I was inspired by all the great information in the "Trunk Dividers - DIY in 10 minutes" http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9106&page=6
thread to try a little trunk storage ingenuity of my own.
On to business.
On to business.
My trunk is unique ("*") in that it incorporates a lot of the modifications previously done PLUS I have added a few twists. What are my additional mods? The best way to find out is to read on as a picture is truly worth a thousand words.
Here are the steps:
RUG
First, pick up about 7 feet of thin automotive type rug from your favorite big box store. Trust me here when I say cut this "Small Funky-Shaped Platform Piece" FIRST and as accurately as possible. This will now be called the SFSPP (or pain in the arse) for lack of a better abbreviation. You will need the SFSPP as a template later so don't lose it. Scissors worked great for me. With me so far? Great, let's keep it moving.
The only straight cut here is about 21 inches. You have to keep trimming the curvey carpet until it fits perfectly (or close enough).
The next rug cut is way easier.
Still have the first cut of the SFSPP? Good. Simply lay it down as a template on top of this rectangular piece and cut the same shape/orientation as the bottom of the trunk. Doing it this way is WAY easier than when I tried this in reverse order. If you want to cut out a hole for the drain plug now is the time to do it. Not me. If I am going to have anything wet in the trunk then I will take all the carpet out ahead of time. Whatever floats your boat.
TRUNK DIVIDERS
Next, start with either outside divider (do not start in the middle as the carpet bunches as you cut) and simply cut a slit all the way down to the base of the trunk until the divider fits down low. Mine go all the way down to the rug. All you are doing here is making room for the dividers to fit in the grooves. Also, make sure that the carpet remains even. So far I did not use any glue or velcro at all. There will be about an inch of excess carpet -- unscrew the spare tire tray bolts and slide the extra carpet underneath the tray. Screw bolts back in. That substitutes for the glue and looks clean. Make sure the aft (towards bumper) part of the trunk has some rug too. Voila.
I also added the 1/4" c-channels on the duraboard dividers for stiffness. Black bedliner spray paint.
Up to this point everything has already been in the DIY post. Here we go to the newest mods:
* TWO HINGED PLATFORM ON TOP OF TRUNK DIVIDERS *
Grab the SFSPP template and trace this shape on whatever type of wood you fancy. I used 1/4 Luan because it was on sale -- $4.23 a sheet at Lowe's. You may be well served to go with 1/2" plywood or similar instead, but not thicker. Will explain why later. Basically cut the Luan just a little bit LONGER (maybe 5-6 inches) than the very BOTTOM, flat part, of the trunk. If you look up from the very bottom to the SFSPP the truck bows convex up, to the right. Just cut the length of the Luan a little long.
RUG
First, pick up about 7 feet of thin automotive type rug from your favorite big box store. Trust me here when I say cut this "Small Funky-Shaped Platform Piece" FIRST and as accurately as possible. This will now be called the SFSPP (or pain in the arse) for lack of a better abbreviation. You will need the SFSPP as a template later so don't lose it. Scissors worked great for me. With me so far? Great, let's keep it moving.
The only straight cut here is about 21 inches. You have to keep trimming the curvey carpet until it fits perfectly (or close enough).
The next rug cut is way easier.
Still have the first cut of the SFSPP? Good. Simply lay it down as a template on top of this rectangular piece and cut the same shape/orientation as the bottom of the trunk. Doing it this way is WAY easier than when I tried this in reverse order. If you want to cut out a hole for the drain plug now is the time to do it. Not me. If I am going to have anything wet in the trunk then I will take all the carpet out ahead of time. Whatever floats your boat.
TRUNK DIVIDERS
Next, start with either outside divider (do not start in the middle as the carpet bunches as you cut) and simply cut a slit all the way down to the base of the trunk until the divider fits down low. Mine go all the way down to the rug. All you are doing here is making room for the dividers to fit in the grooves. Also, make sure that the carpet remains even. So far I did not use any glue or velcro at all. There will be about an inch of excess carpet -- unscrew the spare tire tray bolts and slide the extra carpet underneath the tray. Screw bolts back in. That substitutes for the glue and looks clean. Make sure the aft (towards bumper) part of the trunk has some rug too. Voila.
I also added the 1/4" c-channels on the duraboard dividers for stiffness. Black bedliner spray paint.
Up to this point everything has already been in the DIY post. Here we go to the newest mods:
* TWO HINGED PLATFORM ON TOP OF TRUNK DIVIDERS *
Grab the SFSPP template and trace this shape on whatever type of wood you fancy. I used 1/4 Luan because it was on sale -- $4.23 a sheet at Lowe's. You may be well served to go with 1/2" plywood or similar instead, but not thicker. Will explain why later. Basically cut the Luan just a little bit LONGER (maybe 5-6 inches) than the very BOTTOM, flat part, of the trunk. If you look up from the very bottom to the SFSPP the truck bows convex up, to the right. Just cut the length of the Luan a little long.
Looks like to top of a grand piano, eh?
"Peek" beneath the Luan until you see the middle trunk divider. Mark (slightly to the right of) where the middle divider is and draw a straight line. Cut along this line. This will be hinge #1.
With the extra piece (extending over the SFSBB) cut a piece straight across. This will be hinge #2. I cannot tell you exactly where to cut here. The goal is to cut so that the Luan rest evenly on all 3 dividers. The excess Luan should be cut straight across back to front. Again this will be hinge #2. Hint: If you cut it correctly the spare tire tray should still be clear to slide out.
FYI -My hinge screws stuck out from the thin Luan so I just added spacers. This is why I said earlier that 1/2 " wood may be better here than the 1/4 " chosen. The spacers will be totally covered so ugly is OK here. Ugly is also OK around 1:00 AM when the bars are closing and the beer goggles come on: "Well she IS ugly...but that's OK right now."
I did not use any kind of router, table saw, or any fancy do-dads. My tools of choice for this project were: Cordless circular saw, drill, 80 grit sandpaper, Black spray on bedliner, Fiskar's Scissors, Fiskar's tree limb trimmer, straight edge, tape measure, one tie down, one strap velcro... No duct tape used...this time...but you could probably use DT instead of hinges to be really frugal. Hmmmmm.
Cut some more rug to cover. Looking good.
Here is why you want two sets of hinges --- Sun Chips!
You can't see it here but there is small L-bracket velcro'd to keep it at 90 degrees. No sliding snacks here.
* UNDERNEATH TRUNK LID STORAGE *
OK, so this is where things get interesting. We are about to stow even more stuff in your trunk. This time we will stow underneath the lid. Here is how. Getcha a piece of SKU 319519 metal grating from Lowe's for $3.13 - dimensions below. Should be where all the plastic storage stuff is. Not all locations carry this so verify over the phone before you make an unnecessary trek.
Spray paint it black if you want. 3 coats.
Next add a spacer on the lengthwise pieces and secure with zip ties or something. I used pieces from the foam pad workout squares (edges) and lashed it on with two old shoe strings.
will look like this after you lash it good. The corners are most important to cover.
Sorry, flip your computer 45 degrees to the left for normal view. The blue is the foam pad (this will make direct contact with the BOTTOM of the trunk lid) and avoid rattling. See the shoestring lashing? My old scout master should be satisfied.
Begin "threading" a tie down similar to above. If you have a second set of hands to help out (I did not), have someone hold the metal grate (kind of centered) in place to make sure you are lined up OK. Do this on both sides of the grates and secure strap. I would also suggest to not directly attach too much pressure on any one point of the trunk (especially) and the grate so that nothing snaps on you. There are also a few cables/wires too so don't pinch them.
Should look something like this once you coax all the strapping along. Notice how the hook of the strap hangs down the way I tied. You can conveniently hang a lantern here to see better. Or a small TV for tailgating or camping?
This grate is not huge but plenty big to stowe your emergency goods or frequently used stuff. Your small stuff. Nothing too heavy though as the lid spring won't support the extra weight.
Anybody know how/if you can add about 15-20 pounds of spring action to help the lid open up easier? Stay up without propping with a stick?
L to R bottom: Emergency roadside kit, blanket, More crap
Top: Flashlight, small hand tools
This about 20 pounds of junk and feel that is enough to test things out.
These were all cross tied with single strap velcro for quick and easy release and/or basic buckle straps. Pretty solid. Anything that is sturdy and quick release will work well here.
The great part is that all this crap is totally out of the way of the bottom of the trunk and I really have not given anything up. I now have three independent layers of storage (bottom with dividers, flat storage on top of dividers, storage UNDER the lid. My tonneau cover blocks my trunk from opening ALL the way up, so those without this issue or without a tonneau will have an improved angle to grab stuff.
Sidenote here ---Any tailgaters out there? You could easily modify this further with some pegboard, or velcro and keep all your cooking utensils handy under the lid. That would definitely be a sweet mod and give you bragging rights before kickoff.
Sorry again, 45 to the left.
Had enough storage mods yet? Well there is one thing we forgot to stow in the trunk. Fire extinguisher! Hopefully we will never need it....but just in case. Where to place it?
* STORAGE ON SPARE TIRE RACK *
This mod is not completed yet as my wife's patience with this 2 day excursion is running very t-h -i -n.
Here is the almost complete picture.
cut a piece of wood like this shape ---------->
My battery (me) is running a little low at the moment but you can see where I am headed with this fire extinguisher mod. You can still stow stuff BEHIND this piece of wood as before too. I plan on adding velcro strips in the channels and using small clamps to hold the top on.
There you have it. 4 layers of storage instead of just 1 to an already very useful and utilitarian trunk design.
Will keep you posted on finished product. Peace!
Update 11/8/10 (Version 2)
So I added another layer of foam to increase the clearance between the trunk lid and metal grate. This makes securing the goods much easier. Also, the one (orange) tie-down strap is not laced to the rack. Instead it is simply strapped directly to the lid, then I used about a dozen zip ties to attach the two. Much easier and more secure than version 1.
Here is the final version (for now). Let me know what changes you would like to see? What gear would you stow? and how you plan on using this type of setup.
