Hey.....I've had my '15 JK for a couple of weeks now, and I quickly ran into a problem-----THE TRENCH. You see, I have two Newfies, and there's just no way they were going to be able to move around in the back with a gaping hole waiting to swallow up their paws. So, after looking around at what was on the internet and quickly deciding I needed to spent my hard earned money on cooler mods, I decided to build my own. Here's the skinny:
Free----sheet of laminate flooring from my local LL Flooring store. It's actually used as a topper for their pallets, so the guys were more than willing to give it to me. It's about 5/16" thick.
Black indoor outdoor carpet from Menards. $6. And I had too much...it's .48 a foot!! I got black to match.
Loctite Spray adhesive---$7. Heavy duty stuff. Also Menards.
Straps...I went to Salvation Army and found an old backpack with 2" wide nylon strips. Cut 'em up to size and there we go. $5.
Lathe screws, 5/8"...they're kind of like panhead screws, a bit wider head. $2
For prep, I used some oil primer I had to prime the laminate; it's mdf, so not great with water, but if primed with an oil primer, you're good to go...that was just in case. It IS a Jeep, after all.
To start, I measured the two seat openings AND the depth of the trench. I think I ended up at 27.5" and 7.5" on those. Cut the laminate on my table saw, but a circ would work, too.
Next...I cut the fabric long enough to fully wrap the laminate, and for width, I went and inch and a half past the ends on each side, so I could wrap the ends over. I cut out the inch and a half beyond the board widtih.
Next....spray adhesive one side of laminate and the carpet in the spot the laminate would lay. Also sprayed the fold over edges. Once the back was smooth, I folded the sides on and clamped for about two hours.
Once that was good, I sprayed the remaining carpet and exposed laminate with the adhesive, pulled it taut, slapped a board over the freshly glued area, and clamped again for a couple of hours for the glue to adhere.
Last step.....cut the nylon strapping to size, place it correctly, and screw into the very base of the seat where there's something solid right at the bottom, and screw into the covers...
Pics tell the rest of the story---works like a dream! Thumbnails include seats down and seats up. Hit me up if you want to save the $$$ and do the same. I had to take breaks, but it probably took 2 hours of actual work time...
Free----sheet of laminate flooring from my local LL Flooring store. It's actually used as a topper for their pallets, so the guys were more than willing to give it to me. It's about 5/16" thick.
Black indoor outdoor carpet from Menards. $6. And I had too much...it's .48 a foot!! I got black to match.
Loctite Spray adhesive---$7. Heavy duty stuff. Also Menards.
Straps...I went to Salvation Army and found an old backpack with 2" wide nylon strips. Cut 'em up to size and there we go. $5.
Lathe screws, 5/8"...they're kind of like panhead screws, a bit wider head. $2
For prep, I used some oil primer I had to prime the laminate; it's mdf, so not great with water, but if primed with an oil primer, you're good to go...that was just in case. It IS a Jeep, after all.
To start, I measured the two seat openings AND the depth of the trench. I think I ended up at 27.5" and 7.5" on those. Cut the laminate on my table saw, but a circ would work, too.
Next...I cut the fabric long enough to fully wrap the laminate, and for width, I went and inch and a half past the ends on each side, so I could wrap the ends over. I cut out the inch and a half beyond the board widtih.
Next....spray adhesive one side of laminate and the carpet in the spot the laminate would lay. Also sprayed the fold over edges. Once the back was smooth, I folded the sides on and clamped for about two hours.
Once that was good, I sprayed the remaining carpet and exposed laminate with the adhesive, pulled it taut, slapped a board over the freshly glued area, and clamped again for a couple of hours for the glue to adhere.
Last step.....cut the nylon strapping to size, place it correctly, and screw into the very base of the seat where there's something solid right at the bottom, and screw into the covers...
Pics tell the rest of the story---works like a dream! Thumbnails include seats down and seats up. Hit me up if you want to save the $$$ and do the same. I had to take breaks, but it probably took 2 hours of actual work time...
