the false rear floor/spare storage area

Yeah!! If you figure something out - let us know. Right now my tools and shovel are kinda sliding around in back along with my rear headrests - not the best system.

 

My plans are to remove them and replace them with a sub and an amp... The dealer told me on delivery that they don't recommend removal of the foam it is used to sound deaden the hatch... I think it would have been more effective to just use sound mat. If you do build a custom storage compartment, something I also considered, you may want to dynamat/fatmat the body panels under the spare tire.

 

I am planing to make a board to cover the whole area and throw away the foam.

what sound mat you guys suggest?

 

Depends on your goals, if you are doing the whole car and are aiming for a luxury car type quietness I would get Fatmat brand Mega Mat, its pricey ($239 for 100sqft), but it does a very good job. If you are just looking for a basic sound deadener the Fatmat is only $139 for 100sq ft or the trunk kit is only $59 if you are doing only the trunk area. There are many others out there but I have had great luck with this brand in the past.

 

The foamed in below deck space was just a cheap cop-out by Toyota, one of many they took with this car. Wasting this space was one of the worst things they did. I've managed to carefully pack in a number of saftety items (light sticks, space blanket, flares) around the lower perimeter of the spare. A small first aid kit sits vertically against the rear wall of the "trunk" right between the two foam blocks. Next step will be to start enlarging some of the existing voids on the bottom of the blocks to use them to store stuff. Question: what sort of velcro/strap arrangement will be strong enough to hold things in place upside down and subject to jouncing ?

 

Probably any of the Heavy duty velcro's will work, just fine. If its an emergency supply kit (great idea), it probably will not be used too often so you probably wont have any issues with the velcro wearing out over time.

 

I would like to see this space used to store the rear headrest when they are removed from the seats. Maybe someone will figure out how to mold a custom fit storage box for that space. Like Toyota did on the Gen2.

 

I'm wondering if someone will make a replacement accessory with storage compartments as a direct replacement. I want to do something different with this area also. You could hold quite a bit of stuff.

 

Was anyone else told by a salesperson that these foam pieces were a safety feature, and would prevent crushing of the trunk in event of a rear-end collision?

My thoughts are that the spare tire would actually be more useful in that regard and I don't really buy that bs, but the battery compartment is a little higher up and is right under the rear seat...

Any thoughts or concerns there? I agree that it is otherwise a waste of space...

 

I will use some thin plywood to place under the mat. That will hold up anything placed back there and allow me to remove the foam blocks. It should be an easy cut and fit. I did this for my CRX.

I'll probably cover it with cheap, thin carpet to keep it from scratching anything. We have the rubber mat for the back and tools/things don't slide around. The mat and the plywood should work just fine together. That should give plenty of room for emergency supplies.

 

If anyone were to ask me, I'd say the foam blocks are simply a way to support the trunk mat in a cheap and tawdry fashion. Maybe they would be of some use for sound deadening, but I wouldn't think they would fare all that well in a one round fight against any car smash from the rear.

 

3/8" ply should do it, but you'll need 4-6 support legs, with foam or rubber on the bottom of each to hold it up off the metal floor surrounding the tire and the tire itself, the upper edge of which gets pretty close to the surface of the foam blocks.
If you invert the foam blocks, they should act as a pretty good template for the shape. Some of the legs should be cut to sit squarely on the slope of the metal deck.

 

I took a peek at it at lunch. It'll be interesting to figure out. Admittedly, I don't really do much back there so it isn't a pressing need. But I need to do something soonish.

 

Anyone come up with something creative?

 

Reviving this dead thread - has anyone come up with a creative idea for doing this?