Transporting POP

My first plan was to transport the POP lengthways across the back seat.  I measured up and at 48 by 15 inches POP would fit.  Encouraged by this I made a wooden shelf for the back seat, press ganged a volunteer and tried in vain to get it in.  The door does not open sufficiently to give a clear run at the seat.

The only option left was to fold the seats down and go in the back.  Unlike many hatchbacks, with the seat folded down the Rover has a distinct step in the load space.   My solution was to build a wooden runway level with the back sill.

To prevent the whole thing coming forward I used load straps looped through the front of the runway and secured to the seat anchor points. These are tensioned to push the runway against the back sill of the car.  I arranged a wooden buffer stop at the front of the runway and fixed wedges just behind the location of the rear wheels. I used another strap to pull POP down onto the wedges.

The runway has sides which provide additional strength and also guide the lorry along the ramp.  The T needs to go the full width of the car since there is no support at the centre (spare wheel). Two wing nuts secure the T to the runway enabling fitting and also storage.