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Made my own ghetto luggage cases for $30


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$15 (CAD) .50 cal plastic ammo cans from Princess Auto. Pannier racks are from DirtRacks. I'm too cheap to pay for fancy luggage cases, so I did a super cheap DIY. The size and shape are perfect and the lid on top is hinged with a little buckle system that is quick and easy to fasten. It also has handles on top and a little hole to put a lock on them.

 

The plastic itself is quite thin and not very sturdy to be honest. I'm not convinced they would hold up well if you dump the bike with much force on them. It would be better if there was more horizontal support from the bolts. I'm sure there's half a dozen ways I could add more support in that sense. I'll probably revisit it in the near future. If the cases were metal, I think it would be okay.

 

I was considering getting metal ammo cans, but the ones in store were honestly quite a bit heavier than I'd like, and I liked the look of these more and they were way cheaper.

 

Right now, the setup does not require any tools to install or remove the cases. The case is installed directly from above. I drilled holes for all of the bolts. The two vertical to each other slide over the silver bolts and then the whole thing slides down another inch or so between two penny washers on the front facing side of each bolt. I then have a nut and washer superglued to the inside of the case which the two large thumbscrew things that came with the pannier rack (big black handles) thread into. They also thread into the pannier rack and I put a lock washer in the inside facing part of the rack so they don't vibrate loose.

 

I won't be too bothered if the cases break or bend with how flimsy they are. They were $15 on sale after all. If that happens, I'll probably try to find a sturdier plastic or just accept the extra weight of metal ammo cans. The pannier racks were $227 at DirtRacks, so the whole setup was under <$300.

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If those don't work out, try the Apache cases from harbor freight.  They're probably a little sturdier, but if those hold up fine, who cares?  👍

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2 minutes ago, advrallymoto said:

If those don't work out, try the Apache cases from harbor freight.  They're probably a little sturdier, but if those hold up fine, who cares?  👍

No Harbor Freight up here in Canadia land unfortunately...

 

I'll be keeping my eyes out and see what I can see. I'm sure I'll come across something a bit more appropriate in due time. Planning my first moto camping trip for Canada Day weekend coming up so I needed something for now.

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Now that is some nice "Outside the Box" thinking. Bending up a $1,000 of aluminum panniers is a sickening thought. A guy could save the good stuff for a starbuck run and use the cheap/ugly stuff for the suicide rides.

We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe

~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

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6 minutes ago, Hibobb said:

Now that is some nice "Outside the Box" thinking. Bending up a $1,000 of aluminum panniers is a sickening thought. A guy could save the good stuff for a starbuck run and use the cheap/ugly stuff for the suicide rides.

Precisely. If I can find similar, but sturdy plastic ones, I'll be set. I definitely expect to drop the bike while doing some back country trails with luggage, and last thing I want is unnecessarily heavy cases that cost an arm and a leg to replace if I bust them up.

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