Trunk concepts – ideas for ideal use

The trunk in Land Rover Discovery is one of the largest of its kind. Its dimensions without folded back seats are already approx. 1100mm x 1150mm x 1020mm (D x W x H). Bulky objects can be stowed away thus outstanding in the trunk of the Discovery.

The trunk is also very popular with those who want to expand the trunk with fixtures such as cupboards, camping modules, beds or kitchens, as the trunk also remains very square when the second row of seats is folded down and then even reaches 2,000mm loading length, enough for an average adult to sleep in.

 

Advantages and disadvantages

But despite its enormous size (or precisely because of it), the trunk of the Discovery does not always offer only advantages.
On the one hand, the loading sill of the Discovery is relatively high (especially with higher vehicles) and the trunk is very deep. In addition, the lower tailgate of the trunk opens downwards, making it even more difficult to reach the inside of the trunk. Probably every Discovery driver knows how to climb on the tailgate in front of the beverage market to reach the inside of the trunk, right?

Another aspect is the height of the trunk. If you really want to make full use of the trunk, you really have to load it up to the ceiling. But if you do this, you have the problem that you often have to clear a lot out of the trunk once you have to get to the lower objects.

Exactly here the little helpers come into play, which can improve the usability of the loading space for everyday life and which do not need complete installation solutions or cabinet solutions. We will introduce a few representatives of this type here.

 

Baskets for the interieur roof

These wire baskets are (usually) mounted directly on the passenger grab handles, so they can be mounted on the second row of seats for the 5-seater and on the second and third rows of seats for the 7-seater. There are different lengths of baskets, which can be mounted with or without dog fences.

The original Land Rover dog guard is shifted a little bit to the rear, so that the distance of the guard and the headrests is larger than with the aftermarket systems of for example Travall. Therefore the roof basket has to be shorter (although we have customers who take the long one and make it fit).

But for the 5-seaters there are also brackets that can be screwed under the headliner so that the baskets can also be used in the 5-seater.

On the following pictures you can see the installation of the roof basket for a 7-seater. The handles are unscrewed and then remounted together with the basket holder using the longer screws supplied.

 

Afterwards only the basket has to be screwed to the brackets and the installation is finished.

 

Mesh basket for the middle level

Another possibility to divide the trunk are the lattice baskets for the middle level. These rest on the side storage surfaces of the interior lining and are available in different sizes and shapes. At the bottom of the picture you can see a simple basket. But there are also baskets which are higher on the left or right side, so that for example a dog box or a cooler box can be placed underneath.

The great thing about these baskets is that they can easily be pulled out to the back or if they are empty they can be folded up towards the dog gate. So the trunk can be used very quickly back to its original size without having to take a screwdriver in the hand.

The disadvantage of these baskets is that the load capacity is not very high. Even though the basket is built very stable and invites you to transport heavier objects, it only rests on the side plastic cover. This is almost completely attached to the trunk by plastic clips. So I would advise against a very heavy load here. I transport small stuff, jackets or my Notebook bag in it.

 

Slide out floor – extendable loading floor

Below the middle level the normal loading area remains. For the normal loading area there are also great solutions, for example the extendable loading floors or trunk pull-outs. Unfortunately the trunk floor manufactured by Land Rover Original is no longer available, but there are also exciting solutions in the accessories section.

In the picture you can see a solution that we used as a prototype in our own Discovery. This pull-out consists of two lockable heavy-duty full extension slides (ball bearing mounted) and a screen printing plate. It is installed in a 7-seater where the third row of seats has been removed, creating a very large storage space underneath the loading floor. The ball bearings of the pull-outs roll smoothly, but are susceptible to dirt such as sand etc.

In a current development we are also working on another pull-out system which works completely without ball bearings. As soon as we have installed the prototype here, we will post pictures of it. Probably this will be around the end of 2020.

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All information as always to the best of our knowledge and belief, but without guarantee!