Beyond Cargo sliding cargo tray

[3wbdriver]

I've given up on finding or ordering the parts that make up the Toyota factory sliding cargo tray. Apparently if it doesn't come equipped with one from the factory you are out of luck. I know a couple members have removed theirs and put them up for sale, but they were too far away to make it practical to go pick one up.

So, I was looking through this thread last week and found this interesting little item that had been purchased by [MENTION=114961]444[/MENTION].

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/157923-sliding-cargo-tray-3.html#post1962704

After some research and promising my wife the first born son wasn't in danger of being traded off I was allowed to order one. 3 business days later it has arrived.

First, I hate all shippers. Period. I just don't think they care anymore. The 100 lb box had obviously been loaded/unloaded at least 3 times.


Nothing missing or damaged after opening the box.


Flipped over to see the underside. I went ahead and tightened all of the screws while I had it upside down. The main deck is solid 1" thick polyethylene. The side rails are the same thickness and attach to the main deck with screws. The 2 wood blocks are screwed in for shipping to keep the mechanism from moving and that's an angle iron brace running across the center.


The hardware kit came with 6 straps, the drawer latch, 2 spacers for the rear underside, a folded up section of drawer liner, an installation dvd, and very basic paper instructions.

 

[3wbdriver]

The installation was pretty straight forward and took about 30 minutes. The instructions specify a minimum of 4 straps depending on vehicle. The 4R uses four. I centered it against the sloped front area behind the passenger seats, and this left a little less than 2" space on each side and in front. This also left enough room between the passenger seat and the front rail to allow most of the reclining function to work.



You can easily access the entire tray from the back or sides when it is pulled out.


The straps were probably my biggest disappointment with the process. They are pull through friction straps with hooks for the tiedowns, and you have to snug them all up, move the tray around, cinch them some more, move it some more, cinch some more, until you are satisfied they are as tight as they will get. The tray is fully settled now, but I will not put my muscular buttocks on it for a seat while it is extended. And I DO NOT recommend it be used that way. But it is fully capable of handing an ARB Fridge, BBQ grill, or use as a picnic table. I am seriously looking into using turnbuckles with fender washers on at least the front the of frame behind the seats. Not sure there is room on the sides for the rear tiedowns, but I'll let you know what I find out.
[URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/3wbdriver/media/Sliding%20cargo%20tray/DSC00605_zpsruuxsiut.jpg.html]

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[3wbdriver]

The usable area on the tray measures about 30" deep x 38" wide. The drawer liner that came with it covers all but about a 2" border all the way around. It does seem to help keep things from sliding around, but I'll post later on that. It could be glued down, but again that is for future thoughts. The latch was a simple install with the tray open and has an adjustable toggle to set the tension. The latch does have to be manually closed when you slide the tray forward.



There is a solid 3" depth of usable space under the tray that is accessible through the back doors.


Looking straight down through the open back window.


All in all I'm happy with it so far. There are plenty of tiedown slots in the front and side rails which are slightly higher than 1" tall. We'll see how it stands up to use and I'll try to make regular updates. There is also a version of this that comes in red oak slats with the same style of rails also done in red oak. It is a little less expensive, but I went with this one because I will feel less guilty if I decide to do some drilling in the deck.

 

[Volley]

Must subscribe....been searching for a sliding tray too with no luck

 

[1engineer]

Use the little baby turnbuckles with hooks and swivels on each end!

Edit: Something like this http://www.amazon.com/G316-Stainles..._indust_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1F9A56XCN4MWFHG15SH4

 

[Bevo]

Looks like it pulls out further than the Toyota one. I also like the storage space underneath that the factory one does not have.

 

[cctt]

awesome. thanks for the write up. On my things to get

 

[Volley]

This looks awesome and like a ton of space

 

[Lexusbstrdchild]

I like it, very nice!

 

[Tengu]

Damn it!, I would have been more than thrilled to loose my try and trade for a normal deck.

Looks good though.

 

[3wbdriver]

Damn it!, I would have been more than thrilled to loose my try and trade for a normal deck.

Lol. And you were close enough I would have made the trip!

 

[Tengu]

Lol. And you were close enough I would have made the trip!

LOL, yup I saw that, and had my Ralphie "Fuuuuuuuudge" moment.

 

[SouthernSS]

very nice [MENTION=105481]3wbdriver[/MENTION]! Im jealous

 

[Mistaken]

That's pretty sweet!

 

[Antman]

Nice writeup and it looks like a quality product.:hatsoff:

FWIW- glue will not work to hold that mat down ( at least no glue that I know of...).

If I had that slide, I would put some snaps around the perimeter, maybe 8 of them, and then corresponding buttons on some cheap outdoor carpet. That way you could snap the carpet in and out in a few seconds to clean stuff up easily. You can get a stainless steel snap set, with the tools you need included, at West Marine- the ones from Home Depot aren't the same quality...

Pretty cool product that looks like it will last forever!

 

[TrailPJ]

Now that is how the cargo tray should've been! I like the raised sides and how it slides out to a usable length. I wonder if I could mod mine somehow. Hmmmm..

 

[NoOneBetter]

Nice, looks like a pretty sweet alternative to the oem sliding tray.

 

[Volley]

Interested to see how those straps hold up or if you end up doing something different for attaching. Also, do you forsee any issues with having pets back there?
I'm really considering this.

 

[3wbdriver]

I will be replacing the front straps with some sort of turnbuckle arrangement. That looks like it will be the most stressed area because it has to hold down as well as forward when the tray is open with weight on it. There is not enough room along the sides to put in additional hardware without interfering with the drawer slides. I may be able to figure something out using the flat hooks that come with the straps to anchor the upper part of a turnbuckle to the tray using the strap attachment slots. Brackets bolted directly to the floor would be the best and most obvious fix but I'm trying to avoid drilling holes in the 4R.

I wouldn't hesitate to put my dog back there. But I would put a thick blanket or pad over it that would cover and "fill" the gaps on the sides and maybe the back by the door so their feet wouldn't fall into those.

I'm making a 400 mile round trip tomorrow. That will be the first actual drive since installation earlier this week. I'll post thoughts about it Sunday or Monday.

 

[jicko]

I like this, I just don't know how this will mount to my SR5 with 3rd row seat. Seemingly this is likely to be the only solution for a T4R with 3rd row seat.

I need something similar (or a slider) for my ARB fridge, but couldn't seems to find anything that doesn't require perm installation (to body) that doesn't really work with the 3rd row seat's back.

This looks promising. I just don't know how the mounting points will work.

I hope that someone with 3rd row seat is brave enough to try this and report back. (i am hopeful) :hug: