A strange thing about purely utilitarian things is how they can often acquire charm and character unintentionally, and when they do, it’s so much better than designs that actually, you know, tried to be charming and characterful from the get-go. This is very much the case with cars, especially the two very iconic and utilitarian cars I’d like to talk about today: the Willys Jeep and Citroën 2CV. The Jeep was born out of the needs of war, the 2CV was meant to put donkeys out of work and get French peasants into cars, and both took wildly different technical approaches to their different-yet-maybe-oddly-similar demands. They also became perhaps the most popular cars ever built of a very small set of cars that had one very specific, strange thing: aftermarket cargo area extenders.
What do I mean by “aftermarket cargo area extenders,” you’re probably asking yourself, or possibly even some unfortunate soul next to you, perhaps trapped with you in a stuck elevator. Well, what I mean by this is some sort of product one could buy that bolted onto the car, and increased the amount of cargo room the car had. A trunk enlarger, if you will, and, oh, you will.
Not a trailer or anything like that, and not a rooftop carrier, either. It has to be a thing that expands the existing trunk or cargo bed so you can carry more stuff, but in generally the same area as where you’d carry stuff anyway. And it should be an aftermarket thing, the goal of which is just to increase cargo space, and should be a pretty simple installation. That’s why I’m not counting somewhat similar items like the Subaru Baja bed extender (that wasn’t aftermarket, and it wasn’t really a bolt-on sort of thing), or those Rolls-Royce or other novelty hoods for Volkswagen Beetles (those did increase trunk room, but their primary goal was aesthetics, not utility), or something like the Fiat Panda Van (that was a more extensive alteration of the car, and was a separate factory-sold model).
So while these kinds of things are close, I think only the old Willys Jeeps and Citroën 2CVs had the actual sort of thing I’m talking about. Let’s start with the Jeep versions first, starting with the particular one that caught my attention first, the Koenig All-Steel Body Extension:
The Koenig Iron Works company was interesting; they seem to have started their Jeep accessories and add-ons business in 1949, where they advertised entire closed full- and half-cabs for Willys Jeeps, and they had one of my favorite taglines I’ve seen in a while:
“A Koenig cab has never been known to fall apart” is a pretty decent endorsement, I suppose. Better than “only seldom known to fall apart” or something like that. Back to the body extension kit, though. It appears to re-use the Jeeps little tailgate, but adds a pair of two-foot by 14 inch side panels and a floor panel to make a sort of short truck bed that pretty dramatically increases the normally surprisingly limited cargo room in an old Willys Jeep.
It’s one of those ideas that just seems so straightforward and simple that you wonder why everyone hasn’t just done that. In this case, it sort of seems like everyone did, because a surprising number of box-like Jeep bed extenders were available, along with a 1951 patent on the design that I’m not sure was actually referenced or used by any of these companies:
It’s a very basic and cool idea, and it’s easy to see how much more utility it’d have given your little Willys. The method of re-using the tailgate is quite similar to the other type of cargo-expander I want to show you, the ones made for the Citroën 2CV, most of which used the existing trunk lid, just re-positioned at a new angle:
These sorts of 2CV trunk-enlargers are really just another version of the Jeep body extenders, the exact same basic concept, just adapted to a different shape, and enclosed like a trunk, instead of open like a truck bed. Some sources say these were developed first in the Netherlands, which is possible, as there’s a strong 2CV community there, but I can’t really prove that. Unlike the Jeep bed extensions, it looks like you can still buy 2CV boot extensions today, and look, here’s someone welding up their very own:
This general type of design is quite similar to what Citroën of Chile was building onto their modified 2CVs, the Citroneta:
There seems to have been a lot of fiberglass and plastic versions available too, and these were common enough at one point to get their own nickname, at least in Finland, where it’s called “pepureppu“, which translates to “butt bag.” Classy!
One company even made a whole van-like rear add-on, in addition to the more expected trunk extender:
That top one almost makes it into a 2CV camper or van!
In addition to the trunk extender that uses the original trunk lid design that seems most common for 2CV trunk extenders, there is another design that’s a bit simpler, a replacement trunk lid that has been re-shaped to allow more interior volume. Citroen themselves even experimented with enlarged trunk lids of this type, fitting one to their stillborn 2CV Super prototype:
This type seems to be a bit less useful than the larger boot extender type, and I don’t think it was as popular.
Bolt-on cargo enlargers are really surprisingly rare, when you think about the extra utility they provide compared to the difficulty of installing them, which is pretty minimal, both for Jeeps or 2CVs. It’s very hard to picture anything remotely like this that could work on a modern car, and even if you had something, it would absolutely kill the careful aerodynamics of a modern car and probably make the ECU go crazy, too, just because.
I’m standing by my assertion that the venerable Jeep and Citroën 2CV were really the only mass-market cars ever to enjoy these strange things, though if any of you beautiful geeks can think of others, I’d be delighted to see them in the comments.
They were field modifications on WWII jeeps as well. They were called bustle baskets. The link is a modern repo https://www.alliedforcesltd.com/uploads/1/3/1/6/131607676/jeep-rack-005_orig.jpg
Keep the 2CV content coming!!!
As a Finn I’d like to clarify the word is not “pepureppu” but “peppureppu” where peppu means butt and reppu means backbag.
Pepu is also a Finnish word meaning traditional food made from barley flour. But because Finnish language has lots of conjugations that alters the words it is possible to talk about for example “my grandma’s pepu” in a way that it is impossible to say without context if you mean “grandma’s butt” or “grandma’s traditional food”.
Part of the solution is to go all electric, where and whenever possible. Not just for transportation.
The second part of the solution is downsizing:
-Smaller houses.
-Meals with a smaller ecological impact.
-Etc.
My car will comfortably carry seven adults, but carries 1.1 person on average!!!
The story behind me daily driving a 7 seater involves several deaths and a divorce, but that is what I drive for now.
My next car will be a 4+1 seater, fully electric, with the ability to mount a roof rack and towing a trailer.
No need to carry around dead weight until you need to.
When we are out and camping with the 2cv I use the extension, we call it a “ankstjärt” like in a ducks behind. Being able to double the luggage space when needed is a nice thing to have.
My first car was a 2CV, so I’ve known about these things forever.
The luggage embiggening device I’m waiting for is an aftermarket hatch for the GT86/BRZ so you can actually use all the space when you fold the rear seats down. I’m sick of having to post my MTB through the stupid tiny slot at the back.
My favorite Brooks and Dunn song.
“Boot Stretch’n Buggy”
*Buggies
How about the late 80’s early 90’s Nissan Pulsar NX Sportbak. You were able to remove the standard rear hatch and replace it with a wagon style rear which greatly improved storage capacity.
Yes but it’s not an aftermarket solution
I think this is a market that is still there for vans? I’ve definitely seen auxiliary cargo boxes mounted on the rear of Sprinters and Crafters, especially when serving in a long distance travel role
Kind of connected (but I get it, not exactly what Jason is going for here) are two examples of extending the ability to legally leave your tailgate down. Ever noticed how all pickups have the license plate on the bumper, and not the tailgate? That’s so that your rear number plate is still visible when you are be-bopping along with your tailgate down. But one non-car has the same idea, as well as one pseudo-car/truck/ute thing.
First off the one pseudo truck/car thing. The aforementioned Subaru Baja. Not only does it have the bed extender thing that Jason mentioned, but the license plate, (which is on the tailgate!) has a hinge, and can be lowered to stick down when driving with the tailgate down! How cool is that? See here –>https://youtu.be/MizUIKsvJ1o?t=123
But the coolest example is the Mini 850. In order to fit a suitcase in the rear, you had to leave the bottom hinged tailgate down. So they did this –> https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/109831026/six-key-things-about-the-original-mini
Scroll about 1/2 way down that page and there is a pic and short mention.
Anyway, enough rear number plate geekery.
Never enough rear number plate geekery.
What about the old DS Safaris that sometimes had two numberplates?! Covered on none other than this very site!
https://www.theautopian.com/useless-car-trivia-question-why-did-this-car-have-three-license-plates/
“it’s easy to see how much more utility it’d have given your little Willys.”
Sounds like a line from a Viagra commercial.
Thanks for showing a Jeep with the spare wheel on the side, I just wrote to DT in his Janky Contraption article to keep it simple and just do that!
One of our legendary 2CV guys over here (DK) built this extreme 2CV camper extension.
But the best one in that field must still be the SAAB Toppola!
That is a pretty 2CV!
Terraplane offered a factory version to convert their Utility Coupe into a Utility Pickup, or, if you will, a Utility Coupe Pickup:
https://live.staticflickr.com/2855/34025821885_37001d5e26_h.jpg
These things were available for Minis too. Some look more permanent than others, but the ad copy often hypes their utility for going on holidays.
Example 1
Example 2
Torch you’re aware that Subaru Bajas are not remotely the only pickups that you can get bed extenders for, right? That’s a quite common accessory that existed long before the Baja and will continue to exist long after.
Just weird that you singled out the Baja.
Not only that, but saying those aren’t bolt-on or aftermarket parts is strange. I could get one of these for my 2002 pickup and bolt it in right now, over 20 years after it was sold new.
I am good with separating these things from bed extenders that simply provide a cage that extends to the end of the tailgate, though. These do feel like they are substantially different.
I wonder if Jason made his decision to encourage engagement. We’re certainly talking about it in the comments now.
Jason went from “not a truck guy” to a full 8′ RCLB that may be “only” an old F150 but still way more truck than a homeowner/dad with a desk job ever actually needs. Of course he doesn’t speak bed extensions.
Wheelie time!
Trunk-Embiggening is the preferred nomenclature.
I really like the one on the 2CV that uses the original lid and opens like a cooler. That’s pretty clever.
I’m almost sure that you don’t even need to remove the lid to install this
I had a 2CV back in the 1990s and had found a guy who manufactured these extensions in his shop. No welding was required to put them together, he used rivets, and you didn’t even need bolts to install it, it took less than a minute to install or remove it.
“Enlargening” is a perfectly cromulent word.
Embiggening too.