Good camping equipment and storage box retailer in San Francisco area?

[RobS10]

Need to upgrade my Costco Box camp box situation. I watched a few videos of people using tool storage boxes, looked very promising as they have great designs with internal dividers and wheels, and stack. But the plastic in every one I looked at Home Depot STINKS, and don't think my wife could stand the smell inside our truck on camping trips.
I would love to find a place in the San Francisco area that carries some of the cool overland/camp storage boxes in house to physically look at. Any suggestions?

 

[jchasse]

I just went through this and compared a bunch of the "overlanding" options like the Frontrunner Wolf Pack / Pro, and decided they weren't worth the premium. Do yourself a favor and go to Home Depot or Lowes, in the tool department and check out the DeWalt, Ryobi and store brand options. I ended up with a couple Ryobi Link boxes (Medium - not the wheeled versions, as they are a big waste of storage volume). One holds all of my camp kitchen stuff, one has all of my general camping stuff (backpacking chair, spare propane, hammock, solar shower, wood splitting hatchet etc), and the two boxes "link" together if you want them to. I also had an unused Mountainsmith soft-sided storage cube (see link) that perfectly holds my camp stove, JetBoil stove, and fuel canisters.

Mountainsmith | Storage & Organization | Mountainsmith Modular Hauler Basic Cube Red | Poshmark

LINK MEDIUM TOOL BOX - RYOBI Tools

on edit: I just saw that you already looked at Home Depot. Oops. In my case, our Trail Boss is the primary camping vehicle when we're not towing a camper behind the 4runner, so any smell from the boxes isn't an issue since they are in the truck bed.

 

[RobS10]

I just went through this and compared a bunch of the "overlanding" options like the Frontrunner Wolf Pack / Pro, and decided they weren't worth the premium. Do yourself a favor and go to Home Depot or Lowes, in the tool department and check out the DeWalt, Ryobi and store brand options. I ended up with a couple Ryobi Link boxes (Medium - not the wheeled versions, as they are a big waste of storage volume). One holds all of my camp kitchen stuff, one has all of my general camping stuff (backpacking chair, spare propane, hammock, solar shower, wood splitting hatchet etc), and the two boxes "link" together if you want them to. I also had an unused Mountainsmith soft-sided storage cube (see link) that perfectly holds my camp stove, JetBoil stove, and fuel canisters.

Mountainsmith | Storage & Organization | Mountainsmith Modular Hauler Basic Cube Red | Poshmark

LINK MEDIUM TOOL BOX - RYOBI Tools

on edit: I just saw that you already looked at Home Depot. Oops. In my case, our Trail Boss is the primary camping vehicle when we're not towing a camper behind the 4runner, so any smell from the boxes isn't an issue since they are in the truck bed.

I watched a few videos of people using the tool storage boxes, and seemed like the perfect solution. But they all had a nasty chemical-plasticy smell to them. If the smell would eventually dissipate, I'd grab them. But they're not cheap enough to take the chance, and possibly even permeate porous things. My wife is very smell adverse, she HATES it when I spray Gunk on the engine to get rid of a oil residue!

 

[Bobby12many]

You sure you actually want to go camping? lol jk jk

Plano Sportsman's trunks work amazing for us, but I guess we don't have super sensitive sniffers.... I use 5 of them when we camp - 3 in the trailer, 2 in the truck. Modded them to be waterproof with a weather strip seal. They are tough, affordable and nondescript. Never noticed a smell from them or in my gear and we store our exped mat and blankets in them year-round....

Overpay all you want for some rotomolded/injected plastic containers - you can never be guaranteed ZERO scent. My $300 yeti cooler smelled worse than my $30 Plano trunks when I first got them... just sayin

 

[RobS10]

You sure you actually want to go camping? lol jk jk

Plano Sportsman's trunks work amazing for us, but I guess we don't have super sensitive sniffers.... I use 5 of them when we camp - 3 in the trailer, 2 in the truck. Modded them to be waterproof with a weather strip seal. They are tough, affordable and nondescript. Never noticed a smell from them or in my gear and we store our exped mat and blankets in them year-round....

Overpay all you want for some rotomolded/injected plastic containers - you can never be guaranteed ZERO scent. My $300 yeti cooler smelled worse than my $30 Plano trunks when I first got them... just sayin

They don't have to be odorless and don't expect that, but the chemical smell is pretty strong in the tool boxes, way stronger than our Yeti cooler.

The thing I like about the tool storage boxes is the dividers. Up until now, we've used the basic, cheap Costco bins, but my general camp box is like a giant version of our household "junk drawer"! Planos and Wolfpacks are ones I wanted to look at, but just trying to find a place to see them in person.

 

[honda250xtitan]

They don't have to be odorless and don't expect that, but the chemical smell is pretty strong in the tool boxes, way stronger than our Yeti cooler.

The thing I like about the tool storage boxes is the dividers. Up until now, we've used the basic, cheap Costco bins, but my general camp box is like a giant version of our household "junk drawer"! Planos and Wolfpacks are ones I wanted to look at, but just trying to find a place to see them in person.

isnt frontrunner local to you? wolfpacks are really nice. I loved ours. the gen2's look even nicer.

 

[RobS10]

isnt frontrunner local to you? wolfpacks are really nice. I loved ours. the gen2's look even nicer.

Frontrunner looks perfect, but unfortunately, it looks like they are in Southern California, I'm in San Francisco.

 

[RobS10]

I just went through this and compared a bunch of the "overlanding" options like the Frontrunner Wolf Pack / Pro, and decided they weren't worth the premium. Do yourself a favor and go to Home Depot or Lowes, in the tool department and check out the DeWalt, Ryobi and store brand options. I ended up with a couple Ryobi Link boxes (Medium - not the wheeled versions, as they are a big waste of storage volume). One holds all of my camp kitchen stuff, one has all of my general camping stuff (backpacking chair, spare propane, hammock, solar shower, wood splitting hatchet etc), and the two boxes "link" together if you want them to. I also had an unused Mountainsmith soft-sided storage cube (see link) that perfectly holds my camp stove, JetBoil stove, and fuel canisters.

Mountainsmith | Storage & Organization | Mountainsmith Modular Hauler Basic Cube Red | Poshmark

LINK MEDIUM TOOL BOX - RYOBI Tools

on edit: I just saw that you already looked at Home Depot. Oops. In my case, our Trail Boss is the primary camping vehicle when we're not towing a camper behind the 4runner, so any smell from the boxes isn't an issue since they are in the truck bed.

Did the smell of your Ryobi boxes fade over time? I was back at Home Depot yesterday to look for something and looked again at the tool boxes. They're perfect for camping, but damn they stink inside!

 

[Boort]

[MENTION=140914]RobS10[/MENTION]

If the boxes fit your needs there are things you can do to deal with the out gassing. I've used the following successfully to remove the small from various plastic storage boxes in the house:

1) When you first get them take them out of the box, (save all of the packing materials for Step 4) open them up, spread them out, and put them outside in the sun for a few days. Rotate them so they get sun on all sides. The boxes are most likely ABS or PVC and any translucent parts are probably a Polycarbonate or possibly Acrylic the UV in the sunlight will help to warm and cure out any solvents or cleaning agents left over from the manufacturing process and being out doors will carry the stink away. (It's unlikely that the translucent parts are the cause of the smells and they are not friends with UV light so you might cover them with a cloth to protect them)

2) If they still stink after a few days you can clean them with water and mild dish soap (Dawn) to remove any remaining oils. Use a soft, very wet sponge and wipe down all of the surfaces you and get to then rinse thoroughly with the hose and leave outside in sun to dry.

3) Then if they still smell or if the smell returns you can try adding a box of baking soda to the inside of the box to trap any lingering smells.

4) If this is still not getting rid of enough of the stink use that big box store's generous return policy.
​

Remember that it's the out gassing of the various plastics that makes up that "New car Smell"

Boort

 

[johnnygraphic]

They carry the Plano boxes at Home Depot. We use 3 and there is no smell. I have a sensitive super sniffer and there wasn’t a whiff of a smell. They’re stupid cheap, reasonably rugged and versatile. They also don’t have sharp edges and the sides are fairly straight up and down vs some of the other ones where a lot of useable space is taken up with angled sides.

We also used weatherstripping to seal them out against water and dust. 3 fits perfectly in the back of the 4Runner and they stack nicely if needed.

I’ve looked at some of the others and they were just too expensive.


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[johnnygraphic]

Oh, it would be fairly easy to make dividers for the Plano boxes too. And MUCH a cheaper than buying the cool name brand ones.


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[RobS10]

[MENTION=140914]RobS10[/MENTION]

If the boxes fit your needs there are things you can do to deal with the out gassing. I've used the following successfully to remove the small from various plastic storage boxes in the house:

1) When you first get them take them out of the box, (save all of the packing materials for Step 4) open them up, spread them out, and put them outside in the sun for a few days. Rotate them so they get sun on all sides. The boxes are most likely ABS or PVC and any translucent parts are probably a Polycarbonate or possibly Acrylic the UV in the sunlight will help to warm and cure out any solvents or cleaning agents left over from the manufacturing process and being out doors will carry the stink away. (It's unlikely that the translucent parts are the cause of the smells and they are not friends with UV light so you might cover them with a cloth to protect them)

2) If they still stink after a few days you can clean them with water and mild dish soap (Dawn) to remove any remaining oils. Use a soft, very wet sponge and wipe down all of the surfaces you and get to then rinse thoroughly with the hose and leave outside in sun to dry.

3) Then if they still smell or if the smell returns you can try adding a box of baking soda to the inside of the box to trap any lingering smells.

4) If this is still not getting rid of enough of the stink use that big box store's generous return policy.
​

Remember that it's the out gassing of the various plastics that makes up that "New car Smell"

Boort

Great advise on trying to remove the smell, and was thinking exactly that.
Just wondered if it would work before the return period.
Good points on the "new car smell", which I don't mind too much, but the tool box odors are particularly nasty to my sense of smell.
Here's a funny one...when I was a a teenager, my dad gave me an entire set of Craftsman screwdrivers. I have had them for probably 45 years, and to this day, the plastic handles still have the same odor when I pull opened the drawer in my big tool chest last week as when I first opened them up!

 

[RobS10]

They carry the Plano boxes at Home Depot. We use 3 and there is no smell. I have a sensitive super sniffer and there wasn’t a whiff of a smell. They’re stupid cheap, reasonably rugged and versatile. They also don’t have sharp edges and the sides are fairly straight up and down vs some of the other ones where a lot of useable space is taken up with angled sides.

We also used weatherstripping to seal them out against water and dust. 3 fits perfectly in the back of the 4Runner and they stack nicely if needed.

I’ve looked at some of the others and they were just too expensive.


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I have to go back to HD next week and will look for the Plano boxes as our location says they have them in stock. They're a LOT cheaper per cubic foot of storage than the cool Wolfpack boxes.

 

[johnnygraphic]

I have to go back to HD next week and will look for the Plano boxes as our location says they have them in stock. They're a LOT cheaper per cubic foot of storage than the cool Wolfpack boxes.

Not sure where you're at, but I'm in the East Bay and my local HD have them in far back corner next to the moving boxes.

An off-topic tip on storage for camping. I use 50 cal ammo boxes (the real metal ones, not the plastic ones as they don't seal very good) to store spices and coffee stuff. Seals them from getting moisture in them.

 

[johnnygraphic]

Found the old thread on how nicely the Plano boxes fit in the back!

It is dopamine-inducing how perfectly 3 Plano Sportsman mediums (1719-00) fit
It is dopamine-inducing how perfectly 3 Plano Sportsman mediums (1719-00) fit - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum


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[jchasse]

Did the smell of your Ryobi boxes fade over time? I was back at Home Depot yesterday to look for something and looked again at the tool boxes. They're perfect for camping, but damn they stink inside!

It seems like it has, but hard to tell sine they live in the truck bed. They definitely smelled like butane / lighter fluid when brand new.

 

[johnnygraphic]

OP-Hope you were able to find a solution that works for you. Let us know what you did as I know I’m always looking for a newer/better way to camp. [emoji106]


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[RobS10]

OP-Hope you were able to find a solution that works for you. Let us know what you did as I know I’m always looking for a newer/better way to camp. [emoji106]


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I'm planning on going out to the Home Depot and checking out the Plano boxes. It looks like I can fit two of the large boxes on my Yakima roof basket, which will free up a lot of interior space for heavy items like coolers. I'll post how it works out.

 

[honda250xtitan]

I'm planning on going out to the Home Depot and checking out the Plano boxes. It looks like I can fit two of the large boxes on my Yakima roof basket, which will free up a lot of interior space for heavy items like coolers. I'll post how it works out.

are they stiffer material now? the one I have seems really flimsy. condition1 sells made in texas storage totes. they have plano equivalent ones and then also some nicer pelican/roam ones.

 

[johnnygraphic]

are they stiffer material now? the one I have seems really flimsy. condition1 sells made in texas storage totes. they have plano equivalent ones and then also some nicer pelican/roam ones.

Thanks for the Condition1 recommendation. I haven't seen any around, so I can't comment. I'll have to check them out. THANKS!

The Plano won't hold up under daily, rough use and abuse IMHO. But others may have different experiences. Mine have faired well and no cracks or breakages, but I'm easy on my gear and I don't use them daily. They have stood up to about 6 camping trips with medium to heavy gear in them as well as having other gear piled on top. I do keep one case with some gear in the 4Runner, but it isn't taken in and out constantly.

Without the lid, the walls are pretty thin, but with the lid on, it gives it a lot more rigidity. We also have 4 of the smaller cases to store canned goods etc. and they do what we need them to do.

They're good at what they are, inexpensive, reliable cases. Compared to some of the big name/brand name stuff, I'll vote with my wallet. If you NEED super heavy duty, everyday use cases that will stand up to abuse, then by all means, go big names. Depends on the end user.