Lining the cargo area of my minivan

[Roger Feeley]

The bride wants mulch and the city has it for free. But all I have is 2014 Chrysler Town & Country mini-van. I don’t want to make a mess and it occurs to me that a giant bag that would line the floor sides and ceiling would be just the thing. My idea would be a bag that’s 4’x4’x8’ that opens at the back with a lot of extra for closing. I would support the upper corners in front somehow and also the upper corners at the back. I pitch the mulch in, close the bag and take it home.

I don’t see anything on the market. I have a sewing machine so I suppose I could make something from heavy tarps. Any ideas?

[Doug Garson]

Why do you need to sew it into a bag? Just line the back with the tarp leaving a couple feet above the floor all around and shovel the mulch in. When your done you still have a usable tarp for the next time or any other use. I think you are over complicating it.

[Jim Koepke]

We buy plastic garbage cans as needed, when they are on sale.

We use them for storing potting soil we buy by the yard.

A few of these would make it easy to wheel a barrel full of mulch around with a small hand truck.

jtk

[George Bokros]

Rent a trailer or find a friend with a pick up. It will be difficult to load and unload doing what you are thinking. Mulch is messy and stains. It even stains concrete for a while and fabric well that could be stained permamately.

[Dave Seng]

It's the old, "use the right tool for the job" thing. I agree with George - a pickup truck or a small trailer will be a far, far better solution than trying to make a minivan do something that it wasn't designed for. And if you live in an urban area where pickups aren't as common as cattle on the range, your friends that DO have pickups will be used to having people ask them to help out. Feed'em pizza and beer. ;)

[Erik Loza]

I haul bagged mulch in my 4Runner all the time and even though it's bagged, still gets tons of debris, "wet soup", etc. in the cargo area. I agree with idea of just renting a trailer. Your time isn't worth trying to clean out the back of a family-use vehicle from mulch debris, LOL.

Erik

[Rob Damon]

Also, consider the weight. I get compost and mulch from the local landfill recycling facility for pretty cheap in a 5'x8' utility trailer. If the mulch is pretty dry I can get 3 yards but if it is wet, I can only get 2 yards.
Dry mulch weights about 400 lbs per cubic yd. and wet mulch can be double that. A 4'x4'x8' bag is over 4.7 cu.yd. That's a lot of weight.

[Ron Citerone]

I am thinking the only way I would use my van for mulch is if I some serious containers to guarantee that mulch juice could not possibly leak.

[Roger Feeley]

Thanks to all. I’ll hunt for a truck or something.

[Zachary Hoyt]

When I was a kid we got shredded wood mulch from the dump in two or three 30 gallon plastic garbage cans, which we lifted into the back of the minivan after filling them. They didn't make a mess, but they were heavy as I recall. We used the mulch for paths in the garden, it was free and worked pretty well.

[Jamie Buxton]

Someplace I've seen a company selling minivan liners intended to prevent your muddy dog from dripping on the car. IIRC, the liner connected to the van partway up the walls. And it was easy to remove for cleaning. Here's a for instance -- https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Cargo-Liner-Truck-Jeep/dp/B071G3V8T3

[Doug Garson]

Someplace I've seen a company selling minivan liners intended to prevent your muddy dog from dripping on the car. IIRC, the liner connected to the van partway up the walls. And it was easy to remove for cleaning. Here's a for instance -- https://www.amazon.com/Dog-Cargo-Liner-Truck-Jeep/dp/B071G3V8T3
OK, but just for the record, where I come from, that is not a dog. :eek:

[Jim Koepke]

OK, but just for the record, where I come from, that is not a dog. :eek:

But it would keep people from messing with your car just as good as a dog. :D

jtk

[Kev Williams]

how 'bout one o' these?

454027

[Jerome Stanek]

Time for another tool get a small Harbor freight trailer you will use it more then you think

[George Bokros]

U Haul rents pickup trucks and Home Depot Rents trucks that might work.

[Stan Calow]

Our local recycling place will deliver for a small fee, if you get 2 yards or more.

[Keith Outten]

If you search our FreeStuff Drawing Forum you will find a guy who makes sealed custom bags for hauling lumber in inclement weather. If one of his standard bags won't work he can probably make one to your specifications.

[Adam Herman]

super sack or a tarp. no problem. go to a carwash with a good vac after.

https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-22714/Bulk-Containers/Bulk-Bags-Duffle-Top-Plain-Bottom-42-x-42-x-55

[John Goodin]

My first thought was a half dozen body bags. Easy to fill, manageable size, reusable for Halloween and you could be the guy all the neighbors think is not quite all there.

Seriously, plus one on the trailer.

[Doug Garson]

Seems like overkill to rent a trailer to avoid a little mess in the back of a seven year old minivan. Do you have a trailer hitch and wired plug, are you comfortable maneuvering a trailer, how much mulch are we talking about? Throw a tarp in the back, make a few trips if you must and clean up any spillage with a shop vac (ok I'm assuming you have a shop vac) you'll be sitting back with a cool one while the other guy is returning the trailer assuming he gets it back in time and doesn't have to pay for an extra day while it sits in his driveway or repairing the damage done trying to back the trailer into the yard.