Load cover for Amazon estate

[222s]

I've been thinking about this for a while as my Amazon is parked out in the street & I would like to make the boot more visually secure. When it's full, I usually use a spare tonneau cover from my Sprite as this is about the right size, but requires the stuff underneath to hold it up!

My main concerns are regarding the appropriateness & neatness of the mounting points. So far, the most logical solution seems to be a roll up one clipped onto the seatback / top of rear arches, with a couple of catches on the rearmost pillars. Obviously, if there is an existing car out there which has a suitible sized cover, then that would make it much easier. Another advantage of the roll up type is that it should hopefully be tolerant of the stretching / bending required to fit around the spare wheel should I chose to attach it vertically to the secondary mountings on the left hand side of the boot, leaving the under floor compartment for tools etc.

However, a rigid / sliding type can have stuff thrwon on top of it - decisions, descisions!!!!

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this, or has anyone ever fitted one to an Amazon / other old estate car, & if so, what type & how easy was it?

Cheers!

Paul

[Brian M]

Paul

The Jeep Cherokee has a roll out cover, and also has a vertically mounted spare wheel. It has two clips on the sides of the load space so it can either be removed or stay in place when the seat back is lowered.

If you could post the measurements of the Amazon (width behind seats, minimum width of load space and length to rear door) I could check my Cherokee for suitability.

Brian M

[222s]

Thanks Brian! I'll try to get some dimensions tomorrow. BTW, how does the cover fit around the spare wheel on the Jeep? Is it just a cut out, or does it fit over it? Also, what side is it on, as the Amazon's spare would be mounted on the left.

[Brian M]

Paul

The cover just goes round the spare wheel with a cut out, which unfortunately is on the right hand side. The wheel has its own full cover.

So the Cherokee cover might be a non-starter.

Brian

[Colonel Froth]

Hey 222s, you've had nearly four years, did you ever sort out a cover?

[222s]

Nope - never got around to it, as rampant structural corrosion (& sadly also bodges in some of those areas) has been keeping me busy. That's pretty much all dealt with now, so things like a load cover are slightly higher up on the priority list. The problem is working out which off the self (or out of the scrapyard...) units fit, as any modern estate car that is likely to have a narrow enough retractable load cover, is likely to be a small vehicle, and thus not have a cover which is long enough for the Amazon's boot.

I've thought about designing my own, so that it looks appropriate to the age of the vehicle, as well as fitting properly, but it probably wouldn't be retractable.

[martinnewnum]

Whilst it sounds a good idea to fit a cover as you say, I have had numerous estate cars, Range Rovers etc. and become so fed up with removing them and then stowing them whenever the rear seats were folded that I always ended up leaving it in the garage. Just a thought. They often rattled as well.

[Derek UK]

Unless you need to remove the roller crossbar daily, weekly even, it's not likely to be that annoying.The convenience and sense of security you get when pulling the cover over a toolbox or other very stealable stuff you have exposed to inquisitive eyes is worth the hastle. How tidy is the boot of your car? With an estate everyone knows, if you've no load cover!
Even a canvas sheet with a rubber ring on eack corner would do the trick. Just screw on some nice stainless hooks. There's a yacht connection there Paul.

[stumph]

My A6 has one, but I'm sure it is not worth measuring as the load space must be wide than the amazon! Could you not just use a roller blind? Cheap and easy to cut to size, and available in a wide variety of colours. That's all the Audi one basically is anyway...

[222s]

I would certainly use it - not (just) to hide mess but to keep prying eyes out, especially when I have luggage or valuables etc in the back. At the moment, I have a dark coloured rug, which is ok at night but that still follows the shape of whatever is underneath. Ideally the 'proper' load cover would be the self retracting type, and probably mounted to the seat backrest, so moves with the seat when it is folded down (Amazons are too old for the 60/40 split folding back seat - whilst no doubt possible to convert it, would be a lot of expense & work!!!). However mounted to the rear body sides rather than the seat back would mean that it could be left in place to hide long loads too. A clip-on cover as Derek suggests is certainly another option, as is one with cross bars that rest on the rear side window sills, & not self retracting so can be left half open etc as required, and with elasticated clips to secure the back edge.

Thinking about it more, retractable with a cross bar at the back end, so it doesn't drop down when it released would be ideal, but depends on what I am prepared to make the effort to fabricate / modify.

However it's one of those things that is firmly in the 'would be nice' category rather than on the essentials / priority list, and it would also need to look appropriate to the age of the car (so probably made of something like black vinyl), and preferably with any modern mechanisms not immediately noticeable. A lack of a boot cover has certainly made me keep the boot clear & tidy!