A few rambling thoughts on it, now that I have a minute or two.
I too looked at all the off-the-shelf options I could find. Frontrunner, Drifta, etc. I was turned off by the fact they all seemed heavy as hell (125 pounds or more) and the fact that you are essentially married to the thing once you put it in there.
When I saw PorkJ's work at Expo a few years ago, I thought he was on to something good and the idea was percolating in the back of my head for quite a while.
Materials used:
EZ-Tube aluminum tubing, steel core connecters and adjustable feet (this stuff is fabulous, not sure how I lived without it before)
1/2" Birch plywood for the platforms
3/4" Birch plywood for the slider board
Aqua-Turf waterproof boat carpet (this stuff is a spot-on match for the factory almond carpet)
Furniture Connector Bolts (these have a flat head and snug right up against the tubing frame)
T-Nuts - These dig into the wood and provide a flush finish
Riv-Nuts - For when you need a threaded insert into the tubing frame - see the legs nearest the fridge
Sealing primer for all the plywood
My design criteria were:
Easily removable (I can get all of this out in about 3 minutes)
Retain second row of seats
Access to fridge in all configurations
Look somewhat factory
No permanent mods to the truck (third row seat could go right back in)
Strong, Stable and rattle free
Retain the ability to fold the second row and pass long items like ski's through from the back
What I would Differently:
I would do the whole thing in the unpainted aluminum. The black sounded like a good idea at the time, but it shows every little nick and scratch. Enough so, that at some point I might disassemble the whole thing and have all of the legs sprayed in something durable like truck bed liner.
Make the flip open panel 1" wider on each side. What I did works, but widening it by an inch would allow the support leg to rest squarely on the folded second row seats. I was tying to maximize space available under the platform so I came up with the "washer" method that you can see in a couple of the pics. It works, but I'm not sure the extra hassle was worth the extra inch of space under there.
Take the flip panel to a cabinet shop and have them route/mortis or whatever they do to install a set of hidden/flush hinges. I used piano hinge, and while it works you can definitely see the ridge of it under the carpeting. Doing this would also allow the flip panel and it's neighboring panel to be upholstered completely separately so you wouldn't end up with a wrinkle of carpet when the panel is flipped open.
Possible Future Mods:
Add anchoring for secure travel with the front platform in place. Several ways this could be done, but I haven't experimented yet because I don't see myself really travelling that way.
Add anchor points for securing cargo. Never hurts to have all that stuff strapped down securely
Latch mechanism for the flip panel. Gravity does the job now, but a nice secure "click" would be a nice touch.
