Building the 'expedition' box - looking for ideas and input

[the evil twin]

Got ours yesterday. Have to say, very impressed indeed. Reinforcing under the rim, bloody tough product whick should hopefully take some punishment.

Tested the weight baring by standing on one of @Avo and I can say they hold 115kg easy. They're a good height for sittimg on or using as a foot stool.

The missus mentioned she'd like some wheels on them to make it nice n easy to move under tables etc.

I resisted the urge to fill one of yours with Cow Poo so you got back some of the shit you've been giving the rest of us... glad I did as you would have just given it to Avo.

Seriously tho, they are a decent bit of Kit eh mate

[Avo]

I resisted the urge to fill one of yours with Cow Poo so you got back some of the shit you've been giving the rest of us... glad I did as you would have just given it to Avo.

Seriously tho, they are a decent bit of Kit eh mate

You,d need a big box of shit to beat all the crap he,s dished out....and rhank you

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[MudRunnerTD]

Yes i also commented that i can leave the milk crate at home now. Normally i carry my cooking gear in a Milk crate and use it for maintenance on the track to stand on when working under the bonnet. These boxes take my 130kegs easily.

The Latches were tough to function but i kept the lid shut for a bit to bed int eh wicked seal and its good as gold. Tough bit of kit.

They are a little smaller than i expected but in hindsight i think they are actually a perfect size for what we really need them for. Those pics that @MB has of them in the back of the GU are a great representation of what a great size they are. Fit perfectly. When full they can be managed with easy. Solid construction with a strong lid, strong latches and robust shell. No Lost space from a bulking lip like the Space Cases. Winner.

[FNQGU]

Cheers guys, great feedback. Love seeing these things being used and and abused. They should be tough as nails and last a bloody long time.

If anyone is finding that seal too damn good, we are working with Gore Industries on a pressure equalisation valve for the back wall in the middle where that little recess is. We had planned on this but were thinking we'd put valves in from factory on a possible next even tougher version, but it could be needed with these too. Especially if hitting the high country or similar. If you do decide you want a valve then let me know, it is simply a matter of drilling a half inch hole and then buying the valve and inserting. They have a lock nut and o-ring seal and so far with testing they have been rock solid and work really well.

[the evil twin]

Funny you mention pressure equalisation... a couple of dudes from an "un-named" Gov dept over here mentioned it too me yesterday.

Like my mob they often send stuff a long distance and we can get a significant difference in internal pressure at the destination.

A Gore Valve would certainly be worth exploring BUT I would be VERY wary of changing the lid seal.
That is currently one of the major advantages you have over the "budget box" competition.

IMHO you have, at the moment, a premium product at well under the price point of any similar competitor "if it aint broke don't fix it".
Well thought out minor tweaks are allowed but not on Friday!!!
Murphy's 37th Law says "Anything that you change or any idea you implement on Friday is guaranteed to go pear shaped approximately 5 minutes before you planned to knock off for the weekend"
(which is why all I do on Fridays is play Solitaire, surf the Web and push everything to do with work to Monday)

Murphy's 38th Law says "Anything that goes per shaped due to Law 37 on a Friday which precedes a long weekend will also require further unpaid overtime attendance on Saturday"

[threedogs]

Mine arrived Friday safe and sound, great size IMHO.
Must buy it a mate now LOL

[FNQGU]

Thanks TD. Glad you like it.

@ET, don't worry, wasn't thinking about changing that seal. Took us months of testing to get that one. A very frustrating experience and it is custom made, which also hurt the wallet. It is staying.

We are still testing the Goretex equalisation valves but they are looking good. Dunking them in the river overnight didn't phase them and the test box has been strapped to Macka's (my business partner) roof rack for months now and is working perfectly.

[MB]

Must say Ben mate, we all bought a few for needed work maintenance vans too as you know. Amazing how the younger crew complain about initial brand new “hard to click down closed”
Their boss (top bloke) reckons he aint seen anything like them, even through his years of Canadian Snow Plowing external mount similars.
He did suggest that the seals were so good that in ‘off use’ (shelved waiting) might be smart to keep lids open to keep plump seals, sounds fair maybe?



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[FNQGU]

Mark he's dead right. If the boxes are left locked down for lengthy periods the seal will compress and the lids will feel easy to close and latch. In our testing though, even just opening them for a night before a trip will see a huge rebound effect and they will sit up proud again. That said, it doesn't deteriorate the ingression factor. We've had a prototype locked down for months now and it still keeps a directed garden hose type water pressure out.

The difficulty in latching them in daily use scenarios will quickly ease as the seal conforms.

Before a big trip into the dust or rain, you could just leave them open for a bit of rebound therapy and it will let the compound rebound quite a bit.

[threedogs]

@MB been saying it for years about carting around 80kg of drawers empty.
There $1000 plus you could put towards an E-locker or Pro locker.
Save buying an overpriced drop down fridge thingy as well.
A well thought out cargo barrier to house these boxes nice and snug
would be my choice. being able to sit on them is a bonus or small table?
Ill be putting a name plate of some description on each as I get more..
square stacks better than round thats why my billy is suqare lol
I previously had wooden boxes specially made of differring sizes