As title says, I'm curious whether I could put down my back seats and fill the entire back area with firewood for a 20-30 minute drive. I don't know what the total weight would be but would I be in danger of damaging the car?

Thanks!

 

Hi just saw this, and googled it for you.
First thing that popped up is another thread with a similar question and some good answers.
I didn't read the whole thing though.

I hope this helps, as I am curious to see how much weight my '15 6MT can carry.

See if your owners manual has anything as well.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...ly-hauled.html

 

Firewood weight really varies depending on the type of wood and moisture content. I would bet that you could get 1000 pounds into the back of the fit which would exceed the 800 - 850 total limit of passengers plus load. The heaviest load I carry in my Fit is 12 X 40 pound bags of wood pellets, (480 Pounds). Although I could fit more, and I'm only driving a few miles, I wouldn't do it. Even though I'm not at capacity, my handling is adversely affected in terms of maneuverability and braking distance. I would not want see what happens if I added another half dozen bags.

 

Thanks. I did read that thread before but as I don't really know how much wood would fit back there, it's hard to estimate weight. Thought maybe someone else may have already hauled some wood in there and would chime in!

 

I think you would rapidly exceed the weight rating of the car, probably by quite a bit. You can probably fit in somewhere around a third of a cord without too much difficulty if you fill up the entire back. Wood density varies considerably with the species and how well seasoned the wood is; but for air dried firewood, 3000 pounds a cord is not an unreasonable ballpark figure. With a couple of people in front, you could easily be more than twice the maximum rated load, especially if it's a relatively heavy species or if it's rather green (or both).

You certainly could haul some wood in the Fit; just be sensible about it, and keep an eye on how low the suspension is drooping, and think carefully about what would happen if you had to stop suddenly or were in an accident. At the absolute most, I would not want to go above the bottom of the windows—if only because I don't like replacing broken windows. (Also be aware that the interior finish isn't really designed for heavy-duty rough hauling; a tarp or blanket or similar for protection would not be a bad idea.)

 

Throw about 600 pounds of wood in the back and make a second trip if you need more. Wood can be real heavy if it is not dried out.

 

I love my trailer for this reason

 

When carrying a heavy load, I try to distribute the weight. I would consider flipping up the back seats and putting some more in the center of the car. Regardless, be careful because you will be carrying a load of potential projectiles. I typically use a tarp to keep it all together (plus it keeps the car clean). As far as weight in general, use common sense. If you think it's too much, it probably is.

 

It'll take it.

 

I've hauled 800 pounds of concrete in the back of my 07 Fit. Took it slow and had no problems. I've also hauled firewood but I doubt it came close to 800 pounds. My wife and I started taking pictures of all the stuff we have hauled in our fit. I need to assemble them all and post them up. Some of the pics are pretty funny.

 

OK guys - here's the math: You've got like 60 cubic feet of storage space in the Fit if you put down the back seats. Dry pine weighs 26 pounds per cubic foot if its absolutely solid; no voids; oak is maybe 1.5x that. You can probably only pack firewood to a void ratio of about .5. So if you absolutely stuff the back of your fit floor to roof with pine, that's 60x26x.5 = 780 lbs; less than 3 fat guys. Wet or hardwoods are heavier, but I really wouldn't worry about it. Pack it full; protect your interior; don't drive like a maniac and you'll be fine.

 

Oak is in the vicinity of 45 lbs/cubic foot, according to this chart that looks somewhat reliable. You're also miscomputing the void ratio (which is defined as the ratio of empty space to non-empty space), so your computation for pine should be 60 x 26 x (1 / 1.5) = 1040 lbs, and for oak it would be 60 * 45 * (1 / 1.5) = 1800 lbs.

Maybe you wouldn't worry about the weight; but I certainly would be concerned about overloading my car by several hundred pounds, and certainly won't advise strangers to do so.

 

Make more than 1 trip with smaller loads.

 

I'd think twice about loading it above the seatbacks; if you have a violent accident, especially if you rearend another vehicle or hit a solid object, you'll be wearing the cargo.