Custom Center Console Tray for a Hyundai Santa Cruz

The second photo is our 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. It is a short bed extended cab pickup based on the Hyundai Tucson platform. The center console between the driver and front seat passenger comes with a simple well and has no upper tray for incidentals a driver might want to reach quickly, like a facial tissue when he has to sneeze. This Instructable will show how I made my own custom tray and discuss some options for those who do not have a welder.

Some owners of a Santa Cruz are ordering a console tray for the Hyundai Tucson. Let the buyer beware, though. Some were disappointed when the tray they received is too long or too wide and does not fit, even though it was supposed to fit. Another reason I wanted to custom fit my own is that I want a tray with two levels for items of different sizes. See the first photo for my custom tray.

Materials

• 18 gauge sheet steel
• 1/8 inch rod
• 1/8 x 1/2 inch flat bar
• 1/8 inch Masonite
• 3/8 inch plywood
• 1/4 inch dowel
• Black plastic electrical tape
• Masking tape
• Wood glue

Tools

• Wire feed welder, preferably MIG rather than flux core. TIG would be excellent if that is a possibility.
• Bevel finder
• Cutter (metal bandsaw or hacksaw or angle grinder with cutting wheel or snips)
• File
• Vise
• Cardboard for templates
• Handheld grinder
• Flap disc for the grinder in addition to a more coarse grinding wheel
• Drill and hole saws
• Masking tape to position and hold steel pieces for tack welding

Measurements for the console well space are irregular. The top opening forms a trapezoid with the back surface shorter than the front surface. The sides are not at 90 degrees to the front or the back. The first photo shows a bevel finder taking measurement of the angle between the back and bottom surfaces. The angle for the front surface to the bottom is the same, but use the same procedure to check it. The second photo shows doing the same, but for the sides. The bevel finder is too large to fit inside the well when taking the angle of the sides. I placed a ruler across the opening and let the blade of the bevel finder drop down into the well. (For purposes of getting a useful photo, I put a flashlight on the bottom of the well.) The angle on all sides and corners is very uniform and measures about two to three degrees. (Whenever possible I simply replicated angles from the bevel finder.)

See the third photo. I used cardboard templates to get a precise indication of the opening size. These templates are cut on one end to fit the angle on the bevel finder. They overlap so they can be marked or taped to indicate the exact length of a surface. My finished tray is 193mm long at the top of each sloped side, 153mm across the back at the top, and 167mm long across the front at the top. (I am giving these dimensions in millimeters because it should be more precise.)

You may notice the sides of the well slope at an angle that rises from the front to the back. I chose to have my tray level rather than at that angle.

Before I began cutting materials I thought about what I want in an upper tray for a center console. My list includes:

• Note paper (pieces of 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper [or A4] cut into eighths)
• Two pens (in case one does not work when I need it)
• A small lockback knife
• Charging cords on storage spools for Apple Watch, iPhone, and mini-USB
• A 115 volt charging cube (in case something is not sufficiently charged by the time I arrive someplace and I need to plug it in at the event)
• Quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies for making change
• Antacid tablets
• Facial tissues in a smaller travel pack
• A comb
• A tire gauge
• Clip on sunglasses

See the second photo. It shows one of the spools I made from 3/8 inch plywood for the center portion and 1/8 inch Masonite for the sides of the spools. There are three spools. I used hole saws to make the two sides and the center. Then I ran a short piece of dowel through the center holes, applied some wood glue, and clamped the pieces together until the glue dried. The hole saw used on the Masonite sides is 2 1/2 inches in diameter so the disc cut out is about 2 3/8 inches in diameter. The hole saw used for the plywood center is 1 1/2 inches in diameter for a disc about 1 3/8 inches in diameter. Sand away rough edges. (The mandrel for the smaller hole saw was less than 1/4 inch, so I had to drill it out for the 1/4 inch dowel that positions the three discs for gluing.)

The photo shows the side profile of my tray. The back portion is deeper than the front portion to accommodate pens, note paper, and the charging cord spools positioned vertically. The exact dimensions were a matter of fitting what I needed onto the scrap pieces of steel I had.

The area where the coin tray and the things next to it are is raised and not as deep as most of the back section. The coin tray was made by bending 18 gauge steel around a piece of pipe. Then I cut it and fitted it. Finally, I welded it into place.

I did the best I could to fit and cut the pieces of steel. Often there was some filing by hand with the steel in a vise and repeated checking before I arrived at the fit I wanted. It would have been ideal if I could have welded the pieces while they were resting in the console well. That would have insured an easy and exact fit. But, the heat from welding would have damaged the plastic sides of the console well. So, it was a matter of making the pieces fit and then moving them to a work table where I could weld them. I used the bevel finder to place the pieces and taped them together with masking tape until I could get a tack weld or two in place. It was necessary to grind exterior welds flat and smooth before testing the fit of the assembly at each step. It was also necessary to let welds cool to avoid damage to plastic parts in the vehicle. (I did encounter a little scuffing on the sides of the console well, but it is hidden when the tray is in place.)

A note about welding—Welder ground clamps are heavy enough to move pieces in a delicate setup. That happens very easily and ruins alignment. I do not have a steel welding table I can trust to provide a good ground. I often connect the welder ground clamp to something that might provide at least a partial ground, but then I use several small jumper cables with light duty alligator clips to provide a respectable temporary ground. All I need is a good tack weld or two. Then I can shift to a more heavy duty setup.

After grinding welds on the outside of the corners smooth I placed a strip of plastic electrical tape over them to reduce scuffing.

Commercial after-market trays for a center console have a lip around the top edge that keeps the tray from sinking too far into the console well. I might have done that, except as noted earlier, the sides of the well slope at a slight angle. My tray has sloped sides that wedge into place against the sloped sides of the console well. Just in case my tray wedged itself in too tightly, I wanted an assist for lifting it out. I made a "U"-shaped loop that retracts by gravity. It is made from 1/8 inch rod bent around a piece of pipe so its sides are exactly parallel. The sides of the assist loop pass through two holes in the bottom of the tray. I welded a piece of 1/8 x 1/2 inch bar across the ends of the assist. See the second photo. My assist loop disappears under the packet of facial tissues. This assist loop is a help, but it has also never been a necessity. The tray has not wedged itself into place too tightly.

I realize everyone does not have a welder. I believe a console tray could be assembled from steel or aluminum pieces with pop rivets. Recess the rivet heads, if possible. File or pound them flat as much as possible. Cover them with electrical tape.

Or, a console tray could be made of 1/8 inch Masonite. Wood glue or hot glue could be used to join pieces. A glued construction would allow gluing pieces in place in the vehicle for a very good fit.

Another option would be to use plywood 1/4 inch thick or less. Wood glue would be the adhesive of choice.

The photo shows my finished tray in place.