Hello All , I'm looking at an suv and the xterra is my front runner. I have a question that any insight into will be appreciated.The cargo area in the back is not level . Why is this so ? Has this been a hassle to anyone in anyway ? Thanks in advance.

Not Level, Was the truck on a hill?
This is a question...
Maybe you should be looking at a Chevy, maybe a "Mini Van"

fill up the gas tank and drop your fat butt in the back like you would if you were trying to sleep back there and it will probably be closer to level...it's called a truck. leaf springs got a bit of an arch when they aren't loaded down.

I think he was talking about how the floor has a bit of a hump in it right behind the seat on the original X? I don't think the new ones have it? I dunno, it's uncomfrtable to sleep on, but other than that it's no big deal? If that's what we're talking about?

Yeah, my dogs are constantly complaining that their pet bed isn't completely level back there. :rolleyes:

Js0405, I know what you are talking about, in the 05-06 X the cargo area slants slightly backward, I havent had any problems with this at all, I believe it may have been designed like that to prevent spilled liquids from draining forward into the upholstered area. Like I said, I havent had any problems or annoyances with this at all. I definatly recomend the X.

Had a case of Miller Light (bottles) fall out and break...learned that one the hard way.

And what is up with this forum that someone can't come and ask a question like this?

At least it wasn't good beer!

same reason the backs of the cargo area and the cargo area itself is plastic. so you can take a hose from the passengers doors and spray mud off the back

Well , my first post on this forum brought out some interesting replies. Thanks for the serious ones. I've always had a capable 4 x 4 , '85 toyota and a 2000 wrangler , and i would like to continue with that. Notice : not a chevy or a mini van. The X ,in my opinion , would be my next step as we've recently had our second child and the cargo area is now a concern .The back seats are now full. If the slanted deck was a problem then maybe this rig ( better not call it an suv as I found that out the hard way) would not be for me. When we make the move my only chioce is the X or the OR . As for you guys with the smart alleck comments, I hope you're over twenty , if not, your immature .

I also found out that it isn't level when i was draining my cooler and walked away for a bit it slid out and all the beverages fell out thankfully nothing broke. Another thing is the plastic back there scratches real easy. I know it's a truck but my 1st trip with 700 miles to the Outer Banks looked like 70,000 of hard use.

It may not be level, but is this really something that would sway your decision about buying a new rig?

You might change the beer your drinking this might help.

Yes I do agree my response to this post was not very kind.
Just finished reading the

Every Noob that asks about MPG v.ask chia any stupid ???
post and got a little carried away. Yes there is a slight incline to the rear of the vehicle. But this only seems evident when all the seats are down. Never has an issue with my 06' but seldom do I flip all the seats down. I installed a Thule Cascade topper to carry all the outdoor gear so I can still have use of the back seats.

Hope you get the X...best vehicle I have ever owned.

I owe you a beer!

Damn, you sure stirred up a nest of asshats!

In that first post, more info about exactly what you were talking about would have been helpful, for example was the X you're considering a first gen (2000-04) or next-gen (2005-up) and maybe a better description of "not level." On my first read I really had no idea what you were talking about.

But even with the sarcastic post brigade at work, I actually learned something. Mine's a 2002 and had no idea the cargo area in the next-gen X's is sloped like that. I don't like the next-gen X's, too boxy and too much like a baby version of the Pathfinder and Armada for me, but it's always nice to learn something new.

Welcome to the forum. Hope whatever you decide to buy works out for you and your family.

honestly..i hadn't noticed it's sloped at all. with seats up or down. and my seats are going up and down all the time. (bikes, people, sleeping in the back..)

the big thing i'd change is the plastic in the back.

No way! For those of us who are often hauling wet or muddy outdoor gear—or worse, wet and muddy canines—the plastic cargo area is a godsend.

Buy a carpeted floor mat.

...or add some anti slip tape to the cargo area so shit dont go sliding out.



if you google it, you will find that it comes in just about any color.

i would have prefered that they had built the older xterras with the plastic cargo area.

Ditto. Would have been a whole lot easier to clean. Mine looks like shit.

And it wouldn't smell like gear oil.

that only happens if you leave a dana 44 rolling around back there for 4 weeks.

Don't worry. My spilled PB Blaster can (whole) still gets me high on the way to work. Makes my days go by faster, whether I like it or not.

This image someone else posted shows the slant pretty good.

wow..I thought it was slanted the other way.... anyways, Nothing that parking at a 5 degree downhill slope wont level out. Other than sleeping right, I could care less. i have not found that feature to be a detriment an any way.

I spilled gas in the back of mine once. Happy to say the smell eventually went away, but it took lots of cleaning and lots of time!

Looking at that picture, it appears that Nissan slanted the back so that the transition to the seats is flat when they are folded. Maybe there was some reason the seats couldn't go all the way down? On the old X the floor humps up a little right behind the seat backs and then the seat backs ramp up. At least the whole area has a flat surface now!