Gear organization advice!

[RyanT]

Does anyone put the thick bungee on their milk crates? That is really neat to make it more three dimensional rather than just stacking it in reverse order of putting it on.

I bolt a kitchen cabinet handle (pick up at Home Depot/Lowes) to the inside of my milk crate on each of the short sides. It provides a solid place to clip off lights, computers, etc. The only issue is that the bolts that come with the handles are too long since they are designed to go through wood; the walls of the milk crate are much thinner. Either pick up a set of shorter bolts or use a hacksaw to shorten them.

 

[Bowers]

For charging station i use a cheap toolbox that i set a powerstrip in. Power strip has usb ports and 110 outlets. Run the main cord out a hole in the side of the toolbox and caulk it to make water tight. You can plug in lots of things and never have to get your chargers out of the box. For small things you can even put them in the toolbox and close it so you can leave it charging by an outside plug and not worry about rain.

 

[tbone1004]

you need more bins. vehicle space seems to be the culprit here. do you have a small car?

charging mostly isnt needed on site but I will bring several canisters in lieu of a charger if I can get away with it. If xks need a charge it means I probably did a big dive and wouldn't be too keen on another one the next day anyway

I have an Expedition EL, so it's anything but small.
A normal "trip" if it's just me, has two of those black bins, keg of sorb, 6 ish tanks, a big ass pelican case with the booster, 1-2 DPV's, the fridge, etc. The issue is when I'm trying to carpool with my main buddy who has an F150 and trying to carry that same quantity of stuff. In my Expedition, I don't need to worry about things being "secure" because the vehicle is secure, but in the truck it's not the case. It also means we have to be creative with packing and is largely why I went away from milk crates, in addition to hoses randomly sticking out from the sides of them. The Ridgid ones with the solid bottom may be better though, will have to look at those.
I grabbed the reusable twist ties and will see how those go.

I'm thinking I'm going to go to a Pelican case for the chargers.

 

[LiteHedded]

sounds like you could use a separate bin for your regulators then if you have all that room. I have dedicated bins to oc gear, rb gear and drive regs. these are what I use. accept no substitute. also with no truck topper it's a matter of time before some or all of that gear walks off on you overnight.

leaving the booster at home would go a long way as well...

 

[PfcAJ]

Ok, so do you NEED those things? Do you need a whole keg or can you bring a fill in a smaller sealed container? Do you need a haskell? A fridge?

If you're serious about using the f150 for diving, get a topper.

 

[KDAD]

Are the reusable zip ties for the regulator hoses? Or for the to hold the lids on cases?

I don't find the reusable ties that easy to use but do use wire ties to hold the yellow lids on the cases and FedEx them around.

Any aversion to using the Velcro straps to neatly bundle up the reg sets?

 

[tbone1004]

Ok, so do you NEED those things? Do you need a whole keg or can you bring a fill in a smaller sealed container? Do you need a haskell? A fridge?

If you're serious about using the f150 for diving, get a topper.

When I dive in the Expedition, I don't have space constraints, so I can "unconsolidate" with no issues. The fridge lives in there semi-permanently, and the haskel means not having to try to work around dive shop hours.
In the F150 is where I'd be hesitant to unconsolidate and move to the milk crates and packing a second black box is usually not going to happen. We are quickly approaching the need of either taking 2 vehicles, or getting another trailer to replace the one that was stolen from me a few years ago.
I think if the reusable twist ties work to keep the regs from getting tangled, then the only remaining issue is the charging box which is thankfully quite small.

@KDAD they're for the reg hoses to keep from tangling. I have velcro straps, but found them annoying. They also let the hoses slide since they wouldn't grab. The ones linked earlier look to be silicone which I hope will help "stick" to the reg hoses.

 

[LiteHedded]

sounds like you have yourself a nice little unicorn scenario there. carpooling on tech dives will create issues like you've seen and requires compromises. Where I would begin to compromise personally is to leave the fridge and haskel behind, but that's just me.

I have a BIT of experience traveling a long way to the dive site, in a large truck, with a lot of gear. take or leave my advice obv, but you may want to rethink your setup here.

 

[-JD-]

I really like the Rigid brand crate from Home Depot in the tool section. It's about $20 (or $15 on sale), has a solid bottom to keep water off my cars carpet, has folding handles, and is open on the sides to allow gear to dry. Easy to setup for spools storage.

RIDGID 22 in. Pro Box, Black-226036 - The Home Depot

Unfortunately, the Rigids don't work for me in the correct combination of internal and external dimensions.

I went with the DeWalt Tough System boxes: ToughSystem® Mobile Tool Storage System | DEWALT

For the holidays, Home Depot was selling this 3-box stack for $100: DEWALT ToughSystem DS450 22 in. 17 Gal. Mobile Tool Box, DS130 Tool Box and DS300 Large Tool Box Combo Set (3 Components)-DWST08250203130 - The Home Depot

I got 2-sets.

The big wheeled base box (DS450) is too tall to fit under my sleeping platform (with all the rest of my equipment/cylinders/suits, etc.) in my van and I will have to see if it can get it to fit-in elsewhere before starting to use it for camping & diving trips. Worst-case, I'll use it for tools.

With a little trimming of the internal ribs, the mid-sized box (DS300) will fit 3 reg-bags (or 2 and a OrcaTorch D620 box) vertically on one side, leaving about 1/3 of the space for masks, computers, and other smallish items.

The smaller DS130 box will get used for tools, spares, etc.


I then got their handled open tote (DWST08206): ToughSystem® Tote with Carrying Handle - DWST08206 | DEWALT
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GLB1FVP

which I will use for reels, spools, bag, etc so they can easily dry. I may also use it as a boat-tote for local offshore dives instead of a milk crate. It will be easy to drill some holes for lines if I want

For reg-bags in the cases I've got several of the Edge/HOG bags. Edge Regulator Bag

DRIS was selling them for $12.75 for the holidays, but still only $17.

 

[rjack321]

I travel about ~12hrs to get to my cave projects in a 3/4 ton Tundra (2010 model, not the smaller historic size). I bring a booster, compressor, about 10 tanks, coolers with food for a week, 15 gallons of drinking water, keg of sorb, camping gear, clothes and undergarments for rain and 45F temps, the list or requirements goes on and on including even stuff you don't need like 10x10 popup canopies (for a dry kitchen), coleman stoves, propane,a folding camp table, a chair, and a 1000w generator. Quit using the boxes unless they are packed totally full, they leave too much usable space around the sides. Small duffles are your friend. You can fit way more, to the point where the F150 suspension is going to be in pain - but you need to rethink your approach.

1) get a canopy
2) get air springs