3rd Gen rear storage platform design. Input wanted.

[kchristian]

So I'm new to Monteros, Google SketchUp, Woodworking, and Overlanding. But I'm excited, my wife is excited (90% of the battle) and we have nothing holding us back. The plan is to be on the road in January and head south til we run out of continent. I'm sure I'll be asking tons of advice on many subjects in the months to come but for now I want to know what you think of my rough sketchup of my rear platform plans. Any 3rd gen owners out there have a built in platform? I'm looking for comments on things to avoid and watch out for specific to my design but also general lessons learned from experience with these types of set-ups. The Red box is the built in "trunk" for 3rd row storage. And I'm not sure about the tailgate idea. I like that with it shut and the lid down, I could secure my things better. But I'm wondering if I would be annoyed having to open the rear door on the Montero, the tailgate, the lid and the "trunk" storage to get to something down there.
Montero 3rd row box..jpg
Montero 3rd row box1.jpg
montero 3rd row box2.jpg

[Sabre]

I'd be very hesitant to build anything that would impede your access to "the basement." That's a large and useful storage area down there, and is a great place for heavy items not used every day, such as recovery gear, tools, perhaps a second battery, etc.

While I fully understand the intent behind storage drawers and have lived aboard boats for years (where storage is at an incredible premium), I've become a fan of thoughtfully-chosen plastic storage totes and boxes. If I were going to build anything back there it would likely be a rack system to allow such storage boxes to slide in and out in a stacked configuration.

Will be following your project with interest!