overland-rovers.com

This shows the base board with the MDF uprights fitted.  The centre 'tunnel' runs for 2/3 of the length as I intend to cut an access way into the other end to give us a 'cubby hole' accessible from the front seats.

The 'tunnel' remains the same width and height so the two aluminium tables will still fits but in addition there is a space big enough to hold the bottle jack and a few other bits.

If you're thinking of doing this, remember the access panel for the fuel gauge sender unit.

See page 3 to see how I had to modify the design to cater for this.

This picture shows the overall concept with the two 50 litre boxes slid in end to end.

the side uprights do not run the whole length along the side as I have maximised the interior width by utilising the inner edges of the wheel arches.

This shows the view through the rear door.  Hear you can see the front 'wall' which will have an access port into the centre space.

In the footwell beneath the new floor I will be fitting a 100 litre freshwater bag and a pressure controlled freshwater pump which will feed the tap in the boot and a shower head .

These sides will be boxed in.

The centre 'tunnel' was extended right to the front and the front wall was cut to provide an additional access way into the space.  This can be reached from either of the front seats.  We don't know what we can use it for yet but we're sure that it will come in useful.

The top was cut and secured down and a higher level 'drawer casing' was added.  This is designed to accept two 64 litres 'really useful boxes'.  These are the same length as the 50s but taller.

2 of these fit exactly across the car.  These will be used for our clothes when we are away.

As this didn't need to support anything I decided to use 12mm MDF.  This would give sufficient thickness to screw into from above and the sides.

The boxes slide out easily and are held in pace by the doors.

The space below this will be boxed in and used to mount the water bag filler and the water pump.

Be warned: this top box had to be secured from below and so needed to be added before fixing the false floor down.  However once fitted it wouldn't pass through the rear doors and so had to be 'built' in situ.  It was a bit awkward to say the least.

It needed to be positioned far enough forward to allow the boxes to pull out without fouling the door frame but not so far that you couldn't recline the seats to a comfortable position.  As you can see it is possible.

I am 6'2" and tend to drive with my seats right back and well reclined.

In Morocco we ended up sleeping in these seats in a truck stop.  With the rooftent now fitted we don't see the need for this again but we wanted to ensure they could recline far enough to be comfortable just in case!

If you are shorter than me and have your seat further forward then you could use 2 (or more) 50 litre boxes each side to give you a set of drawers.

This because the 50, 64 and 84 litre boxes all share the same 'footprint'.

This shows the view from the rear showing the position of the Engel MT45 fridge (which will be mounted on a slide out tray).

The four 50 litre boxes fit comfortably below the false floor.  The top box can be seen at the front.

The next step was to add a level of sound deadening.  I opted for B&Q 'value' carpet tile which I simply cut with scissors and glued in place with 'No more nails'.

This made the whole interior look better.  I intend to add some edging strips once I have sourced something suitable.

The Engel fridge slide was secured from below by 6 off M8 roof bolts.  I used these because they have a domed head and don't foul the 'drawers'.  I also added washers to spread the load a bit.

The 3.5kg gas bottle mounts to the rear of the top box along using a caravan support strap.  In addition I cut a 12mm thick MDF circle which is screwed to the bed to located the base of the bottle.

The extended 'tie-down' eyes were recovered from the original boot setup and strategically placed to secure any loads.  Once again I added 38mm washers below the 'deck' to spread the load.

The end supports of the dog guard were cut off to allow it to fit between the C pillars and it was drilled along the bottom rail.  M6 roof bolts were used to secure it to the top box and it also clamps between the trim at the top below the alpine lights.  This helps to 'brace' the whole arrangement, top to bottom, securing it in place in case of a roll .  However I shall be adding additional securing later.

Refitting this gave me a front support again so I re-installed an upper shelf using the same system as before (wardrobe poles).

This shelf was perfect for the folding seats during our Morocco trip and will serve the same function again.

Sticking with our 'Really Useful Box' fetish we acquired a single 84 litre box which sits beside the fridge.

This will be used as our 'pantry' and hold all the food supplies during the trip.

Alongside this we will store the 2 ring cooker already connected to the gas bottle, so all we have to do is lift it out onto the door shelf when needed.

This will be in some sort of foam bag which we have yet to sort out.

There is still a narrow space between the fridge, rear of the box and the upright 'bulk head'.  We may use this to store tall thin things like oil bottles etc.

Here is a view of the rear 'passenger space.

The lower support is in temporarily at the moment until the water system is fitted.

This is the view from the front passenger seat showing access to the 'cubby hole' (yet to be carpeted) and the small, but useful, shelves which fall directly behind the seats.

We have considered mounting storage nets on this front 'bulkhead' or the first aid kit.  But we decided to 'field test' the layout first before committing to anything.

The 100 litre water bag will sit below the lowest shelf.  see here for the article on the freshwater system.

The edges were finished of with plastic moulding from Homebase.  This was glued and secured with staples where necessary.

In addition (just for appearance) the insides were treated to a coat of grey paint.

The setup allows for a total of 412 litres of easily accessible, segregated storage.

As you can see when they are all stacked it is a massive amount of space.

The next step is to organise what goes in which box.