2009/2010 Cargo Hatch Cover

[Knittin' Vibe]

Hey guys!I just bought my vibe 3 weeks ago (a 2009 2.4L more blue than green - Mystic Blue?) and am already thinking about ways to make it just a little better!My vibe did not come with a cargo cover, and I'm pretty crafty...I sew, knit, make soap (the list goes on) and I've decided it would be neat to make one! I've measured the cargo area, so I'm pretty sure I could hack it on my own, but I keep wondering about the exact measurements on the official one. So, is there anyone out there that would be willing to measure one for me? Also, I would love to see a couple of close up photos at different angles of what they parts that attach the cargo cover to the hooks in the car look like. Any help would be appreciated!

[tpollauf]

First off WELCOME to genvibe You made a wise choice in contacting us here on this forum. I'm fairly new here myself (5 month member) and already have learned MORE than any owners manual & then some, could teach you The factory hatch cover for the 09's is a total joke The only thing good about it is that it collapses (twist it into a small circle) and store it out of sight when not in use. I will be fabricating a special "shade" very similar to the Ford Escorts shades of the mid 80's to 90's model years. This is where it will attach into two grooved/slotted ports directly behind the rear seats and then you simply pull the shade back and hook it in place. Then all your contents are neatly covered up TOTALLY This is low priority for now, for me, as I'm working on more "appealing" mods as we speak. I would be creative along the lines of what I described if you have the resources to perform such a feat. Post pics of your ride & mods in another thread for all members to see

[Zimm]

Quote, originally posted by Knittin’ Vibe »Hey guys!I just bought my vibe 3 weeks ago (a 2009 2.4L more blue than green - Mystic Blue?) and am already thinking about ways to make it just a little better!My vibe did not come with a cargo cover, and I'm pretty crafty...I sew, knit, make soap (the list goes on) and I've decided it would be neat to make one! I've measured the cargo area, so I'm pretty sure I could hack it on my own, but I keep wondering about the exact measurements on the official one. So, is there anyone out there that would be willing to measure one for me? Also, I would love to see a couple of close up photos at different angles of what they parts that attach the cargo cover to the hooks in the car look like. Any help would be appreciated! welcome!have you considered knitting a cover? i would bet you'd have a custom piece that some of the members here would be envious of!

[Knittin' Vibe]

Since I posted this I got antsy and started creating my cargo cover! I roughly measured the hatch area, but it's hard to get an exact shape of something when you can't measure directly on it! It's going to be a 3 sections of cotton duck (thick/stiff) and quilting fabric joined by flat felled seams (like on the outseam of jeans - the look will be similar to a timbuk2 bag, if you've ever seen one!), sections of dowel on each short end (parallel to the sides of the car) to keep the fabric from gaping, and grommets with replaceable elastic loops ('cause we all know how elastic stretches out of shape!) to attach the cover to the hooks. For storage, I can just roll it up. My plan is for it to look similar to this 1st gen cargo cover: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=38715 I've left a bit of room on the sides so I can be sure it will be as taut as possible, so that may leave more exposed on the sides, but I think I can probably deal with that! And, I know it will be a little saggy by nature, but I'm hoping it will look decent overall!tpollauf - Thanks for the welcome! Your idea sounds awesome! Creating something like that briefly crossed my mind, but I'm much more at home with textiles than I am with modding retractable cargo covers! Also, I'd heard that the official cargo cover was a POS, which is why I didn't even consider purchasing one, (plus, I think they might be kind of difficult to locate at this point, anyway?) as much as I want to pay $80 for a piece of mesh and covered memory wire... Zimm - Thank you for the welcome as well. That would be neat, but I figure if I do something like that I mightaswell just throw a blanket in the back to cover things up, because a knitted cargo cover wouldn't be as structured as I'd like - it'd be really saggy.

[anthonygobot]

Ive been doing some searching on here for a cargo mat for my 2009 Vibe and havent had much luck. I see plenty of posts covering this topic but its the older Vibes. I am posting this because less than 10 mins ago I had two dogs playing slip and slide in the back of the Vibe lol. Scratching up the cargo area isnt my concern I just dont want my dogs face planting anymore. I have a lab/retriever mix and shes big!

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by anthonygobot »Ive been doing some searching on here for a cargo mat for my 2009 Vibe and havent had much luck. I see plenty of posts covering this topic but its the older Vibes. I am posting this because less than 10 mins ago I had two dogs playing slip and slide in the back of the Vibe lol. Scratching up the cargo area isnt my concern I just dont want my dogs face planting anymore. I have a lab/retriever mix and shes big!Awww... poor dog .Search online for #19170827. You should be able to find a pretty decent price on the GM cargo mat.

[anthonygobot]

Well one of the older posts said the factory cargo mat sucks lol. Ill do a search thanks for the part #.

[vibenvy]

Well, some people don't think it's worth the money, but I couldn't be happier with it. It was money well spent in my opinion. It's very heavy duty rubber and it has the Pontiac arrowhead and Vibe logos so it matches the floor mats I got from GM as well. It's also easy to clean in case your dog would get sick or anything like that. Just take it out and spray it off with the hose.Just my $.02 though.

[anthonygobot]

Well, heres the thing, I lay the back seats down so id actually need a third piece because that is where the dogs hang out the window!

[vibenvy]

I see. Well, what I was thinking about doing for our Vibes, on the rare occasion we have the back seats folded down to haul things, is getting a universal cargo mat like this and than just cutting it to the size of the back seats. You could obviously also do this with the regular cargo area as well. 2 of these would be equivalent in price to one of the GM cargo mats.You could also make your own too which would be even cheaper. There are quite a few writeups on here about people who have made their own out of carpet and such.

[anthonygobot]

Dont get me wrong, that factory mat you posted pics of looks good! I mainly want it for the dogs so that would work fine. I actually have access to some thick rubber so I might just cut out that extra piece.

[vibenvy]

Well... there ya go ! In my opinion for dogs, the rubber would be much better in preventing them from sliding around than a carpeted one would be.

[tpollauf]

Quote, originally posted by J_TO_ENVY » It was money well spent in my opinion. It's very heavy duty rubber and it has the Pontiac arrowhead and Vibe logos so it matches the floor mats I got from GM as well.I could have used these the other day hauling plants, mulch & topsoil Didn't make a mess this time BUT in the past we had bags split open and other mishaps which DID make a mess I'll budget for these soon an they look real sharp

[Knittin' Vibe]

This thread is actually about a cargo hatch cover, not floor mats, but...OK!

[tpollauf]

Quote, originally posted by tpollauf » I'll budget for these soon an they look real sharp To heck with the budgeting thing I just placed the order NOW $65.52 @ GMPartsdirect.com and a killer $15.95 S+H I find it easy to NEVER get around to doing things if I put them off, so I just ordered it while it was on my mind Thanks for the tip

[Kincaid]

That's a good price on the mat! Same one I have (and love).As for the cargo cover - I'm sure it will turn out great, Knittin' Vibe.I've only had experience with an '86 Mitsubishi hatch and a '93 Escort Wagon. Both worked great. The former was a hard fiber thing and it had two strings so that when you raised the hatch it went up and mostly out of the way. The latter was like a roller shade. Either would be great. I doubt I'll ever get around to making anything for it.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by tpollauf »I could have used these the other day hauling plants, mulch & topsoil Didn't make a mess this time BUT in the past we had bags split open and other mishaps which DID make a mess I'll budget for these soon an they look real sharp Glad to hear you didn't have a mess. I could just imagine having to pull everything out the cargo area to clean out mulch and soil .Quote, originally posted by Knittin' Vibe »This thread is actually about a cargo hatch cover, not floor mats, but...OK!Sorry bout that . It won't happen again.Quote, originally posted by tpollauf »To heck with the budgeting thing I just placed the order NOW $65.52 @ GMPartsdirect.com and a killer $15.95 S+H I find it easy to NEVER get around to doing things if I put them off, so I just ordered it while it was on my mind Thanks for the tip Dang! You lucked out on that price! I paid close to $100.00 for mine from the dealer. $15.95 is not bad at all for shipping because let me tell you... the cargo mat is not light by any means. Be sure to post pictures (even though I already know what it looks like ) when you get it put in.Quote, originally posted by Kincaid »That's a good price on the mat! Same one I have (and love).Amen !

[ponta2147]

Might have to add a cargo mat to the list of stuff I want... would be great to have the option to stick in the back for carrying more dirty stuff... then again I also have the problem of usually needing to fold down all the seats to haul cargo (which is also why I won't be buying back seat covers ever)... I have to admit that having plastic covering the whole cargo area, despite being prone to scratches, is better than the fabric/fuzz that usually comes with wagons, when it comes to cleaning it! I scratched my cargo area all up the day I got it with a file cabinet, so I don't really care anymore about blemishes anymore lol.

[vibolista]

Those aren't blemishes or scratches, they're character marks! My son found a couple of 4'X6' rubber mats at Home Depot, bought them for like 30 bucks, gave me one, (It only cost me 30 bucks!) and I now have thick rubber covering the plastic load deck... from the hatch to the front seat backs. If I need to put the seats up, I just fold the mat over in back. It's totally Pup approved! And Knittin' Vibe... welcome to the Vibe site. Your cargo cover project sounds good. Should work out!

[Knittin' Vibe]

Finished my cargo hatch cover! You can take a look at it here, if you're interested. http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=41460