I figure it's just as easy to change the carpet if I ever sell it

 

That's all well and good until you spill something like milk and it gets past the carpet and into the battery compartment... That could get pretty smelly...

I think a liner with some type of lip around the edge is a wise investment in the cargo area.

 

The battery pack is water tight on 3 sides.
The side suseptible to spills is the side by the rear window vent where the air comes/goes.

You would need a large spill to harm the battery in any case. Even the side with the air vent is fairly well protected. Ford went into this project to make a "no compromise" SUV.
They expect people to use it for "utility" reasons.

Liquid spills will mark / smell up the carpet perhaps.
Your battery will be fine short of a flood. I promise.
-John

 

Thanks John;
Since I live in Southern Cal; the chances of a flood are pretty remote...but stranger things have happened, I suppose!
Jill

 

Yeah... I'm not that worried about the battery or electronics... just stuff getting down into the well UNDER the battery... that will slowly start to STINK over time. We carry groceries back there.

 

What about the strength of the battery compartment - is that a concern at all?

What if I needed to carry a few heavy items, will it hold up or do I need to worry abut denting it? For argument's sake lets say I need carry, oh I don't know - some anvils. Do I need to worry about them denting or otherwise damaging the battery compartment? Do they have to be placed in there very gently?

I know, it's a stupid situation but it's one of those things that you never consider and then whamo! You drop in an anvil and crush your battery.

Thoughts? (aside from the fact that one should not carry anvils around as a matter of course )

 

Your concerns about how much weight can be carried in the cargo area should be put to rest. The photos below reveal the before and after views of my FEH with 1000lb load from 25 bags of 40lb wood pellets. There was just a little compression on the rear suspension.

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Wow! Ok, that's not anvils... but it is helpful to see that the back can carry quite a load.

Thanks for posting those!

 

That's awesome...

Now I'm dying to know what FE you got with a load like that... Probably not that bad once you got up to speed and then plenty of regen...

 

SET.... your anvils back there and you should be fine.

Drop an anvil, and it will dent just about anything!

I'd say, just based on experience, you can put 10 psi.... 10 pounds per square inch back there. A 100 lb. anvil 'probably' has a footprint of 10 sq/in.