In some of the new minivans, you can fold the seats down into the floor to provide lots of space for large items. But one of the items I need to pick up frequently are 8' sheets of lumber or sheetrock. The minivan storage tray would be an option instead of fold into the floor seats. Instead, the space would be used to have a roll-out "drawer" that extends from the back of the van that can fit full 4x8 foot sheets of lumber perhaps as deep as 4 or 5 inches. This way you could transport 2x4s and the like and never have to disturb all the seats. The drawer would have pop-down legs on the end, similar to ambulance gurneys, so that the stress on the fully extended tray would not be too great.

It would work sort-of like the roll-out ramp on Ryder trucks.
-- trekbody, Nov 16 2004

I get that to design vehicle bodies like clamshells, to be widened by a foot or so for tall narrow loads, would preserve both the seat configuration and carriage height.
-- reensure, Nov 17 2004



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