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Old 11th August 2009, 13:31   #1
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How to fit more in my SMALL car

Hi,

I am heading for a long drive to coastal karnataka over the weekend. We are two families(4 adults and 2 small kids(3 -4 year). My car is an Alto.

Now suddenly the car has started appearing too small for 6 of us. The self driven car rentals seem to be obscenely expensive. Even my heart was not willing to leave my loving car behind at home. So, I am looking for innovative ways so that all of us can adjust in the car. Please provide me some tips for space management in the car.

BTW, can we fit a lugguage carrier on an Alto? How much does it cost? Any tips on packing, adjusting lugguage, accessories would be welcomed.

Thanks,
JP
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Old 11th August 2009, 13:44   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by recker_us View Post
BTW, can we fit a lugguage carrier on an Alto? How much does it cost? Any tips on packing, adjusting lugguage, accessories would be welcomed.
Luggage carrier in Alto will miserably reduce handling of car and it is very scary to drive at speed more than 60 Kmph. It drastically increases air friction resulting stability of vehicle gets affected. Also CG of vehicle gets increased.

I feel if you take care of aerodynamics thingy in mind while putting luggage carrier it may solve you problem but I am not sure.

Also luggage carrier will give you too much of scratches on roof of your car.
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Old 11th August 2009, 13:46   #3
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Luggage carriers can be fitted on the Alto. If you plan to use a roof carrier, then Cover the luggage with some plastic or tarpaulin and tie them with ropes to the carriers. I hadnt tied my bag on the roof carrier of Tavera and lost it while speeding on the highway. Remove the rear parcel tray (if you have one), It will free up some space.
4 adults and 2 kids??? (will it be comfortable ???)

Anuj: I think the roof carriers are coming with rubber mount these days. Saw them being fitted on an Omni.

Last edited by mnhegde : 11th August 2009 at 14:03.
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Old 11th August 2009, 14:49   #4
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In the case of a roof carrier, wouldn't the weight of the luggage exert pressure on the top of the car (being an Alto), which may dent the roof, esp in case the road is not good and the luggage bumps up and down?

going by the number of people, I would guess there would be at least 2 large suitcases + 3 smaller bags. Even if the boot is filled, at most 2 smaller bags may fit in the rear, leading to a heavy weight needed to be put on top of the car (assuming one goes with the roof carrier). For any road trip, I know one will carry water carriers, food carriers, etc, these cannot be kept on top, but needs to go either in the rear or in the seats/lap. Pretty uncomfortable, if I may say, esp for the long drive.

Last edited by DriverR : 11th August 2009 at 14:54.
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Old 11th August 2009, 14:55   #5
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Recker, you are trying to work out something which will not make for a comfortable ride. Adding a luggage carrier to an already underpowered Alto would really put the safety of your entire family at risk. I would suggest you to hire a driver driven Indigo Taxi. Never compromise for safety, more so if it's going to be your family.
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Old 11th August 2009, 15:15   #6
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4 adults and 2 kids can sit comfortably in an Alto.

For luggage, do not use any suitcases.
Instead fill them up in air bags.
Travel light.

Do not use the luggage rack etc.
Try and pack fewer clothing and you can even use the space under the front seats.
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Old 11th August 2009, 16:31   #7
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Last year I drove my Alto with 4 onboard from Bangalore to Trivandrum. The 16 hour drive was a long one and we were going for about a week, so we had to pack in a significant amount of luggage.

The trick is to maxmize space utilization in the car. Remove the rear parcel tray, use airbags instead of suitcases as they can be squeezed into to match the contours of the boot. Also, you can store a few water bottles under around the spare wheel area as there is a lot of usable space there.

Try and avoid luggage in the passenger areas (seats, foot area) as that will be very uncomfortable over a long drive. Do not go for a normal roof rack as that will reduce your fuel efficiency drastically. If you atill lack space you can get one of those streamlined roof boxes fitted, but remember they are quite expensive as well.
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Old 11th August 2009, 16:52   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DriverR View Post
In the case of a roof carrier, wouldn't the weight of the luggage exert pressure on the top of the car (being an Alto), which may dent the roof, esp in case the road is not good and the luggage bumps up and down?
The carrier is put against the frame not the roof. So should not pose a problem.
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Old 11th August 2009, 17:53   #9
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Teach people how to pack sensibly.

Keeps the journey safer, faster, fun.

You can't indulge everybody without a budget.
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Old 11th August 2009, 18:05   #10
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I have a few questions

- How tall are the adults?

- Do you think the 2 kids & 2 adults at back or 3 at back & 3(2 at front passenger seat) at front would be able to sit comfortably for hours?

- What distance are you planning to cover

- How many days of Journey?

This should help in answering better.
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Old 11th August 2009, 18:17   #11
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Your opening sentence is "weekend trip". In which case you can travel really light. Assuming all 4 adults are not too tall, and you are willing to have a few breaks along the way (with kids anyway they will be required)you should be able to manage. Anything that can be bought easily along the way/at destination should not be carried!
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Old 11th August 2009, 21:20   #12
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In biking we generally say, that its easy to carry everything you need, but impossible to carry everything you want.
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Old 11th August 2009, 21:37   #13
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Any given day this will not be very comfortable. Just about comfortable but not exactly relaxing.
About space utilization, you can put small luggage on the right corner of front co-passenger footwell. If there is a bag, put it on floor and ask the co passenger to put his legs on the bad. Make sure that bag is hard luggage format if you plan to do this.

Physical build of adults will also matter a lot. Rotate the passengers i.e. after certain kms, let somebody else from back seat come out and sit in front.
The space under the front seats can be utilizted to store footwear. We have done both, the hard luggage in front co passenger footwell and storing footwear a lot of times in M800 till Baleno came in.

One last word : Dont go for roof carrier. Its the last thing to be added in any small car. We never did this in M800 despite spare problem. It not only reduces FE, it affects handling badly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DriverR View Post
In the case of a roof carrier, wouldn't the weight of the luggage exert pressure on the top of the car (being an Alto), which may dent the roof, esp in case the road is not good and the luggage bumps up and down?
No. It will not. I have seen many cars, mostly small cars fitted with luggage carriers. There is some space between roof and carrier. The carriers are typically strong enough not to cave even with greater load.

If you really want to see how people use luggage carriers, visit Saurashtra. I am always in shock with the amount of luggage they carry, but I have never seen roof caving in.
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