For You Velcro-Obsessed, ARB Drawer, 5.11 Tactical Fans...
- Thread starter Dan Higgins
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
About your build...
Hopefully your troopy pain won’t be as big a pain as mine. The biggest headache by far (besides screws) was dealing with the constant curves and weird convex/concave sections of the 200’s interior panels. Velcro material just doesn’t play nice in those spots so it was hard to make cuts that could handle the curves. That’s why some sections seem to have way more screws. It’s because there are more cuts/seams there.
Last edited:
I hear ya.
Depends how I set up the cargo area.
From the start, it's a giant, empty, box with very little plastic and lots of metal. So whatever I build out the interior to be, there will end up being lots of flat surfaces.
If I had the mechanical skills to tweak as you will, I would absolutely see the draw of that big empty box. As someone who often sleeps in the back (like on our Baja trip last year), it would be nice not feeling like I’m sleeping in a tube...
A pass-through poptop may be happening too. We'll see.
But I certainly won't mind sleeping in the back either of this one. I did a few times in the 200. I agree, it was creepy. Worse than the bunks in the middle east.
If it gets done before autumn, perhaps you'll see it. Baja 2.0.
Yes!!!
Let’s do it.
1st day will surely go more smoothly with 2.0.
That first day was nutty last time.
Hey @Markuson - i see you updated this with some info. Did you tie each item with a Velcro wrapping around it? Or, are the items stuck on? I can see the items with a wrap around them and the wrap looping into the base being secure as there is a lot of surface area. In your early description I (mis?) read that your method was to stick the items on.
Yes!!!
Let’s do it.
1st day will surely go more smoothly with 2.0.
That first day was nutty last time.
For sure.
Seems the LCXC idea has stalled, unfortunately. I'll get with you CA guys (you, Zac, Kamal, Cole, ect...) once my rig is done and see if you're down for a shakedown trip. Maybe I can talk Ian (guy helping with my build) into going. He's a Baja expert.
Last edited:
To your question... Yes. They are mounted in base units with full Velcro backing. And no...items are not just stuck on.
Zoom in. You’ll see it.
Initially I responded just casually because most of the time friends joke with me about Velcro, I know they mean me, and I chuckle along with them.
But if people are looking at this for tips, etc...more detail is helpful. This topic has come up so often that I figure most already know what I started doing a few years ago with the handy spots on drawers.Since then it’s sort of become more like l look at the unused space and think “Hmm... Why not?”
Some things work...some don’t...so I modify and tweak. It’s always a work in progress, made slower by my vision issues. I end up correcting posts often because I can only read the very top line...as rest of the text is a mess of triple vision line-stacking I simply cannot read.
The photo I snapped isn’t a perfect indicator either as I was in the process of rearranging...but basically...yes. -The main “launch-able” items are secured with the Harbor Freight wrap stuff. That stuff sticks actually TOO WELL. -Like to the point where repeated removal would start to damage/break the loop surface bc it’s just so dang sticky. But for items that I leave permanently mounted—like the two Bluetooth speakers on the hatch—it’s a great solution. If I pulled hard in those? The panels would probably pop off before the angled strap items did. It’s that sticky.
The one item on my little charge door is also better secured...but frankly, it’s never going to be perfect. The bottle of coke in my cup holder is certainly gonna go flying...so there are compromises we all make like that.
But anyway... I guess I should do a comprehensive thread detailing what worked...what didn’t work...things I like...things I’d do differently, etc. I do think there has been a lot of interest especially since the lacking storage in our interiors is no joke.
Anyway... Cya.
Last edited:
@TonyP and @Markuson . I truly enjoy your posts. Y'all push the limits of these vehicles and open minds to a lot of possibilities, whether some of us pursue them or not. It is truly a gift to enjoy. There are many great members on Mud, but y'all are among my favorites. Thanks.
Carry on.
Carry on.
I’d be a lot more concerned about all the stuff I have in the cargo area that is completely unsecured.
I’d be a lot more concerned about all the stuff I have in the cargo area that is completely unsecured.
Exactly.
We all like beverages when on long trips.
-If your airbag pops with a coffee tumbler or metal water bottle to your lips?
-Broken face...or worse.
Projectiles are everywhere.
Try to be reasonably safe...then pick your poison. But, man...don’t forget to enjoy yourself.
Last edited:
I feel like @Markuson is missing the point. If you die by being hit with a Kleen Kanteen bottle in the head, you have the satisfaction of knowing you we’re morally superior and you get 77 virgins in the afterlife. If you die by Bluetooth speaker, then you go to a landfill.
Ahhhhh!!
Silly me!
Personally, I’m planning on dying in an ultra-light aircraft crash someday...or perhaps by falling off my own land cruiser at high speed while being a photographer in a small air show (oops! Already did that and I messed up and didn’t die... )
Oh well. Maybe it’s the land-fill for me...
In all seriousness...
Velcro isn’t perfect, and has limitations. Some areas just don’t make sense to load up (and I don’t) because ya gotta keep the lower sides clear enough for other gear in the cargo area, and to remove the side for kit storage access.
So I mainly use the very back side pillars...the uppper sides...the hatch...and definitely the window sill areas. Plus the charging on row two is a happy solution.
I hadn’t seen anyone do the interior, so tried it. Pretty happy with it, but before doing something similar, know that it’s a pain to initially & securely cover panels.
Last edited:
Whoa, this thread took a turn, I was just making a joke. The attention to detail with all the screws being exactly spaced is pretty cool. And covering every surface is another level of commitment I don’t have in me but I can’t wait to see it in person. I’m almost disappointed in my Trekboxx system because it doesn’t have an area I can velcro patches or pouches. I’m tempted to figure out a way to add some Velcro to the few wasted spaces I do have.
Two life experiences that impact my take on this:
- when I was 20, I had just bought my first used vehicle. On the way home from the dealer, I was sitting at a red light, programming the radio stations. Boom. I was rear-ended. The other driver didn’t touch the brakes, she had dropped her cell phone into the passenger footwell. On impact, my seat broke into the recline position and head broke out the trucks rear glass. Truck was totalled. I was okay, total luck
- about 11 years ago I was driving through Montana, the Subaru lost control (front tire blew found out later) swerved knicking the center grass, swerved again and rolled. I pulled over and ran to help. Being the first there, I was relieved that the driver was okay, but his face was cut up badly. His vehicle looked look a giant had shaken it upside down. The tire jack, which started under the rear carpet was on the dash. We found his phone past the point his car stopped in the direction he was heading.
In situations like these, the forces are great.
I try to tie every thing down on road trips, my 4runner had custom L track and a cargo net, everything went underneath or underneath with a strap. It wasn’t as easy to get to get things but the best I could do.
- when I was 20, I had just bought my first used vehicle. On the way home from the dealer, I was sitting at a red light, programming the radio stations. Boom. I was rear-ended. The other driver didn’t touch the brakes, she had dropped her cell phone into the passenger footwell. On impact, my seat broke into the recline position and head broke out the trucks rear glass. Truck was totalled. I was okay, total luck
- about 11 years ago I was driving through Montana, the Subaru lost control (front tire blew found out later) swerved knicking the center grass, swerved again and rolled. I pulled over and ran to help. Being the first there, I was relieved that the driver was okay, but his face was cut up badly. His vehicle looked look a giant had shaken it upside down. The tire jack, which started under the rear carpet was on the dash. We found his phone past the point his car stopped in the direction he was heading.
In situations like these, the forces are great.
I try to tie every thing down on road trips, my 4runner had custom L track and a cargo net, everything went underneath or underneath with a strap. It wasn’t as easy to get to get things but the best I could do.
Ziplock bags and Velcro are gifts the aliens gave us when they visited Area 51
I honestly do not recommend my full-on crazy Velcro to anyone without a lot of time and patience.
I was making it up as I went and had I known what a bear it would be, I probably wouldn’t have done it so fully. It would have been pretty easy if it could securely attach with its adhesive alone...but after I was done, it clearly needed screws to deal with cold and heat and humidity, But it did need the screws and screws became a ton of effort. Too much.
If someone just wants a couple easy-access spots that are super easy to do....
-The trim just above the arm-rests on the second row doors. Super easy...and a handy shelf for either you...or passengers who otherwise have zero spots for little items. Zippered bags fit nicely and are super secure.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #40
By the way, did I mention that 5.11 Tactical now has a convenient zipper pouch that fits on the face of the ARB drawers and can be attached by Velcro? (Just thought I would remind the readers of this thread about my OP.) 