When I traded in my wife's mini van for the 2011 Expy, I got an earful from her mainly becuase she lost her great option to transport groceries around without concern.

Now that she has had several instances where bags have been flying around and groceries have been tossed about I'm worried about posing a danger to us in case of a sudden stop or accident.

EBay has - NEW Large Folding Ford Cargo Organizer Soft Genuine listed at $70. but it seems small & limited.

Anyone have solutions for transporting groceries safely? Cargo nets are not an option as there are no hooks, so I'm hoping you can provide some ideas.

 

really? this isn't a joke is it?

 

Hmmm,,What is she a OFF-ROAD Racer ??,,,she must be pulling some G's to make the Groceries go flying around,,on the Inside of an Expy !!

You can purchase Expanding Bars,(load stabalizer) rubber feet each end to go across inside,,,may help

We just pop the back hatch, place them on the rear floor area,,and I have never had an issue!, May get the ocassional bag movement but not a big deal,,,never been flying around,,,lol

I do recall one time a couple years ago,,,I swear I purchased a lb of Hamburger,,,did'nt find it,,,a week or so later I found it, down by the middle seat of the Explorer,,,Glad it was cold out,,,lol,,,the plastic wrap covering,was puffed right up hard,,that could of been nasty in the summer!

 

sometimes When I pop the hatch a bag or 2 of groceries falls on the ground out of mine.

lately I'll bring a couple large totes with me, load the groceries into them , then carry them inside vs 20+ bags

 

I've had full size vans for 25 years and have always been the primary grocery shopper. I remember having to retrieve about 50 baby food jars out of all the footwells and under seats when my son was a baby and the bags opened up and the jars went for a ride

I shop at Costco a lot these days, and simply keep a couple cardboard boxes in the back of the van (which is what Costco gives you). When I go to the regular grocery store, I just load any precarious stuff into the boxes. Another alternative is a big polyethylene recycling tub (that use to cart empty cans/bottles back to the grocery store). I use that to contain groceries.

If I ever need the room, I just ditch the resident cardboard boxes and replenish the next time I go to Costo. But more often than not, the boxes are handy for other stuff, like keeping a moving quilt in, boxes of tools or bungie cords, etc.

With high back bucket seats, I don't worry too much about flying groceries if I ever did hit anything hard. There is that old joke "vans are handy--if you ever need anything from the back, just hit the brakes hard and it will hit you in the back of the head."

George

 

EL has a folding divider/shelf. Never had an issue. I know our old mini van had so bag hooks on the backs of the seats. Might be able to do something like that. I also believe Office Depot sells folding storage crates. They like like plastic milk crates but they fold flat.

 

oh...so the reg length doesn't have that? bummer

that's why I thought the OP was joking

 

Yeah, no joke. The first time she went (were a family of 6) she put the 3rd row down and laid out the plastic grocery bags. Needless to say, it was a mess by the time shegot home and all she kept saying was how she hates this truck.

I agree with the boxes, were currently using some colapsable nylon storage holders. Im sure someone makes an aftermarket bolt on bar with those little nub hooks that are used in the mini vans. Just haven't had any luck finding them. Maybe I need the proper name to search correctly.

It's not a funny matter at the house, she is learning to drive it better and it's funny for me, but when it comes to getting her to go shopping, we need a better option for the bags.

I am glad there are some replies, as I honestly didn't know if I'd get crickets or the flame. lol

Thanks!

 

Check out this one:
Covercraft Cargo Bars - Covercraft Truck Stop Cargo Bar & Truck Bed Organizer

It has an optional cargo net attachment and even the picture shows groceries in the net.
Hope this helps.

 

Our standard routine for unloading groceries or anything else for that matter is to open the rear window first to make sure nothing will fall out, then open the huge lift gate. Our old van was a Safari/Astro with the Dutch Doors. That was a great arrangement. Open the full width lift gate, get what you want without anything in the bottom half falling out, then unload the lower half though the 2 smaller lower doors.

I think what makes it common for things to fall out on the EXPY is that the floor is not flat the at the door (or lowered like on MiniVans), so the when the lift gate opens, things that are propped up agains the lift gate fall back and on the ground. I do wish there were some tie anchors on the side walls so a cargo net could be fitted.

 

According to the search results I found, our EL expys should have a cargo management system as standard, but nothing on the standard length. Do any of you have something that looks like this?

Laying flat


Raised to 2 level


Folded to serve as a divider.

 

Standard length has a flat load floor with no cargo management.

 

Sure it does, it's called the backs of the 3rd seats when they are in the up position.