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Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:44 am

Dasmule I would use that space for storage of tools,extra serpentine belt,set jumper cables,etc. Basically stuff that I would use in a
break down,on the road maintance,or to assist someone.
Not everyday items. It would be stuff that I would just be glad to
have with me and wouldnt mind it taking some effort to retrieve.
I personally have desire for a water tank and rarely use the one
already on my Westy. I prefer using bottled and 1 gallon jugs.
I also don't camp in very remote or desert like locations.

Sat Jan 28, 2012 12:37 pm

Not just a bolt on app but another idea From Syncro Dai, Hope you dont mind me sharing Dai :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dai-williams/sets/72157626202335375/

Sat Jan 28, 2012 12:53 pm

Those are nice pics Andy. Is that a filler for the LPG tank
on the left side?

Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:03 pm

BillM wrote: Those are nice pics Andy. Is that a filler for the LPG tank
on the left side?

Yeah! Dai has been making an awesome job!

Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:18 pm

andy syncro-nutz wrote: Not just a bolt on app but another idea From Syncro Dai, Hope you dont mind me sharing Dai :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dai-williams/sets/72157626202335375/

Slick! Might be problematic with those of us using jumpseats and middle benches.

Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:20 pm

andy syncro-nutz wrote: Not just a bolt on app but another idea From Syncro Dai, Hope you dont mind me sharing Dai :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dai-williams/sets/72157626202335375/

That there qualifies as awesome!

Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:20 pm

Dave Jordan has a cool one he built for his syncro. His has a hole cut in the floor to Access the contents. This works great for a van with factory rubber floor mats. Just lift up the mat then open up the lid and get your stuff. No crawling under the van to unhook a container etc.

Sat Jan 28, 2012 6:35 pm

I will be building a box like DJ's shortly. I have been lusting over it ever since I saw it a while back.
It does eliminate the possibility of adding a second tank onto the syncro in the future but I think it is more useful every day.

Sat Jan 28, 2012 6:46 pm

Dave's is a slick setup that I have been thinking about duplicating. I would probably put a locking latch on the lid with a padlock below or similar. It would be a great place to put my jacks and tire changing tools as well as other heavy metal items which I now struggle to get out from the bottom of my bench storage. I rarely need that stuff but it is a pain to get it out when I do.

Mark

Syncrozilla wrote: Dave Jordan has a cool one he built for his syncro. His has a hole cut in the floor to Access the contents. This works great for a van with factory rubber floor mats. Just lift up the mat then open up the lid and get your stuff. No crawling under the van to unhook a container etc.

Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:23 pm

OK, I've been wanting to do this for a while now. We are staying for quite a few days in Puerto Escondido, and I found a welder in town who was willing to solve problems and figure things out with me.

So here:

First we measured a lot, talked quite a bit, and cut some metal:

We made a frame:

We used three metal hinges. Here they are attached with metal drilling screws. The final thing is mounted with bolts that go all the way through the beam.

Test fitting: we did that about 317 times.

It drops as far down as the propane tank protector plate on the drivers side. Hard to tell here, but it is definitely within about an eighth of an inch...

The welds could be better, and wouldn't be approved by some of you here (hello Mr Rubbachicken!) :) But for the price, hey.

We could also have made it into a closed box, but I was worried about holding water in there, thus the hexagonal-pattern mesh. The thing is pretty sturdy.

Painted with primer, left to dry overnight, and added a coat of rubberized bedliner. Not a bad texture:

On the other side, we mounted two pieces of steel, mounted with three screws each to the van, and with holes to coincide into nuts we welded on the tray. It takes four bolts to swing the thing down, so it will be for seldom used stuff.

I was going to make the bolts into butterfly bolts, to be able to open it by hand. But decided at the last minute to just leave a driver in the drawer, it calls less attention to itself that way.

Not pictured here is a hinge for a lock that we welded on top of the tray, mated to a clasp on the side of the body of the van. The whole thing is inconspicuous enough and takes enough to open that I'm not sure I'll even use a lock--people might as well steal my wheels...

Here's Angel, the welder and co-designer of the thing:

The tray could be a bit longer, but I made it so it fits exactly two plastic toolboxes of a model I found at a big store here. Height-wise, the boxes are tight with the tray closed.

Price for everything: $600mx, or $50. Plus a can of bedliner I bought at Autozone, another $5.

Now to figure out a way to ship these to California for $200 a pop :D
(just kidding, no intention or means of commercializing these--I'm posting this so others can make their own)

Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:47 pm

Juan, that's a great idea, well executed! Out of sight, and with the weight carried below the centre of gravity, too.

Winna, winna, chicken dinna! ;)

Wed Feb 06, 2013 7:50 am

Good golly how many tools you need to carry.. a vanagon only has soo many sized nuts and bolts. I carry everything I need in a small canvas "dr's bag" toolbag. that includes the chisel/punches duplicate CV & Allen sockets.. it takes the size of a battery.. in fact I carry it under the pass seat where the battery goes on most vans.
Toss your jumper cables and serpentine belt in the spare tire in a XL ziploc bag..
well that's what I/we do. I can actually get the cables from the tire quicker than many can get them from under the rear bench.. where I prefer to carry more clean objects.
my own persoanl van I carry a 12v battery/boost pack, very handy and not that bulky.

BillM wrote: Dasmule I would use that space for storage of tools,extra serpentine belt,set jumper cables,etc. Basically stuff that I would use in a
break down,on the road maintance,or to assist someone.
Not everyday items. It would be stuff that I would just be glad to
have with me and wouldnt mind it taking some effort to retrieve.
I personally have desire for a water tank and rarely use the one
already on my Westy. I prefer using bottled and 1 gallon jugs.
I also don't camp in very remote or desert like locations.

Wed Feb 06, 2013 8:14 am

I prefer and am in the process of making Millennium Falcon storage compartments similar to Syncro Dai.
Lockable, sealed from the elements and accessible from the inside of the van with ease.

I cherish my tools and do not want them subjected to road debris.

Wed Feb 06, 2013 9:31 am

insyncro wrote: I prefer and am in the process of making Millennium Falcon storage compartments similar to Syncro Dai.
Lockable, sealed from the elements and accessible from the inside of the van with ease.

I cherish my tools and do not want them subjected to road debris.

Fair enough. I would love to do it that way, but at the moment doing so would be too much of a commitment, I'd be terrified of cutting into my virgin floor, and would be afraid of ending up with an uneven/messed up floor.

I am open to it, maybe when/if I do some rust work in the future. As it is now, $50 and a few holes drilled in the beams under the van didn't seem like a big commitment. Also, note that I'm putting toolboxes there, but not necessarily for my tools. I think I'll keep some metal as a test to see what happens to it first. I can also fit a couple of plastic Jerry cans (empty!) that I've been carrying just in case I need them and take a bunch of space in the closet.

BTW, from what I've seen making an under box like the Dai one would cost not much more than $50-$70 here in Mexico. And workmanship is good as long as you stick around and work along the project...

Wed Feb 06, 2013 9:36 am

danfromsyr wrote: Good golly how many tools you need to carry..

In our case, we are living in this van for over a year while we drive south. And we like to keep the floor open, we usually just have a cooler in there. So whatever helps get seldom used things out of the way is welcome...

Wed Feb 06, 2013 9:48 am

I built a storage area in my 85 in between the frame rail and the slider by mounting some storage racks of the metal closet variety at either end of the space leaving about 16" open in the middle. Then using a sheet of stainless I found laying out in the woods (knew I would find a use for it) made a cover for the area hinged on the frame rail and closed under the slider with the same locking latches shown above ^^. I'll try to post some pics later today. I changed all my coolant hoses when I put in the new engine, so all the spare/old hoses are at one end and two gallons of coolant at the other along with a bag of parts, still room to put more stuff in there.

Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:16 am

danfromsyr wrote: I carry everything I need in a small canvas "dr's bag" toolbag. that includes the chisel/punches duplicate CV & Allen sockets.. it takes the size of a battery.. in fact I carry it under the pass seat where the battery goes on most vans.
I just did this under my driver's seat (non-swivling weekender) Jumper cables fit there too. Got Craftsman bag on sale for $5.00, Actually I bought 2!
danfromsyr wrote: ..my own persoanl van I carry a 12v battery/boost pack, very handy and not that bulky.
Great Dan, give me something else to buy! I bought the van-shaped cookie cutters at West River Westies, but are you satisfied? Nooooo! :lol:

I still think about under floor storage, mostly for a water tank (Weekender - no tank) - like to have a sprayer out the rear some day - but the only conveninet way to fill such is cutting the floor. Call me a wimp, but I am just not feeling great about that.

Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:44 am

I have never regretted building and installing my storage box. It fits perfect under the sliding door and in addition to storage, it act ads a skid plate for my off roading. Dimensions are, 40" long x 5.5" x deep x 12" wide.
It is not a perfect rectangle but rather follows the contour of the frame and has an outside bevel. Drawing is available. PM me DLJ

Wed Feb 06, 2013 8:37 pm

seventyfo wrote: I built a storage area in my 85 in between the frame rail and the slider by mounting some storage racks of the metal closet variety at either end of the space leaving about 16" open in the middle. Then using a sheet of stainless I found laying out in the woods (knew I would find a use for it) made a cover for the area hinged on the frame rail and closed under the slider with the same locking latches shown above ^^. I'll try to post some pics later today. I changed all my coolant hoses when I put in the new engine, so all the spare/old hoses are at one end and two gallons of coolant at the other along with a bag of parts, still room to put more stuff in there.

I'd like to see your setup!

I'm still figuring out what to put in mine...

Mon Feb 18, 2013 8:02 pm