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Afternoon Project | Stealth Storage
I've been spoiled by my previous Suzuki's that had these hidden under floor tool storage areas built in from the factory. But the Seltos' two level flooring makes the perfect opportunity to duplicate. In fact its a big part of why I choose the Kia over some of the other options. I first looked into buying a second deck from my dealerships parts department. They advised $460 Canadian. I wasn't willing to foot that bill, or wait for delivery, without first trying something on my own and it turned out great, potentially better (optional two).
I started the project by swinging by a local lumberyard which I knew would sell half sheets of plywood. Talked to a guy there about options. It doesn't have to be all that rigid cause the spare tire supports any weight that may be on the flooring. There were cheaper options but they lacked rigidity so I paid the extra 7 bucks for 1/4" plywood. I choose 1/4" over a thicker option that would more closely match the factory deck because I wanted as much space as possible beneath the factory deck so I went with as thin as I could while still being rigid, and cost effective.
To save me time I had the lumberyard cut them down for me.
41.5" x 16"
41.5" x 17"
Cost
Half sheet of plywood | $40.00 Cdn
Three cuts | $4.50 Cdn
Placing the sheets on the ground I laid the factory floor on top of it.
Once I lined up the edges, using a marker traced the curved edge of the floor on the 17" thick board.
I jigsawed out the curved shape.
I added a 1 inch hole in the center of the curved edge a few inches back.
The first piece is ready for placement. Dropped it into place in the front of the lower deck, making sure it dropped into the lower indentation. Pulled it snug.
The second piece needs a couple squares cut out of the back corners. I didn't measure mine but they're about the size of a quarter. What you'll do is you'll line the uncut board up against the back and you'll see where you'll need to cut to place it all the way in. Mark the board for cutting. The Yellow Arrow indicates where the board needs to slide a bit further back to match the factory fitment.
NOTE: If you intend to do ‘optional two’ (forthcoming post), you can skip this and just have the board cut to 41.5" x 15". Instead of 16". Should be enough not to need the additional cuts.
Should fit like this after the corners are cut out.
