I second putting on the carpet or something like it. I already had peel and stick to dampen sheet metal vibrations. Wouldn’t put any cargo against the bare metal, for sure.

I was hoping to store long items on the top, but filled it up pretty much quickly and ran out of room.




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Bump for this sick mod!

JZiggy's "Grown Up" 4Runner Build

Nice mod, This'll give me alot more space to store gear out of sight.

Thanks for posting , I plan to do this soon

I'm interested to see if anyone has ideas on how to utilize the interior space behind the driver's side rear panel? Has anyone installed an access panel door or anything?

There's a lot less space on that side due to the fuel filler neck and vent system over there.

-Charlie

Yeah when I had mine off there's not really much space at all. I suppose you could deckplate it but there's no defined beginning/end to the space so stuff will flop around and possible clog the vent.

If I'm understanding the location correctly, here's how someone used that spot, in case you missed it:

Who has an ARB twin compressor mounted in their trunk?

Exactly. In 4Runner terms that’s kind of a lot of real estate. Seems that an access door on that side and some way of protecting the vent assembly below could be handy.

I think the old 1st gens had cargo doors on both sides.

I like that, just need to figure out a door

In the meantime, can anyone confirm if the 99+ driver side rear areas are the same behind the panel, like shown in the picture of @habanero 's truck (which is a 96)?

I had my panel off recently but forgot to take pictures, doh.

It is. The open space used by the compressor in that photo is in the way of part of the vent system that is built into the back side of the trim panel. That part can be removed though, I suppose.

-Charlie

That little black plastic ductwork to direct the air for the vent is sorta melt-attached, I did pop it off to fit the viair (my 96 in the pic above as identified by jziggy), I suppose it allows for dust to get more everywhere but judging by the amount of it when I pulled the panels (see pic, pre-duct removal dust), it was getting more everywhere anyway. Could be now it's getting more more everywhere. The Viair filter at the top corner of the cargo area stays pretty clean though.
Edit: Found a pic for reference:


The flap thingy was missing on my vent, I need to make one of those. I am currently using some folded up remnant of an old furnace filter. Without it I get a fair amount of dust in the cabin via the vent.

To add to the door discussion:
I did use a cubby door out of some junkyard thing or another, and it works okay but is awkward looking. Can't remember the last time I used it. Sorta like the door on the 96's passenger side cargo, with catches at top and bottom. Unfortunately it sits on top of the panel, not flush. There's likely a better way!

Without removing the ductwork maybe it'd be possible to turn the upper part of it into a small cubby? That or the space at the far end, in front of the taillights. Both spaces are pretty small, though.

I had forgotten about the black plastic thingy that plugs into the bottom vent. It's huge and takes up most of that volume. I wonder if it is really necessary? It looks like the wad of fiberglass or other matting that stuffs into the vent is doing all the real dust prevention, not sure what purpose the black plastic housing serves.

@habanero did you keep your black plastic thingy after removing it?

Super easy mod, did it today and it was a breeze! Took my time to try to not break any clips though haha. Just need to grab some carpet to line the inside now.