which type of storage box
 

i'm looking for a couple of new storage boxes. the ones i have at the moment are of the tapered sides design and although they have served me well a lot of space is lost due to the sloping sides.
a lot of people in the landrover world swear by wolf boxes, but then go on to say that the latches break easily. what about alibert boxes, does anyone use or have experience of these? both types come in the same 60X40cm size and both cost (too much really for a lump of moulded plastic) about the same.
are there any other types available in the uk? i really want something that is going to last more than one season. oh yes, and zarges are waaay too much.
thanks.

Hi there,

well in a 4x4 you have a lot of space compare to a bike, for square boxes like "NALGENE" they are water tight with a screw lid ! very good for foot in sizes from 125ml, 250ml, 500ml and 1000ml you get round ones as well but the square ones are best. They are not to expensive and very solid (not-brakabel Lab quality) they served me perfectly for 20 years now.

the next thing are the "Platypus" bottles in sizes 500ml, 1000ml 2000ml they are perfect on a bike for all liquid things, I even use this 500ml folding bottles for storing and transporting sugar, cooking oil and tea. they taking less and less space if used over the time while traveling.
Perfect to be stuffed in a rucksack on small parcel carrier.

Both, Nalgene and Platypus are very lite, if you need bigger container use this round plastic drums from "CurTec" or I can't remember (starts with "Verl..." some thing) they are white with a red lid on in sizes from 3,5L to 65L. the 14L one ts perfect as traveling washing machine in a 4x4 Truck, just fill it with your sweaty T-shirts add a bit soap and water and let the vibration of your Truck doing the rest while you are driving.
Well this big drums are perfect for storing all sorts, bigger amounts of foot, clothes, just any thing that needs to be water or dust proof.

I used to fill a 6,5L drum up with rice for a start.... well there is a lot of space in a land Rover 101 forward control, and weight is no question there... more weight... better and softer ride... (1.8-tone empty weight for the vehicle and 3.8-tone fully loaded, plus a 3/4-tone sankey trailer with another load if needed. (mind you that's for heavy Off-Road cross country condition)

compare to a bike you want no more than 35Kg weight on gear in total to be most flexible.

if you need bigger storage boxes for heavy gear or sensible things like cameras, tools, spare parts, laptops and so on the ZARGES ally boxes are perfect, they are lite solid water and dust proof, can be piled up and strapped or bolted any where you need it, I usually have at least one for all the catering gear and used as a seat as well.

Spooky

Really Useful Boxes
 

Not sure if these are what you are after, but a lot of people swear by them.

We got ours from Solent Plastics, but you can get them almost anywhere, even WH smiths.

Check them out here Really Useful Box - UK home page

We've not had them for long, but there were a lot of recommendations on other overlanders sites.

Euro boxes...
 

Bugger, I just got a set of wolf boxes because the euroboxes didn't fit nicely.

I've used euro boxes on my trans african trip, and they're sturdy.

You can buy The Really Useful Boxes at Staples, the office supplies stores. We use them and took ours to Tunisia last Christmas. I found them good as you can see what is in them from the outside, so you know which one you want without having to read labels. All our clothes were in them as well, excellent way to limit the amount that the women take, I told them if it didn't fit in one box they couldn't take it.

boxes
 

For what it's worth I use heavy duty euro boxes from Kaiser-Kraft. They are in the car all the time and get used/handled most days as well as saharan travel. I've had them 4 years now without any damage. They are available in 600x400 and 400x300 sizes that interlock/stack and in a range of depths. The only slight disadvantage is they have open handles but a bit of tape stops the dust coming in. The lids have a handy notch which locates a ratchet strap and being straight sided don't move.
Cheers
Chris

We had two of the 'really useful boxes' on our recent trip to Morrocco. The sides were OK, however the lids soon cracked. OK, we had the larger ones, but they were never that full or that heavy, but were stacked on each other.

Also they have fins on the outside that have a habbit of catching on things when sliding in and out of the boot - smooth sides would have been easier and made it easier to wedge things in beside them.

Next time I would either go for something like the Wolf Boxes or Gomo boxes or just go straight for a drawer system - home made of course ;-)

Another vote for Euro Boxes

- very tough -and they dont crack/break easily - Overland Companies use them - straight sides and lids if you need them.

Grif

Really Usefull Boxes
 

Caried a whole bunch of them around Africa for a whole year, not only really usefull because they are square and transparant but also very strong!! Probably not as strong as the Wolf boxes but none of our boxes broke! And if they break, well you buy a new one because they are not as stupidly expensive as the Zarges and Wolfs.

Cheers

Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

Trimcast Space Cases
 

I am new to 4X4ing, after travelling on 2 wheels for over 2 years, I have crossed to the dark side :biggrin3:

Space and security are still as big an issue for me as they were for bike travel, because I have a teeny Suzuki Vitara.

The storage suggestions have been very useful - thanks. But in Oz I don't have easy access to some of the products. What I have found though are these:

Space Cases
Trimcast Rotomoulders

They're lockable, & I can make sure that I secure them to the 4WD too. A bit bulky, but one or two will be plenty to house important/expensive/irreplacable items.

I like the idea of the transparant boxes for nickable items (food, clothings), but need something more rugged for documents and stuff that I want to keep out of sight.

A lockable steel/alu box is another popular option down under, but I just can't find the right size.
... and the Space Case boxes are cool ;)