Being without 7 children or aspirations to be a taxi driver, and in need of a storage area for recovery gear, tools etc, I decided to ditch the third row seats and fit a board in their place to create a separate storage area (while still retaining a versatile and large main 'boot' space.
I found that if the third row seats, and their mounts etc were removed, I was left with 4 threaded mounting points that would suit my shelf idea, they were level and at the right height (ie beer carton slides under shelf neatly). While I think that drawer systems are very snappy, I need more versatility in terms of space to carry objects of all sizes. Plus drawers cost lots more!
I picked up a sheet of 25mm plywood, some carpet from bunnings (poo brown to match interior), some contact cement, tacks to hold down the carpet edges, 4 x 100mm long M10 x 1.25 hi tensile bolts (to thread into the factory seat mount bolt holes) and nuts and washers to suit. While I was at it, I picked up some factory toyota (hilux) tie down points from the local wreckers to provide some tie down points in the back.
Measured and cut ply, affixed carpet, drilled holes, and mounted in the back using M10 bolts. All good!
Bought a plastic box (underbed storage to be precise) from bunnings, and keep recovery gear in that. Slides in and out, poor man drawer.
The shelf is angled higher at the front, giving more room at the front that is used to store the hi-lift jack, chains etc and a bag of tools and spare parts. The angle is used to match the height of the 2nd row seat when folded down, so I can use it as a bed of sorts (more on that later).
The storage areas at the side work well for first aid kits and a 300w inverter (more on that install later too).
I found that if the third row seats, and their mounts etc were removed, I was left with 4 threaded mounting points that would suit my shelf idea, they were level and at the right height (ie beer carton slides under shelf neatly). While I think that drawer systems are very snappy, I need more versatility in terms of space to carry objects of all sizes. Plus drawers cost lots more!
I picked up a sheet of 25mm plywood, some carpet from bunnings (poo brown to match interior), some contact cement, tacks to hold down the carpet edges, 4 x 100mm long M10 x 1.25 hi tensile bolts (to thread into the factory seat mount bolt holes) and nuts and washers to suit. While I was at it, I picked up some factory toyota (hilux) tie down points from the local wreckers to provide some tie down points in the back.
Measured and cut ply, affixed carpet, drilled holes, and mounted in the back using M10 bolts. All good!
Bought a plastic box (underbed storage to be precise) from bunnings, and keep recovery gear in that. Slides in and out, poor man drawer.
The shelf is angled higher at the front, giving more room at the front that is used to store the hi-lift jack, chains etc and a bag of tools and spare parts. The angle is used to match the height of the 2nd row seat when folded down, so I can use it as a bed of sorts (more on that later).
The storage areas at the side work well for first aid kits and a 300w inverter (more on that install later too).
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