Well, I really stepped in it this time! I took a turn too quickly with a gas can in the rear after filling it up for my mower and it tipped over, spilling all over the right side of the rear cargo area. I took out the rear carpet and padding and didn't realize there was Styrofoam under there! Yikes. Little did I know I had some napalm sitting under the rear carpet. I had to pull up what was left of the Styrofoam and pitch it. Now I need to fill that void.

It looks like the OEM piece runs about $200. Does anyone have any better ideas? I don't even necessary need to put the carpet back in, although I have a husky liner for the back that I would still like to be able to put in...oh, how I wish I had that liner in when this happened!

Attached Images

 

good excuse to either DIY or buy a cargo plate (goose gear).

+1 goose gear and add the dual drawer system

I checked out the GooseGear rear plate system...$600 is tough pill to swallow. Looks nice, though.

I'm leaning towards just going to Home Depot, getting some styrofoam and trying to trim it to fit. I already have a basic leveling platform I built a few years ago for sleeping in the back so getting back to a stock configuration wouldn't be all bad. Though it would be nice to have a bit of storage come to think of it.

How thick is the Styrofoam? Maybe replace the Styrofoam with another layer of carpet. I have seen carpeting installed with 2 layers of carpet instead of any padding. You want to get something that can deal with UV rays or it will rot faster.

Before putting anything new in the car, I would let it sit in the sun with the windows open for several weeks. We bought a car that had been owned by a smoker and it took a long time for the smell to be gone. Parking in the sun helped. Our 2 year old puked on the rear carpet of our Camry. That took a very long time to go away, but we didn't replace the carpet.

Use Febreeze too, that helps.

That sucks, I always have this fear when I go to fill up my gas can. I always use a bungee cord to keep it upright. Good luck with the refurb

Depending on the thickness of that original foam, some from HD might work. It is kind of messy to cut - I used a big retractable utility knife making a few passes to get through the 2" stuff. I like the double carpet idea - a rubber mat might work too. Also, baking soda is great at absorbing odors. Just sprinkle around and vacuum up a little later. Before I had trucks, I used a plastic tote to contain my gas cans, because some always spills out.

just drive with the back window down baby !!!!

pending what part of ohio youre in there are a few part out 4runners listed on Fb market.. I would reach out to them and get parts needed

An upholstery shop can sell you some foam. An electric carving knife is a great way to cut it.

NATO style fuel cans with the flip up opening don’t leak. No liquid. No vapor. Nothing.

I'm going to buck the curve and say bite the bullet and buy OEM stuff. Thanks for solidifying my insistence of using a hitch basket for this kind of stuff ;) Also, what kind of dinosaur gas can are you using? Most ones from the last decade are sealed to the 9s. Cant imagine them leaking on a tip.

I just replaced mine with the goose gear plate system, right now though I'm not sure if I want to get rid of the oem stuff just yet.

I'd check out the new victory offroad plate system in the rear to be honest, maybe it'll go on sale this weekend

4Runner Floor | 5th Gen (10+) | Off-Grid Modular Drawer System - Victory 4x4

I know there are others with the goose gear and other floor plates, keep asking around and I'm sure you'll find oem replacements if that's the route you want to go

That's a good idea I hadn't thought of. I tried poking around Marketplace but I've barely ever used it and wasn't able to come up with any listing for the part-out 4runners. Where did you see them? Feel free to PM me. I live in the Cleveland/Akron area but am from the Cincy(ish) area so having an excuse to go back home might make it worth it.

Yeah, I'm not opposed to going back to the OEM setup if I can find the styrofoam piece at a decent price. If I go that route I'll probably rip the padding off the underside of the carpet and re-pad it because I'm sure a lot of gas is trapped in there. My insistence on using old gas cans for ease of pour finally bit me in the a**, that's for sure!

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll send you a PM and see if it's worth you parting with the OEM stuff

Two things:

1) So the 4Runner has Styrofoam under the carpeting in the cargo area?

2) I HAD NO IDEA STYROFOAM + GASOLINE = NAPALM

I had an engine coolant spill in my 4Runner, luckily the liner caught most of it but some of it made it onto the carpeting underneath. However if it stained, the staining was very minor, just some slight darkening of the carpet. Lesson learned from that to make sure any fluids are kept upright.

1) I had no idea either! As the smell was lingering even after a detailer spent a couple hours on the carpet, I decided to rip it all up and get to the bottom of it - no pun intended! I was surprised to find the styrofoam as well.

2) Yes, Styrofoam is a essentially a polymerized styrene product with tons of closed cells. When it reacts with gasoline it breaks down and the air in those cells escapes causing a gooey, gelatinous substance to form - aka, Napalm. Sorry, the chemistry teacher in me got a little geeky there ;)

I decided to stick with the OEM route, all. I found the foam and OEM carpet piece as a bundle for a good price. I may still build something out eventually, but for now I'll go OEM.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions, help, and PMs.

Cheers.

JT