[SNAP]
[SIGH]
What a beautiful morning to go camping.
Can't wait to hit that mountain air.
Uh-oh-- I don't think I'm going to be
able to fit my cooler in there.
[EXHALE]
Has this ever happened to you, where you kind of just
overpack your trunk?
Luckily for me, though, I do have somebody I can call.
Hold on one second.
[PHONE RINGING]
Jennifer Schtockberger.
Jen!
It's Jack.
Listen, I got a bit of a problem here.
Can you please help me out?
Sure.
When can you get here?
I'm already there.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Jen!
How does Jen know so much about packing a vehicle?
Well, she's part of the team at Consumer Reports
that evaluates cargo space to see if manufacturers'
claims stack up.
That's important, as many consumers
seek fuel efficient vehicles, which are often smaller
and may sacrifice cargo space.
The team's mission is to find out
how much cargo space is really in each vehicle.
That could help consumers arrive at the right car buying choice
based on how much stuff they'll be loading into their vehicle.
You're a life saver!
I came as quickly as I could.
How are you?
Thank you so much.
Hey.
You look like you're headed out.
Yes.
I'm going camping.
Doing some camping.
Does this have to go in there?
Yeah.
Unfortunately, it does.
I'm a little worried about safety, as well.
Safety?
What do you mean by safety?
Something heavy like this lantern,
when you have it on top, if you have to hit the brakes hard,
where do you think this is going?
Yeah.
You want to keep heavy stuff low to the bottom.
You also want to make sure you don't put stuff
so high that you've completely blocked your visibility out.
You want to try and keep that clear.
Good point.
So let's start over and see if we can get this stuff in here--
All right.
--better.
How do I put everything back in, that way
it's efficient and safe?
The key-- start with the big stuff.
OK, let's do this.
So let's put that cooler in.
Let me give you some heavy stuff.
Let's keep this stuff low.
Maybe tuck that in at the side.
Here we go.
Chairs.
That a sleeping bag?
You could probably tuck that in inside over there.
Make use of that nook and cranny.
The lantern?
Keep it low.
Low.
Jen, this is already starting to look so much better.
And now, when you get to the softer stuff,
you can go a little higher.
OK.
Any loose stuff, you want to bag it up.
It's probably better.
And that's about as high as you want to go.
You want to be able to see out.
OK, great.
I guess I can take this, put it in the side seat.
All right, one last one.
All right--
Perfect.
--I think we got it.
Much better.
Much more efficient, you put the heavy stuff low,
you've got visibility, you're below your head restraints,
and your soft stuff is with your passengers.
You're good to go.
That reminds me-- now that we're here,
there's a family that has a question.
Let's ask CR.
Oh, OK.
Hey, Jack.
I just got a new bike.
I can't wait to take it on some family trips.
Does this mean I have to buy him a bike rack too?
Good question.
The best way to transport a bike is in a dedicated bike
rack, either one that goes up on the roof or behind the car.
But when that rack is up there, with or without a bike,
it can wreck the aerodynamics, the flow of air
over the top of the car, and it can hurt your fuel economy.
So take the rocks off when you're not using.
Speaking of, I think we can fit a lot of that gear
in that pickup truck.
We sure could but there's some things to consider.
Let's take a look,
OK.
So there's a ton of space here.
You could put a ton in here, but two things to think about.
One is the weather.
Plan ahead.
You don't want it to rain.
And the other is the way the air flows off the cab of a truck
comes down into the bed and it wants to pitch everything out,
so you're going to make sure everything's secure.
All right.
To keep your stuff safe, Jen says
you can buy a truck bed cover and be
sure to keep ratchet straps on hand to secure your items.
All right, Jen--
You're all packed.
All packed.
Jen, thank you so much for everything.
Now I'm a happy camper.
Have fun, Jack.
Bye!
[SNAP]