Overland Gear Organization

[OverlandOzzy1]

As I continue to build my new rig, I am curious to see how everyone organizes and stores their gear when prepping for a trip or not over landing and when at home. Post some pictures and description of what you use and your methods behind it as I would like to see everyone’s different take to gear organization in the OB community.

 

[Correus]

I haven't gotten as far as planning for 'on board storage for trips' in re my rig yet, it's still in the sea trials and fitting out stage. However, I do plan to use vintage storage options to go hand-in-hand with my vintage rig - military storage containers, canvas, metal and wood. However, I am getting ready to refurbish an old military storage trunk that will house roadside repair items, recovery items, extra oil and so on. It is even big enough to hold a small, 3-ton floor jack. I used this thing for this purpose before the rebuild; it has so much storage it was never filled. It's the weird green box in the pic.

Here in the next couple of days I'll be receiving 4, vintage Polish military bread bags that will attach to the galvanized capping the seat backs are against (or get tossed into that box). The hold just about anything for storage. Those are the types of things I'm planning on using.

 

[Tundracamper]

As I continue to build my new rig, I am curious to see how everyone organizes and stores their gear when prepping for a trip or not over landing and when at home. Post some pictures and description of what you use and your methods behind it as I would like to see everyone’s different take to gear organization in the OB community.

I haven't gotten as far as planning for 'on board storage for trips' in re my rig yet, it's still in the sea trials and fitting out stage. However, I do plan to use vintage storage options to go hand-in-hand with my vintage rig - military storage containers, canvas, metal and wood. However, I am getting ready to refurbish an old military storage trunk that will house roadside repair items, recovery items, extra oil and so on. It is even big enough to hold a small, 3-ton floor jack. I used this thing for this purpose before the rebuild; it has so much storage it was never filled. It's the weird green box in the pic.

The OP wrote “ I am curious to see how everyone organizes and stores their gear when prepping for a trip or not over landing and when at home.” So, I don’t think there’s an interest on on-board vehicle storage.

I have a 4 shelf rack in the garage. Two of the shelves are for my trip gear. The rest of the stuff stays in the car.

 

[Boppa's Travels]

Hmm what is this thing you call organization? I might have to look into this since the back of my jeep looks like it has been ransacked by a bear.

 

[OverlandOzzy1]

The OP wrote “ I am curious to see how everyone organizes and stores their gear when prepping for a trip or not over landing and when at home.” So, I don’t think there’s an interest on on-board vehicle storage.

I have a 4 shelf rack in the garage. Two of the shelves are for my trip gear. The rest of the stuff stays in the car.

I am interested in onboard vehicle storage options as well. I have considered a decked system but not wanting to loose the bed space

 

[rzims]

I'm trying to figure this out as well for the truck. In the jeep, I had a roof rack and several stackable bins that strapped on to the roof. I added foam door seal to the lids to ensure they were waterproof.
Ice chest went in the back of the jeep to help keep it cool. An ice chest in the back of the truck on hot summer days could be challenging keeping ice.

 

[madcratebuilder]

I am interested in onboard vehicle storage options as well. I have considered a decked system but not wanting to loose the bed space

You don't really loose bed space, you gain space. The new deck is just above the wheelwells so you gain that area. You do loose vertical space, about 16-18". I have a Softopper so it's not even noticeable.

I have a 6' bed and have plenty of sleeping room. The drawers hold a lot of gear, all my recovery gear, camping, tarps, tools. I have a tote for food, bucket and seat, water, sleeping bag, in bed only when out on the trail, I use a SlumberJack on the back for more covered bug free space.

 

[Gone_xtrkn]

We travel light because our rig is small and we have a correspondingly small garage at home. Everything we use to travel comes out of the rig because I often use it to commute to work as well. 2 cases, recently switched from Plano to FrontRunner because the FR ones fit in the trunk better, and the 45qt roto cooler live on a set of generic wire shelves in the corner. Camp furniture hangs from hooks on the wall. When the RTT comes off the roof it lives on its side along the wall next to the car, though I have a few 300lb shelf brackets I’d like to mount so the tent can be off the floor to protect it from flooding, sideswipes from the cars, etc.

Have stayed away from permanent vehicle storage because of weight, using the car as a daily driver, etc. but I feel like if I switched to something bigger I’d do the same because I kind of like being able to take everything out when setting up camp. Might look into drawers for the boxes with a sliding fridge on top if we get a full size rig one day.

 

[Correus]

We travel light because our rig is small and we have a correspondingly small garage at home. Everything we use to travel comes out of the rig because I often use it to commute to work as well. 2 cases, recently switched from Plano to FrontRunner because the FR ones fit in the trunk better, and the 45qt roto cooler live on a set of generic wire shelves in the corner. Camp furniture hangs from hooks on the wall. When the RTT comes off the roof it lives on its side along the wall next to the car, though I have a few 300lb shelf brackets I’d like to mount so the tent can be off the floor to protect it from flooding, sideswipes from the cars, etc.

Have stayed away from permanent vehicle storage because of weight, using the car as a daily driver, etc. but I feel like if I switched to something bigger I’d do the same because I kind of like being able to take everything out when setting up camp. Might look into drawers for the boxes with a sliding fridge on top if we get a full size rig one day.

My rig is intended as a daily driver, and is small as well; so is the garage. All of my storage is removable too. When it comes to an old Rover the only 'permanent' storage space built into it is a cubby under the left hand seat (intended for tools and extra battery) and a removable try cubby under the center front seat. There is a spot, right behind the front seats designed to hold the jack, jack handle and the handle to manually hand crank/start the engine. That's it. Like you, I like having the ability to remove all of it. It allows to switch things around as needed too.

 

[Viking1204]

My F-150 Super Crew is a daily driver but with my Diamondback bed cover I can leave a lot of my Overland related gear in it locked up. I'm still looking for a better way to store all my camping gear that doesn't fit under the Diamondback cover, most of it is in Plano storage containers so I think if I can just get some shelves to put along the wall that will work good, just have to decide on the right size shelves!

 

[uncompromise]

For us every trip could be substantially different, so we focus on storing like with like, unpacked, so that we can see everything we have, and select the right items for that particular trip. We do not use any of our travel gear in daily life, so that makes things significantly easier.

• We have four large plano boxes that we store gear in for travel, although it‘s rare that we take more than two; these are stacked empty in our utility ro
• Recovery gear remains permanently in the vehicle (obviously) and the Gen 3 Pajero has a handy underfloor storage space when you delete the third row seat that we use for this purpose.
• Everything else is stored loose in labeled drawers in our utility room - shallow ones for smaller items, and deeper ones for larger ones.
• various pouches and smaller containers are labelled for different purposes, and those labels map to how we organise our gear in our gear list
• We have a labeled box for items requiring repair or replacement, and are committed to addressing these the same week we return home
• Our sleeping bags are stored hanging to retain loft, and our packs are also stored hanging.
• The dogs have their own drawers for harnesses, packs, leads, bedding, trail medical supplies, meals, snacks etc
• Additionally we have a trauma kit, and a 48 hr bug out kit for us and two dogs stashed permanently in the underfloor storage (we’re currently planning to expand to 72 hours with some additional permanent organisation)

Additionally, we use the project management tool Asana to create checklists and organise everything for our trips, and maintain a comprehensive gear list in Airtable. We use these tools in our business every day, so we‘re familiar with them; and of course, everything gets printed out before we hit the road.

 

[Mtnmn99]

It depends on space. If i am in my JK it is one or two action packers, and a smaller list. Wit the trailer I can pack more because I have more room. I still use action packers for organization. It helps to have more room.

 

[pcstockton]

You stash two dogs permanently in the underfloor storage?

 

[pcstockton]

As I continue to build my new rig, I am curious to see how everyone organizes and stores their gear when prepping for a trip or not over landing and when at home. Post some pictures and description of what you use and your methods behind it as I would like to see everyone’s different take to gear organization in the OB community.

It is easier to help with suggestions if we know what rig you have.

 

[uncompromise]

You stash two dogs permanently in the underfloor storage?

You’d be amazed how little volume they take up when freeze-dried

 

[Road]

I go on a variety of trips from week long at one place to multi-month cross country adventures going through a variety of climates and environments, so have a variety of gear and don't always take the same stuff.

I'm a container geek, from small bedside trays to large Zarges and Pelican cases. I got tired of unstacking towers of totes to get to the one I needed, so built a long rack specifically for the containers I'd be storing.

Measure your containers, figure your storage needs, build a simple shelving unit so you can always get to the container you want without moving a ton of others out of the way.


Cleared wall space in a cellar for the size rack I planned.


I sized the rack to hold specific totes two high on the lower shelf and larger ones on the floor underneath and miscellaneous on top shelf. The gear on the top shelf is what goes out most on trips. Most of the rest stay on the shelves with various gear for both trips and house.

My shelving unit is made of two long permanent platforms with legs screwed on, not nailed. That way I can simply remove the four legs and have a fairly flat pack if I want to move it or store it. The legs stick up past the top shelf to help prevent containers from going past the ends of the shelf.

The shelf platforms both have cross members for strength but only a thin decking. All my containers extend front to back and to put heavy ply decking would be overkill and more expensive. I made this unit from materials I had on hand already, screws and all.




It has worked out really well. Be organized in your containers and labeling them, and you can always get to what you need when you need it.

I plan on building more like this for other storage in shop and house. All my shop's workbenches are built in a similar fashion, with legs that come off quickly to facilitate easy moving.

There's a LOT of stuff that just stays in the van, and especially the trailer, full time, though it gets changed up depending on adventure.


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I like stowing my gear for trips best in "lanes," with items packed in order of need. If paying attention, your packing scheme evolves after a while to have the most often used stuff most accessible, or in a lane that makes it easy to unpack just one section, not the whole back end, to get to something.


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Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

 

[1Louder]

I go on a variety of trips from week long at one place to multi-month cross country adventures going through a variety of climates and environments, so have a variety of gear and don't always take the same stuff.

I'm a container geek, from small bedside trays to large Zarges and Pelican cases. I got tired of unstacking towers of totes to get to the one I needed, so built a long rack specifically for the containers I'd be storing.

Measure your containers, figure your storage needs, build a simple shelving unit so you can always get to the container you want without moving a ton of others out of the way.

View attachment 188683
Cleared wall space in a cellar for the size rack I planned.

View attachment 188684
I sized the rack to hold specific totes two high on the lower shelf and larger ones on the floor underneath and miscellaneous on top shelf. The gear on the top shelf is what goes out most on trips. Most of the rest stay on the shelves with various gear for both trips and house.

My shelving unit is made of two long permanent platforms with legs screwed on, not nailed. That way I can simply remove the four legs and have a fairly flat pack if I want to move it or store it. The legs stick up past the top shelf to help prevent containers from going past the ends of the shelf.

The shelf platforms both have cross members for strength but only a thin decking. All my containers extend front to back and to put heavy ply decking would be overkill and more expensive. I made this unit from materials I had on hand already, screws and all.



View attachment 188685
It has worked out really well. Be organized in your containers and labeling them, and you can always get to what you need when you need it.

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Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

I started to scroll through this post and said to myself this has to be Road. That was before I saw your identifying marks. :) Hope you are well. Looks like you have it down.

 

[Road]

@Road those photos are epic. Having everything laid out all organized scratches something deep in my mind. :D

I have a big shelf in my storage room that my gear makes its way down to. I have used big cases in the past and just used them as slide out boxes in my LR4. Sometimes between trips my stuff just ends up in one stall of my garage all messy like this... (Ok ok, i had it a bit 'setup' just to get a snapshot of what all I was packing at the time. I like to kinda keep track so I can look back at how my gear selection evolves)

View attachment 188694

But I am currently waiting on a new drawer system and building some sleep platform extension cabinets for my 2nd row. I hope to eliminate the big case on the right which is camp kitchen and lots of misc camp stuff.

I like the shelf idea though, simple, clean and works well. I have a LOT of self inflating air mattresses all over my house too because you are supposed to store those expanded rather than rolled up.

Thanks Mike.

Yeah, I've found over the years if I keep my shit tight as far as bring organized, I use it more and am a hell of a lot happier when packing up for a trip or at camp.

Sounds odd to some, but I say it all the time: Listen to your gear and how you use it and it will tell you where it wants to live.

If you keep putting that hatchet right inside the back door of your vehicle after using it, make a permanent place for it there. Same with everything else. Then it will always be where you expect it and need it.

 

[Road]

I started to scroll through this post and said to myself this has to be Road. That was before I saw your identifying marks. :) Hope you are well. Looks like you have it down.

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Ha! Too funny.

I think some people know my posts as me 'cause I post so long. Back in the days of chat room where you could see a ... when someone was typing, folks would see that for me for a long period and say "Oh, hell, he's writing another novel."

Hope you are well too, my friend.

 

[Road]

I haven't gotten as far as planning for 'on board storage for trips' in re my rig yet, it's still in the sea trials and fitting out stage. However, I do plan to use vintage storage options to go hand-in-hand with my vintage rig - military storage containers, canvas, metal and wood. However, I am getting ready to refurbish an old military storage trunk that will house roadside repair items, recovery items, extra oil and so on. It is even big enough to hold a small, 3-ton floor jack. I used this thing for this purpose before the rebuild; it has so much storage it was never filled. It's the weird green box in the pic.

Here in the next couple of days I'll be receiving 4, vintage Polish military bread bags that will attach to the galvanized capping the seat backs are against (or get tossed into that box). The hold just about anything for storage. Those are the types of things I'm planning on using.


View attachment 164315

View attachment 164316

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Someday, @Correus, I'm going to find, or make, some units like this in various sizes for the hell of it; just to try as a fun challenge and to see how well they work on an adventure.

One as a desk unit like this; another sized to fit available space in both trailer or van. I like how it's all self-contained and used the lid as desk top.


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Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com