Yup. It seems that in the past year, we've only had my father-in-law back there a few times. And now that the build in winding down, I don't see that happening too often in the future. Where-as we're always hauling stuff for the dog, etc., so taking off that weight might give back a little power to the engine - not to mention the extra space...

Here's a somewhat typical load when we go out to do stuff...



And the strangest thing is my wife thinks it's a good idea too!

Has anyone else done this? What does the extra space look like? Anyone have pics? I'm soooo tempted. Maybe something I'll do this week end.

js.

 

What kind of canopy set up is that, its pretty slick attached to the rack there.

Edit: NM I foudn your thread about the Hannibal Awning, good stuff!

 

I have been thinking of the same thing. Just so I could fit more in the back.

Although I don't have a picture or haven't even done it, (pretty useless huh ) but I have run into a couple problems regarding the task.

I would make sure you find out what level of torque the tightened the bolts down, so you could duplicate the same level of pressure if you ever needed to put them back in. Safety purposes

One thing I really want to do, is either build a floor or attachment using the existing holes to level off the dipped part. This way you could have extra flat surface to use almost as a truck. OR you can still have a decent amount of room to shove things under there so it wouldn't fly out during door/top off drives. The design might look similar to the rear cubby hole cover.

Then sawing off those rear cup holders or getting a Tuffy console.

Just throwing out ideas as I am on the fence too.

 

wait, the rear seat of a four door doesn't come out? You don't fold it forward, pull the bar and remove it?

 

that would be cool especially with half doors in the back. then it would really look like a truck.

 

I really like your idea. Be sure to post pics if you end up doing it. I'm also considering permanently removing the rear seats. I haul my parents maybe a 1/2 dozen times a year, but there's no reason why we just can't take the Lexus instead of the Jeep when they come around, so I really don't need the rear seats. Plus, my mom can barely even get into the Jeep, so she'd probably appreciate taking the car instead!

 

Could someone translate the highlighted part (above) for me, please.

 

Why dont you just fold down the rear seats for more space and their there if you have to carry a couple extra passengers. Is the objective to increase more cargo space or lighten up the over all weight of the jeep? If you just need the extra space then I would just fold the seats down. I dont know, am I missing something?

 

I have often thought of removing the rear seat to lighten it up a little. I would also make a continuation of the floor with extra storage underneath. However, I can't seem to give up the extra seating, which is why I was sold on the 4 door. For now, folding the rear seat is good enough.

 

Ok. We decided to remove them. So here's what we found. The bolts appeared to have loctite on them, and they were VERY hard to remove. I think we are going to buy shorter bolts to fill the holes, rather than using the long ones that came out. We are planning on this being a permanent setup, and I can tell you that it would be a real pain to remove and reinstall the seats very often.

A lot of people said why not just fold down the rear seats. Well that's ok, but when you're hauling heavy stuff, it tends to break down the back of the seat and soil the carpet. Also, the seats do not lay flat. We are going to make some type of platform, so that the back will be perfectly flat. That way we can camp in the back of the Jeep when we choose to tow our motorcycles rather than our camping trailer.

Here's the pics:

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