I want to carry kayaking gear and camping supplies in the back of my Ford F150 truck with a cap. How do you do this? Containers, shelves, or what? I am concerned about stuff moving around and being able to quickly put stuff into the truck at the beginning of a trip and quickly taking it out at the end of a trip.
How long
How long do you have pickups?
Everybody uses some sort of boxes,totes or containers.
My paddeling box.
Family paddeling box.
Chain saw box.
Tire chain box.
Boy Scout box.
Emergency stuck in a snow drift box.
Baseball bag.(3 gloves,2 bats,2dozen balls.One more glove and it gets a box).
Get the ideah,A container just makes life so much easier.
tubs
I bought a few clear plastic tubs at Walmart, works great. When I am done kayaking all the wet gear goes
in one of the tubs. Trying to keep this vehicle from smelling like my previous one.
Same truck with cap
We use the rubbermaid bins.
They stack nicely. I have two different sizes and a bunch of them
We use duct tape on one side, and one end and label what is in them with a magic marker. In that way you don’t have to go searching around in each box for a particular item.
Naturally the two mountain bikes go in loose, as well as our dozen sorted canoe and kayak paddles.
We use three of them just for the canoe and kayak gear. Another couple for our yak packing gear. Another for the biking gear and clothes, etc, etc.
Then the good thing about them is they are water proof, so if you want to leave a bunch of them at your camp site, you can store them outside or wherever
jack L
Utilitrack rails and cleats plus bins
– Last Updated: Oct-12-10 11:27 PM EST –
Rubbermaid bins are your friend. I must have at least a dozen of them in the household and in the truck.
My truck's tiedown cleats are also a good friend. They can be easily moved around, as the rails are on the front wall of the bed interior, the sides, and the floor. With a few straps and a rope or two (knots practice has paid off), things stay put. If that were not enough, the truck also came with small floor widgets that affix into the rails and stop sliding. The rails and cleats are solid aluminum, cleats rated to secure 200 lbs each. Plenty for anything I might use them for.
The truck manufacturer (Nissan) also offers an aluminum-grid wall that can be moved around on the rails. I think these walls are fairly easy to find for other brands, too.
I have in mind (alas, not in reality yet) a two-tier system, or what some call a false floor. That way, some of the Rubbermaid bins could fit on the truck's bed floor, along with paddle case and valuables. The false floor could function as both a bed platform for me and a cover (out of sight is out of mind, when it comes to thieves). Would be nice to just crawl onto the false floor to sleep instead of re-arranging items as I presently do. At least the stacking Rubbermaids make that easier and neater. Also, if I camp at a site with electrical, I could put a heater on the real floor and the heat would waft upwards :-)
I have seen a few trucks with this kind of false-floor setup. If you have a deep cargo bed and tall topper, this would be especially appealing.
That is a great idea!
why not go ahead and do it yourself, or at least design it yourself and have some one build it for you.
Sounds fairly simple with some plywood, or OSB and some 2x stuff.
If I was single and just using the pick-up, that is probably what I would do, but with two of us and on a four month trip we have the truck bed absolutely filled to the brim.
Jack L
False bed
I had several friends do this over the years to hide their shotguns and trap shooting gear.
These were guys that shot trap all over the county and just kept their gear in the truck.
Frame out your bed in 2x4s or 2x6 cover with plywood.
cut out your doors for your compartments, add hinges and cover it all in a good outdoor carpet.
Marc Ornstein’s truck.
I think I saw a pic posted somewhere on the forums of his pickup nicely outfitted for paddling trips. Maybe someone could repost it for reference?
How to: Bed Box Build
http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-install-a-truck-bed-storage-system/index.html
I vote for the tubs.
Rubbermaid Action Packers
heavier duty then standard rubbermaid containers, positively locking lids. Have to careful how much you load them up because they do get heavy.
http://www.target.com/Rubbermaid-24-Gal-Action-Packer-Storage/dp/B00002N6SQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&searchView=grid5&keywords=action%20packer&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-1&qid=1286974725&rh=&searchRank=target104545&id=Rubbermaid%2024-Gal%20Action%20Packer%20Storage&node=1038576|1287991011&searchSize=30&searchPage=1&searchNodeID=1038576|1287991011&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&frombrowse=0
I’ve gotten them for less then that in the past, usually around $20 at walmart or target.
They used to make a smaller 12 or 14 gallon size, but no longer do.
I use these things to store and transport all my camping gear, including packing dry goods/food in them.
XXXL duffel bag
I just use a big duffel bag - everything I want to take in my boat except the paddles is in the duffel bag (and/or drybag of camping gear if doing oernight trip); when I get to the put-in, I haul the bag to the boat and empty it there, so nothing gets left behind. Reverse the process at the take-out.
False floor and use the lower profile
tubs or DIY boxes … Tie lines on them with marked ends … This way you can shove stuff way forward under the floor and ID / retrieve it EZ.
rubber maid Roughneck storage bins
attach loop of bungie on both sides with clip on one loop to close over lid so that if it falls off a table or off the truck bed it won’t pop open. Then big mesh duffle for wet stuff that can air out.
Slider for the bed
I was very impressed when I camped with a couple that had a capped pick-up, and a slide-out bed. They had a plywood frame set on some kind of sliding mechanism–telescoping like a drawer-slide, so that they could pull out almost the entire bed. Certainly some tubs will still be handy, and you could actually build a bed/layer on top as posters above suggest. The advantage of the slider is that you don’t have to climb in the truck to get something that is up against the cab, because the whole bed slides out. You will loose a few inches of storage on the bottom of the truck to the sliding contraption, but very convenient to be able to access everything with climbing over and in.
I believe Dennis told me it is commercially available, but I can’t say. I prefer an uncapped truck.
~~Chip