Load carrying
Want to carry something in or on your car, SUV, ute or van? We check out some of the latest options.
With more and more small, medium and large ‘cars’ morphing into SUVS, and double-cab utes now as popular with tradies and families as they are farmers there’s a revolution of sorts going on in the load carrying world. With that revolution has come a number of evolutionary changes in the way loads are carried. Because utes are now so popular we will look at what’s happening with them first.
Tray liners
You can look at spray-on tray liners as the first line of defence in protecting the tray of your work (or play) ute. Here companies like Speedliner have a network of paint and panel shops around the country set up to spray in their custom urethane polymer liners. The key advantage of a professionally applied liner is it’s grippy, non-slip surface which all going well, should be able to take the knocks for the life of the vehicle. The air-tight, spray-on fit also acts as an impervious barrier to water and/ or any chemicals you might end up carrying. The disadvantage over a moulded drop-in liner is that once sprayed in it is there for life. Drop-in bed liners are arguably more popular because all ute accessory businesses have them and there will be one for your new ute, no problem. You can also buy sliding polyethylene tray beds, as well as simple non-slip rubber liners which can be used with or without a drop-in tray bed.
Canopies +
In theory canopies double the amount of dry, lockable stowage space of a wellside utility with next to no downside. All sorts of canopies are available in New Zealand these days, in materials from moulded ABS plastic (usually with an internal metal frame) and fibreglass, to galvanised pressed steel. An increasingly important number is the load rating, with some ABS canopies rated up to 80kg, and some fibreglass one rated to 100kg. The all-steel Steeltop from Airplex is the Daddy of them all with its colour-matched baked paint system, ability to be hooked up to your ute’s central locking system and 200kg roof rack rating making it perfect for a rooftop tent. If you do plumb for a canopy, you can also add lockable hard cases or full sliding drawer systems. Kiwis being Kiwis, many owners have had a crack at making draw systems in the past. But when you see what is on offer from various suppliers ‘off-theshelf’ you wonder why anyone would bother today.
Ute load racks
To overcome the loading constraints of a canopy or where one isn’t fitted several companies have developed racks that attach directly to the vehicle, see the articles on Milford’s Loadmax and Advantage ladder racks.
Tonneau and lid options
Back in the day, the easiest way to tell a ute in private use was that it was the one with a bungeed-on coated fabric tonneau cover. These had – and to a point still have – their uses, but a combination of New Zealand’s cool, damp climate and regular (mis) use means that they often ended up frayed and flapping. However the market has moved on, as a quick flick through the online pages of specialist suppliers like Airplex, Utemaster and Fully Equipped is wont to prove. Airplex, for instance, does a clever ‘no-drill’ tonneau which uses a hidden mounting system. But its ‘hard lids’ in chequerplate and fibreglass are more popular these days. Utemaster was the pioneer of the chequerplate load-rated (and trade-marked) Load Lid on which you can securely mount up to 200kgs while at the same time locking your tools (and/or other valuables) underneath. The company also offers a wide range of service bodies for
cab/chassis utes in a number of combinations of side accessible top boxes and trays. These, and similar ones made by or for other local businesses, are proving more and more popular with power, lines, telecommunication service providers, as well as rural tractor, and farm quad/motorbike service technicians.
Man with a van
Vans present similar challenges to utes, but offer more of a blank canvas to operate from. The key issues remain very similar though. Isolating the load from the driver/ passenger compartment is arguably the key one, a job Milford Industries specialises in. The company’s Cargo Barriers are designed to stop unsecured objects behind the driver flying forward in the event of an accident or simply the need to brake heavily to try and avoid one. Robust mesh barriers are available for all popular vans and station wagon car models. Milford also makes and sells air conditioning curtain to separate the cockpit of the van from the load area, as well as a full range of innovative restraint products like nets for station wagon and hatchback load areas. If you are after ideas for your van fit-out, it's worth checking out what companies like Auto Transform and Jackson Van Interiors do. Both provide a drive-in/drive- out service and have some great examples of what they do on their websites. The key with any van conversion, of course is access, either through a sliding side door or the rear door. Before you buy, it’s worth thinking about how much time you are going to spend actually in your van. If you are just driving it to and from a work site a low roof won’t present too much of a problem. If, however, you plan to spend time in the back (using it as a de facto workshop) a van you can stand up in, like a high-roof Mercedes Benz Sprinter or VW Transporter might well be a better bet. Not only that, but if you intend to work in it as well as carry tools and parts, you will need to adequately light (and perhaps ventilate) your workspace. The nature of their design means vans also have large, usually flat, roof areas so naturally, most tradies and more and more private users of SUVS are equipping their vehicles with roof racks. Again, demand is such that there are a number of companies specialising in providing racking systems for work or play. Most stock well-known brands like Thule, Yakima and Rhino Rack in gutter, clamp and permanent mounts plus a dizzying array of accessories to hold anything from a bicycle wheel to a piece of plumber’s PVC pipe, or builder’s 4 x 2. These are also applicable to cars and SUV’S and can accommodate many fitments for specialised equipment plus supporting roof boxes for extra capacity.
Towing the line.
When a load gets too heavy or unwieldy to fit in or on a car, van or SUV you can always tow it on a trailer. Before you do that you will need a tow bar and associated lighting kit that meets all relevant standards The NZ Transport Agency also produces a handy booklet called ‘Guide to safe loading and towing for light vehicles’ which you can downloaded from its website, www.nzta.govt.nz The guide covers both towing and loading and helps focus your mind on a task which can so easily be glossed over – and end up with the sort of result that ends up on Youtube (see https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=lafz1n56qjy) All vehicles have a manufacturer-set rating which specifies the gross braked and unbraked weight that vehicle can safely tow. Most medium sized cars and SUVS, for instance, can safely tow 750kgs unbraked and around 2000kgs braked. Most double cab turbo-diesel utes, meanwhile, are rated at between 750kg (unbraked) and up to 3500kg braked. But if that is not enough the RAM 2500 now available in RHD form here can (with a special heavy duty pintle tow hitch and the correct – truck – endorsement on your licence) handle a braked trailer and load weighing up to almost 7000kgs. Whatever you end up carrying, and by what means, remember, the buck ultimately stops at you if things go wrong. Bottom line? Do your research, and don’t cut corners when it comes to safety. Get it wrong and it could be more than your livelihood at stake. It could be your life!