90 expedition storage thread

[james6546]

Looks good. I'd been chewing over similar ideas to create hidden storage in mine and I wanted to be able to access the storage compartment from above as well. My thought was being able to get gear out but from inside the vehicle, or should anything occur that would result in the rear door being damaged/inaccessible (RTA, breakage, zombies outside , weather, whatever) so I'd been thinking of recessing several smaller compartment lids into the floor to enable me to get to specific bits of kit. I was also thinking of using yacht locker style lift up stainless steel ring handles - these recess into a space as well giving you a nice flush finish. I was also chewing over the idea of the whole top section rolling out as a oner separately (the compartment lids would be mitred into it like yours so would remain in situ when the whole floor section pulled out - compartments stay behind). The idea being to rig up some type of support for that section with either folding/pack away legs to support it from below or some type of strap to support it from above - straps going up from the furthest 2 corners to the roof rack maybe. This would give you a secure table or worktop. Does this make sense to anybody besides me? Getting even more Health Robinson, if you had a solid section (no lids in it) sleeved above the compartment lids section, you could roll that out as a locking extension and create a sleeping area, so you have the floor section with lids in inside the vehicle locked to an extending supported section for sleeping on, raised bed handy for expedition purposes - rig your tarps/tent up around the back of the Landy. If that doesn't make sense just pass me a cold compress and I'll go lay down again.
Anyhoo, good thread, enjoying watching the ideas develop.

That does make sense and a sliding lid would make a useful platform to put stuff on and cook on, but hard to get stuff out once it is slid out. Do you mean the floor extends out past the outside of the defender? That is kind of a cool idea for a sleeping platform, I bet it would be a pain to make the tent part though. I can get to the compartment from the inside of mine, but the idea is mostly that I'll put my tools in it, then stack stuff on top of it and it isn't really visible to anyone who might want to steal stuff. The handle I got from ebay is also recessed for the trap door thingy, works really well.

I used mine last weekend, and first impressions are pretty good, there is masses more space and stuff is just so much easier to move about. Especially with tea making stuff in the draw. The fridge is still usable too which was a worry as it is quite a way off the ground though. Only negative is that it seems to have stopped working except when the engine is running, but I think I have an earth problem going on so need to investigate that.

Some negative aspects that I need to think about:
- when the cooking platform is down I can't open the draw more than 20cm or so
- the matting I used dents really easily which sucks. It's comfy to sit on though
- I need a step so I can get inside!
- there is now nowhere to put the gas bottle when cooking, are there any rules involving extending the gas line?

 

[RogueTrooper]

That does make sense and a sliding lid would make a useful platform to put stuff on and cook on, but hard to get stuff out once it is slid out. Do you mean the floor extends out past the outside of the defender? That is kind of a cool idea for a sleeping platform, I bet it would be a pain to make the tent part though. I can get to the compartment from the inside of mine, but the idea is mostly that I'll put my tools in it, then stack stuff on top of it and it isn't really visible to anyone who might want to steal stuff. The handle I got from ebay is also recessed for the trap door thingy, works really well.

Yep that's what I mean, the floor slides out beyond the vehicle - that idea comes from my inability to find any comfortable way to kip in the 90 so far and would give a reasonable length sleeping area off the ground (throw a sleepmat on top of it) but it would also work as workbench or table. If I can develop the 'sleeved' floor idea: when you slide out Floor 1 which has no compartment lids in it, it would lock into place with Floor 2 which remains in the vehicle and has all your compartment lids in it (could still have a drawer underneath if you prefer). This would leave your compartments still accessible - although mostly from inside the vehicle although you'd be able to reach in from the sides to at least the first few compartments by the door.
The compartmented floor was motivated by a need to secure stuff less visibly like yourself but at this point as I wouldn't be carrying expedition gear like yourself I was simply going to replace the rubber floor matting on top so it appears an ordinary floor at first glance albeit somewhat higher than usual. I agree, the tent part would have to be bespoke and I have to work on some crazy drop down awning/canopy ideas!

 

[RogueTrooper]

Ok, just had a brain parp on accessibility beneath the roll out section! At the moment your drawer is only accessible from the top which would make getting anything out when your sleep/worktop section is out a bit tricky, but what about a side opening on the side furthest from the door? Could that be done without compromising the integrity of the drawer?
Also, if you made a few more compartment lids in your floor like your 'trap door' (along the lines I had in mind for mine) you could still access your gear even when your camp stove is folded down?