The beauty of the VBF is that it gives you a floor level with the boot lip. I don't know how I would have got my paving slabs at 64Kg each out if they had been lower!

The beauty of the VBF is that it gives you a floor level with the boot lip. I don't know how I would have got my paving slabs at 64Kg each out if they had been lower!

 

True, my suggestion does rather defeat the object! I seem to remember the manual does mention a maximum weight the floor can take.

I really do need to see one but if it can take 64kg slabs I should not have a problem    but as you say its a Octy 2 which may not be the same......

 

Anyone care to check to see how thick the flooring is on a Octy 3 for me? Is it the same 4mm hardboard as on the wifes Spaceback ? As this would probably sag under a couple of roof tiles if I removed the spare wheel poly moulding currently supporting it!

Edited 4 November, 201411 yr by ajw1100

20mm.  Brrrr - it's only 3 degrees out there!  Zero when I got up this am.  I think winter's here :no:

I really do need to see one but if it can take 64kg slabs I should not have a problem    but as you say its a Octy 2 which may not be the same......

 

Anyone care to check to see how thick the flooring is on a Octy 3 for me? Is it the same 4mm hardboard as on the wifes Spaceback ? As this would probably sag under a couple of roof tiles if I removed the spare wheel poly moulding currently supporting it!

 

Yes, they have a hardboard floor. 6mm I think.

 

Apparently the vbf can handle 75kg according to the manual. I wouldn't fancy putting that weight on the standard floor without spacing it our carefully though. Shame, as it's marketed as being a real load lugger.

20mm.  Brrrr - it's only 3 degrees out there!  Zero when I got up this am.  I think winter's here :no:

Thanks for that, I hope you put on warm Jim Jams to check it If its 20mm or 3/4" in old money that should be okay for most loads,

 

 

Yes, they have a hardboard floor. 6mm I think.

 

Apparently the vbf can handle 75kg according to the manual. I wouldn't fancy putting that weight on the standard floor without spacing it our carefully though. Shame, as it's marketed as being a real load lugger.

 

I did look at a VRS Estate and that had a hardboard floor (Not variable) and thought the VBF may be made of the same stuff, thankfully not it would seem :thumbup:

Re earlier post about the variable load floor buckling, all I had in it was a boot load of bags of compost/ manure to do stuff in the garden this springtime. After emptying it out the floor was sitting down beneath the sides, anything put in the boot at that time just slid down to the rear of the boot. Seems bizarre to me to even have to think about what you put in an estate car! As long as it is not ridiculously heavy, any modern estate car should be able to cope with virtually anything you might wish to carry in it.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, dealer had a good look at the variable load floor recently, they took it all out, checked it and reassembled it with a view to replacing it if it was faulty. Before that, I emptied out the boot and took out two bits of wood I'd put in to keep the floor level at the sides, but with the wood out the floor finally stayed level! Dealer criticised design of the variable load floor and said under certain conditions it will bend in on itself, which is what mine did. It might not happen very commonly but seems to me that just a little bit of extra reinforcement left in place will virtually eliminate any likelihood of this happening again. Probably not an issue for most people, just depends what you are putting in it but just to be sure I'll put the wooden supports back in again!

Thanks DJ. My fears seem to be correct, I could not see a VBF at the dealers, they reckon on only selling an Elegance model every 6 months as "it's too expensive" ! great sales technique.

 

Trolling through lots of posts finding out about things I found one from a member near to me with an Elegance and had a good look at his, the VBF is great in principle but not so great in design/support. There's rather a lot of unsupported floor between the sprung under floor support and the rear of the car, this is the area probably most often used and seems to be the weakest area as there is more support further back towards the rear seats.

 

 

My idea is to make a wooden oblong frame with the ends of the frame rebated to clear the hinges/joint strip of the floor panels. It would be  hinged at each corner and have 2 removable slot in center cross  pieces, this would serve many purposes, support for the upper floor, fold-able to store away and divide the under-space up so its easier to stop items going everywhere. I can also move it back and forth to suit my needs. I have found that one half of Velcro sticks itself very nicely to some car carpets so a few bits tacked on should stop the frame going walkies.

Edited 15 November, 201411 yr by ajw1100