This is not a new idea but thanks to some of the members here, i have a sweet cargo area and way better sound system.
Made the frame out of 2x4 and the deck out of 1/2" ply. Pretty strong,can hold me up, and wrapped in the rolls of car carpet you can get for 9 bucks at the walmart.
I found a couple of ring tie down anchors rated to 2000 lbs,way overkill, and made some boxes for new speakers. Those boxes work very well to cover up th wierd hole on the passenger side behind the wheelwell and improve the sound quality.
The height from the floor to the underside of the deck is 12". The clearence to put stuff inthe back is about 8.5".

Cons:looks real nice with the door closed so now I worry about taking my labs to the lake for fear of them gettting mud all over it back there in their excitment. Grabbed 6x8 speakers thinking i could find covers later No! those were made for ford and mazda and ususally have them hidden behind walls or panels. I will just have to get 6x9 and make them work.

Pros:my tools are hidden better so now my stuff is safer.Less likely to get hit in the back of the head from flying stuff in the event of sudden stop or rollover. Looks good and sounds great. Now i just need to make the boxes for the 2, 8" woofers my cousin gave me. One for my cherokee and one for my wifes.

 

Wow that looks really impressive .. good job

 

Good work dude, and surely way cheaper than the ones you can buy. Are you gonna leave the posts that hold the deck uncovered? It would look alot better covered with that carpet or maybe even diamond plating?

 

Looks great man!

I am really glad it came out the way you like it!

And for speaker grills you can get some expanded metal and bend it to fit. It should be only a couple bucks at most hardware stores.

I can vouch for how well it works, i used it to make a grill guard for my subs.


and again great looking deck man!

 

nice job on the fabbed cargo area.

 

diggin the set up man...really liking how you put the two speaker boxes on the side deff a great idea!

 

Its a cool idea but i keep telling myself No. Mainly because i like to put my back seat down and have all that extra room to pack things in. Especially when i go to Calico i need room for wood, ice chests, tents, etc....

 

i built an extention piece that goes atop the folded back seat and it makes it a solid floor again

 

Nice work on that redesigned cargo...
You really got your cargo space maximized and well arranged...

 

you should post a pic up of that full extension piece !

 

Im starting my cargo are build on my xj next week i am pretty handy with building speaker boxes ill put up step by step pics of my built im dedicating a pretty big budget to it and got plenty of time should be pretty sweet keep ya posted!!!
ps good job on yours!!

 

I really like the idea you went with for the cargo area. Where are you mounting the 8" speakers? I am fixing to do a similar install but going to put a finished piece at the end to keep people from seeing my tools even when I open the back.

 

Thanks for the compliments! i haven't decided what i am going to do with the legs yet. Can't see with the door closed, so i might not do anything, but the plate might be an option, gonna need to get some for the deflector on the roof rack i am wanting to start soon anyway.
I only put in one 8" sub and it sounds great. had to locate under the deck so i lost some room but i made it a triangle box so i kept a little more usable space. I researched the space needed inside the box for an 8 and found out you need .6- .8 cubic feet. Doesn't sound like much but it takes up some room. Good luck on your builds!