MLucas
Well-known member
DonDakin said:
What's amazing about this is the back seat was still upright.
iMiEV as workhorse
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What's amazing about this is the back seat was still upright.
RobertC
Well-known member
My mini electric cargo van is better than my pickup truck on rainy days when I don't want my material to get wet.
dakine
Active member
You still have a little room left.
Hi, prospective iMiev buyer and forum newbie...
Has anyone completely removed the rear seats to improve the cargo area (and reduce weight)?
Is it even possible? I understand there are some useful items under the seat bottoms, but the could seat be removed and a cover made to fit over the things that need protecting?
Thanks,
NB
Has anyone completely removed the rear seats to improve the cargo area (and reduce weight)?
Is it even possible? I understand there are some useful items under the seat bottoms, but the could seat be removed and a cover made to fit over the things that need protecting?
Thanks,
NB
PV1
Well-known member
Welcome to the forum. I've seen on either the Peugeot or Citroen version that a cargo conversion kit is available, though nothing like that for the US i-MiEV. You could certainly fabricate something and make it work. The back seats are pretty easy to remove.
The rear seats are pretty light, though. Not sure if you would gain much. The bottom seat only weighs 4-8 lbs. Also, since the i-MiEV has low-back seats, you probably wouldn't gain much in terms of cargo capacity, either. With the rear seats down, you have a flat cargo floor plus the rear footwells are left open, and if that's not enough, you can remove the headrest from the front passenger seat, slide it forward, and lay it back. You would have a nearly flat area from the hatch up to the dashboard. You also gain incredible visibility by doing this.
The rear seats are pretty light, though. Not sure if you would gain much. The bottom seat only weighs 4-8 lbs. Also, since the i-MiEV has low-back seats, you probably wouldn't gain much in terms of cargo capacity, either. With the rear seats down, you have a flat cargo floor plus the rear footwells are left open, and if that's not enough, you can remove the headrest from the front passenger seat, slide it forward, and lay it back. You would have a nearly flat area from the hatch up to the dashboard. You also gain incredible visibility by doing this.
Thanks very much, we're looking at using it as our Mead Delivery Vehicle, so kegs that are about 30 inches tall and weigh about 50 pounds each, we'll need to make certain it's an easy lift in and out and that it can handle about 8 kegs at a time to make it usable. Will have to take a trip to the nearest dealer an hour away and see if it'll work.
Thanks again
NB
Thanks again
NB
The existing flat floor with a lightweight rubber-backed tough carpet should do the trick for you.
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8818#p8818
Once you get the keg inside, the 30" height will be no problem, but you may have to cant it slightly to get it in, either from the aft hatch or rear door. What is the diameter of the keg? Alternative is to stack the kegs on their side and maybe make a rack to hold them in place.
If you're planning on using the i-MiEV as a serious purposed delivery vehicle and no need for a passenger then you might consider taking out the passenger seat and aft seats and making a custom rack to maximize the number of kegs you can carry; however, taking out the passenger seat triggers the "airbag disconnected" sensor so you'll need a workaround for that.
I always thought the i-MiEV was admirably suited for use as a local delivery vehicle because of its low operating cost and easy access to the rear cargo area from both the hatch and rear doors - and especially nowadays with its low purchase price.
NoBeard, let us know what you decide and the reasons for it - enquiring minds would like to follow your train of thought.
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=8818#p8818
Once you get the keg inside, the 30" height will be no problem, but you may have to cant it slightly to get it in, either from the aft hatch or rear door. What is the diameter of the keg? Alternative is to stack the kegs on their side and maybe make a rack to hold them in place.
If you're planning on using the i-MiEV as a serious purposed delivery vehicle and no need for a passenger then you might consider taking out the passenger seat and aft seats and making a custom rack to maximize the number of kegs you can carry; however, taking out the passenger seat triggers the "airbag disconnected" sensor so you'll need a workaround for that.
I always thought the i-MiEV was admirably suited for use as a local delivery vehicle because of its low operating cost and easy access to the rear cargo area from both the hatch and rear doors - and especially nowadays with its low purchase price.
NoBeard, let us know what you decide and the reasons for it - enquiring minds would like to follow your train of thought.
I'd certainly vote for some custom aluminum racks to keep those 50 lb kegs from rolling around the interior and make for easy in and out. Plus, the rear seatbacks have nothing solid between the frames to support heavy loads- fabric only.
That being said, I think we've missed one big advantage- Ice Cold Electric Air Conditioning! When the car is plugged in back at the shop, you've practically got a mini reefer truck with a remote control! ;-)
(next comes the hack to disable the 30 minute timeout, and added insulation for the roof and doors)
Cheers, err Skol!
Jay
That being said, I think we've missed one big advantage- Ice Cold Electric Air Conditioning! When the car is plugged in back at the shop, you've practically got a mini reefer truck with a remote control! ;-)
(next comes the hack to disable the 30 minute timeout, and added insulation for the roof and doors)
Cheers, err Skol!
Jay
PV1
Well-known member
The rear LATCH tie-downs would make good mounting points, easily accessible under the plastic covers. Up front, you could probably use the mounts near the floor for the seat belts.jray3 said:
I think you can get 14 kegs in there, and still have almost a foot left over on top of them: 2x4 behind the front seats and 2x3 in the back. If they do indeed weigh 50#, then you'll be hitting the i-MiEV's maximum cargo weight limit first (661#) rather than volume.
Dang, I forgot to count the number of one-gallon containers I stuffed in there - they were buoyancy for my trimaran, but now will be used to hold down the display canopies in the upcoming EV record attempt in September.
1pk
Well-known member
Regarding the Imiev for keg deliveries it works great. Our delivery van was In Use last week so I used my own vehicle just for fun. The round trip distance was 100 km. I had 2 50l kegs And 4 20l kegs in the back with the seats down. I had a rigid piece of corrugated plastic under the kegs to prevent any damage to the fabric. I ended up picking up 13 empties, 5 20l and 8 50l. 6 fit nicely on My hitch rack and the other seven inside. I had room to spare.
Pete
Pete
Pete (1pk), thanks for the post. My browser wouldn't show your image, so I copied the url here:
http://postimg.org/image/6jjervg59/
Wow, that's a high cantilevered load on that hitch, but I guess it's ok if they're empties!
http://postimg.org/image/6jjervg59/
Wow, that's a high cantilevered load on that hitch, but I guess it's ok if they're empties!
1pk
Well-known member
JoeS,
It's a torklift central hitch, so it's rated for a 200 lb tongue load. Those 6 kegs and dolly probably weighed in around 100 lbs. I'm careful with it. Usually I carry a couple of bmx bikes and maybe a toolbox.
I'm finding that hitch rack very useful. I used to put it on when I needed it but lately it just stays on the car and I'm always using it.
I'll dig up a photo of my camping weekend. I had a pretty good load on the rack.
Pete
It's a torklift central hitch, so it's rated for a 200 lb tongue load. Those 6 kegs and dolly probably weighed in around 100 lbs. I'm careful with it. Usually I carry a couple of bmx bikes and maybe a toolbox.
I'm finding that hitch rack very useful. I used to put it on when I needed it but lately it just stays on the car and I'm always using it.
I'll dig up a photo of my camping weekend. I had a pretty good load on the rack.
Pete
1pk
Well-known member
now that load may have been over 200 lbs but it worked out just fine
took my two sons to a BMX race approx. 140km north of my home. There's a DCFC on the way but I did have to get 110 kms from the charger to the campground. The little car was packed full but we made it and had a great time. 280 km trip and it cost less than a dollar.
Pete
1pk said:Regarding the Imiev for keg deliveries it works great. Our delivery van was In Use last week so I used my own vehicle just for fun. The round trip distance was 100 km. I had 2 50l kegs And 4 20l kegs in the back with the seats down. I had a rigid piece of corrugated plastic under the kegs to prevent any damage to the fabric. I ended up picking up 13 empties, 5 20l and 8 50l. 6 fit nicely on My hitch rack and the other seven inside. I had room to spare.
Pete
Thanks so much for this! We're using 20's only in our startup meadery so sounds like we'll have no problems with it at all. We're also using the one way plastic kegs, so the weight really won't be an issue either from the sound of it.
NB
1pk
Well-known member
No problem NB. Happy to help
You will be able to fit 20x20l stainless kegs in the back. I don't know if the car could handle the weight but it will take 5 across and 4 deep.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/32k16xn8znkgsob/IMG_20140820_073100.jpg?dl=0
Pete
You will be able to fit 20x20l stainless kegs in the back. I don't know if the car could handle the weight but it will take 5 across and 4 deep.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/32k16xn8znkgsob/IMG_20140820_073100.jpg?dl=0
Pete
Guess dropbox doesn't like direct links to its images, or else I'm doing something wrong. Here's the previous link Pete posted:
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/ed5h81y54ccfm6y/AACcbkk8e_Q_GQJnWaJp00G_a
BTW, Pete, there's a big difference between a hitch tongue load of 200# and the cantilevered load that you're carrying.
https://www.dropbox.com/sc/ed5h81y54ccfm6y/AACcbkk8e_Q_GQJnWaJp00G_a
BTW, Pete, there's a big difference between a hitch tongue load of 200# and the cantilevered load that you're carrying.
Agreed that the cantilevered load is tougher, but at least our NA market version has the rear bumper brackets to hang off of, which really helps in this case.JoeS said:
In related news, MR BEAN often hauls extra batteries due to my other EV projects, and last week it carried eight T-875 floodies over 46 miles, weighing in at 504 lb, all in the very back. Just a bit looser up front in the turns, but boy- was regen enhanced by all that extra momentum!
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