Packing a 110
 

the 4x4 forum seems a bit quiet at present?

any tips for packing/organising the gear into a 110? Trip plan not finalised but looking at an 8mth Africa trip. Fuel jerrys are in side lockers so I've got the entire rear for water/tools/spares/gear. I'm interested to hear what people have found works well, so any tips/photos appreciated .. . .
Thanks!
Huey

Hi mate,

A few random thoughts:

* Sort out what is valuable and needs to be protected from dust/water/people. Things like passports, paperwork (allow for A4 sized paper as then you don't have to fold importent certificates etc) and electrical stuff like camera's.

All these things should be protected in some sort of safe or lockable unit etc. And also protect them with something like Otter Boxes (water, dust, crush proof etc) from www.ruggedpeak.com

Plan your packing system around having these things hard to find and difficult to get to (except the things you need often like your camera - do the same but somewhere you can access easily etc)

With that in mind...

* http://www.daerr.de/ do some pretty good Rako boxes. Quite strong, stackable plastic boxes of all shapes and sizes. Pretty cheap in Germany/Swissland etc but probably quite expensive to buy here. If you get some, then they will fit nicely into the load space of a 110 etc

eg:
http://www.ihana.com/big_trip/images/boxes.jpg

http://www.ihana.com/big_trip/prepar..._equipment.htm

http://www.ihana.com/big_trip/diary/...ar_episode.jpg

Pop up sometime you if you and I will 'show you mine' :-)

Cheers, Darrin

Oh, and then build a platform on top of your storage boxes so you can sleep inside etc.

It will probably need to be self supporting. If you have a few quid to spare then Ali is best to make the frame out of, and wood best (not for weight, but insulation in my case)
for the flat bits etc. Andy at allisport.com can sort you the Ali stuff (he's a mate of mine) if you get stuck.

Then some decent foam mattrress on top, a lava lamp, a disco ball and your halfway to having a good time ;-)

thanks darrin - would love to check out your landy at some point - I'm sending you a mail directly.
Huey

You need to think this one through very carefully. I would assemble the kit you intend taking first you can then work out the sort of size containers and type you need to carry.

Wolf boxes are a very good option for storage they are rugged, durable and light (plastic) and fit well into a 110 -you can also stack them.

Canvas army duffel bags are very good for soft items such as bedding etc.

You also need to ensure your boxes dont move. Footloose 4x4 do smart aluminium cargo lashing rails you can bolt into your rear load area which you can then use ratchet straps on.

Another good idea is to put a rack system into your load area this saves having to take everything out the whole time.

Old ammo boxes are rather heavy so avoid them.

The lighter the load you take the better your Land Rover will perform, so think weight at every stage.

good luck.

In addition to the wolf boxes and other methods already mentioned, I have a roller drawer from mobile storage systems in the base of the rear load bay. Its really good, its very well made and it very secure. When we went trans africa I used it for the laptop as well as a whole host of other kit that I wanted access to. Also despite it being pretty obvious once the rear door is opened, not one inspecting official in 22 countries asked to look inside it. (not sure how much one should bank on that always being the case). Also heard an argument that given its so easy to access, thats where you should store all your common equipment such as stoves, crockery, cuttlery, etc as its the easiest place get to and thats the stuff you will be accessing most. You could either buy one direct from mobile storage systems or looks like the same solution from Footloose. If you look on the footloose website under expeditions, prepared 4wd vehicles, then click to look at the back of the disco. There is a good picture of the layout and works the same in a 110.

[This message has been edited by Toby2 (edited 12 June 2003).]

A few ad hoc ideas:

1) cooking gas containers are better kept outside - you don't want a leaking gas bottle ventilating inside the vehicle.

2) you need at least one water container with easy access when you need to take it to the tap - many fuel stations have water taps inside the premiese and a water hose several meters long for filling internal tanks is not practical.

3) you generally need very few things and these things are used every day, several times a day. Other things will not be used because it's difficult to pull them out from the bottom of the heap and in most cases they could just as well be left at home. Therefore, you need to carefully structure the packing arrangement, but most likely all things will rearange themselves after a few weeks anyway. Just allow for some for flexibility.

Rgds,
Roman (UK)

[This message has been edited by Roman (edited 12 June 2003).]

thanks all for the tips.

has anyone come across any other brands of tough plastic boxes other than Rako and Wolf? (£40 seems like alot for a plastic box!)
Huey

There's a lot on the market in all shapes and sizes.

Curver has a good selection (http://www.curver.com/)

And recently I found this shop here in Ghent that is specialized in boxes for goods transport. They have a wide selection of strong plastic 'Euro norm' boxes. They come with or without lid, with or without handles.

Sizes are (1)20x30; (2)30x40; (3)40x60 and hights varying from 10cm to very high.

They are stackable, and 2 times (1) will fit on (2), ... .

without a lid, prices are between 4 and 15€ for reasonable sized boxes.

Best regards,

Rob

Other option might be direct from South Africa. They cost much less and Footloose and others are importing them from there. I agree 40 is a lot for a box as is 700 for a roof tent but about 15 for a box and 300 for a rooftent brand new in SA is far more reasonable. Downside is you get into the hassle of getting them up here.

[This message has been edited by Toby2 (edited 17 June 2003).]

Huey,

Things like the Rako boxes are quite cheap in Europe - I had mine bought in a Swiss version of B&Q for less than a hundred quid - and there is quite a stack of them.

Might be just the excuse you need for a landy trip to Europe this summer :-)

Footloose offer good service, but with prices for people who don't have the time or can't be bothered doing much themselves.

Do a search on this or the Sahara forum on Eezi Awn tents - I posted a rant about buying them from SA. I doubt it would be worthwhile to buy the boxes in from there though.

Germany/Swissland etc would be cheaper and quicker.

Rightoh!