A few months ago, I bought a new 2010 Silver Frescoe 4x4 and decided to get back into camping. In the 80's, I made a couple of really nice chuckboxes out of plywood. The first was made of 1/2" plywood. It held everything that we needed to bring, but I always complained about the weight.
I made the next one out of 3/8" plywood. It was lighter, but by the time we loaded up the stove, pots and pans and other odds and ends, it was still too heavy.
In the 90's we did a lot of camping out of a boat with some friends. Over the years, we would show each other our latest refinements - trying to pack as much useful gear in as light a package as possible.
Here is what I ended up with based on the last few times that we were camping. I haven't looked at it for several years and I can see some things that I want to redo, but all in all, I still like it.
When you get to camp, there is a towel bar, a paper towel holder and a wire shelf that get attached to the outside with wing nuts. There are a couple of pcs of curved emt (electrical tubing) that helps reinforce the piano hinge. Light weight bungee cords secure the Viewtainers to the lid even while closed. Inside the Viewtainers are things like matches and tinder, forks and spoons, first aid, mantles, condiments, Splenda, tea bags, Instant coffee, spare parts and a whole lot more.
I think that the next time we take it on a trip, I will see if I can find some room for improvements.
That's pretty nice. I've been using Action Packers for years and I've never seen any fixed up like that. I've only seen the ones that were sealed up better on the lids for dust and water. Nice job.
I am building off road trailers and the one thing they always need is more space. Your ideas on the box are fantastic, usefull in every aspect. Thank you for sharing your ideas with us, anyone seriously camping should have one of these.
I will incorporate this into my personal trailer. You might think of building them for people on the forum. It could be a good little side job for Christmas income, just sayin.
That's a decent setup and you could probably package them and sell them. The one improvement I would like to see is to use a more space-efficient container (for the starting point. The shape and indentations of the base portion mean that it will hold far less than if it were square. Still a handle-dandy setup though. :clap:
I agree with Woodsy. You could definitely sell that set up.
Dapurak (Joe) has similar boxes but they have metal reinforcement panels on the outside of them. I never did catch the name brand but they certainly look cool.
As far as selling these, I'll have to check and see if my son is interested in putting together some of these. For some, like me, it's a therapeutic way to channel some neurotic energy - for others it is drudgery. I mostly enjoyed the challenge of using the space effectively.
If I have time, I want to take another run at it with some different (maybe better) goodies inside and maybe a smaller or lighter or better container for it.
I did find an older Action Packer that was sort of in between the two sizes that they now sell. It was the same depth and width of the larger model, but it was shorter like the small one. When I opened it, I found my old Coleman stove (with the high BTU burners) nicely fitted into the bottom area (including the carrying case). I wish that I could find some of these.
Oh yeah, I owe my kid an apology, I thought that he had lost my Coleman stove. It figures that I would find it while putting away the new Camp Chef Denali stove that I just bought per Corey's recommendation.
And Skerfan, I've been following your offroad trailer thread with baited breath. Only problem that I see is that it is looking so nice now, that I'm doubting that I will be able to afford one. I can't wait to see it in person and find out what they will be going for.
Well thought out and executed. Always nice to see ingenuity at work. Lots of threads on using the Rubbermaid ActionPacker on other forums, so I shared your wisdom by posting a link to here. Hope you don't mind. :cheers:
Now that is innovative.
I have several Action Packers I retired after getting my ECS cases, never thought about converting one of these into a chuckbox.
Yes, the wood ones get quite heavy when full.
I have to pull a few items out first to load the box into the rig.
Roland,
Could you measure and post the size of your box? It looks like the current 24 gallon ActionPacker: 26.5" x 19.3" x 17.4"
Thank you in advance!
Bob
Roland,
Could you measure and post the size of your box? It looks like the current 24 gallon ActionPacker: 26.5" x 19.3" x 17.4"
Thank you in advance!
Bob
Yeah, that's the one. I did find another in the garage that looks to be about 18 gallons or so. It has the same footprint, but is shorter. I might try turning that one into a smaller chuckbox, but then everyone would get mad because Rubbermaid isn't making that size right now.
Sorry Mike, it wasn't that kind of project. I never had a parts list. It just kind of evolved over a period of several years. I always kept an eye out for some nifty containers and vinyl coated wire spice shelves that were meant for the back side of a kitchen cabinet door.
I started that Chuck box about 10 years ago and haven't even looked at it for about 5 years. Some of that stuff you could find at Ikea or Walmart and the stuff that you can't find has probably been replaced with better stuff. Through trial and error, I managed to accumulate some gear and "fixtures" that sort of fit around the pots and pans and plates and cups that I also had accumulated. You could probably do a better job than me with things that you could find at Ikea. I know that because I was there this weekend checking out stuff for the next generation Chuck Box.
...I did find another in the garage that looks to be about 18 gallons or so. It has the same footprint, but is shorter. I might try turning that one into a smaller chuckbox, but then everyone would get mad because Rubbermaid isn't making that size right now...
Seriously, though. I do miss what was always the 'medium' size in my mind. Something needs to split the difference between the 8gal and 24gal containers. I wonder why they quit making it... :shrug03:
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