Substitutes for hard cases

I know that Great_Buffalo praised ammo cans for this purpose, but those things weigh an awful lot, and prices nationally certainly aren't what he is paying. I am trying to figure out a substitute and I was wondering if anyone had ever tried a clam shell case for a side hard case rather than a top opening case? I am very interested in hearing about anyone's experiences in this regard as that looks like a very viable option providing more room for less weight than ammo cans at less than half the cost of offical hard cases.

 

Try looking up plastic ammo boxes; same great taste, less filling ;-)

 

i paid 8$ for 2 - m16 ammo cans, plus $10 shipping off of ebay.

 

Nothing there really. Sizes are too small.

 

I've seen some plastic ammo boxes on ebay that are similar in size to that of traditional metal military ammo boxes. You just have to weed through the small junk ones to find the one or two that people are selling ;-)

I vaguely remember seeing them in Gander Mountain a few weeks ago when i was there.

 

A slightly more expensive option for hardcases would be to go with something like a Pelican Case. I used to use them for my paintball markers when I traveled because they were lockable, water/airtight and durable as hell.

If you were to come up with some kind of mounting, they'd be killer cases on a bike - especially if you could make them removable and the mounting lockable.

Get a couple top loaders like the 1430 combine it with a suitcase style like a 1550 and add a couple padlocks, you's have a completely weatherproof setup!

 

Very true. I've been watching a few on ebay for a while now.. Ouch on the price ;-/, I'd take the weight gain w/ the ammo cans before I could afford to drop that much money, lol

Definitely a great alternative (and lighter) if you don't mind spending, as you said.

 

That is the kind of thing I was wondering about. The selectino of top loaders is very small, so I was wondering about the briefcase style would work well on the side.

 

Wouldn't it be hard to load a case that folds out.
I mean what do you do?
Hold the stuff in there and slam it shut, pulling your fingers out in time?

Pelican caes are EXSPENSIVE

 

it would depend on what you put in there. But yes, that is part of my question - if someone has done such, has it been a problem and how did they deal with it.

 

You could easly glue, sew, staple fabric to the sides where it opens. that way nothing would fall out the sides as you slam it shut =) Sort of like a briefcase/laptop bag?

 

Get some scrap leather from somewhere (old jackets, bad chaps, etc..) and you can use that ;-)

If you wanted to be 'creative' you could make and/or get 'form fitting bags' to put in there. So you load the 'bag' into the case and then close it.

 

Stamplicker and jgb1503,

Both of those last ideas have crossed my mind. I was thinking of something a bit more firmer than cloth for the first on, basically something like box flaps that went from the top part "down" to the "bottom" - kind of like you have for pizza boxes. it wouldn't be perfect, but if you use something like cloth, you would have to find a way to force it to collapse to the inside as you closed it. Using an interior "bag" could work as well. There are a lot of insert bags for top cases, wouldn't the same be useful for a side case?

So far it sounds like no one else has tried this so I may have to be the test dummy ...

 

I would think to use a top-loading case for the sides and a fold out style for a trunk/tail case.

The pricing on the Pelicans must have gone up dramatically since I bought mine. I paid a fraction of that retail for a new one (like about $50...)

 

The most suitable Pelican I have found is the 1440 top loader. Best price I have found is $113 plus shipping with no foam (not that I would want any).

Personally, I think that is a tad steep for ABS molded plastic. There has to be a *HUGE* profit margin there. Of course, they are marketing to businesses, professional photographers, governments, things like that.

 

For that price I'll buy a welder and make my own metal boxes and fabricate a gasket seal ;-)

 

For ammo cans, I'd suggest the 20mm or 30mm. There are also some 7.62 belt fed cans that were the right size, for about $20 ea. (plus shipping). The 50 cal cans, .30 cal cans, etc. are just way too small to be useful. Then, the larger cans add at least 22lbs per empty can, plus any hardware you add to mount them. So you are looking at at least 50 lbs being added to the back of your bike.

 

These are what I bought for mine.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=36871

I intend to make a removeable mount for them.

 

Very nice, I like those! Cheap too.

Any idea's on how you are going to do the removable mounts?

 

I plan some sort of slide thingie with a lock.

It hasn't made it to the top of the priorty list.

 

And it has pencil loops too!

I have seen BMW's with plastic amm cans about the same size as the Harbor Freight tool box but I have no idea where they got them. I could leave a note on his bike and see if he responds if you would like.

Loren

 

Sure why not, the more info the merrier ;-)

 

I know I am going to want to mount lights on the cases once I get them on. I am thinking of coming up with the equivelant of a hot shoe like cameras have for flashes, so I don't have to worry about connecting and disconnecting wires. Cases slide on, click into place. BING. Lights work.