I recently got my Model 3 and soon noticed that it did not come with a trunk cargo net and that one was not available from third parties either. I therefore decided to implement one myself. Here is a description of my cargo net, as shown below, in Figures 1 and 2:
Figure 1: Trunk cargo net stretched around the handle
Figure 2: Trunk cargo net lifted
I bought the Tesla Cargo mat for Model3, and installed it normally. I assume that the WeatherTech cargo mat would work as well, but I have not seen it so am not sure.
I also bought a cargo net through Amazon:
AndyGo Car Trunk Cargo Net Fit For Merdedes Benz C250 C300 C350 CL550 CL600 CL63 AMG CL65 AMG E350 E550 GL350 GL450 R350 S350 S400 S550
by AndyGo
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0107OA94K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_6ianCbTYX9AW4
The net comes with the clips shown in Figure 4.
In addition I needed two large buttons (see Figure 5), some black parachute cord (I used Parachute 95, but it really depends on how large are the holes in the buttons), and some multi-stranded picture frame hanging wire (see Figure 3).
First the rear hooks:
If you fold down the rear seats and push your finger down between the seat and the side wall, you will feel a round tube down there. That is the axle around which the rear seat pivots. I took the picture hanging wire and bent it to a J-shape and slipped the wire under the axle and fished it back on the other side, and then tied the wire into a loop, as shown in Figure 3:
Figure 3: Rear loop (passenger side)
Note the piece of Velcro holding down the loop and the extra clip as I made the loop a bit too small and had the clip handy. You can just adjust the loop size and not use the extra clip.
Then the front of the net, shown in Figure 4:
Figure 4: Cargo net front hook
I made a small cut (around 1/4” using my Leatherman Micra pocket knife) in the front corner of the trunk mat. I then threaded the parachute cord through a large button and tied the cord behind the button so I got two loops of the cord. I then used the picture hanging wire to fish the loops from behind the mat to the front and then clipped the loops to the net.
That was it. The net was a bit large, so I tied a loop to the elastic cord in the center, both front and back. You can see the rear loop in Figure 1. I could still pull up on the loop attached to the trunk well lid and the whole trunk mat lifted out of the way. Lowering the trunk well lid worked as well, except I ended up having to push down the trunk mat corners a bit, to get them to lie down better.
The other problem was that lifting the cargo net caused the trunk mat corners to lift up. I lived with it for a while but eventually decided to fix it by putting a stiff rod under the mat, as shown in Figure 5:
Figure 5: The stiffener bar under the trunk mat
The stiffener bar is a bit of a kludge. I used a 1/8” x 3/4” aluminum bar in the middle and drilled two holes in it at the right spots to attach it to the side pieces. The problem with the aluminum was that I could not get it to bend enough to match the trunk bottom shape (the bar broke as I bent it to 90 degrees). So the side pieces are steel that I bought at Lowe's but they did not have a part number to them. If you decide to add the stiffener bar, you will likely have to come up with a different design.
Figure 5 also shows the button under the mat. With the stiffener bar in place the mat corners no longer lift up and I am quite satisfied with the project. I did one more improvement though. That was to buy a 1 1/4” diameter pine dowel, cut a 4.5 “ piece out of it, and drill a 3/8” hole through the middle, as shown in Figure 6:
Figure 6: Handle for trunk well lid loop
The problem was that the trunk mat already made it a bit hard to reach the trunk well lid loop, and the stiffener bar under the mat lifted it a bit more. So the handle made sense. I used the same parachute cord to tie the handle to the loop, and slipped the knot in the cord inside the hole in the handle. An added benefit is that the loop in the front of the net slips around the handle which closes the front of the net, see Figure 1.
Figure 1: Trunk cargo net stretched around the handle
Figure 2: Trunk cargo net lifted
I bought the Tesla Cargo mat for Model3, and installed it normally. I assume that the WeatherTech cargo mat would work as well, but I have not seen it so am not sure.
I also bought a cargo net through Amazon:
AndyGo Car Trunk Cargo Net Fit For Merdedes Benz C250 C300 C350 CL550 CL600 CL63 AMG CL65 AMG E350 E550 GL350 GL450 R350 S350 S400 S550
by AndyGo
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0107OA94K/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_6ianCbTYX9AW4
The net comes with the clips shown in Figure 4.
In addition I needed two large buttons (see Figure 5), some black parachute cord (I used Parachute 95, but it really depends on how large are the holes in the buttons), and some multi-stranded picture frame hanging wire (see Figure 3).
First the rear hooks:
If you fold down the rear seats and push your finger down between the seat and the side wall, you will feel a round tube down there. That is the axle around which the rear seat pivots. I took the picture hanging wire and bent it to a J-shape and slipped the wire under the axle and fished it back on the other side, and then tied the wire into a loop, as shown in Figure 3:
Figure 3: Rear loop (passenger side)
Note the piece of Velcro holding down the loop and the extra clip as I made the loop a bit too small and had the clip handy. You can just adjust the loop size and not use the extra clip.
Then the front of the net, shown in Figure 4:
Figure 4: Cargo net front hook
I made a small cut (around 1/4” using my Leatherman Micra pocket knife) in the front corner of the trunk mat. I then threaded the parachute cord through a large button and tied the cord behind the button so I got two loops of the cord. I then used the picture hanging wire to fish the loops from behind the mat to the front and then clipped the loops to the net.
That was it. The net was a bit large, so I tied a loop to the elastic cord in the center, both front and back. You can see the rear loop in Figure 1. I could still pull up on the loop attached to the trunk well lid and the whole trunk mat lifted out of the way. Lowering the trunk well lid worked as well, except I ended up having to push down the trunk mat corners a bit, to get them to lie down better.
The other problem was that lifting the cargo net caused the trunk mat corners to lift up. I lived with it for a while but eventually decided to fix it by putting a stiff rod under the mat, as shown in Figure 5:
Figure 5: The stiffener bar under the trunk mat
The stiffener bar is a bit of a kludge. I used a 1/8” x 3/4” aluminum bar in the middle and drilled two holes in it at the right spots to attach it to the side pieces. The problem with the aluminum was that I could not get it to bend enough to match the trunk bottom shape (the bar broke as I bent it to 90 degrees). So the side pieces are steel that I bought at Lowe's but they did not have a part number to them. If you decide to add the stiffener bar, you will likely have to come up with a different design.
Figure 5 also shows the button under the mat. With the stiffener bar in place the mat corners no longer lift up and I am quite satisfied with the project. I did one more improvement though. That was to buy a 1 1/4” diameter pine dowel, cut a 4.5 “ piece out of it, and drill a 3/8” hole through the middle, as shown in Figure 6:
Figure 6: Handle for trunk well lid loop
The problem was that the trunk mat already made it a bit hard to reach the trunk well lid loop, and the stiffener bar under the mat lifted it a bit more. So the handle made sense. I used the same parachute cord to tie the handle to the loop, and slipped the knot in the cord inside the hole in the handle. An added benefit is that the loop in the front of the net slips around the handle which closes the front of the net, see Figure 1.
