So I've wanted to do this for a really long time. Every time I try to sleep in my 4runner, it pisses me off because of the uneven surface that the seats make. I do a lot of camping trips, a lot of long trips to Baja too, so I wanted something sturdy and lightweight, so I could store my food underneath in rubbermaid bins, so mice wouldn't get into it at night.

For the city, I'll keep it in 95%. I always keep my surfboards with me, and am always sketched out about having them in view in the back, so I made this in mind to being able to keep my boards underneath there too, so you can't see them.

Its not quite done yet. I'll be adding another section that will go vertically holding up the front end towards the front seats.

All I used was ONE piece of 4'x8' high quality 7-ply, plywood. Its really nice stuff actually.

I also might add some turnbuckles on the sides to keep it held down, but, the thing is kept in place, I really doubt its going anywhere, especially if I have my truck loaded down with gear.
$27.00 for plywood
$16.00 for carpet

Its 5'10" long, 48" wide, and 10.5" high. The rear needed to be scribed down to about 9" to keep it all level.

 

Pretty cool... do you get any sagging with the aquired weight?

 

Its about 50-60 lbs...so no

 

Very Nice.

 

Nice, I don't think my 9'2" will fit under there though.

 

Cool, whats that black plastic liner in your first pic? I am looking for a beefy liner that would cover the backs of the seats when folded down (mainly for my dogs). That looks like it might work.

 

The black plastic thing is a Toyota cargo liner. Supposidly its $200+ from a dealer, but, it came with my 4runner... Its awesome actually, I can throw all my wet stuff (wetsuit, booties, boards) on it and it keeps the water from moving anywheres.

SLO: lol, no I don't think the 9'2" would fit

 

nice place to stow the boards. My dad has a vw eurovan that has a tricked out rack system inside for windsurf boards and sails. BTW I have a cousin up in delmar that's on the high school surf team. Which high school? I didn't ask. He's only a fish too. he's gonna be real good. That shelf is a good idea. I might devise one of my own one day.

 

I just use an air matress to overcome the uncomfortable area where the seats lie down.

 

me too

 

its super cool that you can hide those surfboards under there. solid design. I used to keep my fishing and spear fishing gear in my 4runner when it was back at home in Hawaii, but was always sketch about it in plain sight and a cargo cover wouldn't hide it all. nice job.

 

That is uber cool, only problem is, I am an old man and don't ride thrusters anymore. What would you do about an 11 foot kook board?

Seriously, very nice.

 

Yeah, an air mattress would have worked, but, I still need storage inside while I sleep. Coyotes and mice are pretty desperate in Baja when it comes to food, so nothing can be left outside.

As for your cousin living in Del Mar, I grew up there. Still living there today too. I was on the Torrey Pines Surf team, which is probably the surf team he is on since Torrey is the HS for the area. I had 2 periods of Surf PE, every semester for every year in HS because of being on the surf team. It was pretty awesome.

Oh, and the board with the green bag around it is a 5'6" fish. They are super popular now a days, but, I still claim to have brought them back from the 70's back in the mid 90's when people looked at me funny. Its a replica of my dads 1972 fish shaped by Steve Lis.

 

Hey what do you think the longest board that you can fit in there?
TIA
Reeves

 

Measure from back of driver's seat in driving position to inner side of tailgate when closed.

 

How thick is the plywood?

 

Anyone care to calculate what this project would cost today? Or I guess a few months ago?

$27 for plywood! Those were the days. Of course when you only need one sheet, even the double the price isn't so bad.