Adding larger/better padlock hasps to Pelican cases?

[Herbie]

Has anyone found a good solution for adding a more robust padlock hasp to a Pelican style case?

I have a Storm im2720 that lives full-time on the rear-door of my van, and I keep enough stuff in there that I like to keep it secured whenever possible. The case includes provisions for a small padlock, but the holes are small and just the plastic material (not reinforced with a steel ring like the main-line Pelican case hasps).

I've also gotten tired of replacing rusted padlocks, so I switched to a set of fully coated locks, so my padlock shackle is even larger diameter than normal because it has a rubber cover and an O-ring gasket. These shackles are just too big to fit the stock holes, and there's not a lot of material there to make enlarging the hole practical.

Ideally, I'd just rivet on an aftermarket stainless steel hasp to the box, but the design of the box with the "flanged" lip makes it so there aren't really to parallel surfaces to attach the hinge and hasp to.

You can see the "flange" and small hasp-holes here:


Looking for any ideas, or unique hasp solutions to let me put a regular-sized padlock shackle on this thing. Thanks!

 

[Dread Pirate Sushi]

Hi,

For the points you mentioned above, I would suggest using metal flat stock secured through the same mounts as the box. You could either use hinges that fold over the front or use a locking bar. That way you secure the contents of your pelican without drilling any additional holes in it.

 

[Herbie]

Maybe I'm not picturing what you're saying. The problem for me is that the box shape has the flange on it:


I can definitely build a locking bar that comes from the frame behind the box, but it's how to secure it at the "lid" that gets me. To avoid the gasket on the lip, I can't mount to any part of the flange surface (beyond where the current hasp-holes are).

I don't mind a penetration to the box as I can seal it well enough with a rivet, but any sort of bar or hasp-plate would have to have some serious "Z" bending going on to get around the flange.

 

[rayra]

He's talking about putting a larger flat strap that encompasses the whole box, akin to a strap securing a 20L jerry can.

But I'd suggest putting the box on the inside of the door and remove the theft target.

 

[Herbie]

Just to revisit this, I was able to fab up a couple of stainless angle-tabs to get a slightly better locking solution. The key thing to get this to work was to rabbit (or rebate, for those across the pond) the outer flanges of the case a little bit to get the two hasp surfaces close enough together for a padlock to work:





Nothing is perfectly secure, but I'm aiming to eliminate the low-hanging fruit.

But I'd suggest putting the box on the inside of the door and remove the theft target.

If I had room on the inside, I wouldn't have needed this box!
#MinivanProblems