Vehicle "Dive" Conversion

[Willuw]

Im in desperate need to organize my cargo area to better transport my dive gear to/from dive sites..Anyone have pictures or suggestions on what yall did to make your gear transportation more neat, clean, and organized? My back tray slides out so this can be a great use on donning my gear if it was actually organized..


This is why my current system just isnt very good :

For the tank holders, im thinking something similiar to what is used on boats might work...dont really want just PVC pipes in the back..want a more nice look.....They look like this:

The flipdown feature is nice of them - as they would be pretty mch out of the way wthout having to remove them!




Any suggestions/comments/other features I should have - post away!
Pictures of your solutions are good too!

 

[Meng_Tze]

I'll take some ics this weekend and post them.... but basically put all tanks like the one on the right, tie down with those ratchet things. The key is to balance the car, to distribute the weight evenly.

 

[Garrobo]

Your current system looks OK by me.

 

[Willuw]

Your current system looks OK by me.

It doesn't seem that bad..But I dont like it for several reasons..

• Im a neat freak so the clutter kills me
• Although the tanks dont roll, they tend to scratch the interior if im not super careful
• Since everything is stacked - if I have to get one item I usually have to remove half the contents..
• The efficiency of space used is not very good.

Thats aall I can think of now..

Im thinking of putting tank storage on the left to have the tanks securely standing up in holders. Then maybe hangers to keep everything upright and not stacked!

 

[KazooDiver]

A friend of mine who has a sport utility vehicle...created a platform where the tanks get stored under the platform....he can fit 4 tanks....then has a flat top where the rest of his gear goes. He uses rubber-maid tubs to store the gear in the car so the water and junk goes not get everywhere....works very well for him..he gets allot of complements on the simple design and function.

 

[Charlie99]

The only problem I see with your system is that it doesn't look like it keeps water from dripping around the cargo area.

My gear system is pretty simple ---- two 58 quart sterilite tubs from Walmart. The BCD and regs go into one container, the rest of the gear except tanks into the other. Keeps the trunk dry after the dive.

Ideally I'd add some good tiedowns for the tanks, but right now a simple tank rack built out of pool noodles and reinforced by a couple lead weights on the sides works well.

 

[Willuw]

A friend of mine who has a sport utility vehicle...created a platform where the tanks get stored under the platform....he can fit 4 tanks....then has a flat top where the rest of his gear goes.

I like the idea of the platform..I Should be able to fit a good 6 tanks in with this system. The platform would also help keep moisture off the carpet. The only disadvantages I see is it would probably be a pain to remove, and I would lose functionality of my sliding floor..

 

[JahJahwarrior]

My truck:

I tried recently putting the rack near the cab--more work to get tanks out, but would make it easier to access other gear. Didn't fit perfectly, but if I had designed it for that part all along, it could. The biggest problem is the tonneau cover, without that, I'd have great access to stuff anywhere and everywhere.

Being a pickup truck bed, water isn't a problem And the tailgate works fantastically for doffing wetsuits! When I took my mother's van to haul a boat (no trailer hitch on the truck yet...also, it's a 2.5l I4....compared to a v6 minivan) for a three day trip of springs and bay diving, I found no good places to put on or take off a wetsuit, and that was a huge annoyance.

I store most of the gear in a few milkcrates that I sometimes strap down and sometimes don't bother. Wetsuits are tossed in, as are BC's. With the cover, I don't ever have to worrya bout things blowing away.

Ultimately, I want a camper shell kind of setup, and to build a shelf into it, so I can use it for storing gear and camping, or simply storing gear out of sight (out of sight, out of mind for theives) Also, if I could store the tanks vertically, they'd take up alot less space. A tonneau-less truck would let me do that, but a camper shell'd truck would let me do it in style If the tanks were vertical, I'd have space for three or four on each side, and depending on if the camper shell had windows and whatnot, I might put them closer to the cab. And, I'd install some rods in the shell so I could hang up BC's.

 

[Darnold9999]

I drive a VERY small 2 seater sports car.

Got two tubs - one about 6" high and large enough to hold two tanks side by side and I drape the weight belt on top. The other much larger, about laundry hamper size, holds everything else, regs, backplate, drysuit etc. Goes in the front seat. Water doesn't drip over the seats or from the tanks into the trunk.

Works like a charm.

 

[NorthWoodsDiver]

I can put up to 6 tanks in the trunk of my optima with my tool kit (never leaves the car) than I put the weight bags on the floor on the back passenger side and all other gear in large Sterilite tubs from Walmart (>$5 each) I can haul myself and one other person plus all out gear for a days diving but thats about it. System works great for me. The key I found was packing the tub so that gear wgoes in in reverse so that it comes out in the order I need it. ex- fins and boots in the bottom along with gloves, than wetsuit top, then wetsuit bottom, than regs, than BCD.