Can You Fit A 4×8 Sheet Of Plywood In A Toyota Sequoia?

Hauling around construction materials and lumber can be hard with an SUV. To make matters even more challenging, you might face a dilemma very much like the one I face. You might work on your house enough to need materials every now and then, but not enough to grant buying a truck.

Building materials can be bulky and one of the most common items you’ll buy are plywood sheets. So, if you’re doing some remodelling, can you put a 4×8 sheet of plywood in a Toyota Sequoia?

The length of the “bed” on the Toyota Sequoia is a maximum of 7 feet 6 inches, which is slightly smaller than the length of the 8 foot board. That’s why, in theory, you can’t fit plywood in a Toyota Sequoia.

One challenge when learning about your Sequoia is that car manufacturers typically don’t publish the length of the backseat of an SUV and typically focus more on cubic feet in cargo space because people more typically load bags and boxes into their vehicles. So, finding out the real estate you actually have in the back can be hard.

Now, you know that you can fit a 4×8 sheet of plywood in a Toyota Sequoia, but you’ll then want to drive around with the hatch on your SUV open, which isn’t favorable. However, it’s worth it if you don’t want to spend more on having someone else haul the cargo for you.

You’ll also need a bungee cord or something like it to keep the plywood board safely in your vehicle, in addition to a red flag taped, tied, or otherwise attached to the plywood board.

How can I prepare my Sequoia for a plywood sheet?

Ironically, the size of a plywood sheet can be the least of your concerns. A plywood sheet can be less than friendly for the upholstery in your vehicle, whether we are talking about leather or cloth. 

The scratchy surface and pointy edges can do a number tearing up the passenger seats, even from being put in much less moving around while the vehicle moves. When you’re going to fit a 4×8 sheet of plywood in a Toyota Sequoia, you need to be extra careful.

Anyone who has scratched the interior of their car knows just how painful it is. Our suggestion here is to either wrap the plywood board in plastic or a blanket – or cover the entire backend of the SUV with thick plastic to avoid knicking everything up. Believe me, I’ve done it once with a leather seated large SUV and promptly regretted the several tears it created.

The Sequoia’s seating setup isn’t really helpful either. In some Sequoias, you might find yourself needing to remove the 2nd row seats – which actually requires the removal of 4 bolts. This can take about ten minutes if you are good with tools and know how to reach the bolts – and have a wrench or nut driver to get them out.

This challenge is where many people draw the line. Sure, they want to carry a 4×8 sheet of plywood in a Toyota Sequoia, but going through the hassle of removing seats can be too much to handle.

And in case you are wondering, chances are the plywood sheet will have to be at angle, with the sheet gradually rising as it reaches the tailgate because in most cases the 3rd row seat doesn’t fold. 

If yours does fold, good for you, at least you don’t have to lift your plywood sheet up within the vehicle. However, this might beg the question: which generation of Toyota Sequoia has fold-flat seats? The answer depends heavily on the configuration.

Do the rear seats in a Toyota Sequoia fold flat?

A common question people have when wanting to fit a 4×8 sheet of plywood in a Toyota Sequoia is whether the rear seats fold flat or not. It all depends on the generation of Toyota Sequoia.

In the first generation of Toyota Sequoia, the third-row seats fold onto themselves, but they don’t recess into the floor. Alternatively, they can fold to the side of the car. The second-row seats fold and tuck behind the first-row seats.

This means that the first-generation Toyota Sequoia isn’t the most helpful when trying to fit a 4×8 sheet of plywood.

The second-generation Toyota Sequoia has a different configuration. The third row seats can fold flat and recess. The second row can also fold almost flat. There’s a slight incline. So, you won’t be able to fit many sheets of plywood in a Toyota Sequoia of the second generation.

Ironically, the third generation is one of the most uncomfortable. The battery in the back takes away a lot of space. Plus, it’s slight narrower, so cargo fits higher than in previous generations. Overall, it hasn’t been our favorite experience dealing with heavy cargo in the third-generation Sequoia.

What else should I do?

Having some forum discussions about transporting an item that is wide and long like a plywood sheet, we recommend either listening to the above advice about protecting your vehicle – or using a truck. 

Most places that sell a plywood sheet also makes truck rental available. While a truck bed might not be long enough to completely cover the plywood sheet, you can just use tie downs. The bed of a truck is literally means for the purpose of getting beat up, exposed to weather, and taking some serious licks.

Also of note, the price of fixing the leather or cloth within your Sequoia if the upholster is not protected is likely way more than renting a small truck.

We offer this opinion because the Sequoia is a nice, reasonably premium SUV that people tend to want to keep clean and in shape. Putting a plywood sheet inside of one feels rather high risk without some preparation.

Also, if you visualize yourself working constantly on projects around the house, you should budget accordingly, as there might be other items you cannot carry in your Sequoia. I’ve met people who realized that they were better off buying a beater truck than paying for materials to be sent home!

We’re not saying you should, but you could. Ultimately, the most frequent use you’ll give your car is the most important. At FWT, we rarely put more upscale SUVs to hard work. Bernardo has struggled to fit cargo in his CX-5, so he’d much rather borrow a pickup.

Put plywood sheets on top of your Sequoia

Some Toyota Sequoias come with a roof rack. A roof rack is great for containing things that you want to put on the roof of your SUV, in addition to providing a better option than squeezing rope of a bungee cord through a window.

Getting plywood sheets on top of your vehicle is also likely better for the vehicle overall. You could put something down to protect the roof – but the roof doesn’t tend to be a sore spot for paint – and most dealers or private buyers won’t look there of all places for scratches anyway.

The only challenge here is physically lifting the plywood board on top of your Sequoia. Take someone with you, or most hardware stores will send someone out to help you. Just be sure to bring some rope, a couple of bungee cords, and maybe even work gloves unless you intend to buy them at the hardware store.

Get some help with your plywood

Regardless of how you choose to load it, we suggest having another person help you load plywood sheets into your vehicle. 

They can be surprisingly heavy and rather cumbersome considering their length. If they are more thin, they can also be rather floppy and hard to direct well. 

We suggest getting the plywood sheet loaded onto the top of the third row if you can’t remove it, then have the other person jump into the backseat and lift or pull the sheet the rest of the way.

Key Takeaways On Fitting A 4×8 Sheet Of Plywood In A Toyota Sequoia

• An 8 foot by 4 foot piece of plywood will fit into a Toyota Sequioa with the hatch open
• You’ll also need to try to remove or fold down the second row seat, which may involve the removal of a few bolts
• A safety conscience vehicle owner should also wrap the plywood sheet in a blanket, put plastic on the seats, or do something to keep a poky, potentially sharp piece of plywood from tearing up the inside of the vehicle.
• You might be better served renting a small truck or just putting the plywood on your vehicle roof with some tiedowns.