Jealous! Wanting to do the Baja trip! Told my daughter we're going before
she hits college in 6 yrs. Was hoping to do the aux fuel tank and a new
diesel fueled heater set up which would take up the space under the slider.
I figured the clamshell toolbox would be a fairly easy/somewhat cost
efficient mod to do

On Jan 6, 2018 7:49 PM, "Richard Koerner" <rjkinpb@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> I've been following this thread....good ideas.  Personally, having the
> spare tire in the clamshell is easy for me and the extra bit of front end
> crash protection is also welcomed.
> But as a 28+ year Vanagon owner, we are always looking for extra storage
> space in otherwise unused nooks and crannies.  For instance....I keep a
> fold-up umbrella in the ventilation channel in the driver side front door;
> and I keep a set of jumper cables, a spare fuel pump, gas filter, and
> Ignition Switch  shoved down in the space on the passenger side next to the
> radiator behind the upper grill; these are bagged in heavy plastic; works
> great....5 slot screws and you are in.
> I used to carry an old school 1 gallon metal gas can full of fuel inside
> my Tintop 85 Vanagon under the rear seat; always bothered me a little bit
> having gasoline stored on the inside of a vehicle.
> So I built a plywood box made from 3/4" scrap wood.  About 24" long x 8"
> wide x 6" high.  It mounts via screws from above to the under side of the
> Vanagon; in that "empty" space under the Slider Door.  The box has a hinged
> door with a keyed lock; everything is painted Flat Black.  No loss of
> ground clearance; not noticeable at all really (never been looked at by
> Mexican officials when traveling to see the whales in Baja for instance); I
> even put a circle of black electrical tape over the key entrance on the
> door of the box to prevent ingress of crud into the lock and also to help
> hide the shiny lock; add a little road dirt and everything becomes pretty
> much invisible to most folks.  I keep the key in my glovebox, and can
> access this "hidden" storage box with a minimum of fuss in like 15 seconds.
>
> That's where I keep my 1 gallon can of gasoline, and I also keep a 1
> gallon can of Coleman Fuel for my old school stove which I use outside.
> But such a box would also be a great place to store tools and whatnot.
> Since I have a Tintop and not a Westy with propane tanks, I'm considering
> building a 2nd plywood box for the Driver Side.
> Rich
> San Diego
>
>
>
>       From: Ralph Meyermann <ralphmeyermann@GMAIL.COM>
>  To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>  Sent: Saturday, January 6, 2018 7:34 AM
>  Subject: Clamshell toolbox
>
> Howdy Volks.  After going with a rear spare tire carrier, I was pondering
> what to do with that available space. I ended up adapting my home made
> larger clamshell/tire carrier into a toolbox. I found it handy. Currently I
> took it to my machine/Fab shop guys to make a refined design/prototype.
> Roughly 27"x 27" the front of it has 45° angles on the sides and  7" tall.
> The first quote was $211.  I went downs and verified a few design aspects
> including a better sealing surface for the lid and how it fastens down. The
> first one/prototype is currently being built. Looking at $211-$250 final
> cost from machine shop, I don't know what shipping or anything could be
> yet. Hopefully It'll be what I envision and be able to have them available
> for those with alternative spare tire carriers. Storage is worth it's
> weight in gold, Westy or tin top.
>
>
>