sportsguy
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- duane
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2019
- Threads
- 15
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- 132
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- 217
- Location
- California
- Vehicle(s)
- 2020 Firecracker JLU Rubicon w/a snail
- Occupation
- Marketing
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- #1
Not sure if this’ll be useful for anyone else (JLUs), but here’s a shelf project I just wrapped up. (This creates a level surface over a folded rear seat.The other shelf I have mounted in the cargo area is from Hooke Road on Amazon. Solid, well built.)
After dropping my new fridge (37 quart Aspenora - Amazon, $239) on the back seat (while it was folded down), and not liking the angle it sat at due to the seats themselves not folding fully flat, I decided to build a shelf.
it’s pretty simple:
4’ x 2’ piece of 3/4” plywood
2 - 6” x 1/2” eye bolts (13 pitch threads, or, rough)
2 - 1/2” rough thread couplers
4 - 1/2” rough thread nuts
8 - 1/2” inner diameter washers
2 - 1/2” inner diameter lock washers
6 - low profile doorstops for locating the fridge
1 - pack of screw down D rings for added anchor points
For the wood, I left one side as I got it. That’s the long end nearest the front seats. The backside (near the cargo area), I cut the corners at angles. MEASURE your individual Jeep, but here were my initial measurements:
On the 4’ long side, I measured in about 3.5” overall. Mark that. Up the short side, measure either 5” or 6” (depending on how you want the angle to fit. I went 6”).
If you cut between those two points, you’ll create an angle on the back of the board that fits into the space between the wheel wells.
Keep in mind that this shelf does NOT extend all the way to the top of the rear seat backs. It stops right around the child seat anchors...so if you were so inclined, you could create a latch to anchor the shelf there. Mine floats free on the front side, but with gear and the fridge strapped on top, it goes nowhere and remains easy to remove with a crescent wrench (but I have a plan to eliminate that tool, making this removable with just your hands).
Now, the bolt holes require some legit measuring, but you can get this “close” and still be OK.
I screwed the couplers to the seat frame anchor bolt protruding up from the floor. The rough thread 1/2” coupler just screws in place. I then placed a long bolt into each coupler (I had a couple 3.5” bolts on hand - they are not long enough to create a level shelf, but...). With the bolts threaded into the top of the coupler, itself threaded onto the seat bolt...place your cut wood on the seat backs, line it up between the wheel wells, eyeball it for straightness, and press on the back edge where the bolt head touches the wood. I mean lean on it! It’ll create an impression on the backside you’ll use to locate and drill the holes.
Umm...drill those holes! For reference, my driver’s side hole was roughly 2.5” in from my angled cut, and the center-to-center between my seat frame bolts in the Jeep was dead on 37.5”.
My next step was to sand the whole thing with 80 grit paper to knock all the edges and corners off and since this is cheap plywood, it helped get rid of the splinters.
How you finish this is your call. I got 2 yards of Spectreline automotive carpet (from a local fabric and upholstery shop - carpet and a can of high tack, high temp automotive contact spray was $32), in black. Matches the stock Jeep interior perfectly.
Cut the carpet to the rough shape of the wood, oversized. Coat the wood and carpet with the contact cement spray. Wait 5 minutes, then lay the wood on the carpet. I smoothed that by hand, flipped it carpet side down and walked on the wood. Next was setting the sides and overlapping it all on the back. Cut for the corners and trim as you like. The end result is something that looks vaguely factory.
Installation is as simple as you think:
Line up the two 6” eye bolts with the couplers and thread them in until they stop. I lined my eyelets up parallel with the shelf’s back edge by backing them off slightly, and then I locked them there with a jam nut. Solid. Under the platform I snugged the other nut against a lock washer and regular washer on each side. On the top side I have 3 regular washers on each side. Why you ask? Because the shaft of the eyebolt is unthreaded and to get the thickness I needed for the nut underneath, I needed the spacers on top. Find some thicker wood and you’ll need fewer washers.
Eagle-eyed among you will notice the 3 top-side washers are recessed. Do this or don’t, doesn’t matter. I did this because V1 of the shelf had recessed bolt heads. Thus my need for THREE washers to fill the gap and make the eyebolt work here. This version, V2, could live with a single topside washer if the wood wasn’t recessed. Bottom line - skip the recess and use the washers to create space to let the underside nut do it’s job and not run out of threads.
I’m going to add some screw down D rings as aux anchor points around the passenger side of this shelf. For the fridge, I used...doorstops ...as locators. Simple straps hold the fridge down.
If you use doorstops as I did here, know that the locating pin and attachment screw for the doorstop will protrude from the backside of the shelf. These WILL tear up your seat backs. I flattened mine to the wood with an angle grinder and cutting disk. You could use a Dremel, you could take a month off work and use a hand file, or you could replace the screws with shorter ones and skip the locating pin. All valid options.
The next step for me is to replace the nut under the shelf next to the locknut with a wingnut. Should make it possible to manage this with no tools, making removal/install a snap. WITH the wrench right now, it’s installed in about 3 minutes.
Costs were modest:
$20 - plywood at B&B Hardware
$8 - 6” eye bolts at Home Depot
$8 - way overboard here to cover the washers and nuts (Home Depot)
$20 - carpet
$12 - spray adhesive (you want the high temp automotive stuff)
$24 - doorstops to locate fridge (Home Depot)
$8 - fridge tie down straps (Home Depot)
$12 - screw down d-rings (Amazon)
Grand total of $112 into this project, keeping in mind I’m being generous on the cost for washers and nuts. And you could save $32 here if you did a covering other than carpet or just left it raw. And another $12 if you skip the d-rings. Time is roughly 3 hours, plus any time finding the stuff for this project.
After dropping my new fridge (37 quart Aspenora - Amazon, $239) on the back seat (while it was folded down), and not liking the angle it sat at due to the seats themselves not folding fully flat, I decided to build a shelf.
it’s pretty simple:
4’ x 2’ piece of 3/4” plywood
2 - 6” x 1/2” eye bolts (13 pitch threads, or, rough)
2 - 1/2” rough thread couplers
4 - 1/2” rough thread nuts
8 - 1/2” inner diameter washers
2 - 1/2” inner diameter lock washers
6 - low profile doorstops for locating the fridge
1 - pack of screw down D rings for added anchor points
For the wood, I left one side as I got it. That’s the long end nearest the front seats. The backside (near the cargo area), I cut the corners at angles. MEASURE your individual Jeep, but here were my initial measurements:
On the 4’ long side, I measured in about 3.5” overall. Mark that. Up the short side, measure either 5” or 6” (depending on how you want the angle to fit. I went 6”).
If you cut between those two points, you’ll create an angle on the back of the board that fits into the space between the wheel wells.
Keep in mind that this shelf does NOT extend all the way to the top of the rear seat backs. It stops right around the child seat anchors...so if you were so inclined, you could create a latch to anchor the shelf there. Mine floats free on the front side, but with gear and the fridge strapped on top, it goes nowhere and remains easy to remove with a crescent wrench (but I have a plan to eliminate that tool, making this removable with just your hands).
Now, the bolt holes require some legit measuring, but you can get this “close” and still be OK.
I screwed the couplers to the seat frame anchor bolt protruding up from the floor. The rough thread 1/2” coupler just screws in place. I then placed a long bolt into each coupler (I had a couple 3.5” bolts on hand - they are not long enough to create a level shelf, but...). With the bolts threaded into the top of the coupler, itself threaded onto the seat bolt...place your cut wood on the seat backs, line it up between the wheel wells, eyeball it for straightness, and press on the back edge where the bolt head touches the wood. I mean lean on it! It’ll create an impression on the backside you’ll use to locate and drill the holes.
Umm...drill those holes! For reference, my driver’s side hole was roughly 2.5” in from my angled cut, and the center-to-center between my seat frame bolts in the Jeep was dead on 37.5”.
My next step was to sand the whole thing with 80 grit paper to knock all the edges and corners off and since this is cheap plywood, it helped get rid of the splinters.
How you finish this is your call. I got 2 yards of Spectreline automotive carpet (from a local fabric and upholstery shop - carpet and a can of high tack, high temp automotive contact spray was $32), in black. Matches the stock Jeep interior perfectly.
Cut the carpet to the rough shape of the wood, oversized. Coat the wood and carpet with the contact cement spray. Wait 5 minutes, then lay the wood on the carpet. I smoothed that by hand, flipped it carpet side down and walked on the wood. Next was setting the sides and overlapping it all on the back. Cut for the corners and trim as you like. The end result is something that looks vaguely factory.
Installation is as simple as you think:
Line up the two 6” eye bolts with the couplers and thread them in until they stop. I lined my eyelets up parallel with the shelf’s back edge by backing them off slightly, and then I locked them there with a jam nut. Solid. Under the platform I snugged the other nut against a lock washer and regular washer on each side. On the top side I have 3 regular washers on each side. Why you ask? Because the shaft of the eyebolt is unthreaded and to get the thickness I needed for the nut underneath, I needed the spacers on top. Find some thicker wood and you’ll need fewer washers.
Eagle-eyed among you will notice the 3 top-side washers are recessed. Do this or don’t, doesn’t matter. I did this because V1 of the shelf had recessed bolt heads. Thus my need for THREE washers to fill the gap and make the eyebolt work here. This version, V2, could live with a single topside washer if the wood wasn’t recessed. Bottom line - skip the recess and use the washers to create space to let the underside nut do it’s job and not run out of threads.
I’m going to add some screw down D rings as aux anchor points around the passenger side of this shelf. For the fridge, I used...doorstops ...as locators. Simple straps hold the fridge down.
If you use doorstops as I did here, know that the locating pin and attachment screw for the doorstop will protrude from the backside of the shelf. These WILL tear up your seat backs. I flattened mine to the wood with an angle grinder and cutting disk. You could use a Dremel, you could take a month off work and use a hand file, or you could replace the screws with shorter ones and skip the locating pin. All valid options.
The next step for me is to replace the nut under the shelf next to the locknut with a wingnut. Should make it possible to manage this with no tools, making removal/install a snap. WITH the wrench right now, it’s installed in about 3 minutes.
Costs were modest:
$20 - plywood at B&B Hardware
$8 - 6” eye bolts at Home Depot
$8 - way overboard here to cover the washers and nuts (Home Depot)
$20 - carpet
$12 - spray adhesive (you want the high temp automotive stuff)
$24 - doorstops to locate fridge (Home Depot)
$8 - fridge tie down straps (Home Depot)
$12 - screw down d-rings (Amazon)
Grand total of $112 into this project, keeping in mind I’m being generous on the cost for washers and nuts. And you could save $32 here if you did a covering other than carpet or just left it raw. And another $12 if you skip the d-rings. Time is roughly 3 hours, plus any time finding the stuff for this project.
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