roaniecowpony
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This post is about a rear dog platform build with the rear seat removed.
I bought my Jeep to hunt with. I hunt mostly upland game birds these days. I used to do big game, rifle and bow. But I love to shoot upland game over my pointer. I'm mostly with one other hunter/friend and his dog. We try not to do any "technical" 4 wheeling as this isn't the goal. Just getting to some good bird country, mostly. My crewcab truck can do most of our outings, but there are some rougher and narrower treks that demand a smaller, more nimble vehicle. That's why I bought the Jeep.
Mk 1 platform was a bit flexy and narrow near the doors. It was 3/8" plywood at 48" wide.
Mk 2 platform is a 1/2" plywood and fully extends door to door at 53". It will get a 3" thick foam pad from the back of the seat to the tailgate, as the dogs need their comfort on those bumpy roads. I retained access to the rear floor storage box, but will have to lift the pad to get to it. This platform picks up the 2 most forward bolts that retain the tiedown rings on the floor. The front "legs" are 3/4 x 9 1/2" high plywood, cut into 2 pieces, 14" long, attached with 4 2" long bugle screws. It all goes in an out thru the side door. There's enough room under there for a 4 or 5 shotguns in soft cases.
More instructions/details:
Get a sheet of 1/2" plywood cut to 53" x 39". To cut the rear portions around the fenderwells, you can either eyeball it or cut some cardboard templates to fit and transfer to the wood. I used the 2 most forward tiedown ring bolts and some 60 mm long 8mm replacement flush head bolts from Home D to anchor it further to the rear than the seat studs. This allows for a shallower angle, since the front is elevated slightly for more storage. To transfer the hole locations for the bolts, run some bolts in the holes you're using so they stick up a bit, lay the platform in place after you've finished cutting the shape to fit, adjust it around til you're happy with the location, checking with the doors closed. You don't want the plywood to contact the doors or seats. Give about an inch or so clearance, the thick foam will fill any voids easily. Once you like the fit, find the bolt locations you screwed a bolt into under the platform, use a rubber mallet to smack the plywood above the bolt. This will leave a mark where you can find the bolt location when you take the platform out and drill it.
I put tall legs in the front to get more room underneath for storage/shotguns. There's a little angle to my platform, but it's barely noticeable. I wanted to be able to put shotguns, ammo, bird bags and most of all, dead birds, under there to keep them away from the dogs on the trip back to camp/home.
I bought my Jeep to hunt with. I hunt mostly upland game birds these days. I used to do big game, rifle and bow. But I love to shoot upland game over my pointer. I'm mostly with one other hunter/friend and his dog. We try not to do any "technical" 4 wheeling as this isn't the goal. Just getting to some good bird country, mostly. My crewcab truck can do most of our outings, but there are some rougher and narrower treks that demand a smaller, more nimble vehicle. That's why I bought the Jeep.
Mk 1 platform was a bit flexy and narrow near the doors. It was 3/8" plywood at 48" wide.
Mk 2 platform is a 1/2" plywood and fully extends door to door at 53". It will get a 3" thick foam pad from the back of the seat to the tailgate, as the dogs need their comfort on those bumpy roads. I retained access to the rear floor storage box, but will have to lift the pad to get to it. This platform picks up the 2 most forward bolts that retain the tiedown rings on the floor. The front "legs" are 3/4 x 9 1/2" high plywood, cut into 2 pieces, 14" long, attached with 4 2" long bugle screws. It all goes in an out thru the side door. There's enough room under there for a 4 or 5 shotguns in soft cases.
More instructions/details:
Get a sheet of 1/2" plywood cut to 53" x 39". To cut the rear portions around the fenderwells, you can either eyeball it or cut some cardboard templates to fit and transfer to the wood. I used the 2 most forward tiedown ring bolts and some 60 mm long 8mm replacement flush head bolts from Home D to anchor it further to the rear than the seat studs. This allows for a shallower angle, since the front is elevated slightly for more storage. To transfer the hole locations for the bolts, run some bolts in the holes you're using so they stick up a bit, lay the platform in place after you've finished cutting the shape to fit, adjust it around til you're happy with the location, checking with the doors closed. You don't want the plywood to contact the doors or seats. Give about an inch or so clearance, the thick foam will fill any voids easily. Once you like the fit, find the bolt locations you screwed a bolt into under the platform, use a rubber mallet to smack the plywood above the bolt. This will leave a mark where you can find the bolt location when you take the platform out and drill it.
I put tall legs in the front to get more room underneath for storage/shotguns. There's a little angle to my platform, but it's barely noticeable. I wanted to be able to put shotguns, ammo, bird bags and most of all, dead birds, under there to keep them away from the dogs on the trip back to camp/home.
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