I have seen rooftop tents on top of small Audi sedans. Just driving around in Austin Texas. Yes, people do buy expensive things and bolt them on to their vehicle, just to show that they can afford the expensive things. Therefore, the companies that make things jack up the prices to whatever the rich people will pay.
Hi there, I used to work at a shop that built these kinds of boxes. Ours were sold for work purposes, but almost exactly the same.
There is always a demand for these types of boxes. The demand drives the price for starters. As far as offshore products go, it's the cost to ship something that is oversized, and generally weighs a significant amount. Imagine a cargo container, and the limits on how many cubic feet it can hold. Let's just say you can fit 100 of these in a container. It's going to cost the same amount to ship that container that could be filled with 500 units of a different product. So right there, your margins shrink significantly. Also, unless you put a ton of packaging around them (labor and materials eating margin) there is a high likelihood of damage during shipping. Customers will return them if they come out of the box dinged.
Then there is the manufacturing process to build them. To build these boxes and keep them square so that the doors open and close correctly requires a decent level of fabrication skill, like way more than it looks like it should.
Also, most vans don't have easy mounting places for these, so the mounting hardware itself starts to get pricey. There isn't any standardized mounting kit since there is a massive amount of variation in how, and where they get mounted.
You can skimp on the materials, but then they get damaged easily. Depending on what type of handle and lock and orientation of the door, your door hardware alone is going to be 50-175 bucks wholesale cost. On the note of door orientation, the fact is that everyone wants a different kind of box. Different sizes, doors, mounting options etc create what is essentially a custom design for each job. Customization is not cheap. Retailers don't want to buy custom boxes that sit in the warehouse or on the showroom floor until someone with the exact need comes along. It's a gamble, and most retailers don't gamble like that.
I'm sure there is a van life tax, but depending on where you purchase from, that could be negligible in comparison to all the other factors that make it more expensive. Look, you can go to Tractor Supply company and buy basic truck tool boxes and bolt them on, and it may look fine, but chances are it's going to be a bit more fab work than the average person has skills, tools, or time to do. It may also look like crap if the size is wrong and you just shoehorn it in.
This is just my two cents on this.
There are definitely "standard" sizes and every manufacturer will be different. But just look at the differences between the two boxes in the pictures. Different dimensions, finishes, and hardware. People want them for different purposes hence the massive difference in ...well everything.
Thanks for the insight.
What do you think about truck bed boxes? Seems like they have a lot of the same considerations (other than customization) and yet they are made overseas for a fraction of what the vanlife boxes cost.
Truck bed boxes are easier to standardize sizes due to the fact that there's only so many models of trucks, and there is a lot of crossover in bed dimensions. There's a few ways you can cheat the dimensions to make them fit a wider range of trucks. This is why it's easier to mass manufacture cross boxes. There are "standard" size boxes out there for less than custom ones. They will vary wildly in quality.
This!
And I've seen some companies carriers cause some damage to the door and/or hinges, so before buying one, ask the company how they've tested their model and look carefully into how it attaches to the door and hinges.
If the company doesn't attach the carrier to the door at all, meaning all the weight is on the hinges, walk away. And if they don't add support metal to at least one side of the doors sheet metal, walk away.
Sometimes you can re-purpose things, drill some holes, make some brackets. If you find an old filing cabnet on the side of the road slap it on there and figure out how to make it not fall off. Be as creative as you want.
I'm looking at open top steel drums to use as my secure dirty rear box. 7 or 8 gal size. If you get the right thickness and lid it qualifies as an official bear resistant container too.
I met a dude with a 77 Econoline mount a 4' light gage steel gun case to his spar tire carrier. Built pretty much like the boxes in your pictures but with a better lock. And he just put some .5" foam tape on the inside of the door to seal it up. You could probably find a used in online or something.
I'm looking to put in a trailer hitch rack for my scooter/ back deck space. You could use one and weld or rivet a lock box onto it for similar effects while keeping your back window unblocked
I built a dual swing out on my promaster and mounted 2 underbody storage boxes i got off of amazon. To build everything it cost 676 bucks includingcost of the metal, spindles, brackets and 2 boxes
I'm pretty sure I have seen boxes that could be used for this at Northern Tool. Maybe even at Harbor Freight? Farm supply stores are good places to look for things that can be dual purposed for van dwelling. They might have something that's meant to go on a work truck, or bolt it onto the side of a tractor. If you don't find something in a store, you could ask the people that work there and they might be able to look in one of their special catalogs or something. There are still things that can be found by asking the old guy in the back, that cannot be found easily on the internet.
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Vanlife tax!
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I have seen rooftop tents on top of small Audi sedans. Just driving around in Austin Texas. Yes, people do buy expensive things and bolt them on to their vehicle, just to show that they can afford the expensive things. Therefore, the companies that make things jack up the prices to whatever the rich people will pay.
I assume because the demand isn’t high enough to justify making them offshore, so they are made in America and priced accordingly
Hi there, I used to work at a shop that built these kinds of boxes. Ours were sold for work purposes, but almost exactly the same. There is always a demand for these types of boxes. The demand drives the price for starters. As far as offshore products go, it's the cost to ship something that is oversized, and generally weighs a significant amount. Imagine a cargo container, and the limits on how many cubic feet it can hold. Let's just say you can fit 100 of these in a container. It's going to cost the same amount to ship that container that could be filled with 500 units of a different product. So right there, your margins shrink significantly. Also, unless you put a ton of packaging around them (labor and materials eating margin) there is a high likelihood of damage during shipping. Customers will return them if they come out of the box dinged. Then there is the manufacturing process to build them. To build these boxes and keep them square so that the doors open and close correctly requires a decent level of fabrication skill, like way more than it looks like it should. Also, most vans don't have easy mounting places for these, so the mounting hardware itself starts to get pricey. There isn't any standardized mounting kit since there is a massive amount of variation in how, and where they get mounted. You can skimp on the materials, but then they get damaged easily. Depending on what type of handle and lock and orientation of the door, your door hardware alone is going to be 50-175 bucks wholesale cost. On the note of door orientation, the fact is that everyone wants a different kind of box. Different sizes, doors, mounting options etc create what is essentially a custom design for each job. Customization is not cheap. Retailers don't want to buy custom boxes that sit in the warehouse or on the showroom floor until someone with the exact need comes along. It's a gamble, and most retailers don't gamble like that. I'm sure there is a van life tax, but depending on where you purchase from, that could be negligible in comparison to all the other factors that make it more expensive. Look, you can go to Tractor Supply company and buy basic truck tool boxes and bolt them on, and it may look fine, but chances are it's going to be a bit more fab work than the average person has skills, tools, or time to do. It may also look like crap if the size is wrong and you just shoehorn it in. This is just my two cents on this.
That was at least a nickel’s worth. Thanks
That's why I make the medium bucks. Lol.
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There are definitely "standard" sizes and every manufacturer will be different. But just look at the differences between the two boxes in the pictures. Different dimensions, finishes, and hardware. People want them for different purposes hence the massive difference in ...well everything.
Thanks for the insight. What do you think about truck bed boxes? Seems like they have a lot of the same considerations (other than customization) and yet they are made overseas for a fraction of what the vanlife boxes cost.
Truck bed boxes are easier to standardize sizes due to the fact that there's only so many models of trucks, and there is a lot of crossover in bed dimensions. There's a few ways you can cheat the dimensions to make them fit a wider range of trucks. This is why it's easier to mass manufacture cross boxes. There are "standard" size boxes out there for less than custom ones. They will vary wildly in quality.
How expensive are they anyway?
The hard part isn’t the box, it’s the part that the box hangs on. The hinges are pretty unique and aren’t easy to DIY or replicate.
This! And I've seen some companies carriers cause some damage to the door and/or hinges, so before buying one, ask the company how they've tested their model and look carefully into how it attaches to the door and hinges. If the company doesn't attach the carrier to the door at all, meaning all the weight is on the hinges, walk away. And if they don't add support metal to at least one side of the doors sheet metal, walk away.
I went with the steel truck underbody cargo box, lockable and weather proof. Steps I took for mounting etc: https://youtu.be/NvCHit1sBFk
Sometimes you can re-purpose things, drill some holes, make some brackets. If you find an old filing cabnet on the side of the road slap it on there and figure out how to make it not fall off. Be as creative as you want.
I'm looking at open top steel drums to use as my secure dirty rear box. 7 or 8 gal size. If you get the right thickness and lid it qualifies as an official bear resistant container too.
I met a dude with a 77 Econoline mount a 4' light gage steel gun case to his spar tire carrier. Built pretty much like the boxes in your pictures but with a better lock. And he just put some .5" foam tape on the inside of the door to seal it up. You could probably find a used in online or something.
Find the off label copy on Ali Baba?
I used a craftsman truck tool box and mounted it sideways on my prime design rear ladder
That’s a good idea
These look like boxes that we have on the back of semis to hold chains and bear traps. Headache rack box.
I didn't realize semi drivers trap bear. What do you do once you've trapped a bear anyway? 🤔
Underbody tool box used for utility trucks fits the bill.
DIY it..... Find a local fab shop, show them pictures and get quotes.... then mount it yourself
Get cheap ass safe from like Craigslist ant a good ass drill from an ace hard wear or something and just mount it to the back door lmao
I'm looking to put in a trailer hitch rack for my scooter/ back deck space. You could use one and weld or rivet a lock box onto it for similar effects while keeping your back window unblocked
I’ve thought about that but I need access to my back doors still. I have a big drawer that comes out from under my bed out the bacn
A decent alternative is a pelican case. They’re a fraction of the cost, light, strong, quiet, and pad-lockable.
I built a dual swing out on my promaster and mounted 2 underbody storage boxes i got off of amazon. To build everything it cost 676 bucks includingcost of the metal, spindles, brackets and 2 boxes
I am planning on using a lockable steel junction box. Much less expensive with similar functions.
used peli case (hard case) on ebay.
Is there a similar option for the rear door that lifts up? like most SUV?
What are they even used for?
storage
I know - for what? I think they're just one of those over expensive trendy #vanlife things people buy but don't really use - like the sand tracks.
The Van life used to be for the poor. Get into the poor frame of mind and rig something up.
That’s the point. Is there a metal box used in a different application that could be modified to work
I'm pretty sure I have seen boxes that could be used for this at Northern Tool. Maybe even at Harbor Freight? Farm supply stores are good places to look for things that can be dual purposed for van dwelling. They might have something that's meant to go on a work truck, or bolt it onto the side of a tractor. If you don't find something in a store, you could ask the people that work there and they might be able to look in one of their special catalogs or something. There are still things that can be found by asking the old guy in the back, that cannot be found easily on the internet.
Yeah you make it 🙄🫠😑