cargo area storage cover mods/ideas

[wandererr]

So in the cargo area we have this little "cubby" that (at least in my case) holds stuff forever and I rarely ever look into it. I'm thinking about using it to store some of my extreme emergency repair stuff - i.e. welding rods, goggles, bailing wire, welding gloves, spare jumper cables and the like. This is complicated though that I'm going to build a fridge slide that will cover part of it.

So with that said - has anyone build/made/modded the existing cover to be split into 1-2/3 ? At first I wanted to just cut mine into two pieces, but the more I think about it, I think that I want to make a new one and just squirrel away the stock one in case I ever want to sell the jeep and need to bring it back to stock for whatever reason (highly doubt it.... but you never know)

 

[jscherb]

I can access the cubby with my MORryde Trail Kitchen installed. The hard floor cover gets removed and only the carpet remains in place, that way the carpet can be lifted up for access to the cubby:

It also works with my drawer unit installed. You might think that this setup completely blocks access to the cubby:

When I built the drawer unit I put a cutout in the bottom so when the bottom drawer is removed the carpet can be pulled up to access the cubby:

 

[wandererr]

so the problem with this is that I want a "hard" floor as from time to time my daughter might be using the 2/3 of the cargo area for sleeping.

 

[Dan Grec]

I welded a steel plate over the larger cubby, and hinged a door with a lock so it's a lockbox.
In three years around Africa only one border guard ever found it - nobody else knew it was there (under a piece of carpet).
.... I had around $3,000 USD cash in there...

A long time ago there was a thread on a forum where someone combined the smaller cubby with the bigger one to make one enormous storage area.
I always wanted to install a much thinner muffler and make it as big as possible... but never got around to it.

-Dan

 

[jscherb]

so the problem with this is that I want a "hard" floor as from time to time my daughter might be using the 2/3 of the cargo area for sleeping.

There are at least two ways to easily solve that:

1. Cut a piece of plywood to be her sleeping platform. It would cover the entire floor on the side she sleeps on, providing a hard platform. You could even cover it with carpet to make it nice. It wouldn't have to be fastened down, it would just set in place when she's going to need it.

2. Make a removable hard lid for the cubby out of plywood to go under the soft carpet. It could be made so that it has chocks on the underside that keep it positioned properly over the cubby and it would be held in place by the carpet on top of it.

Or do what Dan suggests, I like his ideas .

 

[Tkhawk]

I cut my factory one with a jig saw when I built my fridge slide. It works great, but I don't plan on selling. Also after @jscherb convinced me to take a cut off wheel to the hard top, its a lot easier to cut up less visible things.

 

[wandererr]

So now I'm torn between a plywood lid and cutting up my existing lid... I think that I'll start with just a plywood lid that's 'keyed' to the hole in the floor.

 

[zgfiredude]

Or, as I read this and ponder.....what about a piece of aluminum, in two "tracks" or "guides" running fore/aft, and just slide it forward to access the space and pull it back to close?

 

[pith helmet]

No pics but I have lowered my 3/4” carpeted plywood sleeping platform from 8” to 2” and removed everything, including the plastic insert and carpet. I put a thin piece of carpet down to kill rattle and protect the paint.

I can put a much bigger tool bag in the cubby And stow things on either side up to the bulkhead that is at the drop off where the rear seats were. You could likely do that and gain a bit of extra storage and incorporate the hatch idea jscherb suggested. I don’t have a fridge so mine is hinged at the bulkhead and raises completely up.

You’d be surprised at how much you can store under 2” without sacrificing much cabin space.

 

[tx-jeremy]

No pics but I have lowered my 3/4” carpeted plywood sleeping platform from 8” to 2” and removed everything, including the plastic insert and carpet. I put a thin piece of carpet down to kill rattle and protect the paint.

I can put a much bigger tool bag in the cubby And stow things on either side up to the bulkhead that is at the drop off where the rear seats were. You could likely do that and gain a bit of extra storage and incorporate the hatch idea jscherb suggested. I don’t have a fridge so mine is hinged at the bulkhead and raises completely up.

You’d be surprised at how much you can store under 2” without sacrificing much cabin space.

Do you have a thread or pics with your sleeping platform?


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[pith helmet]

Do you have a thread or pics with your sleeping platform?


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I have a few of the original 8" high one but not of the 2". I have a thread with another Jeep project in it and I'll post some to that thread later on, maybe tonight. It's really super simple.

Expedition Portal

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expeditionportal.com

 

[tx-jeremy]

I have a few of the original 8" high one but not of the 2". I have a thread with another Jeep project in it and I'll post some to that thread later on, maybe tonight. It's really super simple.

Expedition Portal

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Yes sir I’ve seen that thread (and been inspired to creat my own awning)

I don’t see your sleeping platform there though. I may have missed it.


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[pith helmet]

Yes sir I’ve seen that thread (and been inspired to creat my own awning)

I don’t see your sleeping platform there though. I may have missed it.


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Cool, I'll post some later on this evening.

 

[shays4me]

I'm not sure if you're aware but the models that come with the subwoofer in the floor have a plastic cover that goes over the jack only. I have that cover on my current JK. I built a sleeping platform that covers the cubby completely and houses some camping gear. With my subwoofer removed it turns into a pretty spacious compartment. The box that I built is the same height as the rear seats folded which allowed me to wrap some plywood in carpet and use it for a sleeping platform.

 

[tx-jeremy]

I'm not sure if you're aware but the models that come with the subwoofer in the floor have a plastic cover that goes over the jack only. I have that cover on my current JK. I built a sleeping platform that covers the cubby completely and houses some camping gear. With my subwoofer removed it turns into a pretty spacious compartment. The box that I built is the same height as the rear seats folded which allowed me to wrap some plywood in carpet and use it for a sleeping platform.
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This is exactly what I’m thinking!

How tall is that back box that’s in the cargo area?


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