keeping your vehicle dry?

[murphdivers286]

I have a Dodge Durgano, and have trouble keeping it dry after i go diving. I have used a tarp to cover the floor, but I recently used two small rectangle plastic containers to put mine and my wife's dive gear in. The containers are the ones you buy at Wal-mart to store things underneath your bed. If anyone has a better idea, or something that could be made to work I would appreciate the comments. Keep in mind the dive tanks.

 

[AquaPixie]

I have a Dodge Durgano, and have trouble keeping it dry after i go diving. If anyone has a better idea, or something that could be made to work I would appreciate the comments. Keep in mind the dive tanks.

I have a 300M - Chrysler - not a sport vehicla by any means , but I just use a fitted trunk liner, then use a towel or shop vac to clean once home.

So why not a liner from the dealer :06:

-A

 

[ScubaDadMiami]

My SUV has a liner with raised edges in the rear. However, that is not enough to keep everything dry if I fold down the seats.

So I bought some vinyl, about ten feet of it, off of a roll. I keep it rolled up in the rear. Then, when I have large items and need to fold down the seats, this keeps the backs of the seats from getting wet. The liner works well, and usually has some water accumulated in it by the time I get home from a dive outing. Using the vinyl in addition to the liner has worked well for me.

 

[Wristshot]

buying a "Catch-All" brand floor mat for the rear cargo area. They are designed to capture quite a bit of fluid, but they still look like nice carpeted floor mats. I have them in all areas of my SUV (Chevy Tahoe) but you could use teh rear one separately (I think). The alternative ones look way too industrial for my tastes. Mine get a lot of water from melting snow during ski season.


Wristshot

 

[Mako Mark]

I bought one of those 120 litre (thirty gallon) plastic toy box with a lid. it means the wet gear all goes in the box and the back of the Jeep stays dry.

It upsets my 2 1/2 year old daughter tho. Every time Papi goes diving, she thinks I am stealing all her toys.

 

[Freeflyer]

I have 2 large plastic tubs with lids for mine and my wifes dive gear. One each keeps everything neatly separated. When it's time to go diving we just throw them into the back of the truck.

At the dive site/boat ramp we use a holdall or couple of net bags to carry everything onto the boat as the tubs won't fit under the seats. When we come back, everything is rinsed briefly and then put back in the tubs in the car. No mess, no water.

Back at the house, we just carry/drag the tubs to the spare bathroom, throw things in the bathtub, wash them down with the shower head and hang up to dry on the pole over the bath.

Once it's all dry, it's sorted into the appropriate tub, any necessart maintenance/battery charging is done and then put back in the cupboard until the next trip. My save a dive kit lives in my tub, and I have a separate box for spares that lives at the back of the cupboard.

This works really well for us, means we get no water in the car or house and that we always have the gear to hand when we need it, without spending hours sorting or looking for things.

J.

 

[Padiwan]

Here on Okinawa I have seen some of the locals with SUVs and Vans use a custom fitted tarp. They use grommets and string the tarp up all the way around the cargo area like a curtain, but the curtain has a bottom that covers the floor as well. There is an extra flap in the back that flops over the tailgate or bumper so the saltwater doesn't get on the car. When they're done the just roll up the flap and close the back. I imagine with a heavy duty outdoor tarp, a huge needle, some thick thread, a grommet punch, and some aquaseal you can have yourself the same thing.

 

[frankdr]

All,

I've had good luck with the plastic bins - the 15 gallons size works good for all the wet stuff (mostly the wetsuit and boots) except my BCD. I put the BCD in a plastic garbage bag for the trip home.

-Frank

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Dry? I live in Oregon, nothing gets dry, it just gets replaced

 

[Rick Inman]

Besides the tub, I bought some linoleum and cut it fit the rear of my explorer, including raised sides. Then I just wipe it dry with whatever towel I have along anyway.