome video here by This Old Tony - I'm a fan of his work and video style.

Sure there are. Springs come in all forms. An air spring is just as real a "spring" as a coil/leaf/torsion spring. It's what the "baggers" have on their lowered Stingers, instead of wire-wound coils. It's also what an air rifle uses to spit out pellets. Yes, I still have a couple of old "springer" air rifles that have physical coil springs inside, but even those convert the mechanical energy stored in the compressed coil spring into compressed air, which is the actual "spring" that pushes the pellet out the barrel.

The trapped air inside a sealed subwoofer enclosure also acts like a spring. It is why that type of subwoofer box is commonly called "acoustic suspension". The trapped air "suspends" the subwoofer cone, like the coil spring in a typically suspension system.

But we digress.

 

[D.J.]

Sure there are. Springs come in all forms. An air spring is just as real a "spring" as a coil/leaf/torsion spring. It's what the "baggers" have on their lowered Stingers, instead of wire-wound coils. It's also what an air rifle uses to spit out pellets. Yes, I still have a couple of old "springer" air rifles that have physical coil springs inside, but even those convert the mechanical energy stored in the compressed coil spring into compressed air, which is the actual "spring" that pushes the pellet out the barrel.

The trapped air inside a sealed subwoofer enclosure also acts like a spring. It is why that type of subwoofer box is commonly called "acoustic suspension". The trapped air "suspends" the subwoofer cone, like the coil spring in a typically suspension system.

But we digress.

I just saw it as an opportunity to share the video from This Old Tony
He is, more funny than I am.