[Keith_PDX]

As the title says...

I have a 2 month expedition coming up in August and I am looking at removing the rear 60/40 seat, both halves, along with the little wedge behind the seat so I can make one large flat surface with some form of carpeted shelf that has hinged access openings (from the rear side doors) so I can lift them up and store infrequently used items under it. Looks like a decent amount of space could be had by doing this. Just curious if I am the first, if not it would be great to see someone else's work.

Thanks!

[DesertCanyons]

Hi Keith,

I took out my 2nd row seats for a camping trip in September and haven't put them back in yet. There is so much more room in the back without them. I haven't built a shelf to cover the whole floor because I don't plan to sleep inside.

The floor rises twice from the floor behind the front seats. Half of that space would not be very deep for storage. I put jugs if water on the floor behind the front seats and the cooler on the next level, below where the back seats would be. Other heavy gear goes near the front seats where ever it fits. By keeping the biggest weight between the axles and low it improves the handling.

The Weathertech or Husky floor mats are good in case one of your jugs leaks. That happened to me before I got the mats. It took a while to dry out.

I had a wheel barrow and a hand truck in there today, along with a lot of other gear and it fit flat on the floor.

I'm 6 feet tall and I've thought about building a flat sleeping platform beacuase the space is longer without the seats in there. But that means taking out the camping gear to sleep inside. It's always full of gear. I might consider a sleeping platform somewhere just below the windows.

[delloro]

This ought to replace 2 water cans, make use of space, and keep the center of gravity low.
Footwell Water Tank



I have found that be removing the rear seat bottoms and the rear seat headrests, I can fit my air mattress. Looks like I will have room to stretch out at 6' tall. I just need to find a smart way to pack stuff in the footwells to support the front of the air mattress and my pillow. The water tank might help, I don't know if I need it enough to justify $163 for my weekend desert trips, but for a longer trip I would take a close look at it.

[DesertCanyons]

Originally Posted by delloro

This ought to replace 2 water cans, make use of space, and keep the center of gravity low.
Footwell Water Tank
... I have found that be removing the rear seat bottoms and the rear seat headrests, I can fit my air mattress. ...

Does the seat back lay flat when you take off the headrests and remove the seat bottoms?

Tank looks nice and efficient. Yes, $163, and add $26.28 for two fittings and hoses. You have to have a hose on each side to get all the water out. The hose and fitting could be made for less with common hardware.

I don't fill my water jugs from a hose, but inside from the bathtub or sink. You never know what's in that hose...

I have two 5 gallon water jugs from REI. I also take along a 1 gallon recycled liquid laundry soap jug that gets well rinsed into the washing machine first. I use it for wash water and the cheap Vons/Safeway brand comes with a spigot. I put it on the table and refill it when it's empty. I carry other drinking water jugs too. You can't have too much water in the desert.

[MeefZah]

Originally Posted by DesertCanyons

I'm 6 feet tall and I've thought about building a flat sleeping platform because the space is longer without the seats in there. But that means taking out the camping gear to sleep inside. It's always full of gear. I might consider a sleeping platform somewhere just below the windows.

Originally Posted by DesertCanyons

Does the seat back lay flat when you take off the headrests and remove the seat bottoms?

Yes. Well, sort of. The seat backs are flat but they are 2.5" higher than the cargo area floor.

This is kind of off the original topic posted but in keeping with your question: I made a "pallet" which fits into the floor of the cargo area and, when the angled plastic trim piece at the back of the 2nd row of seats is removed and the 2nd row seat bottoms are removed, gives you a totally flat surface. Put a Rubbermaid Action Packer model 1170 in each rear foot well (with the front seats pushed all the way forward) and you have nearly a 7 foot perfectly flat surface to sleep on. Incredibly, I have no pics of the whole setup, just the pallet with the seats folded up. I'll take some next weekend on a camping trip.

You can always just toss your gear in the roof basket, or under the truck, when you are sleeping.



This "pallet" was built to be exactly 2.5" high, 43.5" wide, and 38.5" deep. It drops right into the recess in the cargo area and provides a slightly raised, flat floor. In this manner, when the rear seats are folded down / forward, the entire floor area from rear hatch to back of the front seats is perfectly flat. Without this, there is a 2.5" drop in the middle of the floor, right where the rear seats fold forward. The purpose for this is to make it more comfortable to sleep in the back during camping trips.

[salong53]

I've thought about removing my 3rd row also, because my pressure washer and my garbage can are too tall to haul with the 3rd row in place. As @MeefZah just showed, the entire cargo surface can't be completely flat unless there is a shelf in place, so if you're planning on using it to sleep in, you'll have to rig it up to be flat.

I think the difference is that models without the 3rd row seats also have a different 2nd row design. In those, the 2nd row seat bottoms fold forward first, then the seat backs fold forward and down. In models with 3rd row, only the seat-backs fold forward, making them sit higher and leaving that void in the 2nd row footwell.

[Jetboy]

I haven't done so in my 5th gen, but I routinely did in my 3rd gen. Usually though I'd leave the seat back in place. It made a nice divider to keep things organized between the front and rear areas. Kinda odd setup that way, but worked great. I kept the water tanks on each side in the foot well areas and a cooler in the middle. Then stacked other stuff on top. I usually did my best to keep all the cargo below the belt line so I could see out all around. With a rear camera it might not be quite as big of a benefit.

[JohnTheLuck]

Originally Posted by DesertCanyons

Hi Keith,

I took out my 2nd row seats for a camping trip in September and haven't put them back in yet. There is so much more room in the back without them. I haven't built a shelf to cover the whole floor because I don't plan to sleep inside.

The floor rises twice from the floor behind the front seats. Half of that space would not be very deep for storage. I put jugs if water on the floor behind the front seats and the cooler on the next level, below where the back seats would be. Other heavy gear goes near the front seats where ever it fits. By keeping the biggest weight between the axles and low it improves the handling.

Could you upload a picture showing the area without these seats, maybe taken from the side door? I am really thinking removing them as well for storage and for a sleeping platform.
Thanks.

[delloro]

Instead of the pallet idea, which is very good and efficient, I did an Antman cargo mod to bring the cargo area level with the folded rear seats, as I do sleep in my suv. It is more involved and expensive that the pallet, but I did gain storage.

[JohnTheLuck]

I plan to do a modular approach, with a module in the cargo, and two others fitting at the place of each 2nd row seat. I would install modules according to occupant since we might be 3 persons at some time. Of course, in that scenario, we would not sleep all of us in the 4R !!!

[MeefZah]

Originally Posted by delloro

Instead of the pallet idea, which is very good and efficient, I did an Antman cargo mod to bring the cargo area level with the folded rear seats, as I do sleep in my suv. It is more involved and expensive that the pallet, but I did gain storage.

That was my initial plan, I read all the posts on that and was seriously thinking about it... but then I realized I am super lazy and a terrible woodworker. Plus I just don't have that much stuff!

[Keith_PDX]

That tank is now on my short list. Thanks for that.

I am really surprised someone doesn't have this done already and some pictures. This must be the only undocumented 5th Gen modification left!

[adrtoy]

Did this on my jeeps and will be doing it on the 4runner when it gets here. On the Jeep I used a single piece of 1/2'' plywood that hinged at the back. Takes a small amount of metal fab. work but was well worth it.

[cbielat]

Originally Posted by Keith_PDX

As the title says...

I have a 2 month expedition coming up in August and I am looking at removing the rear 60/40 seat, both halves, along with the little wedge behind the seat so I can make one large flat surface with some form of carpeted shelf that has hinged access openings (from the rear side doors) so I can lift them up and store infrequently used items under it. Looks like a decent amount of space could be had by doing this. Just curious if I am the first, if not it would be great to see someone else's work.

Thanks!

Look in my build thread. I did remove my rear seat but just the bottoms for a trip.

[Chsbrgr]

I did this three years ago and it's great for my needs. One flat shelf from the tailgate to 10" behind the front seats. It sits on the wheel wells in the third row area. At the front, it is held up by braces that go from the shelf down to the floor where the second row foot area is. From the rear, instead of drawers, I kept the factory sliding tray and have two bins about 7" tall and about 36"X20". Under the shelf, where the second row seats were, is all my recovery gear, tools, and anything else heavy that stays packed year round and is accessed from the side doors. The removed seats weighed 75lbs!

I sleep on this and am 6'. With the front seats all the way forward there is plenty of room. I get in and out from the side doors. Can't sit up, but it's worked perfect for me on lots of trips.

It's great being out of the weather. With the rear slide out extended, and the bins with lids on them in place, this is my kitchen. Stove, cutting board and all on top of the bins, other stuff on the shelf. I know pictures would help but I don't have any. Let me know what I can explain better.