Storage space

herbie · Guru

Storage space

keiron · Senior Member

Hi. We are very new at this travelling stuff and need some clues.

My tow is a Patrol and the van an 18' poptop.

I am looking to buy a Generator, Baby Q BBQ, Compressor, Battery pack / jump starter, xtra gas bottle, external shower, porta loo and some other small bits n pieces.

My question is; once I have them all loaded, together with normal stuff we need to carry, where do I sit to drive??????

Any and all suggestions welcome.

Finally, I have seen some bery impressive front boot storage arrangements with hooks, shadow board etc.....What do they fasten them to??

Very New guys / gals.... and many thanks. KB

Oma · Guru

You are legally allowed to remove all but the 2 front seats in your Patrol. I rang Main Roads as asked about the situation. The very helpful man directed me to a web site & told me to print out the 5 pages & put in glove box & leave it there. We now only have 2 seats & it is amazing how much more room we now have. I cannot give you the website at the moment as Bruce is out in the PAtrol.

spida · Guru

My Navara double cab is full in the back with the extra spare wheel, generator, golf clubs and stuff, so the back seats have tool box, folding chair and table and other stuff!!!! I should put the spare spare on the roof somehow. Good thing i still have room for a passenger - if I got so lucky :)

Gerty Dancer · Guru

We actually remove the back seats of the Prado, and put the luggage barrier behing the front seats. Its great! And then if ataying home it took less than an hour to put it all back again.

herbie · Guru

Just thought i would give you a run down on the saga i went though in WA to change my rego over from SA rego. re removing the 3d lot of seats in the toyota crusier.I had to take it to ortherized dealer to have seats removed and the seat belts and then where the seat belts holes where in the side panel had to have them plugged over then they issued me with a cert to say it was all up to scratch.Then back at rego place they then re registered cruiser into a 5 seater instead of 7 seater.Then i had to sort out with my insurance the changes to the crusier.All this rigmarole, complicated procedure took 3 days to get sorted.Then the cost of getting the piece of paper to say i was legal from the orthized dealer . Then a roadworthy cert just to re rego into another state. So now you know what i do i just leave it in WA rego. No matter where i am working. I think the goverment needs to re think the way they have structured this rego thing and make some concessions to people who are on the road full or even part time. i keep my insurances and licence all under one state. So do many other people i know do the same.If i get pulled up well i am just passing through and if that don't cut the mustard i will cop it sweet.

Regards Herbie

Cupie · Guru

The third row of seats in my GQ Patrol have not been fitted for 15 yrs or so. Probably in the shed somewhere.

When touring I take out the second row & fit a home made floor that gives me a flat rear section with some underfloor storage sections. When out solo I take a matress that fits perfectly in the flat rear to make an excellent bed. The food & booze etc. goes into a light weight two man tent outside on those trips.

I always bolt & tie down anything in the back, like my bike, Engel, Kayaking gear, electric motor & battery, chairs, BBQ case, tool & spares kit, plus a couple of milk crates with 'essential' stuff. A cargo barrier is a must.

I continually reduce the stuff I carry & modify the 'must have' list according to the type of trip that I am going on.

ozjohn · Guru

QLD Regs below and would probably apply Australia wide.
PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY REMOVAL OF SEATS FROM LIGHT MOTOR VEHICLES

For vehicles fitted with quick release seating attachments as original equipment, temporary removal of the seats is acceptable.
A Modification Plate does not need to be fitted.
This is commonly the case for four wheel drives and people movers.

For vehicles fitted with bolt in seating structures, no approval by an Approved Person is necessary for the temporary removal of seats,
provided the category of the vehicle does not change as a result of the seating reduction.

Vehicles with the permanent removal of seating structures must be approved by an Approved Person and a Modification Plate must be fitted for the reduction in seating capacity.

NOTE: For the purposes of this policy, "permanent" means the seats are removed for an indefinite period or not expected to be refitted.

Full regulations at the following site below.
Cheers Ozjohn.

http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/~/media/Safety/Vehicle%20standards%20and%20modifications/Vehicle%20standards/Vehicle%20standards%20instructions/VSIL50Permanentandtemporaryremovalofseatsfromlightmotorvehicles.pdf

-- Edited by ozjohn on Saturday 23rd of February 2013 02:38:53 PM

herbie · Guru

The problem we had when we took the back seats out was we did not want to lug them around with us.So we had to go about it the right or should i say the hard way. We were thinking more along the lines of what happenes when we decide to sell the 4x4, and on the rego papers it is regersted as 7 seater and now there are only 5 seats.We were also told insurance companies can get a bit iffy about it also if you happen to have a accident .We probely would of just taken the seats out and put them in the shed if we were not on the road full time, and just put them back in when we went to sell.

We got rid of our tinny for the same reason re rego hassels...so now we have a couple of kayaks no rego no license ,bliss to the ears ... or should i say no rego or license required YET...would not surprise me

That is the reason we had to go through the b...... crap ,as we had no choice of being able to put the seats back in.Iwas just hi lighting the fact , so if some one else takes the seats out them self and dosnt have to have their car re registered they probably would not know that law.If we had not been re regeristing 4x4 from one state to another we would have just taken the seats out left the seat belts attatched and taken the seats to the tip or given them to some one.And yes Rego is around $400 cheaper in WA than in QLD for you 4x4.

-- Edited by herbie on Saturday 23rd of February 2013 03:53:58 PM

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Having a shed at home to keep the seats is what makes it feasible Herbie... I wonder if you could take them out permanently (sell to wreckers maybe?) and register and insure your tug as a 2 seater?

When I totalled our Kia years ago, the insurance company required us to bring the seats from the shed at home and put them in the wreck. So long as they were there, didnt need to be screwed down.

littledick · Senior Member

keiron wrote:
Hi. We are very new at this travelling stuff and need some clues.
My tow is a Patrol and the van an 18' poptop.
I am looking to buy a Generator, Baby Q BBQ, Compressor, Battery pack / jump starter, xtra gas bottle, external shower, porta loo and some other small bits n pieces.
My question is; once I have them all loaded, together with normal stuff we need to carry, where do I sit to drive??????
Any and all suggestions welcome.

Finally, I have seen some bery impressive front boot storage arrangements with hooks, shadow board etc.....What do they fasten them to??

Very New guys / gals.... and many thanks. KB

For fastening of hooks etc inside the front boot, I just screwed 16mm pine to the back wall. Size determined by the width of the boot and the height to your need, 200/300mm should be sufficient.
Be carefull no wires or other objects in the way for the placing of the screws.
I have done this on my previous 2 vans. Now have tunnel boot.
Dick.

Cupie · Guru

littledick wrote:
keiron wrote:

Finally, I have seen some bery impressive front boot storage arrangements with hooks, shadow board etc.....What do they fasten them to??

Very New guys / gals.... and many thanks. KB

For fastening of hooks etc inside the front boot, I just screwed 16mm pine to the back wall. Size determined by the width of the boot and the height to your need, 200/300mm should be sufficient.
Be carefull no wires or other objects in the way for the placing of the screws.
I have done this on my previous 2 vans. Now have tunnel boot.
Dick.

I just pop riveted clips to the metal backing.

One day I might re-do the job & screw a bit of marine ply to the metal backing & attach the clips to the ply. A more professional job I think.

keiron · Senior Member

Gee it's good to get so much good advice and ideas from so many more experienced than oneself. I am off to the hardware to get some tools and start my modifications. Thanks for you help folks. KB