Where do you keep dirty stuff?

Oilburner

Adventurer
I was flipping through the "rear storage drawer" ideas on this site, admiring everyone's clean, well-organized rig. Perhaps I am missing something, but where do you guys keep your dirty stuff?

Maybe it's just the terrain here in Eastern Canada, but when I'm off on adventure, one of the major challenges is keeping stuff clean. I usually end up with lots of mud and dirt in everything, due to tow straps getting dirty, winch controls covered in mud, hi-lift jack, muddy boots, and water - I often immerse my rig in water up to 2-3 feet deep, which causes water to get in and brings in silt and mud with it. It's not uncommon for our rigs to get covered in sticky clay-type mud that makes it impossible to see through the windows, and it becomes very hard to keep all this muck out of the camping gear, etc.

Are you folks just really anal about keeping your rigs clean?
 

FourByLand

Expedition Leader
I have noticed alot of people get the action packers or the tool boxes without the sides and drill holes in the bottom and use that spcifically for the muddy stuff and then when done remove those items and hose them down along with spraying out the inside of the box let dry and toss it all back in.

The East Coast guys may have more for you.
 

Momrocks

Adventurer
I haven't had much issue with muddy or dirty bits on my hardcore Mall Expeditions. Got some great flex photos on the curb, lest you think me a poser.:smilies27
 

EricWS

Observer
Pelican cases. KISS.

Large - Keeps all my camping and cooking gear clean and dry. Easily stored and secured.

Clothes - usually stored in a back pack.

Tools get a medium Pelican based on function.

Large Pelican for recovery gear during transport. I use Bucket Boss fabric tool bags to store my recovery gear in. Keep two or three in the truck. That way i have at least 2 tree/recovery straps, at least 4 shackles, at least two pair of gloves with me at all times. Good thing is that the are easily moved due to handles and can store gunked straps. Crap stays in the bag.

I wouldn't bother with a drawer if you constantly fording water that deep and deal with that much mud. What's the point? Stick with Pelicans and simple tie downs. After a few trips you'll be able to source gear as quickly as if it were in a drawer.

EwS
 

Pad

Adventurer
You're going about it all backwards.....
The CLEAN stuff stays at home!!!!:friday:
 

Oilburner

Adventurer
EricWS said:
Pelican cases. KISS.

Large - Keeps all my camping and cooking gear clean and dry. Easily stored and secured.

Clothes - usually stored in a back pack.

Tools get a medium Pelican based on function.

Large Pelican for recovery gear during transport. I use Bucket Boss fabric tool bags to store my recovery gear in. Keep two or three in the truck. That way i have at least 2 tree/recovery straps, at least 4 shackles, at least two pair of gloves with me at all times. Good thing is that the are easily moved due to handles and can store gunked straps. Crap stays in the bag.

I wouldn't bother with a drawer if you constantly fording water that deep and deal with that much mud. What's the point? Stick with Pelicans and simple tie downs. After a few trips you'll be able to source gear as quickly as if it were in a drawer.

EwS

Yeah, I have done a lot of whitewater canoeing so I tend to pack airtight, whether or not it's warranted. I find that canoe barrels are great for packing a tent or some other loose, hard to pack items, and they are cheap - About 30$ for a large one. I also have a bunch of dry bags for clothes and "soft" stuff. The Peli cases are good, I have several of them, and the stuff gets lashed down in the truck. Nice thing about a 109 is you have LOTS of space to work with... Which can sometimes be the problem!!

In my experience Tuffy boxes were a disaster. They were hard to clean (steel with sharp knoocks and crannys), were very weak and they were not a solid lockable container. I had a Jeep TJ tuffy bolted down in the back of the 109 that held my tools, and it was always full of dirt/junk and heavy/difficult to handle, hence why I think bolt-in drawers would be a bad thing.

What about fuel? Jerry cans drive me insane. I usually carry 4 full cans of Dzl plus 1 can of water. The diesel cans are NATO steel ones, they do not leak, but they smell. I don't carry fuel outside the vehicle as I need every inch of tree clearance I can get, and the roof is a bad place for them (weight). So, I end up with smelly, oily everything in the back of the rig.
 

superpowerdave

Adventurer
When I was back east running long trails in the mud I'd keep a box of garbage bags and stuff dirty junk in there at the end of the day, but then these were short weekend jaunts.

A lot of guys I knew would keep a dry sack strapped to the ladder on the back. I ran with my shovel strapped there for a long time as it was always too dirty to dump back in the truck once it had been used.

A Series guy I knew (whose truck was fairly well kitted out) had an ammo can mounted between the frame rails for misecellaneous fluids and another one that was attached to his front bumper using wing nuts for easy removal - he kept all of his nasty gear in there. He didn't put much on the roof rack either because he needed the overhead clearance with all of those trees.

Just some ideas from one Series guy to another ... my entire body is off the 88 right now and I'm staring at the frame conjuring up ways to get more out of less :)
 

Oilburner

Adventurer
Haha I know what you mean! Mine is already pretty tight underneath. I have the Cummins, 4 inch exhaust, muffler, fuel tanks, etc, stuffed in there and there is not much room left underneath. I eventually did stuff the batteries in the spot that's ahead of the driver side wheel in the wheelbox. 2 big Gr. 34 batteries fit in there very nicely, and can be accessed through a door in the top of the wheelbox (a lid from a 109 rear toolbox). I'm planning a fuel tank in the same spot for the other side.
 

I Leak Oil

Expedition Leader
I keep the dirty stuff under the matress....that way the kids don't see it!

Ohhh...you meant the truck....ya....that just stays constantly dirty....:friday:

Jason T.
 

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