Rear seat gone, now this (1 Viewer)

[woytovich]

So my 60 has transitioned to a trailered trail rig and I have deleted the rear seat permanently. I built this platform to hold my ARB fridge, toolbox, recovery gear etc. (It'll all get strapped down of course). It attaches to the old captured nuts for the seat back and bottom. Made from 3/4" ply.

 

[60Works]

Very functional. You might consider using the frame and fastening points of the seat back to create a cargo barrier.

We look forward to more updates.

 

[woytovich]

While I like the idea of a cargo barrier I am planning on having EVERYTHING strapped down.

And yes, the fridge lid will open all the way... that was part of the planning & design.

 

[SuperDuperCruizer]

Can your Hi-Lift jack fit underneath? Looks like a good place to stuff it.

 

[woytovich]

It is mounted on top of the wheels wells, as seen in the pics.

Spare driveshafts, relay & tie rods, front shafts & birfields, rear axle shafts and some recovery gear will go underneath.

 

[60Works]

It is mounted on top of the wheels wells, as seen in the pics.

Spare driveshafts, relay & tie rods, front shafts & birfields, rear axle shafts and some recovery gear will go underneath.

Nice. Keeps the heavy items forward of the rear axle. The spare is also much closer to center of mass than hanging off the back of a swing out like most of the rest of us. Committing to a specialty vehicle opens a lot of new possibilities.

 

[woytovich]

Keeps the heavy items forward of the rear axle.

That is exactly why the spare is inside and flat on the floor and the heavy spares, tools etc will ride just behind the rear seats and most will be down on the floor.

Not having a rear bumper/spare carrier and tire all way out back may not make a HUGE difference but I need all the help I can get out in the rocks.

 

[woytovich]

And regarding the "specialty" part... I've been wheeling basically like this for years... tire inside on the floor, heavy stuff in the 2nd row footwell and on top of the folded down rear seat back. Now it will just be a lot more orderly and secure.

 

[NMC_EXP]

I like it.

I'm tempted to do the same but I do need the rear seat at times.

 

[woytovich]

Prior to this I had my rear seat bottom rigged up for quick removal (replaced the hinge pins with latch pins)... I was on the verge of doing the same with the seat back. At that point it would be pretty simple to replace the seat back with a platform using the same latch pins to secure the platform to the floor (that's where mine is bolted down. You could rig it to swap in and out in a couple of minutes.

When I removed the seat bottom I'd leave the seat back upright and just use the floor for "stuff". I rigged the ARB to mount securely to a piece of plywood I attached to the seat bottom mounting brackets and hinge point.