Cargo Cover (custom, hard)
 

After lusting after a JDM hard cargo cover and being fed up with the soft USDM one, I decided to build my own.

If you want to use my method, do so at your own risk. I will not be held responsible for ruining anything or wasting your time, or getting injured. These steps are to be used as a guide only.

First off, Here's a list of necessary materials:

18"x48"x1/2" MDF
2 yards headliner material
2 yards vinyl (or whatever fabric you want to cover the cover with
18x24" foam presentation board
3m spray adhesive for headliners
10 ft 1" SCH 40 PVC pipe
4-90 degree albows for 1" PVC
4-1" pipe hangers
black spray paint
8-1/2" screws

Necessary tools:
Staple gun
Utility knife
Jigsaw
Hacksaw
Heat gun

And for the instructions:

1: Measure and cut the 1/2" MDF to the size you want. I had the soft cover to use as a template. I cut the MDF smaller to give a little room for the upcoming sub to move some air. I left about 1.5" on each side.

Your board should look like this (the vinyl is already on the bottom)

https://www.scionlife.com/tech/image...b/100_9504.jpg

2: Check fit in car before starting to cover

3: Spray the MDF and the foam side of the headliner material with the spray adhesive

4: Let set for 5 minutes

5: Place headliner material on MDF. It should adhere immediately, so be careful while putting it on.

6: Repeat for other side of MDF

At this point you need to think about where your seams are going to be. I covered the bottom first and stapled it along the edges. When I covered the top, I wrapped it around the bottom, folded it under so the cut edges were not shown, and stapled. My method means that staples are visible, but only from the bottom, which I thought was acceptable. Some would go with a similar method, but cover the bottom last, and do so by wrapping a piece of cardboard or foamboard, and gluing it on. My method is easier, but does leave staples shown on the bottom.

7: Cover one side with vinyl. I didn't use glue, just pulled tight and stapled on the ends. Here's what you should have at this point:

https://www.scionlife.com/tech/image...b/100_9505.jpg

8: I decided to get fancy and cut the scion emblem out of 1/4" foamboard and put it under the vinyl. Here's what the emblem looks like. That is a spray can next to it to give you an idea of the size.

https://www.scionlife.com/tech/image...b/100_9507.jpg

9: Center, then spray glue the foam in place on top of the headliner material.

10: Spray the foam and headliner around it, and spray the inside of the vinyl. Be sure not to spray too much on the vinyl, as it can seep through and screw up your vinyl.

11: Give it 5 minutes

12: Here comes the toughest part: work the vinyl into the sunken-in parts and all around. I had some difficulty stretching the material in. A heat gun helps soften the material, but be careful, you can ruin the vinyl with excessive heat.

13: What I did was take a pillow and sit on it on top of the raised portion to adhere the vinyl to the headliner and foam.

14: Wrap and staple.

Congrats! You are done with the cover, now you need a way to mount it.

If you look, you'll notice the hooks in the rear have a recessed area around them, and it turns out a 1" PVC pipe fits in there perfectly.

15: Make a U-section out of two 90 degree elbows and three sections of PVC. For the center section, measure twice, cut once. I think I used 6.5" between the inner parts of the pipes. For length, I went with 20" It is important that these be fairly long. It's tough to explain, but for this to be removeable easily, the longer they are, the easier it will be to pull them out. Trust me, use 20"

16: Go ahead and make an identical U-Section.

17: Paint the PVC and the pipe hangers. I used black spray paint. I had galvanized hangers, which paint doesn't adhere to well, so I hit them with a coat of primer first.

Here comes the assembly, which should be done in the car for a good fit. A friend would be helpful to hold the cover in place.

18: With the board where you want it, place one of the U-Sections in the side. Screw it into place.

https://www.scionlife.com/tech/image...b/100_9512.jpg

19: Repeat for the other side and you are done! With this method of attachment, the U-sections of PVC can rotate down, which means that when you lift up on the cover, the PVC will turn, and allow the cover to easliy be pulled off.

Here is the bottom middle:

https://www.scionlife.com/tech/image...b/100_9511.jpg

And finally the top!

https://www.scionlife.com/tech/image...b/100_9510.jpg

https://www.scionlife.com/tech/image...b/100_9508.jpg

thats pretty damn good job! im impressed.

where does it hook? are there hooks on the side? sorry ive never looked at mine to see. looks nice though!
:clap:

pretty cool, good job.

Another money-saving DIY. Good job.
3rd World Approved!

It does not hook, it fits in the indentations the hooks for the cargo cover are in. It is very similar to the JDM method of attachment, only those are spring loaded. The fitment is very rigid.

Thanks for your compliments. I should note that I have never done any upholstery work. My first time in a fabric store was to look for the vinyl. Good luck to anyone who attempts this, It's really not that hard. I would have had this done in one evening had I not had to let the paint dry.

Good job.

That said, I think if you would have used some spray adhesive around the logo then when attaching the material tucked it in and let it dry. You would have ended up with a more pronounced logo.

Still GJ!

not bad man, i like it

damn great - great job im def... going to give this a try

Man I used all kinds of adhesive. This was the best I could get. I couldn't get it tucked very well, but it looks good in person.

Please update with pics when you get it done.

not a bad idea, if i have time at work i will try to make something like that, i would just modify the way it mounts a little though.

How? It works very well, and very securely. It lifts out easily, and is quite secure. Let me know how to improve, please.

Good job Max. I can always appreciate when someone takes some initiative and goes to the trouble of making something for themselves. Congrats.

Thanks a ton! This means a lot coming from one of the more innovative people on this board.

Since this mod requires no modifications to the car itself, it's easy to get some guts to try this without fear of screwing something up.

wait, gow is it held up? where do the pcp pipes go into?

Ok, so am I the only person who doesn't know what MDF is?
And why would you want a hard rear cover? Just a couple of questions...thanks!!

Nice job broda!

MDF... pressboard. Kinda like plywood but stays stonger and flatter and resists warping.. just don't get it wet. :)

Look back there, there are two indentions around the clips which the Scion cargo cover clips in to.

MDF stands for medium density fiberboard. Plywood would also work, but it's more expensive. I wanted to replace the stock cover cause it looks like crap. I need a cover to hide the sub I am going to put in there. I wanted something which wouldn't sag like the Scion one does.

the way i was thinking of modifying it is because the sub box i have come up pretty high so i would have to make leg or something to keep it away from the speakers.i like that idea though of the pipes it looks hot and i was also thinking of buying that scion cover but it does look flimbsy.