Storage Solutions in Saloon?

[gRoberts]

Hey all,

Sorry if this is the wrong section, I wasn't sure.

Does anyone have any good solutions to storing stuff like Oil, Water etc in the boot of an Saloon?

In my Vectra I have a loop each side of the boot, but at the back of the boot so I can tie a box to the back of the boot, thus leaving the front available for easy access.

In the peugeot they are at the front.

I have noticed the small cubby hole in the left of the boot but this is not big enough for the stuff I need to store?

Any idea's?

cheers

[steve_earwig]

Nope, I have a cardboard box I stick it all in (oil, water, stupid warning triangle, daft high visibilty vest etc.) which seems quite happy sliding about in the back of my estate

[gRoberts]

Thats what I had in the Vectra, and then a piece of rope was tied across the two loops which stopped it from moving forward.

I would have done the same but the two loops are at the front and having to put all my shopping behind the box would be a right pain, especially when I need to stick the kids buggy in the boot.

[TooT]

How about putting the half of a velcro strip on the bottom of the box (not the fluffy side if you know what i mean) it will grip to the boot carpet so it wont slide.

I did this to a sub box in my younger days

[gRoberts]

Good idea.. I will see what i can find as I don't fancy using a cardboard box again. If not, I may have to attach a strip of wood so that it doesn't move.

[DaiRees]

I solved this problem when I had a saloon but that was some time ago, it involved a small plastic crate with a luggage strap weaved through the holes, but I can't for the life of me remember what in the car I attached it to

Must be getting old!

[mjb]

Cans were easy in the estate - I had 2 little hidey holes either side one where the changer was before I removed it and the other opposite it. Now I'm struggling with the saloon

The best thing to stop things sliding around is some of that non-slip rubber matting you can get from a tesco superstore for a couple of quid in the car section. It's sold in little packets about 1.5 yards square and really is quite amazing stuff.

[Welly]

In my boot I have a high viz vest, large umbrella, walking boots and a warning triangle all tucked behind the seat back.

In my car I have a mobile phone and in my wallet my AA card

I don't see the need to carry oil and water around. The car won't suddenly need oil and if it does then you aren't going anywhere and if you lose water suddenly you can't add cold water as you'll probably crack the head or something.

Similarly I don't carry any tools around either. Apart from changing a tyre I would be very limited as to what I can 'repair' at the roadside with basic tools.

[gRoberts]

Strangely, you do have a point.

[mjb]

In my car I have a mobile phone and in my wallet my AA card

I find it faster to carry around a large cube of copper and a needle file. If I need to fabricate a new throttle body or similar by painstakingly carving it out of the copper block, I can - screw threads take a few days to make, but it's still a lot faster than it'd take for the AA to get there

I don't see the need to carry oil and water around. The car won't suddenly need oil and if it does then you aren't going anywhere and if you lose water suddenly you can't add cold water as you'll probably crack the head or something.

As someone who's spent a couple of years with a swiss cheese radiator, I'd never ever leave home without my precious 5 litre bottle of water. The reason a hot plate will smash if you pour it with cold water is because 1) it's made of a very fragile material (a tin plate wouldn't smash) and 2) the volume of water is such that all the plate's heat will be dissipated immediately. In an engine the opposite is true.

Also I find cold water is a good way of clearing frozen windscreens. On my estate, the door seals freeze up too, but the boot was always able to open.

Never hurts to carry water and a small bottle of radweld if your radiator's looking a bit brown

Similarly I don't carry any tools around either. Apart from changing a tyre I would be very limited as to what I can 'repair' at the roadside with basic tools.

I carry tools because it's often a lot easier for me to do work on the car at work during lunch instead of at home. I'm also a pessimist and always prepare for the worst. I can see myself leaving the toolkit at home a lot though with the lack of boot space in the saloon, so I'll just carry the essentials - screwdrivers, socket set, ratchet screwdriver (with torx!), pliers, multimeter and duct tape. Maybe a hammer too. Yep, can never go wrong with a 2lb hammer!

[steve_earwig]

5 litres of cold water won't crack your head or anything but it might end up a strange new shape. Wait for it to cool down! There's nothing like finding your radiator's sprung a leak in the middle of nowhere, still, maybe there'll be a near-by lake you can use (been there, got the t-shirt). Carry what you feel happy with carrying, and remember: if you've got it you'll never need it, however...

[Welly]

But here's the thing wth 406's.

If, say, you got back to your car and noticed 2 or 3 litres of water had left the radiator then without an allen key to vent the thermostat housing and your temporary frigged up expansion bottle to help venting then you run the risk of running an airlocked engine and damaging the head anyway in my opinion.

[steve_earwig]

...an allen key to vent the thermostat housing...

Huh? They're all just shrader valve caps on both mine. >goes to boot, pulls out butchered coke bottle header tank<

So you'd be happy leaving your car in Wanstead Flats while you went for help? Still, now we've all got mobiles it's not such a nightmare. Unfortunatly, there's not much I can do here if I broke down on my own, I suppose I could call, umm, err..

[mjb]

But here's the thing wth 406's.

*cough* D9s you mean?

...without an allen key to vent the thermostat housing

It's just a plastic cap on D8s - exactly the same type as the tyre valves as I discovered when I lost mine down the engine bay...

[gRoberts]

Unfortunately in my last car, the Heater matrix was faulty, which meant the best part of my water pi**ed out into the rear passengers floor well.

Have you ever seen anyone with a ice scraper inside the car? It was a daily occurance for me. As I live `up north` it was rather cold the past couple of weeks, and the inside of the car decided to freeze over where the condensation from the water rested on the windows.

Although, the first time I noticed this was when my spidey sense pointed me towards checking my fluids, and saw there was NO water in teh water res. This happened a few times but only when I dropped my guard. It seemed that after it happens, i'd check every day, and it would be fine, but leave it a couple of days without checking and it disappears.

Mobile phones are great, but I would rather get home then sit and wait for the AA to turn up. Its great trying to drive a car with no power steering. Especially when your turning a corner and it suddenly starts working again.