# Does a minivan or SUV have a “trunk”? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 4, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550 "2018-05-04T04:22:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/1 "2018-05-04T04:22:32Z")
My wife and I disagree on this. One of us believes that designation only applies to the kind of compartment a sedan has, that is not connected to the passenger area. The other believes it applies to any area in the rear of a vehicle where you might stash groceries or luggage—except not including the bed of a pickup truck. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/2 "2018-05-04T04:25:15Z")
I’d call it a hatch or hatchback. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/3 "2018-05-04T04:41:27Z")
Honda calls it a [“cargo compartment” or “cargo area.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFyvMlsFlLk) You are, of course, free to call it whatever you like. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/4 "2018-05-04T04:46:00Z")
My Escape has a cargo hold/trunk. I know cause it’s where I put the stuff I haul around. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/5 "2018-05-04T04:50:17Z")
You are wrong. Your wife is right. The wife is always right. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/6 "2018-05-04T05:14:12Z")
I believe with one of you. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/7 "2018-05-04T05:20:44Z")
I remember this coming up when Ohio’s first concealed carry law was passed. If you do not have a CCW then you must carry a weapon in a locked case or where it cannot be retrieved without exiting the vehicle, i.e., the trunk. The topic of minivans came up often since they do not have a trunk and thus one legal method of transport of a weapon was denied to them. Here is the relevant passage: " A person may transport or have an unloaded firearm anywhere in a motor vehicle, whether accessible or not, as long as the person may otherwise lawfully possess the firearm under both Ohio and Federal law and it is carried in one of the following ways: ``` In a closed package, box, bag, or case; In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle" ``` Dennis ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/8 "2018-05-04T08:06:58Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > You are wrong. Your wife is right. > > The wife is always right. This is probably the best answer, LOL. But I just can’t call that area in back a trunk! To me, a trunk has got to be the kind of place that is dark, where you would be able to stow a hostage. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/9 "2018-05-04T08:42:16Z")
I’m in the “it’s what I’d call an area specifically designed and designated for carrying Stuff as opposed to people” side. But then, I’m also translating from _maletero_… literally “suitcase place”. Some vans and SUVs are almost all cargo area; some don’t have any. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/10 "2018-05-04T10:23:29Z")
I’ve driven minivans for 30 years and have never thought of them as having trunks, nor have I ever heard anyone refer to a minivan trunk. Normally I keep the third row seat folded down, so everything behind the middle row becomes a “cargo area”. I usually just call it “the back”. However, when I tell someone (e.g. grocery store helper) to put something in the back, they invariably want to put it in the middle row of seats. When I instruct them to open or close the gate, they have no idea what I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/11 "2018-05-04T10:45:56Z")
Huh. Maybe you are like me, and they are like my wife! ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/12 "2018-05-04T10:47:52Z")
Slightly off-topic: a French colleague of mine once referred to a vehicle as a “deux volumes” and I had to ask him to explain. I guess [the concept](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-box_styling#Two-box_design) has more traction (hehe) in Europe than in North America. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/13 "2018-05-04T11:24:32Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > I’ve driven minivans for 30 years and have never thought of them as having trunks, nor have I ever heard anyone refer to a minivan trunk. > > Normally I keep the third row seat folded down, so everything behind the middle row becomes a “cargo area”. I usually just call it “the back”. However, when I tell someone (e.g. grocery store helper) to put something in the back, they invariably want to put it in the middle row of seats. When I instruct them to open or close the gate, they have no idea what I’m talking about. I’m with this. I drive an SUV. I used to have a VW Vanagon. They have cargo areas, in back. They do not have trunks, per se. I asked my wife and she agrees, so that makes us right. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/14 "2018-05-04T11:27:36Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > This is probably the best answer, LOL. But I just can’t call that area in back a trunk! To me, a trunk has got to be the kind of place that is dark, where you would be able to stow a hostage. Whenever I need to stow a hostage, or a body, I take my wife’s VW Jetta. It has a proper trunk. ---
**Author:** ![MareIt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@MareIt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MareIt)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/15 "2018-05-04T11:42:23Z")
I have a Chevy Equinox, a crossover, aka Toy SUV. I call the storage area the “cargo area”. In my truck, it is “the bed”. When I drove a true hatchback and when I drove a sedan, it was ‘trunk’. When I drove my mom’s mini-van it was “the back”. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/16 "2018-05-04T11:47:01Z")
When I drove a true hatchback (a Toyota Starlet), it was not the trunk, it was the back. And, forgot to add in post #13, that the grocery helper and others are just wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/17 "2018-05-04T11:53:29Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > I remember this coming up when Ohio’s first concealed carry law was passed. If you do not have a CCW then you must carry a weapon in a locked case or where it cannot be retrieved without exiting the vehicle, i.e., the trunk. The topic of minivans came up often since they do not have a trunk and thus one legal method of transport of a weapon was denied to them. Here is the relevant passage: > " A person may transport or have an unloaded firearm anywhere in a motor vehicle, whether accessible or not, as long as the person may otherwise lawfully possess the firearm under both Ohio and Federal law and it is carried in one of the following ways: > > ``` > In a closed package, box, bag, or case; > In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle" > > ``` > > Dennis Even most sedans nowadays have fold down rear seats that allow access to the trunk from inside the vehicle. So really, about the only place you could legally transport a firearm would be in the engine compartment, or tied to the roof. 😃 To answer the OP, we never referred to the cargo area of my old Santa Fe as a “trunk”, we just referred to it as “in the back.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/18 "2018-05-04T11:56:01Z")
I drive a two door Jeep Wrangler with the back seat removed. Theoretically I’m violating the open container law when I pick up litter (empty beer cans) and toss them in the back of my vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/19 "2018-05-04T12:38:40Z")
Well, you’re all wrong, because it’s called a boot, whether it’s in a sedan OR an SUV 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2018, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550/20 "2018-05-04T12:41:26Z")
In vehicular terms, the trunk historically referred to an actual trunk strapped to the back of a sedan. From google dictionary: > [@](#): > > a large box with a hinged lid for storing or transporting clothes and other articles. In that sense, no vehicles have trunks anymore, it’s all just cargo areas. But there’s another definition out there: > [@](#): > > NORTH AMERICAN > the space at the back of a car for carrying luggage and other goods. That doesn’t define any properties about the cargo area except the location relative to the orientation of the vehicle (e.g., “the back”). It’s certainly not something I would argue over, if someone said “put it in the trunk of the minivan” I’d immediately understand what they were talking about, and isn’t that the point of words? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-minivan-or-suv-have-a-trunk/813550.md?page=2)