extra storrage for devon

Quilter wrote:No good for solid items obviously but using vacuum packing bags to store clothes, extra bedclothes etc can make a lot of difference to how much you can get in a small space and free up lockers for other stuff..

Choose the roll up kind not the ones that need a vacuum cleaner to evacuate them. It's worth buying good quality ones rather than Poundshop types as the seals are better and they don't re-inflate over time. Surprisingly clothes don't crease anything like as much as expected. I put in a small piece of fabric softener paper ( the sort you buy for tumble dryers) which keeps contents smelling fresh.

roli wrote:I recently saw a homemade box mounted underneath the bike rack (on an Autocruise) I meant to take a photo but the time I had got camera out it had gone
If any of the ASOC members on here who were at the Irish Rally saw this any pictures ??

burlingtonboaby wrote:If you mount a box or similar underneath the bike rack would it not obstruct the rear lights/ indicators etc, ?.
You would have to make up a marker light board to attach to the rear. 
Correct me if I'm away with the loons 
Boaby

roli wrote:It was mounted with u bolts from the top of the box to the underside of the cycle rack
Another option the is a Duetto parked near me where he has a box on the bike rack and another rack mounted underneath on his tow bar (tow bar permitting !)

Quilter wrote:I don't know what the rear axle rating is for your van but beware of overloading it. If you have a rear kitchen then you already have quite a load there, plus bikes and rack. Adding a box with heavy items in it might take you over the limit or at least mean you have to look at how you load the van internally.

roli wrote:It was mounted with u bolts from the top of the box to the underside of the cycle rack
Another option the is a Duetto parked near me where he has a box on the bike rack and another rack mounted underneath on his tow bar (tow bar permitting !)

Redwink wrote:You may have room for this beenybox in the skirt?

Redwink wrote:That's a good thought Dave, any pictures?

Gromit wrote:Hi Malibu

A bit of lateral thinking here!

Assuming your Devon has the same layout and gas locker as our 2010 Nuevo EK did, have you considered fitting an underslung gas tank?

Beeny boxes are good, but very expensive for what they are, and no solution is going to be cheap. If you had an underslung tank fitted you would have the benefit of cheap and very convenient LPG, and no problems with compatibility when holidaying across the Channel, nor any need for spare cylinders since topping up is so easy.

That would release your gas locker, the internal walls of which can be easily removed in their entirety to extend the underbed storage very considerably. (This assumes a side bench, end kitchen layout of course.) A false floor to extend the underbed space without having a well at one end is also easy enough, so you are left with a much bigger underbed, plus a small space under the false floor for tools and bits and pieces. It worked for us, and was a massive enhancement of an already good van.

The cost may not be too different to a Beeny or back box, and you would have all the benefits of the underfloor tank.

Just a thought.

Dave itable:smile!:

 That sounds a great idea ,as not to shore about beeny boxes as they seem open  to corrosion if made from metal as the photos of them i have seen,thanks

Quilter wrote:

 That sounds a great idea ,as not to shore about beeny boxes as they seem open  to corrosion if made from metal as the photos of them i have seen,thanks

No, they don't corrode. They are heavily treated  ( galvanised ?) and both of ours were clean and shiny when the vans were sold after years of trouble-free use. One was a bit deformed by an encounter with a kerb at Leon aire but after amateur panel beating and gaffer tape internally neither leaked or corroded.

malibu wrote:

Gromit wrote:Hi Malibu

A bit of lateral thinking here!

Assuming your Devon has the same layout and gas locker as our 2010 Nuevo EK did, have you considered fitting an underslung gas tank?

Beeny boxes are good, but very expensive for what they are, and no solution is going to be cheap. If you had an underslung tank fitted you would have the benefit of cheap and very convenient LPG, and no problems with compatibility when holidaying across the Channel, nor any need for spare cylinders since topping up is so easy.

That would release your gas locker, the internal walls of which can be easily removed in their entirety to extend the underbed storage very considerably. (This assumes a side bench, end kitchen layout of course.) A false floor to extend the underbed space without having a well at one end is also easy enough, so you are left with a much bigger underbed, plus a small space under the false floor for tools and bits and pieces. It worked for us, and was a massive enhancement of an already good van.

The cost may not be too different to a Beeny or back box, and you would have all the benefits of the underfloor tank.

Just a thought.

Dave itable:smile!:

 That sounds a great idea ,as not to shore about beeny boxes as they seem open  to corrosion if made from metal as the photos of them i have seen,thanks

malibu wrote:
this will sound a silly question, but as i am a bit of a novice ,are gas bottle a lot safer then a gas tank 

Gromit wrote:

malibu wrote:
this will sound a silly question, but as i am a bit of a novice ,are gas bottle a lot safer then a gas tank 

I'm not a gas engineer, but I would say an underslung tank is safer than bottles.

There are a lot more connections with a two bottle setup for a start, and some of them have to be undone and done up again whenever a bottle is changed. A tank will be tucked up inside the chassis, which is about as well protected as you can get, and no connections need ever be touched after installation.

I'd suggest you phone Chris Wise at Autogas 2000. Unfortunately he's a long way from you in Thirsk, but he's a really nice and helpful chap and his workmanship is second to none. (He's also a serving member of the Gas Safety Council I think.) I'm sure he will advise you.
http://www.autogasleisure.co.uk/

When he fitted our tank on the previous van we stayed overnight at his workshop (free hook-up) and made it part of a holiday. It's a lovely part of the world too!

Dave