Wow! this is a great idea. I have been thinking of cutting the hatch apart and making a tailgate with opening hatch on top, but his might solve what i am looking for. Did you ever get the cables installed? Any more progress?
Inspired by this thread I added a wooden box to my cargo area which holds all my gear in place. Access to the box is via a dropdown tailgate which can be used as a table, working-bench etc.