utilizing unused space.

[sniderexciderr]

i was thinking about mounting on board air tanks in the space where my factory spare was located, and thought "i'm sure there are all kinds of places to hide equipment that i'm not thinking about". basically i want to utilize as much empty space as i can. if its practical of corse. who has made use of otherwise "useless" space? if there is already another thread on this subject let me know please. i have seen all kinds of great ideas in lots of threads but thought it would be nice to have them in one place.

[Jonathan Hanson]

What kind of vehicle do you own? Is it a 40-Series Land Cruiser as in your avatar? (It doesn't sound like it from your description of the factory spare location.) Many people have found ways to optimize the space in FJ40s and other similarly compact vehicles. I had a 12-gauge steel safe welded years ago, sized to fit under the driver's seat of mine. It's big enough to store cameras and handguns very securely. I also installed a raised load deck in the rear, at wheel well height, which hugely increased available space. There's a thread in the Land Cruiser section on 40s.

I'm curious about your consideration of air tanks. In general I don't see a need for on-board air tanks if you have a good (and much more compact) compressor, unless you commonly run air tools.

[sniderexciderr]

no i have a ford expedition, the fj40 is just my dream vehicle, if money and the chance permits i'll snag up a 40, alot of modifications can be adapted to almost anything as long as you have an open mind. i like to surf over lots of build threads, it generates lots of good ideas because mainly my vehicle has next to no aftermarket support. so i end up trying to engineer things i want by myself.

[sniderexciderr]

[QUOTE=

I'm curious about your consideration of air tanks. In general I don't see a need for on-board air tanks if you have a good (and much more compact) compressor, unless you commonly run air tools.[/QUOTE]

well most of it is just brainstorming i'm running 37's right now, and if i want to air down with a small pump it would take quite a while to air back up. but at this point my truck is still in the developing stages.

[mkitchen]

There are compressors that will take care of tires 37" or bigger. The one I have from Viair does my 35" rather quickly and they have larger models too. I have aired up 12 tires at one time with mine and it did fine. I don't recommend doing that on a regular basis though. I have two vehicles so I like being able to transfer equipment from one to another. An on board would not allow that. My son has an Expedition and there are a lot of places to mount things, both in frame and in the cab area. I am a strong proponent of keeping things simple though. I do like the idea of mounting a shovel, axe and jack inside the cab area though. The less items outside the vehicle the better, in my opinion. It seems that everything a fellow does to the outside of a vehicle drops the mileage. Esspecially racks and lifts. My two cents worth.
Mikey

[sniderexciderr]

I am a strong proponent of keeping things simple though. I do like the idea of mounting a shovel, axe and jack inside the cab area though. The less items outside the vehicle the better, in my opinion. It seems that everything a fellow does to the outside of a vehicle drops the mileage. Esspecially racks and lifts. My two cents worth.
Mikey

i agree, i'm trying to go with the "keep it simple, stupid." mentality. i havn't done much research on air pumps yet if i can go with one like that, thats good. but i'm probably not going to go with a rooftop tent and gear strapped to the top. might put the shovel and axe on the swing out tire carrier i'll be making in a few months. i cant really see me needing more space then the expedition can offer. i won't be driving from alaska to brazil or anything. and i don't have a problem with striking a tent on the ground. if i want to camp on a giant windy rock. i'll just sleep in the truck.

[mudbutt]

This is a deck bag for a kayak..... I mounted footman loops on the plastic trim that surrounds the rear window. I use it for personal stuff, i.e. toothbrush, deodorant, t.p. etc.... Would make a good B.O.B. also as you can just unsnap it and go.... But I already have a B.O.B.

[sniderexciderr]

great, thats exactly the type of stuff i was wanting to see in this thread.

[snorkel54]

Have you looked in the storage solutions thread? http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...rage-Solutions

[Stumpalump]

On my XJ I removed the lower rear panels in the cargo area. I've got my tire plug kit, rain gear, climbing rope, 2 or 3 quarts of oil, rags and a bunch of other stuff into the cavity thats behing the plastic. I keep spare parts like the sepentine belt zip tied under the hood by the fire wall. Non- flamable fluid like radiator stop leak is all up under the hood as well. Spare drive shaft is tethered to the side of the seat frame and hi-lift fits under the passenger seat if you pop out the rear lower cuision to get it in and out. My last rig had the spare drive shafts mounted underneath along side the frame rail. Goodwill and thrift stores have all sorts and sizes of bags , purses, makeup bags and such that can be bought for little $. I keep spare bolts and various tools and things in the bags I bought. So what if I pull out my pink makeup bag with hearts and flowers on it to retrieve an allen wrench. I know where it is and can get a complete set quickly. FWIW Lucas oil comes in very thick plastic bottles that don't rupture as fast as other brands if you keep oil inside the cab. It was lot of work to creativly store all the crap I carry but was well worth the time to store the stuff so I have extra room for when I need it and I can find what I need without tearing thru all of my stuff.