I was looking at downfiring for three reasons, to minimize damage (I run a soft top in the summer, throw shit back there etc), so if i want to haul something small I still can, I was even looking at putting a rubber suv mat on top of the box, and finally to make everything more secure and more hidden. I even plan on lag bolting the box through the floor to make damn near impossible to steal:-)
As far as the box goes I've narrowed it to a folded horn design (similar to some by decware) or a ported design down firing subs with port/s firing to the rear leaving a several inch space between the box and door for the port/s or horn.
The horn will be much more complicated but much nicer, however even with a 8 I may not have enough space for how I want it mounted in the rear. I will post back what I come up with.. got my E8v3's in the other day, also picked up a used sundown 1000d. Its gonna be sweet! Thanks everyone for the comments! J