Trying to improve on the cargo area, I devised a nice little setup.
I have my cargo box that I built in the back, behind the seats. This has been great for loading things on top without having to remove gear. However, if I want to load more stuff, I had the following options:
lay both seats flat. This left the area from the back seat to the back of the front seat open and unable to be used for flat storage.
fold the seats up. I have the flat floor, but my cargo boxes take up alot of space in the back and the folded up seats take up a bunch of room at the front. So the flat storage area has been decreased even more.
My solution:
Make two board to fit flush on the sides all the way up to the back of the front seats. Create them in 2 sections so I have the option of both, one, or none. The only downside to this, is I lose vertical storage. I have not yet had an issue with vertical storage, so I am okay with that. In my opinion this is better than removing the seats, because if I remove the seats, then my flat storage space is reduced by the size of the cargo boxes and the foot well behind the front seats.
Photos....(taken at night with an awful phone flash)