Camping Box
by shepner on Jun.11, 2010, under HPV, Projects
Pictured here on the back of my bike (trike) is the latest evolution of my coroplast panniers:
Probably the biggest inspiration to this was a comment in one of the Greenspeed newsletters a few years back. As I recall, they were experimenting with utility designs and had completely eliminated the metal rack and replaced it with a coroplast box. I liked the idea but didnt want to eliminate the rack (its too useful) and wanted to try putting *everything* (tent and all) inside the box.
One of the GMRBC club members has access to a computer controlled box cutter and was kind enough to cut this out for me.
Here is a picture of the insides. To mount it to the rack, I made a ubolt out of a piece of all-thread. Wing nuts are threaded on from inside. A piece of string is used to keep the lid from falling open. I have a piece of nylon window screen glued on to act as a pocket.
The left side is deep enough to hold the tent, sleeping bag, clothes, etc. The water bladder, rain gear, etc lives in the top layer.
Good view of one of the front storage boxes here. These are good for snacks and such but are a tad too high for easy access while riding. I left holes in the bottom so they dont collect water. And they nicely hold a quart container of blueberries….
You may have wondered why the right side isnt accessible from top. Its because I have a kitchen. Or at least a cupboard. Pots, pans, stove, fuel, food, etc goes in here.
Back view here. I hadnt thought about it at the time but that large flat surface is a huge energy sink. The front isnt that great either. I really need to design a more aerodynamic version
I originally intended this to be a bit deeper then it is but discovered that it interfered with my derailleur. Ended up chopping off a couple inches from the whole thing.
