I just bought a 2004 Expedition (Eddie Bauer).I breed and show dogs so I purchased this vehicle to transport my dogs. I previously had a 98 Expedition and was very happy with it. I was utterly SHOCKED a week after I bought the car, when I decided to fold down the seats and load the dogs in the car. The 2nd and 3rd row seats DO NOT fold flat. There is a huge gap of a foot or more that exposes the bottom the 3rd seat. It never occurred to me to check this before buying the vehicle being that EVERY SUV I have ever owned the seats fold flush. Am I the only person that finds this ridiculous??? I’m looking for a cargo liner that will cover the whole area but I can’t find anyone who makes one. Any suggestions? I need to cover this gap ASAP!! Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!!

Try this link. http://www.weathertech.com/

Well, considering it's own fault for not checking that out, there's not much you can do about it.

The two should fold flat however, unles your second row is the captain's chairs.

It's not ridiculous, the new Expedition is built to haul people in the greatest amount of comfort. Based on that, things do fold flat, but not perfectly like that of the old bodystyle.

If you want to fold it completely flat, you must go with all bench seats (except for the front two of course!). I don't believe it matter if it's an XLT or not.

As far as a trunk insert is concerned, i'd just suggest going out and measuring the dimensions of the trunk and drawing a small modle of it on paper. Then buy a big enough piece of plywood and stain it so the would won't get in the vehicle. After that, you can add blankets or anything else you want on top to make it more comfortable for dogs.

On a more personal note...why did you buy an Eddie Bauer to haul dogs around in? The XLT is just as nice and there's no fine leather to get destroyed.

Good point of buying a eddie vs. xlt, but no matter the name tag on the model its still a expedition and should perform as such. However I still dont get buying something with leather seats to hual around dogs, every owner can do as they wish with their own car though! :p

You should have bought a Mercury Mountianeer. The seats on the Expendtions don't completely fold flat and not leave a space in them unless you would have bought a Mountaineer, in there they have a slide up deal for the space when the middle row is folded flat. It wouldn't have mattered which model of Expedition you bought it still won't do it.

Wouldn't it be easier to buy a truck and put a topper on it instead! :evillol:

Keep in mind the Mercury brand is not available in Canada!

The truck with a topper is a good idea, i'm assuming the Expedition was bought so the dogs could be kept close and inside in the climate-controlled interior??

Well, in response to leather vs. cloth for hauling dogs, has anyone tried getting dog hair out of the new upholstery these days? The carpet is bad enough, but on the seats? No way I'd get cloth.

Depends on what you see as more important. Leather for ease of cleaning over cloth, or cloth over leather so the leather won't get torn up from dog claws...