At the Lumberyard

[MichaelM]

"A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." Ah. True enough.

I've been on both sides of that statement, and guess which side I was on today?

A quick swing by the local Home Depot for smallish things was on the agenda. While I was in there, I remembered I needed two pieces of wood for a home project. Picking out a couple of nice boards was distracting enough that I had them on the cart and halfway up to the front of the store when I remembered... I had the Volt, not the Silverado!

No one was at the cutting station, either. Swearing (nearly) silently, I checked out and made my way to my suddenly very tiny looking car, pushing the cart, little length of free twine in hand...

And... IT FITS! Wow! Two 8 ft boards WILL FIT IN A VOLT, and the hatch will close!

Bring towels or furniture blankets for front and rear, etc. For future use, or for boards wider than 6", you might want to remove front headrests.

Yes, two people can even ride in the car, provided one of them is in the left rear seat. Right rear headrest is still installed (just can't see it); right front seat in normal position fore-aft but reclined as far as possible (against right hear headrest). It works with a few inches to spare.

Oh, and standard disclaimers apply: Not officially recommended practice, blah, blah, may not be safe, blah, blah, air bags, blah, blah, poke your eye out with wood shards, blah, blah...

[Steverino]

Those look like 2x6's. Impressive!

I keep some woven plastic shopping bags (the reusable kind) in the rear cargo organizer. I use them to lay under the wood/pipe/whatever so the leather armrest and seat sides don't get marred.

[cmajor9th]

I can relate to your excitement:
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread....497#post137497

[ChrisC]

Yes, I discovered this as well at some point over the past year! Brilliant. Somewhere in the bureaucracy of the GM design shop is a design rule that says "if you're just an inch or two short of fitting an 8-foot length in the car, then go ahead and stretch the car that little bit to make it fit." Nice.

Added to FAQ. Thanks MichaelM for the documentation, and thanks WVhybrid for pointing me to this via PM.

[dwl]

I had a similar experience today. I ended up getting a full sized filing cabinet in the back. No sweat. The elderly gentleman that was walking by couldn't really comprehend what was happening. After we got it in, he just stopped and stared until I pulled away.

[MTN Ranger]

I was at Home Depot today and made it out without any lumber. I did get some cool new 75W equiv LED bulbs.

[mixedpixel]

The only limit on length is your ingenuity. I haven't tried it with my Volt yet, but I have moved 12 foot base boards in a similar sized hatchback by lowering the passenger side window and resting them on the mirror. The 16 foot pieces of Trex - now those were a challenge.

[baltimore17]

I miss the front passenger seat that I had in my Pontiac Vibe. The seat back folded forward and totally flat, just like a rear folding seat back. The distance from the dash board to the closed rear hatch was 8' and just about an extra 1/4". The Home Depot utility of that car was astounding. Wish the Volt had a folding seatback like that.

[dtaubert]

Fixing up my garage, I've hauled a bunch of stuff from Home Depot and Lowe's in my Volt. 2x4's, attic ladder, door casing, and baseboard. Love it!