Parent mod - open up that under seat storage

[Maverick Grabber]

I guess I’m old-school when it comes to the rearview mirror. I like the flip mirror because then I don’t get blinded like I always do when driving a car with the so-called automatic dimming, rearview mirror.

Don't you realize how hard it is to actually reach out and flip that lever lol, I'm the same as you.

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[gintoki]

This one goes out for anyone with kids car seats. The last thing I want to do in an emergency is remove the seats, especially side of the road with them in the vehicle to get to the jack. And since this is a family/work vehicle, I needed to maximize the little bit of storage we have under the rear seats.

So I traced my line, cut the plastic with a knife/multi tool, sliced one side and threw some 5/32 vacuum tube I had laying around, and now I have under seat access for the jack, ratchets, net, and whatever else I want. You can also buy some plastic U-channel trim online if you want. I believe the plastic thickness is 1/8th of an inch or .3 mm.

You used a knife?! Not even a rotary tool/dremel? How long did it take?
Good job, looks clean.

 

[Old Fart]

Don't have kids or great grands that need rides so I ditched the seats all together.

 

[colinl]

You used a knife?! Not even a rotary tool/dremel? How long did it take?
Good job, looks clean.

I scored mine with a utility knife, but found it was not necessary or even beneficial.

Measure if you want, put some masking tape on it as guide lines, and then cut with your dremel. Takes 2 min to dremel and 5 min to pull off any extruded and melted plastic that remains.

 

[maverickeric]

You used a knife?! Not even a rotary tool/dremel? How long did it take?
Good job, looks clean.

I think rotary/dremel is all unnecessary and makes more of a mess.

I used a hole saw (1-2" would work) for the two bottom corner radius, then drew the straight lines where I wanted them and cut through with a fresh blade. It's soft plastic. Planning my cut took the longest, but the cutting was only a few minutes per side.

 

[AncientMan]

I feel your pain!
As a Grandfather my complaint is how dang difficult it is to install and remove the car seats. We only occasionally have the grandkids so we don’t leave the seats in permanently. I was going to add a short permanent section of tether at the top so I wouldn’t have to lean the seat forward while trying to clip or unclip the anchor (SUCH a pain!). My wife said “no” so I just let her deal with it. Fortunately the grandkids will be big enough for booster seats soon, and they are simple to use.

 

[likeparty]

Don't have kids or great grands that need rides so I ditched the seats all together.

One of the appeals to the Maverick was the simplicity of the back seat.
We plan to remove ours for much of the time too.
Wife's triathlon bike barely fits and it is by far the most common "second passenger" in the Maverick. I'm a distant second and we rarely have more than 2...thus ours may be reinstalled on the occasion of visitor riders.
I like all three of the ideas presented here as a way to optimize the rear seat areas. Thank you all.

 

[colinl]

I think rotary/dremel is all unnecessary and makes more of a mess.

I used a hole saw (1-2" would work) for the two bottom corner radius, then drew the straight lines where I wanted them and cut through with a fresh blade. It's soft plastic. Planning my cut took the longest, but the cutting was only a few minutes per side.

Agreed on both counts, but if you already own a dremel, I'd use it.

The plastic is soft and fairly thin, but don't kid yourself. There's a good bit of effort to cut through it straight, and it's safer and faster to use a dremel instead.

 

[GonnaGetItOneDay]

Nice mod. If you saved your cutout you could make a lid for it. Could make one out of about anything as well just add a twist latch to it.

I like this idea a lot! One of my kids is in a booster now but I have at least 2 more years till the other one is also in a booster so finally getting access to that under seat storage would be awesome! Like you said, save the cutout and add a twist lock to it like in the bed storage cubbies. Also like the storage cubbies, you could super glue plastic strips to the inside of the hole for a back stop for the cover and 2 little tabs on the inside of the bottom of the cover... I think I may have found a project for next week.

 

[TxIsHome]

Don't you realize how hard it is to actually reach out and flip that lever lol, I'm the same as you.

As well the flip was the perfect adjustment between my husband and me.

 

[Buyerfind]

This one goes out for anyone with kids car seats. The last thing I want to do in an emergency is remove the seats, especially side of the road with them in the vehicle to get to the jack. And since this is a family/work vehicle, I needed to maximize the little bit of storage we have under the rear seats.

So I traced my line, cut the plastic with a knife/multi tool, sliced one side and threw some 5/32 vacuum tube I had laying around, and now I have under seat access for the jack, ratchets, net, and whatever else I want. You can also buy some plastic U-channel trim online if you want. I believe the plastic thickness is 1/8th of an inch or .3 mm.

BRAVE!! And looks good!!

 

[Ren E Gade]

Don't have kids or great grands that need rides so I ditched the seats all together.

I've been debating this or a tent cot in the bed for a 10k mi trip next summer, any other thread or pics?

 

[Old Fart]

I've been debating this or a tent cot in the bed for a 10k mi trip next summer, any other thread or pics?

No just these and a couple of const photos, it's pretty straight forward, find something to attach it to front and rear, decide on materials and cut and fit, repete until you are happy with it.

I'd done this for the PriusV, the guy who bought the V insisted I leave it installed because it gave him a 6+ foot long platform that was about queen size at the doors but tapered to a single at the feet like the bow of a sailboat.

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