I have a love/hate relationship with the sliding cargo tray in the back of my 5th gen 4Runner. When I put in my allocation request with the dealer, I asked for a magnetic gray metallic TRD Pro with no running boards and no sliding cargo tray. I was then basically told “you get what you get and don’t get upset.” What I got was a magnetic gray metallic TRD Pro with running boards and a sliding cargo tray. I still “got upset” but bought it anyway.
I say “love/hate” relationship, but I really mean “I guess it is OK sometimes/hate” relationship. For me, the only thing I don’t mind about it is that it does provide a level surface with the back seats folded down that allows me to sleep comfortably in the back while camping. I keep telling myself that I will eventually remove the cargo tray and replace it with a full base plate that could also offer a level surface with the seats folded down. I haven’t gotten to that yet, so I am still trying to make the cargo tray a bit more functional.
When it comes to securing items, my biggest complaint is that Toyota didn’t provide factory tie downs in the front of the tray, that actually move with the tray. They provide tie downs immediately in front of the tray but if you use them to secure items on the tray then you can no longer slide the tray. I addressed that problem in an earlier post.
The primary reason I wanted to put some sort of anchor points on the front of the tray was to secure my ICECO 45L refrigerator. While that solution kept the fridge from jumping off the tray when hitting bumps, it didn’t keep the fridge from sliding side to side. I show how I addressed this issue with some scrap plywood and a few hours of my time.
Click on the image to see the video explaining how I addressed this issue.
