By Chris DeJesus (Mudy_Ovl) on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 09:50 am: Edit

Fellow Disco owners, unite your ideas and help me design the best cargo/dog box made. I am designing a custom storage box for the rear area of my Disco. Ideally, it will house my two dogs and have a storage area on top for miscellaneous items. The box will have a hinged top so that you can use the dog area for storage too, when you aren't hauling your dogs around. The lid will be supported with gas struts. I am still working out the details so any input from seasoned off-roaders would be greatly appreciated. Pricing hasn't been determined yet, for those who are money conscious. If you are interested, add comments here or e-mail me. I will also be manufacturing the unit, so custom layouts and powdercoat colors will be possible.
I look forward to your suggestions,
CD

By Eric N (Grnrvr) on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 10:00 am: Edit

For the dog boxes you would want to make those removable from the rest of the storage bins/drawers so that you can hose them out when they get dirty. I would think that it would be better to put storage drawers on the bottom and then the dog boxes on top of those. Tools, spare parts, and such could get pretty heavy. I think that those would be better off closer to the floor so that it keeps the center of gravity better. Also the floor would help support the weight of the heavy tools and such. Would also need to be water proof.

Just my 1/2 a cent.. Not worth two..

By Jay R on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 10:57 am: Edit

If you can, just remove the rear seats. I have done this. Ofcourse mine is a pure dog-transport & off-road rig that I also use for daily commute and long trips. Passengers (except my SO and dogs) are strictly prohibited :-)

Jay R.

By Chris DeJesus (Mudy_Ovl) on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 11:04 am: Edit

Thanks for the input Eric. The lower center of gravity location is a great point. I planned on make the dog box floors removable for cleaning, thanks for concurring. I will incorporate that into the design. I was thinking of tie-down points to secure parts and tools from moving around. I was also thinking of making the storage area a drawer(s) for access without unloading anything stacked on top of the box. Anyone else with ideas?
CD

By Eric N (Grnrvr) on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 05:50 pm: Edit

You might want to make more then just the floor of the dog box removable. I know that my dog would get in and start shaking mud all over the inside of the box. Sides, roof, and floor.. Might get a little old having to climb in the dog box with paper towels to clean the sides and top. Ties downs are always good. Locks of some sort to keep the drawers shut and things inside out of thief's hands. Mabye even lights in the drawers or some of those bendy map lights on the out side above the drawers so that you can see whats in them at night.

Just another half a cent

By Chris DeJesus (Mudy_Ovl) on Wednesday, July 11, 2001 - 07:00 am: Edit

I was thinking of making the storage box and dog box separate. You could connect them with latches in the vehicle, but remove the entire dog box for a full cleaning (your idea.) Since, the dog box is made of aluminum, you can just rinse and let dry when it gets dirty and leave your parts/tools box in the Disco. I planned on having locks on the drawers and dog doors(in case you use it for storage) to prevent theft and opening while moving. I like the map-light idea for seeing in the dark. How about cigarette lighter plug(s) for 12V power source(s)? You could use them for map-lights or other 12V devices. I could run power from a harnness with a quick-connect power plug. You would have to run a power wire (with fuse) from your electrical system, but that wouldn't be too hard. Let's keep brainstorming. We are definitely making progress. I should have a 3D model in the next few days.
CD

By Rich Lee on Thursday, July 12, 2001 - 07:53 pm: Edit

Hi Chris,

For 5 years we have regularly traveled on long trips with 2 large German Shepherds in the
back of our 95 Disco. The back of the Disco is barely big enough to fit one of our larger
"Vari-Kennel" dog boxes. We have forsaken the dog boxes and found a better way to fit our
dogs and a lot of gear in the back.


1.) Get, or make a decent dog guard for the back of your Disco the OEM one is probably the sturdiest, unless you are a trick welder.

2.) For Big dogs & less cargo space: Lay out 4 to 6 real milk crates (about 12" tall) on the
floor of the rear cargo area (the strong ones). OR lay out 4 milk crates in each "corner" of
the cargo area and leave room for your toolbox (of equal or lesser height than the milk
crates) to fit between the crates.

Next: Measure and cut a piece of ½" plywood to sit on top of the crates. Make sure that it
fits snugly, with no gaps around the perimeter to trap the dog's toes. If desired, you can
then saw this plywood across its width (the wider dimension) and screw a piano hinge atop it
so you can lift up the aft edge of it to gain better access to your stuff, and not have to lift
up the whole platform.

Next: Staple your dog's choice of indoor/outdoor carpet, Astroturf or closed-cell camping pad
to the topside of the platform and there you are. If you make the carpet/pad about 1" to 2"
larger than the platform, it will form kind of a lip-seal and keep doggie toes and other items
from falling through the edges of the platform. As long as you don't fill the milk crates above
their top edge, the platform will rest securely on top of it and support at least 250 lbs. of
dogs. We have the jumpseats in the back. If you don't, you need to either remove the panels
of your storage bins and cut your platform to fit OR get/make covers for your storage
bins.This is to keep the dogs from getting their feet stuck in the bins, or messing with the
contents of the bins.

3.) For smaller dogs (26" tall or less, when sitting upright) and more cargo space: Get two 24
gallon Rubbermaid "Action Packer" storage boxes (about 17" tall) and set them in your cargo
area.

Next: fabricate a platform, as above, to rest on top of the Action Packers. This platform will
be the same width as the one above, but will be about 4" shorter because of the rear seat
angle. You could also cut and piano hinge the front 4" of the platform described above, so it
could be used to sit atop either milk crates or Action Packers. This platform will sit just below
the level of the wheelwell/jumpseat/cargo bin tops and stay put. It is tall enough that you
can probably get to everything underneath it without having to lift it up. Again you must
either cap-off the cargo bins or remove their dividers and cut the platform accordingly.

4.) If you want to get a little fancier, you can make the above dog platform self-supporting.
Screw four flanges for 1" galvanized pipe to the of the underside of your platform, two in the
middle (one fore, one aft) and one at each corner of the platform. Make eight (that's 8, you'll
see why soon) "legs" out of 1" schedule-40 or schedule-80 PVC pipe and glue 1" threaded
"male" PVC fittings on their top ends and 1" female threaded fittings on their bottom ends. .
Lube the threads well and thread 6 of them into the flanges.

Next: Instead of stapling the pad/carpet to the platform, try gluing on a sheet of Formica
countertop that is cut to fit. OR simply make your platform out of a piece of Formica-clad
countertop (without the backsplash)Then lay down a piece of thin rug padding (the mesh-like
stuff that is very non-skid). Lay your dog rug/pad on top of that and it will stay put pretty
well.

Want a 48" by 24" camping table? Simply remove the dog mat, rug/padding and wipe off the
Formica-top platform. Unscrew the middle 2 legs and screw them into the threads on the
bottom of two of the platform legs. Do the same with the other 2 unused legs.

Finally: You may want to shade the dog area by cutting some folding window reflector or
"Reflectix" insulation to fit the back windows (all of them) and fix them in place with self-stick
Velcro "dots" on the insides of the windows. I also have a 12-volt clip-on fan clamped to the
dog guard to circulate more air back there. It is plugged into a lighter socket in the right rear
wheelwell area that is powered by the "12 volt trailer accessory wire that comes off the
trailer socket behind the right tail light.

This may not be the ultimate in high-tech fabrication, but it is the simplest, cheapest and
most versatile way to fit a lot of stuff and dogs in your disco.This way, you can stack and
store different-size containers & tool boxes underneath with more versitility and less
time/labor/materials

By Chris DeJesus (Mudy_Ovl) on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 06:18 am: Edit

Rich,
Thanks for all the ideas. Your methods are more flexible and financially eficient (cheaper). For now, I think I will follow your route and create the storage shelf and table combo since we have a Australian Kelpie and a Beagle. You recommended PVC for the legs, but is it strong enough? I would think that metal piping would be better. Have you had any table failures using the PVC?
CD