The dealer trunks are all plastic, or if you have an old
factory one the hinges wouldn't support the weight of the Hi-Lift and
won't fit into my plans. Since I had an old steel Insta-Trunk lying
around the garage I decided to see if it would fit. It was already
drilled for the Hi-lift jack and Fire extinguisher, and I had no place
to store my recovery gear besides laying it out in the open. Luckily
this one fit the 2003 models. The only bad thing about it is that
I no longer need the cutouts on each side since they did away with hinges
on the back seats. I will probably end up designing something as
soon as I can find someone with a good welder and bender I can borrow.
Additional
Parts:
None
Tools
Needed:
Pliers
Scribe
Installation:
1. Pull back the carpet on both sides of the wheel wells you will see
4 rubber plugs in the body. Pull these out and insert the rubber
well nuts in their place.
2.
Put the carpet back, insert the insta-trunk and carefully line up
the holes with the slight bulge in the carpet. Closing the tailgate
will help in the positioning. I then took a scribe and found
the center of the well nut. Poked a hole through the carpet
and then pushed the screw through. This gives a nice tight fit
and doesn't do a lot of damage to the carpet.
3.
Now if you bought one of these new you will need to put the rubber
foam tape on the edge, and install the carpet kit for it (additional
purchase).
