Tips and Ideas on Storage

[Kevin0915]

As some of you know, i upgraded trucks last week. Went from a condo to a mid-roof, and lost about 40$ of my storage space. Was just curious what others have found that has really worked to save space on your truck?

I really dont have alot of things that i dont NEED. Granted, i do have my bowling balls on the truck now, but they sit between the passenger seat and the dash, so they are really out of the way. I have several of those tupperware/rubbermaid containers and a couple plastic 'baskets' to hold my asprin and vitimin bottles. I do have about 30 DVDs, i am sure i could go buy one of those cd binders, that would free up a little space.

and i actually lost a little room in my side compartment as well, but the trade off there is more legroom when i drive, i get to slide the seat back another couple inches, which is great for me.

any ideas or tricks you use???

[Windwalker]

As some of you know, i upgraded trucks last week. Went from a condo to a mid-roof, and lost about 40$ of my storage space. Was just curious what others have found that has really worked to save space on your truck?

I really dont have alot of things that i dont NEED. Granted, i do have my bowling balls on the truck now, but they sit between the passenger seat and the dash, so they are really out of the way. I have several of those tupperware/rubbermaid containers and a couple plastic 'baskets' to hold my asprin and vitimin bottles. I do have about 30 DVDs, i am sure i could go buy one of those cd binders, that would free up a little space.

and i actually lost a little room in my side compartment as well, but the trade off there is more legroom when i drive, i get to slide the seat back another couple inches, which is great for me.

any ideas or tricks you use???

Unless you do a lot of bowling while on the road, I would replace them with a couple of milk crates. And, under the bunk, the same kind of milk crates should fit and keep things in far better order than just putting items under there.

[Jackrabbit379]

Well, I wasn't gonna ask....but I am curious. How is it that you have acquired bowling balls? I know they are for bowling, but do you actually have enough time to bowl? Finding bowling balls in a truck would seem odd to me. Like I said, I was just curious..

On the other hand. Back to the thread.. Just as Windwalker said, milk crates work wonders.

[Kevin0915]

well for the past week i havent really had the time. I have ran by some bowling centers, and when i was in Texas waiting for a load, i about drove the 2 miles to a center with a huge parking lot....but didnt because just before I was about to, a load came up. I will probably take them off, seeing how i dont actually go bowling as often as i thought i would. Either that, or i was actually looking at different bags, ones that arent so bulky and hold the balls.

[Kevin0915]

oh, i do have a couple of those 'coca-cola' crates, in my side compartment for holding my cleaning and WD-40 type sprays.

[Oakdancer]

I was assigned a mid-roof but the only difference in storage space was the loss of a couple of cubbyholes over the driver and passenger windows. You must have been using your upper bunk. You might look at building some shelves over the foot end of our bunk. You probably can't do any drilling into the interior, so a lightweight framework that sits on the lip of your underbunk storage and is locked in place when the bunk is in place might work for you. I was considering welding one up for my middy, but wound up turning the truck in before I got around to fooling with it.

[carlos64030]

Well, I wasn't gonna ask....but I am curious. How is it that you have acquired bowling balls? I know they are for bowling, but do you actually have enough time to bowl? Finding bowling balls in a truck would seem odd to me. Like I said, I was just curious..

On the other hand. Back to the thread.. Just as Windwalker said, milk crates work wonders.

Why would one not have the time to go bowling while out on the road? Do you seriously just drive, sleep, and eat?

[Jackrabbit379]

Why would one not have the time to go bowling while out on the road? Do you seriously just drive, sleep, and eat?

Yeah, pretty much.

[matcat]

Just get some pins and use your trailer as a bowling alley when it's empty!

Something I see a lot of drivers do, is get one of those big plastic bins, and strap it down behind the truck on the catwalk. That will add up a lot of space for stuff you don't use very often but want to keep on you, such as bowling balls .

[Syncrosonix]

Why would one not have the time to go bowling while out on the road? Do you seriously just drive, sleep, and eat?

yes.

before the freightshaker, i had my freestyle bmx bicycle on the back of my truck. i'd stop at skateparks along the way. the one in lovelock, nv is pretty good and easy to get to with a tractor-trailer.

[Syncrosonix]

Just get some pins and use your trailer as a bowling alley when it's empty!

Something I see a lot of drivers do, is get one of those big plastic bins, and strap it down behind the truck on the catwalk. That will add up a lot of space for stuff you don't use very often but want to keep on you, such as bowling balls .

i'd rather get a bunch of people on rollerskates, rollerblades, or skateboards, and have them inside of the trailer while i drive around a truck stop, town, or along the freeway, and then hit my brakes a little harder.

[repete]

yes.

before the freightshaker, i had my freestyle bmx bicycle on the back of my truck. i'd stop at skateparks along the way. the one in lovelock, nv is pretty good and easy to get to with a tractor-trailer.

damn I feel old! Even my kids have outgrown bmx bikes, I'm going back to bed now

[Kevin0915]

Picture sucks, but on my first trip past to Fresno last week, just about to Bakersfield (home of 4-time indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears) there was a BMX track. I thought 'boy i wish i had my camera ready, that looked like a neat track.

ended up getting another load from the same shipper, so i was going past it again, this time i had my cell ready. My brother and i both raced BMX when we were younger. He broke his collar bone, and i made a little girl cry cause i told her that her haircut made her look like a boy. HAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!! funny thing is, i ended up working with her at a Pizza Hut 10 years later, and i didnt even know it till we started talking about BMX.....

[Kevin0915]

I have thought about the bike idea. Maybe i just need to get out and walk a mile or two a day when i stop. would help with the circulation in the legs. How hard is it to get the bike up and down from there?? i'd rather get a mountain bike to put back there. a bit too 'big' for a BMX bike anymore.

[Syncrosonix]

when it came to bmx racing tracks, i used mountain bikes. the tracks were the downhill type with some kickass gaps. more speed made it even more fun. just couldn't do back-flips on the mountain bikes. some people could. i couldn't ever get the backward rotation.

[Syncrosonix]

I have thought about the bike idea. Maybe i just need to get out and walk a mile or two a day when i stop. would help with the circulation in the legs. How hard is it to get the bike up and down from there?? i'd rather get a mountain bike to put back there. a bit too 'big' for a BMX bike anymore.

depends on where and how you place it. my bike was firmly between that lower bar and behind the spare tire. when i tried taking it off the tractor, i spent nearly 5mins at times trying to wiggle it out of place.

some people tried giving me the fear talk about how DOT frowns on bikes being on the back of tractors. nothing ever became of it. westbound banning saw it, didn't do anything about it. santa clarita, wheeler ridge, the westbound i-84 scale in oregon within the mountain pass, and many others never made a stink about it. never got red lighted, or anything.

[dollarshort]

As some of you know, i upgraded trucks last week. Went from a condo to a mid-roof, and lost about 40$ of my storage space. Was just curious what others have found that has really worked to save space on your truck?

I really dont have alot of things that i dont NEED. Granted, i do have my bowling balls on the truck now, but they sit between the passenger seat and the dash, so they are really out of the way. I have several of those tupperware/rubbermaid containers and a couple plastic 'baskets' to hold my asprin and vitimin bottles. I do have about 30 DVDs, i am sure i could go buy one of those cd binders, that would free up a little space.

and i actually lost a little room in my side compartment as well, but the trade off there is more legroom when i drive, i get to slide the seat back another couple inches, which is great for me.

any ideas or tricks you use???

Save up and invest in a good size side box. I had one installed on a truck years ago....About 24"x36"x48".
I had plastic bins that would fit inside the box that way I could haul alot of extra stuff that didn't affect my "inside the truck" storage. I wouls also use it for storing extra cases of water if I found a good buy at Wal Mart. It was about $500 bucks installed but well worth it. Good luck.

[Kevin0915]

Save up and invest in a good size side box. I had one installed on a truck years ago....About 24"x36"x48".
I had plastic bins that would fit inside the box that way I could haul alot of extra stuff that didn't affect my "inside the truck" storage. I wouls also use it for storing extra cases of water if I found a good buy at Wal Mart. It was about $500 bucks installed but well worth it. Good luck.

PM me with a picture of your setup. i THINK i know what you're talking about when you say 'side box', but just want to be sure.

it does not involve drilling any holes, does it? i would assume that it would be just metal straps around the frame like the fuel tank.

[dollarshort]

PM me with a picture of your setup. i THINK i know what you're talking about when you say 'side box', but just want to be sure.

it does not involve drilling any holes, does it? i would assume that it would be just metal straps around the frame like the fuel tank.

Sorry I don't have that truck anymore. You are right there was no drilling into the frame. It actually had prefabricated brackets that used hole that were already in the frame. I got it in Springfield , MO just a few blocks from Prime over there. Sorry I can't remember the name of the place but I know they do alot of work on Prime trucks. So you could stop and ask and I'm sure they could point you in the right direction. They also installed a 3,500 watt power inverter for me. Super job! They know how to do it the right way. zExtra heavy cables and in-line fuses. Never had one lick of problems with batteries or alternators.

Good Luck,

Tony