Cargo Tie Down

I recently picked up a 2017 Toyota Highlander LE Plus and was looking around for a good way to secure some small items in the rear cargo bay. There are a few options for cargo nets that cover the back or bottom of the bay but I wanted something to strap smaller items to the side of the bay so they won't slide around without stopping the rear seats from folding up or taking away too much from the floor space.

There are 4 folding cargo anchors in the back near the floor, along with two t-hooks higher up at the rear. The forward most cargo hooks are in the path of the rear seats and when fully opened inhibit the seats from folding up or down. I wanted a way to use these hooks without having to remove the cargo netting before folding up the seat. I hit on the idea of making my own low profile hooks that can interface with the anchors while they are still folded up in the wall of the bay. The hooks I came up with work well, just clearing the seats without issue.

I picked up 25 feet of 1/4" shock cord (bungee cord) to make the webbing and all my hooks are designed around this size cord. The cord I have measures out with a 5.5 mm diameter, slightly less than 1/4". That should be enough to make a tie down for both sides of the car.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NY7ZQKC

You can simply string the bungee cord between the various anchor points, but to get the most out of this you will want to create some sort of webbing between the ropes. You can use the included s-clips to attach cords together. Or if you want a more robust setup and have the patience you can use a double sheet bend knot to combine the ropes together. This is not too complex of a knot and it holds well with the bungee cord.

https://www.101knots.com/double-sheet-bend.html

To connect the ends of two cords together you can use the included 3D printed coupler, or a sheet bend or a more complex knot called the zeppelin bend knot that is more symmetric than the double sheet bend.

https://www.101knots.com/zeppelin-bend.html

The ends of the cord will become frayed if you just cut it to length. To prevent this you can temporarily wrap the cord with tape before cutting it, then seal the ends with heat (flame) or use a piece of heat shrink tubing or some sort of a metal crimp or knot to hold the end of the cord together.

I printed this on a fairly stock Creality Ender3 with 0.2mm layer height and 0.4mm line width, 1.2mm wall thickness (3 lines), 1mm top/bottom thickness (5 layers), and 30% cubic infill in PLA at 205 C hotend temp.

Standard FDM printing settings:
- Layer height: 0.2mm
- Infill: 70%
- Supports: As needed