Low profile 11-12gal storage bins with anchor points?

[GroovyGeek]

Has anyone come across LOW PROFILE (<10 in tall) 11-12gal storage bins with anchor points? Want to use two of them, one to store a bit of camping gear and one all my freeze-dried food supplies in my BD. The requirements are fairly specific for a reason:

1. I want to stack two of them on top of one another behind the driver seat (with the passenger seatbacks down) - hence the limitation that each of them be under 10 inches tall
2. I would like to store 21 inch wide Z-lite style sleeping pad - hence the need for >22 inches width
3. Need anchor point(s) on the short side to tie them down to the BD seat molle grille
4. Ideally also anchor points on the long side, though that is optional since I installed these on my seatbacks and they provide (minimal) anchoring

What I have found so far

• IRIS totes at Amazon and Wallmart The Wallmart ones a much better price. Pros - perfect dimensions. Cons - no acnchor points. These seem to be soft plastic so I can drill/dremmel some slots as needed and smooth them out with a hot piece of metal
• Hefty tote at Target. Pros - pefect dimensions, anchor points on the long side. Cons - no anchor points on the short side
• Husky totes at Home Depot. Pros - built like a tank, single side anchor point (but not large enough for a strap). Cons - hard lid (which make it more difficult to mod without leaving stress points that can crack the lid
• Rubbermaid Brute tote at Amazon Pros: handle on the long side which can be used to strap to the seatback Molle. Cons - 14Gal which makes it marginally too tall. I think that some of the extra height is from a fairly deep lid on top, so two stacked will likely be closer to the 20 inches I am shooting for.

Anyone has experience with these? Others I should consider? I am tempted at ordering them all. Amazon returns are a breeze, and Target and Walmart will be local returns.

Edit: just realized how bone headed I am. I can add D-rings to all of the above with some backing plates on the inside.

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[JohnnyBronco]

https://www.acehardware.com/departm...VEa93Ch1JoQTkEAQYBCABEgK0LvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[BreezyNVegas]

I got these from Harbor Freight last year.

 

[FleshTuxedo]

Following!

 

[SilverSurfer]

https://www.acehardware.com/departm...VEa93Ch1JoQTkEAQYBCABEgK0LvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Do you know how these would work with tie downs?

 

[GroovyGeek]

I got these from Harbor Freight last year.

Thanks looked into the Bauer system, looks like high quality stuff. Unfortunately not long enough for my needs (need 22"+ to fit closed foam sleeping pads). These fit very neatly side by side as pictured, but I want to fit two on top of one another on the folded-down driver side rear seat and be able to get to them from the driver-side rear door.

I will be getting the Target bins this afternoon and have the Brute ones on Amazon on order. Will post pics and impressions on this thread.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Do you know how these would work with tie downs?

My plan for getting tie down capability for any bin is to order small D-ring tie downs, attach them with 8-32 screws to the side of the bins with large washers on the inside and out, and use 3/4" lashing straps to tie down to the molle panels on the back of the front and back seats.

 

[351W-Bronco]

Doesn't quite check all your boxes, but these are close. Expedition 134 boxes.

NOT cheap, but very well made. I have a number of Rubbermaid Action Packers, but I hated that the dimension of the top part was significantly larger than the bottom part, so I felt they wasted a lot of space. The Expedition 134 boxes are have nearly vertical walls, they seal very securely with three latches, the lid had a rubber gasket installed and does a great job of sealing against the elements, they are very strong (you can stand on them), and are set up to nest on top of each other, and they have ancho points for you to secure the boxes while still letting you open the lid of the boxes (a big selling point IMO). They also have grooves in the lid where you can strap them down with ratchet straps if that's your preference.

They are made in Australia, but sold by a few shops in the US. Exterior dimensions are included on the website I listed below, but I took some quick interior measurements that are below.

Inside dimensions measured at the top of the box's interior and the bottom of the box's interior

Width (@ the top): 14 7/8 Width (@ the bottom): 14 1/4

Length (@ at the top): 20 3/8 Length (@ the bottom): 19 5/8

Height: 11 3/8

https://dasmule.com/products/expedition134-heavy-duty-plastic-storage-box-55l

At one point some years ago, I reached out to Expedition 134 in Australia, to see if they were considering making half-height versions with the same footprint, and they said "possibly" but I haven't seen anything along those lines.


Herb

 

[BroncoAZ]

Do you know how these would work with tie downs?

They sell pack out mounting plates you can bolt down to hard mount the pack out cases. I like the idea except all the Milwaukee branding and the red color makes it a target for thieves.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/milwaukee-packout-mount-with-xl-box-in-2dr.73766/

 

[Ggerobb]

I dont know if this fits your needs but I have several of these, a roller and a couple each of the mid size and small size boxes. Fit perfect in the back of my bronco. I just took a trip this last weekend and had a midsize and 2 small sized stacked , comes to the top of the rear seat. Findem at home depot. Hope this helps

 

[Tataman]

Timely post. I just went down this rabbit hole about a week ago. I was looking for very similar dimensions, and also wanted the ability to stack bins and strap down. I saw that Lowe’s sold craftsman totes that allow a strap to go between the handle and the lid, which is a good design, but couldn’t find a reasonable size.

I debated the htx and husky totes at Home Depot. The htx seemed like the better size and has channels in the lid for straps, and husky seemed rigid and durable. I ultimately got the 15 gallon husky totes as it seems more sturdy and would allow straps to ratchet down when needed.

 

[da_jokker]

I bought some of the home Depot ones, but return them. What really caught my eye is that they can "wall hang"... So my plan was to build something that they would hang on to secure them in the back... Maybe like a slide out frame where these would hang.

I returned them simply because of my setup in the back (with my fridge and storage) they didn't fit well enough to maximize the free space I had left. Ended up with the typical yellow lid boxes that fit perfect for my storage.

 

[GroovyGeek]

I went with the Rubbermaid Bruttes. Bought 50 cent plates from Target, cut them up into quarters, glued to the tie down points, drilled and used small D rings and fender washers on the inside with 8-32 screws

https://a.co/d/egPZfBa

The size of the bins is perfect to fit two DeepSleep leveling mats and two Wally's closed cell foam pads. When camp by myself I will keep some basic camping gear in one of the bins and a few days supply food in the other.

Was considering drilling into the backplate of the seat to add tie down points there too but for the moment installed two of these at the seat belt mounting points and the clipped light carabineers in the smaller eyelet.

https://a.co/d/1HAVUqG

Then used light duty lashing straps to strap the bottom bin as shown in the next pic. Then used same type of lashing straps to tie the handles together

https://a.co/d/4h0MhSn

Also strapped the handles to the trunk D rings and the OEM molle panel. This gives me quick access to the top bin where I will keep the food and leaves the rarely used camping gear in the bottom bin (I sleep in the back most of the time).

I also added some D rings to the bottom of the front row seats where the plastic trim screws into the metal frame

This setup is very solid with the relatively light weight bins I use and leaves the trunk area open for my photography gear, shoes, trekking poles, etc which I use multiple times per day.

I must say that @Ford Motor Company missed several golden opportunities to make the trunk area more usable.

The most obvious one is absence of tie down points under the seat recline buttons. Even cheap passenger oriented SUVs tend to have a solid metal bar there that can be used for tie off

The tieoffs in the seat backs are unfortunately placed. The moment you place any bin on the seat back it covers up all but the center tieoffs.

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