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The space above the rear wheel arch in a tub seems wasted to me. It is curved to the front and rear and slopes off to the side but presents the opportunity to support a shelf or something similar where you could stow a bottle jack or something you might need to access in a hurry. Has anyone made a shelf to go on top of the rear wheel arch?

Cheers,

Mark

I've thought about it a few times now.

Right now, all of my smaller gear is stored in various tubs and crates and sorted by function. I have ones for tools, electrics, repair/spares gear, recovery gear and food etc. The larger camping stuff sits on top.

I'm still not sure a shelf would create space or make things more accessible.

Saw this on Kinselas Kustoms Facebook page.....Would have done this to mine before I got the custom canopy.

https://www.facebook.com/KinselasCustom ... =3&theater

I have built a wooden stand over both arches, each holding a 600mm Kincrome Toolbox; under the overhang I have put a shelf on either side, with a lockable box on one side which holds my bottle jacks (The photo is older so doesn’t have the lockable door but you get the idea). Basically I have my recovery gear on one side with the bottle jacks underneath and my recovery straps on the shelf; and on the other side I have my tools with my fishing tackle below on the shelf. I’m up to Mk 3 for the shelves as the corrugations killed the first two, but the design I have now has been doing well. The tool boxes are both at the height of the canopy windows which makes it very easy for access.

dabbler wrote:I've thought about it a few times now.

Right now, all of my smaller gear is stored in various tubs and crates and sorted by function. I have ones for tools, electrics, repair/spares gear, recovery gear and food etc. The larger camping stuff sits on top.

I'm still not sure a shelf would create space or make things more accessible.

I find the space on top of the wheel arch is good only for soft items and being right inside the canopy windows would be more useful if something essential could be stored there.

Mark

William_Foster wrote:I have built a wooden stand over both arches, each holding a 600mm Kincrome Toolbox; under the overhang I have put a shelf on either side, with a lockable box on one side which holds my bottle jacks (The photo is older so doesn’t have the lockable door but you get the idea). Basically I have my recovery gear on one side with the bottle jacks underneath and my recovery straps on the shelf; and on the other side I have my tools with my fishing tackle below on the shelf. I’m up to Mk 3 for the shelves as the corrugations killed the first two, but the design I have now has been doing well. The tool boxes are both at the height of the canopy windows which makes it very easy for access.

William,

That's an excellent design and looks very well made with a lot of thought, particularly the joints, by the time you reached Mk3. How are they secured to the tub?

Cheers,

Mark

Thanks Mark. I have travelled over 3,100km in the last week across the Great Central Road and a few other tracks around the East and West MacDonnell Ranges that have put the joints to the test; thankfully this time there have been no problems yet, so I think I can finally be happy with them. Although now I want to test building one of those Travel Buddy Ovens into the design some how.

They are simply secured using ratchet straps, I have the standard Toyota securing hook points at the back of the tray, then just weave the straps through the securing points for the canopy, then I have made cut outs in the stands that you can’t see where the ratchet straps connect and get tightened. In the photos you can probably see an elbow sticking out of the back of the stands, this touches on the top of the tyre well, which makes sure that when the straps are tensioned everything sits flat and strong. Since Mk 11 I haven’t had a problem there, in the first attempt thats where the weakness was, even though it was strapped in the base would slip out on rough roads which caused the structure to fail under the weight of the tool boxes.

Mark, I’m just out at Uluru at the moment and saw a ute drive past with Aussie Wheel Arch Tanks advertising on it (awatanks.com.au). When I looked them up I see they make a variety of tanks and tool boxes to be secured over the arches that you might find interesting; it was a Queensland registered ute.

You could go with something like this

https://www.outbackpacks.com.au/product ... -tidy-bag/

there a people that make water tanks that sit over the wheel arch - north south

just had a quick google and found this site http://www.awatanks.com.au

and these guys make a storage box version too

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.

Mark

[quote="William_Foster"]Thanks Mark. I have travelled over 3,100km in the last week across the Great Central Road and a few other tracks around the East and West MacDonnell Ranges that have put the joints to the test; thankfully this time there have been no problems yet, so I think I can finally be happy with them. Although now I want to test building one of those Travel Buddy Ovens into the design some how.

William,

What condition did you find the GCR in? My wife and daughter have expressed an interest in going to Uluru in the next few months and I'm interested in the GCR condition.

Cheers, Mark

Mark, I'll send you a PM.

How do I attach a photo?

Thanks,

Mark