By Cheri Sicard
Jared Gillis from All About RVs was having a problem finding a convenient place to store his RV’s tank dumping accessories. They did not fit in the tubes under the RV meant to hold the black water hose. He had them tossed in a plastic bag and stashed in his RV’s underbelly, but found this less than ideal. So Jared came up with a simple hidden DIY RV storage solution. No wonder he is one of our readers’ favorite RV YouTubers.
Jared found a metal ammo can that was the perfect size to hold the items. So far, so good. But Jared did more to free up his possum belly storage. He mounted the storage container to the underside of his RV.
Presto! Instant extra RV storage space that keeps those tank-dumping items far away from the drinking hoses.
Watch the video to see exactly how Jared accomplished this DIY RV storage hack. All it involved was a drill and some screws to mount the sturdy box to his RV’s frame.
Once completed, the mounted box does not hang down any lower than the spare tire. It keeps everything together so that when Jared goes to empty the tank, he just needs to open the box and everything he needs is right there.
Jared also removed the handles from the box, as he would not be carrying it. And he also secured the top so it could not open while driving down the road.
Jared’s project may not add a lot of extra storage, but it is optimized storage that accomplishes a specific task well. Genius!
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Neat idea, question for the more experienced folks, any concerns about drilling into the frame?
If I were going to add an under-belly storage compartment, it would sure be a lot bigger than that little can. Nice project, but a lot of work for very small storage.
It might be small, but as Jared says, it is optimized for exactly what he needed it to do.
Yup, a great idea. I DO have a place where we store this stuff but this would open up that space for other things. Hmmm, maybe not such a good idea. What I don’t want is to carry more stuff – ha.
What a great idea. The Ammo Can: $16.99 at Harbor Freight. Looks like this might be my next project. By comparison, I’ve been looking at the Quick Products QP-USSB RV Under-Step Storage Cargo Box at Home Depot, Amazon, & Walmart. It is $133. It’s 11″ X 11.5″ X 26.5″. The ARKSEN 30″ X 17″ D X 18″ H, Heavy Duty Aluminum Diamond Plate Tool Underbody Box is $160 on Amazon.