One of the reasons I bought the MDX was because it can be used to haul items 4’ wide. Unfortunately the rear hatch is slightly less than 4’ wide along the bottom so you can’t just slide in 4’x 8’ sheets of plywood.
I ordered the latch thingy (see attached picture) from Tim months ago (evidently, there isn’t a high demand for this part so it took a long time to get it).
Latch Thingy - Hauling 4'x8' Plywood (Part 2 of 5)
The latch thingy is attached to the center of a 2x3 stud. I drilled 4 holes and threaded 4 tarp bungee cords through them. The next post shows the completed assembly. This assembly attaches to the rear hatch latch.
Latch Thingy - Hauling 4'x8' Plywood (Part 3 of 5)
I bought a Hidden Hitch which has a plate below the receiver which has a big hole on either side. The bungee cords attach to these holes. It is important that you tighten the cords as much as possible to keep the rear door from bouncing up and down.:2:
Latch Thingy - Hauling 4'x8' Plywood (Part 4 of 5)
Here’s the MDX with 5 sheets of 5/8” 4’x8’ plywood.
Inside is a full length Hatchbag (a subject of another post) which is used to protect the cargo area. Since the cargo opening is smaller than 4’ near the bottom, two towels were used on the sides to protect it from the wood. Notice how the wood is loaded at an angle and does not lie flat.
OK. The picture is too big. I'll fix this later.
When I edit this message, there is no option to add a picture!!
Latch Thingy - Hauling 4'x8' Plywood (Part 5 of 5)
The attached picture shows the latch thingy attached to the hatch and strapped to the Hidden Hitch.
I forgot to take a side view picture but it only extends about a foot from the bumper.
Notice the color coordinated bungee cords.
Something I might do next time is replace the towels with Teflon tape.
Don't know that I'd ever haul enough long 'n wide things to justify the cost & time it took to set this up, but impressed nonetheless!
How well does the "load" stay put? I'd worry about the hatch getting messed up, does the bungie cord supply enough tension to keep the load neat & the hatch in place?
I spent so much time looking at all the new smilies :21: that you posted before I could finish posting!
About 7' of the boards are inside the MDX and the weight and surface friction is sufficient to keep everying from moving. Also, since the sides are less than 4' wide, there is friction from the sides to hold things.
If you notice, the bungee cords on the outside go around the plywood and is mainly there to hold it down across the wood and attach to the hitch. The two inner bungee cords are used to keep the plywood from falling out. At first I didn't have the bungee cords tight enough so that the latch thingy wood was bouncing on the plywood. After I tighten everything up, it stopped rattling.
Note that the cords do NOT touch the bumper. I did this so that the paint won't rub off. I don't think I went over 50 MPH on surface street and I had no problems.
I don't think this is something I would use to go up a steep hill.
One option I considered was to build a post that inserted into the hitch receiver and extended beyond the wood and would act as a stop to keep it from coming out. There may be a bike rack that may serve the same function (and more, I think I'll look at some bike racks).
Everything fit so tightly that I didn't think it was necessary to use a post.
The longest lead item was the latch thingy itself.
The 2x3 I had in stock (for yet some other project).
The latch thingy attaches with a 3/8" bolt, 2 inches long. I had one but couldn't find another one so that meant a trip to Home Depot where I picked up another along with 2 washers and 2 nuts.
I originally intended to use screw eye bolts for the bungees so I bought 4 of those.
I then went to Lowes to get some mini-bungee cords to hold up the hatch bag (I will post this in a different thread) when I saw the tarp bungees (they have a round ball on one end and a clip on the other which is adjustable along the length of the cord).
I cut the 2x3 to about 4'-8", drilled 3/8" holes in the middle for the latch thingy and 21/64" holes about 2" and 14" from each end.
I bolted the latch thingy to the middle and threaded the bungee cords through the holes and I was done.
I have to applaud your ingenuity on this one. Kind of strange that Acura made the area so wide but you can't quite put it flat. The Pilot apparently corrects this issue and it will go flat on the floor.
One option I considered was to build a post that inserted into the hitch receiver and extended beyond the wood and would act as a stop to keep it from coming out. There may be a bike rack that may serve the same function (and more, I think I'll look at some bike racks).
Everything fit so tightly that I didn't think it was necessary to use a post.
Yes, Thule just came out with something that looks like a goalie post for securing long shaped cargo and is height adjustable. It attaches to a 2" hitch. Check out their newest catalog or website.
That was a teriffic post and I've down loaded it all. That's a great idea about raising up the end of the plywood to get it into the 4' area of the hatch. Very ingenious! At this point I don't have a hitch so I'm going to see if I can work around this part. I have some large cardboard panels I was going to use to cover up the sides etc. The one delicate part seems to be the backs of the second row seats. I'd hate crushing the leather and foam with anything that heavy. All those sheets of ply must weigh around 150-250 lbs. That's no problem for the vehicle but may be for the seat tops. Thanks again for the detailed post. Appreciate it very much.
The one thing I was wondering about is all the weight at the rear resting on the sides of the hatch opening where you placed the towels. Is this a problem for the hatch structure or the weather strips? It seems like a lot of weight on these structures. I'd like some way to raise up the plywood in the rear to take weight off the above mentioned areas. This would also help keep the cargo from sliding out during acceleration. Your method seems to accomplish this already.
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