Any solutions since the seats don't lay flat??

Remove the rear seat and make a flat plywood floor to slide in it's place.

 

hmm... how is that a bad idea?

 

Well, I imagine by "majority of the time" they really did mean "majority of the time," not all the time. Meaning they will sometimes want back seats. Meaning removing the seats is a Bad Idea. Not to mention the hit in resale value.

 

It' s a pretty minor numb really. My last car was a Versa and there was a huge bump and incline

 

so that's why the platform slides in place..

it's not and shouldn't need to be mounted in a way that you can't remove it and put the back seats back in when you need them.

and as such.. why would it affect resale value..??

 

hmm.. possibly make a platform that offsets that bump to lay down on top of the folded seats?

i'd probably want something made just to protect the back of the seats and the trunk area anyway if you're lugging around equipment like that.

 

I have an idea about this. It looks like the behind the seats area is about two inches shorter than the folded down seats. Well, beneath the folded seats area is a layer of styrofoam or some kind of light, hard material that fits perfectly and makes a separation between the flat storage area and the area underneath with the spare tire, etc. I think if you were able to get a duplicate of that part, you could put it underneath, and I think the height would match up nearly exactly. You'd lose a little bit of vertical space, but as someone who really needs a fold flat hatch, it would be worth that loss for me.

Thoughts?

 

i have no clue what you're talking about.. are you talking about trying to get a duplicate of the seat cushion..?? if so.. yea.. that's not gonna work.

 

...

 

I'm not talking about the seat cushion, but no, I don't think my idea is going to work after seeing a video of the spare tire being taken out of youtube. The pieces of insulation that separate the cargo floor from the spare tire are quite a bit deeper than I had thought when I took a cursory look at the car at the dealership.

However, I still think a mod could be done that would work really well. This check out this youtube video of how to access the spare tire helps to show what I'm talking about:

Now check out the pic I attached. The black fuzzy thing that you store things on is just a carpeted cargo floor mat that can be pulled out very easily. Beneath, as seen in the youtube video, are two piece of insulation between the cargo floor mat and the spare tire. When the seats fold down, there's a height differential from the back seat area of about 2 inches or so. If the insulation would have been a few inches taller, the seats would have folded flat (thought making the insulation taller would have taken away maybe a cubic foot or two of cargo room). One would have to modify a part that fits underneath the carpeted cargo floor mat and above the insulation that perfectly makes up the height disparity with the folded down rear seats. I don't have the skills to do something like that, but it could be done.

Does that make more sense?

 

slightly more sense.. yes.. you're talking about the styrofoam parts then.. it would be silly to get a second set only to destroy it to make an additional layer.. when i think what you meant was just to add something in there to raise the height to match.. sure.. more styrofoam to cut and fit perhaps.

which was pretty much what i suggested when i said you could make a platform that offsets that height difference and have a flat surface... though my suggestion includes a sturdy protective platform

 

I get your idea a bit more now, but I still don't like the fact that you wouldn't be able to change your seats on the fly, say in a parking lot, because you'd have to remove this platform, and where would you put it if you're not in your garage? At least that's my understanding of what you're suggesting.

 

have the platform be able to fold..?

that can work with or without the idea of having the backseats removed.

 

The platform may not have to cover the entire depressed area. Perhaps just a piece of wood the width of the interior compartment and say 3 inches deep will do.

 

Why does the area need to be completly flat? Find a plastic cargo mat for a minivan perhaps, cut it to fit, and you should be able to slide equipment in and out easily!

 

I've seen pics where Prius owners cut a sheet of 1/2" Plywood for the seats-down cargo area, so they can haul extra heavy gear that would normally rip up (destroy) the floor.

Since band gear is relatively light compared to old models of HP test equipment, extra large domestic hot water heater tanks & etc,
I would try cutting a 2x4 into a ramp shape for the hump, and then use a short roll of heavy carpet on top, to protect the floor.

Since I got my first car (1976) that had back seats that folded down,
98% of the time,the back seats of my cars have been folded down.
Normally, there is a carpet remnant back there.

My wife got mad and me yesterday, when she noticed the scratches I put on the C's center arm-rest.
I used Lil' Red to haul some 8 foot long lattice trim.