By Dan Everett,
July 13, 2023
Life is too short to spend it digging around looking for awning pegs, right? Here are the must-have accessories and advice on in–car storage to keep your kit organised and help transform your vehicle into a TARDIS.
I’d like to think of myself as the rugged adventurer, the Alby Mangels type exploring the Cape on horseback with nothing more than a can of beer and a tarp. But it’s just not how I’m cut. I’m more a bottle of red wine by the fire, electric blanket in the cold, and nice little kitchen setup kinda man.
Sure, the major downside is I don’t have the six-pack or luscious golden locks, but it also means I have a serious task ahead of me finding spare space in the old ‘Cruiser for all the odds and ends I’ve gotta carry. After all, the kid’s laps don’t count as in-car storage when you need somewhere to throw the old chainsaw as you trundle down the Peninsula Development Road.
So what’s the modern adventurer to do? How do we turn our humble tow-tugs from grocery getters with trailers, to serious outback-ready adventure machines? Something with more space for camp kit than you could ever imagine.
We’ve knocked together a quick little in-car storage hit list to make living on the road that little bit easier. From clever at-home ideas to maximise the storage space you’ve got, to top-shelf accessories to give you even more space.
Storage drawers
Let’s not skirt around the fact that if your tow-tug is built for adventure, it needs a set of in-car storage drawers in the back. There are just simply too many odds and ends we need to carry that it’d be a disaster without them. From bottles of water and loaves of bread to things like fan belts, tool rolls, or camp lighting, storage drawers are the go-to way to keep your kit organised.
There’s a few different options on the market but we always tend to come back to quality units like the Twin Drawer Module from 4WD Interiors over the cheapy offerings. They tend to have clever design features like drawers that lock in the out position so you’re not fighting them just to get a tin of beans, safety grip handles so little ones don’t get their mittens pinched closing them, and lots of organised storage with dividers and side access. They’ll flat out just last longer too, and that’s smart money.
Buying cans instead of bottles
This one links back in with the in-car storage drawers above but works just as well for your fridge storage or in your RV as well. When it comes to fitting stuff in your camping setup, dead space is wasted space. Whether you’re talking wine, juice, soft drink, beer, or just about any other type of liquid, the curved design of most bottles means you’ll end up with lots of air where the bottles just don’t quite fit together perfectly.
The solution here is to buy your supplies at opposite ends of the spectrum, either so uniform they can be packed tight like cans of drinks, or so soft they can be squished and deformed into otherwise dead space. This is something common these days with soft squeeze packs of spare oil.
One thing to keep in mind though, is that aluminium drink cans do have a tendency to rub together and form pinhole leaks. A rubber band around the outside is a cheap way to isolate them without robbing valuable in-car storage space.
Seat back organisers
In case you haven’t noticed yet, a major theme here is making dead space into usable in-car storage space and seat-back organisers hit that brief right between the eyes. These clever little numbers have been around for a while now, and for good reason. They’re easy to install, affordable, add bugger all weight, and are the perfect place for all those odds and ends that’d otherwise be shoved in any random pocket you can find.
Think things like first aid kits, sunscreen, bug spray, water bottles for the backseat pilots, tent pegs, fire lighters and even all the random charging cables you need once in a blue moon. If you’ve got kids, then of course these will get filled with ‘kid stuff’ to keep them occupied.
There are a few on the market, but the Build it – Seat Buddy from Navigator is our favourite. They’re not the cheapest on the market but they’re the most versatile we’ve come across yet, with three rows of webbing, iPad mounts and expandable storage. It even includes pencil cases and space for colouring in books for the little ones. Stash spare dunny rolls and hand sanitiser for those roadside long drops we’d all rather forget.
Roof consoles
If storage drawers are the must-have in-car accessory for organising the rear end of your wagon or ute, then a roof console is the must-have for organising the cockpit. It should come as no surprise then that another 4WD Interiors product gets the nod here too. For not much more than you’d pay to put actually halfway decent interior lights in your rig, these roof consoles give significantly upgraded lighting for map reading as well as a locker box to actually keep paper maps, permits, and receipts.
A standard DIN size slot is the perfect place to slot in the old CB radio along with a clever microphone mount and cable holder to keep things organised. We’ve even seen people use the in-car storage consoles for mounting rear vision or reversing camera setups without eating into valuable dash space or use the DIN slot for mounting accessory switches and gauges.
Vacuum sealing food
We said it before and we’ll say it again. Air is the enemy of efficiency when it comes to practical in-car storage on the road. That problematic space between your bottles of drink we talked about? Well, the same goes for that little bit of space around the chicken breasts, thanks to the bulky plastic packaging. Save yourself a whole bunch of hassle packing and cooking at camp by sorting yourself out with a vacuum sealer before you hit the frog and toad.
Sure, you can save yourself the bare minimum of space by packing meat into smaller packaging, but let’s think bigger, yeah? Do your cook-ups at home before you leave. Even seasoning your steaks will mean that you’re only trying to stow a tiny steak-sized bag, rather than an awkward-shaped Coles package as well as salt, pepper, and whatever other rubs your heart desires.
Take it to the next level by whipping up stir-fries, slow cooker recipes, and even hearty soups with the convenience of a full kitchen at home. Then, just reheat it at camp! This will not only make camping easier and more organised, but it’ll also mean you could get a week’s worth of food in a smaller fridge saving even more space and money.
MOLLE window panels
We’ve kitted up our roofs and floors for better storage, so it makes sense to start eyeing off the walls of our tow-tugs to organise our kit too. MOLLE, (aka Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) is a simple system that uses webbing to attach pretty much anything your heart desires to anything else your heart desires. It was originally used by soldiers to attach things like magazines and optics to their packs but has drifted into the camping scene and we absolutely love it.
TLR Products produce MOLLE-compatible lightweight aluminium panels designed to add organised in-car storage over otherwise dead space third-row windows on wagons. That same webbing system means you can securely attach anything for quick and easy access. Either with compatible webbing on the gear itself, nuts and bolts, or even carabineers.
What used to be wasted space can now be quick and easy access to a fire extinguisher, recovery kit, first aid kit, torch, tyre deflators, and pretty much anything else. Pair it up with a shelf between one side and the other and you can make yourself storage for bulky but lightweight items like bedding.
Open up more space
The old trick of popping off a door trim and stashing your spare fan belts and radiator hoses should be almost a no-brainer now for anyone looking to maximise in-car storage space. But there’s one area providing even more opportunities, your tailgate. Whether you’re driving a wagon or a ute, if you’ve got a drop-down tailgate, companies like Huracan Fabrication have a product you’ll want to get on your rig.
Their kits come complete with everything (including cutting templates) to open up your tailgate, finish it, and fit an opening access panel. Combine it with compact foldable camp chairs and you could have enough camp seating for four without eating up a single square inch of your tub space. Now that’s clever storage!
Bags, bags and more bags
Whether you’re looking to maximise the use of your flash new storage drawers, or just looking for a way to find the paprika without digging through the spare wheel bearings and camp chairs – then storage bags are your absolute must-have in-car storage accessory. Buying a quality offering like the Crash Box from Crashpad won’t exactly be easy on the wallet, but it’ll make life around camp far easier.
Fancy a coffee? Grab the small Crashpod. That’s got your press, beans, mugs and sweeteners. Cooking up a storm? The neatly stacked Crash Box has your plates, cutlery, pan, and spices all ready to go. No more digging around in the endless void of a space case. You can take this in-car storage solution further too, with utensil rolls housing your knives, spatulas, and tongs placed next to a roll that’s got all your must-have tools for the road packed in.
