A picture is worth a thousand words. So, for starters:
Interested? Then read the wall of text below.
The project was inspired by this gentleman: GX460 3rd Row "In-floor" Storage Solution - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/gx460-3rd-row-in-floor-storage-solution.1357428/
It has taken a few years to come up with the design and get brave enough to start modifying the car.
I keep air pump, recovery gear, jump start cables, emergency watter supply and stuff like that in there.
Things I don't need daily but do want to always carry.
Traction boards also fit nicely in the large compartment.
Is it overbuilt?
Most likely. But I like rigid shiny things, so steel unistruts is the way.
Also unistruts have slots so it's easier to add any mods later or bolt on storage bins.
The third row was removed(btw, let me know if you want it for very cheap. North California, local pick up only), the floor was insulated with killmat and some sound deadening foam with a carpet on top of it.
I use OnShape because it's free and good enough for what I do. You can copy the document to your workspace and use it.
I'm not doing it professionally, it's a hobby. So my CAD skills are... improving daily.
I highly recommend to use the CAD model for inspiration only.
Initially the trunk was 3d-scanned(KIRI engine) and everything was designed around the 3d scan.
There were minor things modified in place that never got back to the CAD model. Cut-to-fit adjustments mostly.
In general the model is relevant though.
Model:
Trunk scan:
- Unistruts are used as a backbone to hold everything together.
- OEM look as much as possible.
Use the stock trunk 'lip' and the metal structure supporting it. The metal needs to be cut slightly.
- It's all in metric. Yes, SAE hardware is easier to obtain here in the US, I know.
Howerver, Toyota is using metric. Also I was born and raised in the country using metric and just can't wrap my head around inch fractions.
Sorry.
- Use off the shelf parts if possible. Non load-bearing parts like back fence are 3D printed.
- I don't own a mill, so no machined parts or tight tolerances in the design. No fancy tools required.
Everything was cut with hand tools mostly. Hand tools and a table mounted bandsaw.
- Some space inside the stock 'back lip' is wasted. I didn't find a good way to make it usable and accessible.
- Hinges are welded to the angle brackets, but it's not necessary. You can bolt them on as well. It was just faster to weld it.
Fasteners
M10 25,30 mm x 1.5, + nuts.
Strut nuts (aka nylon stunt channel nuts)
M10 30mm, x1.25(!!!) bolts.
Toyota is using(surprise!) Japanese Indistrual Standard thread pitch.
Used to bolt down back cross bar. Only 4 bolts are needed.
M10 rivert nuts. I've tested a few, hex steel rivnuts are the best.
Front cross bar is bolted down using rivnuts.
Don't torque it over 30 ft*lb or about 0.2 oomph.
Struts
Unistruts. I bought 2x 10ft 12 gauge and it was enough.
L shaped unistrut brackets, 4 holes
L shaped unistrut brackets, 2 holes
Square washers, ~ 28x28x3 mm
Other
15mm baltic birch plywood
Sofa hinges 6x
Marine grade carpet for boats
KILMAT 80mil butyl mats, Noico red 150mil foam. For sound insulation.
ABS-GF plastic
Sweat, curses, and PPE. Use safety glasses at least.
Sound deadening + carpet
Interested? Then read the wall of text below.
The project was inspired by this gentleman: GX460 3rd Row "In-floor" Storage Solution - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/gx460-3rd-row-in-floor-storage-solution.1357428/
It has taken a few years to come up with the design and get brave enough to start modifying the car.
I keep air pump, recovery gear, jump start cables, emergency watter supply and stuff like that in there.
Things I don't need daily but do want to always carry.
Traction boards also fit nicely in the large compartment.
Is it overbuilt?
Most likely. But I like rigid shiny things, so steel unistruts is the way.
Also unistruts have slots so it's easier to add any mods later or bolt on storage bins.
The third row was removed(btw, let me know if you want it for very cheap. North California, local pick up only), the floor was insulated with killmat and some sound deadening foam with a carpet on top of it.
CAD model
I use OnShape because it's free and good enough for what I do. You can copy the document to your workspace and use it.
I'm not doing it professionally, it's a hobby. So my CAD skills are... improving daily.
I highly recommend to use the CAD model for inspiration only.
Initially the trunk was 3d-scanned(KIRI engine) and everything was designed around the 3d scan.
There were minor things modified in place that never got back to the CAD model. Cut-to-fit adjustments mostly.
In general the model is relevant though.
Model:
Trunk scan:
Key design considerations
- Unistruts are used as a backbone to hold everything together.
- OEM look as much as possible.
Use the stock trunk 'lip' and the metal structure supporting it. The metal needs to be cut slightly.
- It's all in metric. Yes, SAE hardware is easier to obtain here in the US, I know.
Howerver, Toyota is using metric. Also I was born and raised in the country using metric and just can't wrap my head around inch fractions.
Sorry.
- Use off the shelf parts if possible. Non load-bearing parts like back fence are 3D printed.
- I don't own a mill, so no machined parts or tight tolerances in the design. No fancy tools required.
Everything was cut with hand tools mostly. Hand tools and a table mounted bandsaw.
- Some space inside the stock 'back lip' is wasted. I didn't find a good way to make it usable and accessible.
- Hinges are welded to the angle brackets, but it's not necessary. You can bolt them on as well. It was just faster to weld it.
Fasteners
M10 25,30 mm x 1.5, + nuts.
Strut nuts (aka nylon stunt channel nuts)
M10 30mm, x1.25(!!!) bolts.
Toyota is using(surprise!) Japanese Indistrual Standard thread pitch.
Used to bolt down back cross bar. Only 4 bolts are needed.
M10 rivert nuts. I've tested a few, hex steel rivnuts are the best.
Front cross bar is bolted down using rivnuts.
Don't torque it over 30 ft*lb or about 0.2 oomph.
Struts
Unistruts. I bought 2x 10ft 12 gauge and it was enough.
L shaped unistrut brackets, 4 holes
L shaped unistrut brackets, 2 holes
Square washers, ~ 28x28x3 mm
Other
15mm baltic birch plywood
Sofa hinges 6x
Marine grade carpet for boats
KILMAT 80mil butyl mats, Noico red 150mil foam. For sound insulation.
ABS-GF plastic
Sweat, curses, and PPE. Use safety glasses at least.
Some build-in-progress pictures
Sound deadening + carpet
Last edited:
