Thread: My Discovery cargo storge unit

I find that the back of a Disco is wide & high but not very deep, resulting in an unfriendly way to pack and unpack stuff when away camping.

So I came up with a system that will have the following;

1) A fridge slide, which will allow stuff to be loaded onto shelving above it.
2) Shelving to allow plastic boxes/crates to be carried securely, but easy to remove.
3) A place for the camping gas bottle that is easy to get to, but out of direct sun.
4) A place to carry drinking water.
5) A door shelf for the camping stove.
6) Removable for normal car use.

First thing to get was the slides for the fridge, these are 762mm long, and extend by 762mm, lock in the open & closed position, and can carry 227Kg when extended 500mm. (This load rating drops once past 500mm but the fridge when fully loaded should never be more than 100Kg).

I bought 4 x 10ltr water containers, 1 x 60ltr plastic storage box, and 2 x 40ltr plastic storage boxes, then made the storage unit around them and my fridge.

Once happy that everything would fit I covered it in marine carpet, and edge the exposed edges with aluminium channel.

I cut two vent holes either side of the fridge to allow it to breathe.

It is held into the back of the Disco by using the factory luggage tie down point bolt holes.

Directly behind the rear seats I have a compartment for my recovery straps, & air compressor to live. Plus a place for the camping gas bottle. The gas bottle hss a 30mm deep 'hole' for the base of the bottle to sit in, it is then held against the back of the seat by the fridge. Access to bottle & recovery kit is by folding the rear seat backs forward.

So the 4 x 10ltr water containers, 1 x 60ltr plastic storage box, and 2 x 40ltr plastic storage boxes, Waceo CF50 fridge, camping stove, recovery kit, air compressor & 4.5Kg gas bottle all fit inside the unit. I just need to make a cargo barrier to allow me to carry any camp tables, chairs, sleeping bags etc on top.

Then I had to make a 'loading' trolley. This is some modified 'Rack-it' shelving, with casters bolted to the bottom. This allows me to fit and remove the storage unit by myself, plus an easy way to store it in the garage when not in use.

Originally Posted by bell1975

That all looks brilliant kelvo but curse you cos you've got me looking at fridge slides now and scheming up plans for my own setup....and it was already a bit late when I started looking at your photos...

I'll ask you to post up where you sourced your slides from if you're happy to (and prices?) I see there are some okay looking prices on this website but I don't know if they're competitive price-wise or not.

I really just need a slide that is somehow secured to the floor and has a tunnel for the fridge to go under so I can still pile other crates and stuff around that. I use those Nally fish bins/Nylex stackable crates and have a bit of a system with them that works well with a cargo barrier in place.

Having a cargo barrier really eats into your usable space in some ways as the slope of the barrier prevents you from stacking crates directly vertically - the slope of the barrier pushes things forward. But I do feel like the family (and the all important driver) are safer with the barrier there.

I'll bookmark your thread so I can hit you up for some more details in the coming weeks. Tax return = cash to spend on projects like this.

Edit: and that door shelf looks very neat too I must say. Well done.

These are the slides I used 762mm 227kg Locking Drawerslides Fridge Runners 4WD Cargo Trailers Free Postage | eBay they took about 14 days to be delivered to me in WA.

I like the idea of a full barrier, but as you said they take up space, and would mean access to the gas bottle & recovery gear hide aways would not be possible.
My cargo barrier will be a 1/4 barrier that will attach the the top of the unit, and somehow attach to the points behind the trim above the rear side windows. Or possibly using a strap to pick up the centre child seat anchor above the rear door. The barrier will more then likely be a modified one from the local recycle place, they always seem to have Falcon & Commodore ones

I'll do some photos of the door shelf later and post them.