Easy DIY 2-Door rear window cargo sling

jofer · Apr 5, 2025

I'm always looking for ways to use space as efficiently as possible in my 2 door. There's a lot of vertical space in the rear I'm currently not using well. I need to leave most of the rear open for my pup, but I've been looking for a way to temporarily store lightweight things along the rear windows when loaded for camping. I know there are a ton of MOLLE panel options for the rear windows, but they're pricey and block views even when not being actively used.

I realized today that I could pretty easily rig up some straps to make a sling of sorts. Hopefully the idea is useful for folks.

Ford Bronco Easy DIY 2-Door rear window cargo sling PXL_20250405_221122606

Ford Bronco Easy DIY 2-Door rear window cargo sling PXL_20250405_220946810

I'm only going to use it for sleeping bags, etc. Things that are bulky and light.

It's just made from standard 1" nylon straps. Melt a hole through with a soldering iron:

Ford Bronco Easy DIY 2-Door rear window cargo sling PXL_20250405_222502798

Then build a short strap and a long one, joined by a quick clip:

Ford Bronco Easy DIY 2-Door rear window cargo sling PXL_20250405_223130284

And of course, a bonus pup pic. That bed is usually on the wire rack in the back of the bronco you can see in some pics:

Ford Bronco Easy DIY 2-Door rear window cargo sling PXL_20250405_170732797

We'll see how it works. Planning a 5 day trip to the swell in a couple of weeks and I definitely need the space!

Sparkie · Apr 6, 2025

jofer said:
I'm always looking for ways to use space as efficiently as possible in my 2 door. There's a lot of vertical space in the rear I'm currently not using well. I need to leave most of the rear open for my pup, but I've been looking for a way to temporarily store lightweight things along the rear windows when loaded for camping. I know there are a ton of MOLLE panel options for the rear windows, but they're pricey and block views even when not being actively used.

I realized today that I could pretty easily rig up some straps to make a sling of sorts. Hopefully the idea is useful for folks.

I'm only going to use it for sleeping bags, etc. Things that are bulky and light.

It's just made from standard 1" nylon straps. Melt a hole through with a soldering iron:

Then build a short strap and a long one, joined by a quick clip:

And of course, a bonus pup pic. That bed is usually on the wire rack in the back of the bronco you can see in some pics:

We'll see how it works. Planning a 5 day trip to the swell in a couple of weeks and I definitely need the space!

Nice idea.
Update us on how well stable the loads are on bumpy roads.

PWillette · Apr 10, 2025

Good idea but isn't that going to affect air bag deployment?

jofer · Apr 10, 2025

PWillette said:
Good idea but isn't that going to affect air bag deployment?

Potentially when it's rigged up, but most of the time it's unclipped and there's nothing across the airbag area.. It's the same screws used by the paracord grab handles. There's also no rear seats in my case, so the rear airbags are less of a concern.

Sparkie · Apr 10, 2025

jofer said:
... no rear seats in my case, so the rear airbags are less of a concern.

What about the puppy?!

jofer · Apr 10, 2025

Sparkie said:
What about the puppy?!

Well, I mean, I worry about him a lot, but airbags aren't great for dogs in general. He's clipped in, but a wreck with gear in the back is going to be bad for everyone. I'm not sure the straps are going to interfere that much, either way. The way the hole in the end is done (no grommet) means they'll tear out with a hard pull.

With that said, I suppose I should think about routing them around the other side of the roll bar. That way the top wouldn't cross the airbags...

Bigred86 · Apr 10, 2025

That’s a really cool idea. Thanks for explaining how you did it, now I'm going to make one!

11811 · Apr 10, 2025

jofer said:
There's also no rear seats in my case, so the rear airbags are less of a concern.

No front and rear...It's all one big air bag. Also, I'd be worried about that big black bag winding up in my lap if I was involved in an accident.

You could probably achieve the same thing and not block the air bag by looping your top belts over the top and behind the roll bar and then inboard. It would then hold the bags up against the window.... Just a thought.

Squatch · Apr 10, 2025

jofer said:
...

I'm only going to use it for sleeping bags, etc. Things that are bulky and light.

It's just made from standard 1" nylon straps. Melt a hole through with a soldering iron:

I know you're only using it for light stuff, but a grommet would reallyhelp strengthen your hole and prevent tearing more than just melting with the soldering iron, plus grommet pliers with grommets are like $5 or so. Just a thought maybe just in case it rips or tears in the future. I've had it happen with some of my strap projects and really don't have a set of circumstances where I could say when to use a grommet and when melting was good enough, tears were just random it seemed

jofer · Apr 11, 2025

Squatch said:
I know you're only using it for light stuff, but a grommet would reallyhelp strengthen your hole and prevent tearing more than just melting with the soldering iron, plus grommet pliers with grommets are like $5 or so. Just a thought maybe just in case it rips or tears in the future. I've had it happen with some of my strap projects and really don't have a set of circumstances where I could say when to use a grommet and when melting was good enough, tears were just random it seemed

I actually do have some grommet pliers, but the grommets I have are quite small and the bolts won't fit through them. They're also beveled and not flat. Melting seemed good enough for now, but yeah, if things tear, I'll get some larger grommets. I'm not too worried about these pulling out for my use case, but I may be being too optimistic.

Squatch · Apr 11, 2025

jofer said:
I actually do have some grommet pliers, but the grommets I have are quite small and the bolts won't fit through them. They're also beveled and not flat. Melting seemed good enough for now, but yeah, if things tear, I'll get some larger grommets. I'm not too worried about these pulling out for my use case, but I may be being too optimistic.

Definitely use the same method for my own modifications and sometimes I get lucky and sometimes I have to redo everything.

jofer · Apr 12, 2025

New design: Things now wrap around the outside of the roll bar and I salvaged some elastic netting from a dog barrier that didn't work well. The netting helps keep smaller items in place. No issues with things bouncing around so far, but again, everything there is very light.

Ford Bronco Easy DIY 2-Door rear window cargo sling PXL_20250412_191451983

Ford Bronco Easy DIY 2-Door rear window cargo sling PXL_20250412_191726799

Sparkie · Apr 13, 2025

jofer said:
New design: Things now wrap around the outside of the roll bar and I salvaged some elastic netting from a dog barrier that didn't work well. The netting helps keep smaller items in place. No issues with things bouncing around so far, but again, everything there is very light.

Very nice!
I like this solution and will be trying it myself.
... after I finish the chores my wife just added to my list.

Easy DIY 2-Door rear window cargo sling

jofer

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Sparkie

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PWillette

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jofer

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Sparkie

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jofer

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Bigred86

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11811

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Squatch

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jofer

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Squatch

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jofer

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Sparkie

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