[merctony]

Well at last l have all the bits l need to complete the job in hand. As we left it, 3rd row seat were removed and we were left with large useful space. Many of you will have your own ideas on how to complete this stage, but what follows is my version, and it works well for me.
Materials needed to complete this final stage. 1 x T40 Socket, 1/8 drill bit, 2.5 lengths of 15 mm aluminium angle, and you can buy half lengths. B&Q. One piece of 15 mm plywood, l managed to get this free from a friend, but you can get cut lengths in Homebase and alike. One tin of adhesive spray as used for carpets, and last of all the carpet, got off ebay.
The fist thing l did was remove tool cover and measure from front of side rail to back of rear seat, reduced it by one inch and cut two lengths of angle to size. The first picture shows the 15mm angle, onto this l put double sided tape as in picture 2pic-01.JPG pic-02.JPG
Next l removed the side rails using a T40 Socket, and stuck the angle so it was level with the base of the side rail as in picture 3. pic-03.JPG
Do the same the other side, Now this next stage may get some of you waking up in your sleep, some with tears in your eyes, but do not worry, its only plastic. l drilled four holes into the angle and into the side rails, using 1/8 drill bit, your only drilling into plastic, not the body, using very flat top self tappers l fixed the angle.
Next stage is to get a angle going along the back behind rear seat. Picture 5 shows the angle pic-05.JPG and picture six shows the corner where l later secured with self tapper. pic-06.JPG
By now you should be on your 3rd mug of tea, the next stage is the thinking stage, the tool cover has a split in the middle where the 3rd row pushed up, so you have to get that sit on something, the best l came up with was glueing two lengths of angle together like a T-Piece as in picture 7 pic-07.JPG l then fitted this across so that the tool cover sat on one half and new cover would sit on the other, picture 8 shows front tool cover sat on t-piece pic-08.JPG.
The next stage now is to cut your infill, using 15mm plywood, measure and cut the piece to fit, remember to allow for self tappers and don't make it too tight, No awards here for perfect carpentry, once you are happy with the fit, cut out the finger hole, l measures in 2.5 inches and cut a slot in the middle 4 inches long by inch and a quarter wide. picture 11shows wood with finger hole . pic-011.JPG
Last thing now is to cover in carpet, brought on ebay, not a perfect match, but looks tidy, and we will have rubber boot liner on top anyway. pic-013.JPG and picture 14 shows the finish. pic-014.JPG
The Ending. Thank you for the comment on the first post about 3rd row removal, if you have children, this is not for you, let them sit in the 3rd row and enjoy all those wonderful trips out that will be a beautiful memory for them when they get older, But if your like me and stuck with, One Wife, One Dog, One Caravan, then that little bit of extra space is going to be very useful.. Hope you enjoyed this post.
regards
tony

 

[Disco]

wow...great work done! I'd assume you are hell of a car guy to be able to pull this one off. may I ask why you decided to take them out as suppose to just have them folded down and never use them? if you had them folded down, you would still have the trunk space but with an option of 3 row seats, correct?

 

[merctony]

wow...great work done! I'd assume you are hell of a car guy to be able to pull this one off. may I ask why you decided to take them out as suppose to just have them folded down and never use them? if you had them folded down, you would still have the trunk space but with an option of 3 row seats, correct?

They weigh about 90kg, not going to be used, the DS Sport lacks storage, when l go away the the wife, with the caravan, the dog is in the back, and the under storage will come in useful for bags and so on. Its some where to throw things you don't want on show.
tony

 

[Disco]

got it.

 

[Gogsy]

Brilliant job, looks very neat and great if you need the extra storage. My hat is off to you!

 

[Chris b]

Well done - good job and you can put it all back when you move the car on! (unless you find a like-minded buyer who does not want the e-Capability 5-seater

 

[Moose]

This is great, I am going to start on mine at the weekend, with a couple of changes.

Question;
The section of angle that goes across the back seats, i am presuming that is just retained at the corners and basically hangs in fresh air? do you think a support is need or is the ply good enough?

 

[merctony]

This is great, I am going to start on mine at the weekend, with a couple of changes.

Question;
The section of angle that goes across the back seats, i am presuming that is just retained at the corners and basically hangs in fresh air? do you think a support is need or is the ply good enough?

l did check this Moose, if using mdf, you will need a centre leg, if using plywood, it holds ok. However that said, and the fact that my wife like so many, on packing to go away will take everything we do not need, so l may still put a centre leg in. if l do, it will either be a piece of mdf screwed to existing angle or just a post put in the middle.

 

[Graham]

Looks a very neat job, but you could probably have used the floor as used on the five seat version (it's all in one piece), there is also a set of polystyrene mouldings to surround the spare wheel which also support the floor. Even though you can't buy the 5 seater in UK (I've got one in France) you ought to be able to order the parts in UK.

 

[merctony]

Looks a very neat job, but you could probably have used the floor as used on the five seat version (it's all in one piece), there is also a set of polystyrene mouldings to surround the spare wheel which also support the floor. Even though you can't buy the 5 seater in UK (I've got one in France) you ought to be able to order the parts in UK.

Thank you for your comment, l will check that with my local dealer, l have a space saver wheel under the car, this is just about storage., l will post back when l have got more info from dealer.

 

[Neil]

Great post Tony

I've been holding off placing my order because I want a spare wheel and removable tow bar. Your solution will provide both because I can stow the skinny spare under the floor in the boot now.

It still grates that JLR UK marketing still seem to think no one in the UK wants this option and so I'll pay a few hundred ££ for seats that will be taken out in the first few days. Perhaps I could sell them to someone that wants the e-capability option and 7 seats :?:

One thought on the rear angle - How about a second length of angle, pop riveted under the top piece to form a 'T', similar to your brilliant solution for the tool cover, but on its side? That should be able to take a fair weight (even your wife's kitchen sink :lol: ) and, if you know any one handy at welding aluminium, that would make it even stronger than pop rivets?

Come to think of it, when I do mine, I might search out an ali welder and get the frame welded rather than having lap joints . . . but that's just me being anal because nothing is on show.

Cheers

Neil

 

[Moose]

I have not checked it out yet, but I was thinking of turning the angle lip down, to make it less visible.

 

[headache]

Hi what measurements have you got in the "new storage area" ?
Cheers

 

[mentorofmonty]

Great post Tony

I've been holding off placing my order because I want a spare wheel and removable tow bar. Your solution will provide both because I can stow the skinny spare under the floor in the boot now.

It still grates that JLR UK marketing still seem to think no one in the UK wants this option and so I'll pay a few hundred ££ for seats that will be taken out in the first few days. Perhaps I could sell them to someone that wants the e-capability option and 7 seats :?:

One thought on the rear angle - How about a second length of angle, pop riveted under the top piece to form a 'T', similar to your brilliant solution for the tool cover, but on its side? That should be able to take a fair weight (even your wife's kitchen sink :lol: ) and, if you know any one handy at welding aluminium, that would make it even stronger than pop rivets?

Come to think of it, when I do mine, I might search out an ali welder and get the frame welded rather than having lap joints . . . but that's just me being anal because nothing is on show.

Cheers

Neil

Just FYI, my dealer has suggested that I can spec spare wheel and no towbar, and then have the dealer fit the detachable towbar.

 

[Moose]

yes spare and dealer tow bar is certainly an option.
You do get a lump sticking out at the back, which has a extra bit of trim on, which to some, including myself looks a bit off.

 

[ozsport]

yes spare and dealer tow bar is certainly an option.
You do get a lump sticking out at the back, which has a extra bit of trim on, which to some, including myself looks a bit off.

I thought it looked pretty bad in the photos too but I'm quite happy with it in person. It's fits in fine with the car and because it's the black plastic instead of the silver it actually gives the rear a more consistent look IMHO. (This is the australian spec one but it's similar to euro - just the receiver is different)

 

[brough74]

Hi moose did you every post the measurements of the "new" storage space. I will be doing this on mine when it arrives to keep things out of view and for a bit of secure storage.

 

[Moose]

Yes, I'll post them up when I can find then, the only one I can remember is the maximum depth after the seats are taken out is 8"

I took the seats out, but was unsure what to do with the seat belt fastened or not wiring, so I put them back in.

 

[Moose]

yes spare and dealer tow bar is certainly an option.
You do get a lump sticking out at the back, which has a extra bit of trim on, which to some, including myself looks a bit off.

I thought it looked pretty bad in the photos too but I'm quite happy with it in person. It's fits in fine with the car and because it's the black plastic instead of the silver it actually gives the rear a more consistent look IMHO. (This is the australian spec one but it's similar to euro - just the receiver is different)

Wished I had gone that way now.

 

[brough74]

Hi moose did you find the measurements ?