If its a holdall - have you got space in the middle of the rear seat or in the rear footwell with the front passenger seat slightly forward? If you go higher in the boot, will the rear headrests extend upwards to block the flight of objects forward? Alternatively, can you pack things end on so that the majority of any item is restrained with only part sticking above the back seat?
It won't take much for things to fly over the top if there is nothing to block their path. If you are a motorway and have to brake hard its almost impossible to uncover the children or pets from even light stuff...
I dont think you should be packing things above the height of the head rest even if it is light things
take a packed up sleeping bag and get somone to throw it at your body to see if it hurts then imaginge that flying across the car at 30 MPH or more in an emergency braking situation
be very careful what you pack above the height of the headrests
It might be worth investing in one of those cheap adjustable dog guards to hold all the stuff in place if you're having to go that high. At least that would stop stuff from falling forward if you had to brake suddenly.
On our first outing I had the car packed to the rafters, but if you have ever driven a van its not to bad. With 3 kids and all the gear in the back of my C-Max I have been looking round to see if I can pack things any better. Then we found vacuum bags for all the bedding etc and what a massive difference, use the vacuum hat home and my little tornado pump when packing up. I can now pack my Vango Vista 800, coleman coolbox, 5kg gas bottle, cooker, 5 chairs, 2 aluminium tables (singles) 5 foam mats, all the sleeping gear, small suitcase with the clothes and now able to see out the back. That aside I will be getting a roof box for next year so I have full visability when driving. Dont fancy the idea of a trailer and it looks like you pay more on a channel crossing too.
------------- Apr 2011 - Lower Hyde I.O.W 4 nights.
May - Elsich Barn Farm, 2 Nights
03-05 June - Church farm, Coughton 2 Nights
01-05 Aug 2011 - Searles Holiday Park, Hunstanton, Norfolk - 4 nights
08-11 Aug 2011 - Beech Croft Farm,Nr Buxton 3nights.
ill think you will find that blocking the back window is illegal and the excuse that "i drive a van so i can use the mirrors" is daft. Dont care what you put on top of your pile hitting someone on the back of the head at 50mph is going to do more than hurt
Everyone should use mirrors regardless of what they drive
im sorry but it drives me crazy as im driving around and see back windows cram packed with stuff and the driver having NO IDEA WHATS GOING ON BEHIND THEM !!
if you didn't need a back window the manufacture would not put one in
Quote: Originally posted by force ten on 27/8/2010
Quote: Originally posted by rooks on 27/8/2010
ill think you will find that blocking the back window is illegal and the excuse that "i drive a van so i can use the mirrors" is daft. Dont care what you put on top of your pile hitting someone on the back of the head at 50mph is going to do more than hurt
Everyone should use mirrors regardless of what they drive im sorry but it drives me crazy as im driving around and see back windows cram packed with stuff and the driver having NO IDEA WHATS GOING ON BEHIND THEM !!
if you didn't need a back window the manufacture would not put one in
it is not illegal to obscure the view through the rear window as long as the car has properly fitted and adjusted wing or door mirrors with mirror extensions if required that allow you to see clearly behind the vehicle
when you fit a bike rack to the back of the car hitch a caravan or a box trailer to the car you completely obscure the view from the rear view mirror so it is ok as long as the wing mirrors or door mirrors are correctly fitted and adjusted
it is however still dangerous to load the car to the roof due to flying objects in an emergency braking situation
If its not illegal why were the couple I hit prosecuted ?sorry rear windows are there for a reason not to look good and as no one has told the op to have mirror extensions poor advice really
If its not illegal why were the couple I hit prosecuted ?sorry rear windows are there for a reason not to look good and as no one has told the op to have mirror extensions poor advice really
if it was illegal then every person that tows a caravan a horse box or any other type of box trailer is breaking the law and the police would have a full time job stopping and booking them
the extension mirrors would only be required if the load being towed obscures the vision from the standard fitted door or wing mirrors this would not apply to a load carried inside the car
i do not know any of the circumstances surrounding the incident that you refer to so I couldn’t possibly answer that question
I know you have probably gone now but for the future how about laying out things like the sleeping bags/blankets/tent carpets on the seat and have the kids sit on them, then at least it would save some space in the boot. Also if the kids are only little and in car seats don't forget about the space in front of them in the footwells if their little legs do not reach that far.
why do people pack stuff in plastic boxes and then have to try to fit the boxes in?? Our friends are neat obsessed when we go away with them. 3 or 4 big plastic boxes with air beds and saucepans etc.... When we pack our car up we tuck a lot of stuff in nooks and crannies!! You be surprised how much space can be utilized this way. A long time ago tried the whole plastic box thing but it uses too much room. Loads of gear can be squashed into little gaps under seats and so on....
------------- *** A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on***
Well I think it is legally OK to obscure the rear view otherwise a lot of vans would be illegal. (obviously care should be taken ref potential flying objects etc)
Anyway, not being 100% certain, I thought I'd Google this:
"Is it illegal to obscure the rear window when driving"
i have a mondeo and we manage to squeeze in the following
outwell hartford xxl tent
two tables
four chairs
picnic bench
2 windbreaks
cooker
2 kitchen stands
my sons campbed
2 airbeds n pump
2 large flexi buckets
hold all of kitchen equipment
2 sleeping bags
double quilt
4 pillows
hold all for toiletries
2 large bags of clothes
3 fishing rods
holdall with fishing reels in
2 gas lantens
heater
radio
gas bottle for cooker
collapsable storage cuboard
3 collapsable staker baskets
as you can see we us every inch of spare space in the car but it does all fit in we lay the quilt out first and the load all the flat items then bulky items then fill the gaps with small items we do let halve of the seat down as i have my son in the back seat we dont have a roof box or trailer because if we did i would only end up filling them as well as the car. ive found what really works for me is to let him pack the car and any new items i have bought between trips just tell him he fitted it in last time! it usually works.
Thought id just come back and let you all know that it did all fit "just" we did have to pack thing up past the head rests, but it was only the blankets and towels. The footwells were also full, we will be investing in a roof box for next year .
We had a lovely trip despite being battered by the wind on the sunday/monday, very glad we opted for a steel poled tent!!, she didnt budge an inch!! will be investing is some better quality pegs, as we bent alot of them lol think maybe my hubbys massive rubber mallet needs replacing with a more conventional one .
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Newbie - Needs help!
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lol think maybe my hubbys massive rubber mallet needs replacing with a more conventional one 
