cheap Pelican like case

[bubba zanetti]

http://store.colemans.com/cart/us-gi-hard-plastic-transport-case-p-2314.html

I just received my night vision goggle case from Coleman's today and noticed they are carrying these Pelican like cases.

Just listed, watertight gasket and cheap at $14.95 .... anyone got one of these? I am thinking they would be great for the KLR crowd.

[Fun Dog]

Yeah, I modified one to make it my tail-case.  Probably a lot bigger than the one you got, but it's waterproof, lockable, and only takes about 5 minutes to strap securely to the bike.

[bubba zanetti]

Yeah, I modified one to make it my tail-case.  Probably a lot bigger than the one you got, but it's waterproof, lockable, and only takes about 5 minutes to strap securely to the bike.

How is the quality of the plastic ??  

[Fun Dog]

Awesome.  Very thick, very rigid.  These cases are designed to carry stuff like camera equipment and electronics and they're very rugged.

[Rincewind]

Wow, that's quite the deal.    $15 compared to $99 for the Pelicans.  I wonder how they compare - handle and closers look like they may be less sturdy.  

[Fun Dog]

How is the quality of the plastic ??  

My mistake.  I'm using a Pelican Case and they do run between $100 - $150.  But the one you have listed looks like it's the same dimensions.  I'm sure the plastic is of sufficient quality to use on a bike.  If I didn't already have a case, I would jump on this Coleman's deal.  Looks like a good, strong case.  And if it has a rubber gasket for a seal, you're safe from the rain too.  Can't beat rustproof and watertight.

[Rincewind]

My mistake.  I'm using a Pelican Case and they do run between $100 - $150.

I thought it looked different!    

My concern with the cheap ones would be the rigidity/thickness of the plastic, especially if bolting the backside of the case to a side rack.  

Bubba's link says, "This product was added to our catalog on Friday 26 September, 2008."  So I think STN needs a guinea pig to try these cases.  

[Mydlyfkryzis]

I just ordered 2 to use as side bags.

When I get them, I'll let everyone know about them.

[bubba zanetti]

I just ordered 2 to use as side bags.

When I get them, I'll let everyone know about them.

Good on you !!  

[Fun Dog]

I just ordered 2 to use as side bags.

When I get them, I'll let everyone know about them.

Alright!  Looking forward to report.

[bubba zanetti]

I just ordered 2 to use as side bags.

When I get them, I'll let everyone know about them.

If these are crap, and you bought them cuz of my sayso ... pm me ... K ?

[Mydlyfkryzis]

I'll let you know.

the pictures seem to look o.k.

I took the chance on my own, though. I wouldn't of bought them just on your say so...This is the internets.

How bad could they be?

I was looking at Hardigg Cases and they were running about $80 each shipped. And they were a little smaller. So, I use them for something. Couldn't beat the price.

If they don't work out, they had some large Ammo Cases that looked tough.

[LicketySplat]

Is that a pressure release valve I see... like the real Pelican cases have?

And... does it work, or is it just there to make it appear that the case has a tight seal?

When you're talking about tens of thousands of dollars worth of sensitive equipment, I don't get trying to save $100 or $200 on the case. Odds are you are paying something for the Pelican or Halliburton name... but why take the chance???

[ertman110]

Is that a pressure release valve I see... like the real Pelican cases have?

And... does it work, or is it just there to make it appear that the case has a tight seal?

When you're talking about tens of thousands of dollars worth of sensitive equipment, I don't get trying to save $100 or $200 on the case. Odds are you are paying something for the Pelican or Halliburton name... but why take the chance???

If all I am doing is strapping crap to the back of the bike, cheap is fine. If we are talking about equipment costing beaucoup bucks, my employers own the gear, so they can buy the $$$ cases!

[Mydlyfkryzis]

I have the cases:

the Good:

They are well made in general.
The pressure relief is an actual pressure reliaf. It is difficult to open the case with it shut.
They are thick plastic.
They look to be military grade. Metal handle.
They are definitely watertight.
They are used, but in good condition.

The Bad:

They are Heavy. 2 Bags were 32Lbs shipping weight. Take a pound or 2 off for the box.
Did I say they were Heavy?  (However there is a reason. They should be lighter with the removal of the interior bracketry)
The clasps that hold them shut are not as secure as I would like it. I will have pictures and explain it better (later). They do work and hold the case shut. thet are more of a friction fit then I would like. I may back them up somehow. They are working well, I just don't know if I trust them.
They are Large - it may be bad or good, but they are a little bigger than I expected, even though I seen the measurements before hand.  

The Ugly:

If you look at the pictures, you can see the interior has a lot of "Stuff" in it. I have removed the big central bracket, it is only glued in foam attaching it. I pulled it off after some heavy yanking. (Who new years of yanking would pay off later?   )

There are loads of screw mounting areas. Pictures later to follow will clear up what I mean by that. I may use some of the threaded holes for mounting though.
There is a shield on the top half that makes a chamber. The chamber is divided into little (about 3" wide ) cubby holes. I like the chamber, but not the dividers.

Summary:

I'll follow up with pictures, but to sum up, the cases are strong, will do fine as saddle bags, but I will need to get out my angle grinder and remove a lot of plastic brackets and support to make the interior empty.

[bubba zanetti]

I have the cases:

the Good:

They are well made in general.
The pressure relief is an actual pressure reliaf. It is difficult to open the case with it shut.
They are thick plastic.
They look to be military grade. Metal handle.
They are definitely watertight.
They are used, but in good condition.

The Bad:

They are Heavy. 2 Bags were 32Lbs shipping weight. Take a pound or 2 off for the box.
Did I say they were Heavy?  (However there is a reason. They should be lighter with the removal of the interior bracketry)
The clasps that hold them shut are not as secure as I would like it. I will have pictures and explain it better (later). They do work and hold the case shut. thet are more of a friction fit then I would like. I may back them up somehow. They are working well, I just don't know if I trust them.
They are Large - it may be bad or good, but they are a little bigger than I expected, even though I seen the measurements before hand.  

The Ugly:

If you look at the pictures, you can see the interior has a lot of "Stuff" in it. I have removed the big central bracket, it is only glued in foam attaching it. I pulled it off after some heavy yanking. (Who new years of yanking would pay off later?   )

There are loads of screw mounting areas. Pictures later to follow will clear up what I mean by that. I may use some of the threaded holes for mounting though.
There is a shield on the top half that makes a chamber. The chamber is divided into little (about 3" wide ) cubby holes. I like the chamber, but not the dividers.

Summary:

I'll follow up with pictures, but to sum up, the cases are strong, will do fine as saddle bags, but I will need to get out my angle grinder and remove a lot of plastic brackets and support to make the interior empty.

Looking forward to your photos. Thanks for the info and being a guinea pig for these ... they sound good for what I want which bags for off road on my KLR. They will need to be durable.  

Oh ... what was the total cost with shipping ?? And who did they ship them with ??

[Mydlyfkryzis]

$45.30 Shipped for 2.

UPS.

They told me they were shipped on the day I received them. They came the same week I ordered them.

I would do business with them again.

Hopefully
I'll get some pictures tonight....If not, tomorrow night.

[Mydlyfkryzis]

Here's some pictures:

Outside View:


Inside view with Bracket:



Bracket removed:



Bracket Out, Case Bottom:



Top Lid inside compartment, lid shut:



Top Lid compartment door open:



Latches :




I need to grind off the dividers inside the lid compartment and  many of the brass screw inserts and supports in the bottom of the case. I may leave some screw inserts in place as they may come in handy.

The latches seem strong and hold tight. But I wonder if they will last? They are pretty thick and seem O.K. at this point.

The vent works well. It needs to be open to open the case, otherwise the suction makes it difficult to open the lid.

I'll weigh them after I remove all the crap, but at about 15 pounds each right now, they are heavier than the pelican style of the same size.

They do appear to be durable.

[bubba zanetti]

 

$45 ... shipped for two. Less than the price of one badly used Pelican. I see the have locking tabs too.

OK ... I am sold ... next order is these ... for the off road KLR cheapskate crowd ... this is manna ...  

Thanks for the pics, write up and comments My ... er ... tell me about your bio name  

[Mydlyfkryzis]

Mid Life Crisis phonetically or maybe l337 speak.

Returned to Motorcycling after my 50th birthday....18 year Hiatus. (Bought a house, closed, no money, CB360 needed time and money)

Rebuilt my Brother inlaw's 1974 CB450 Transmission.  He bought a 2004 VTX1300 shortly thereafter and He insisted I ride it (It was brand new at the time).

While I enjoyed the ride, I didn't like the cruiser ergo's. But I remembered all the reasons I liked riding. So I went out and replaced my sadly deteriorated CB360t with a running Nighthawk 750. Coming so shortly after the 50th, some thought I was having a mid-life crisis. But the actuality was I just missed riding and the opportunity to get back came along at the same time.

But I liked the idea of the crisis, and being more than a half century old, I tried being cute and use some l337 spelling for my handle.

Maybe i am in crisis. Some think I am in second childhood, but little do they realize I am still in my first....

[bubba zanetti]

Mid Life Crisis phonetically or maybe l337 speak.

Returned to Motorcycling after my 50th birthday....18 year Hiatus. (Bought a house, closed, no money, CB360 needed time and money)

Rebuilt my Brother inlaw's 1974 CB450 Transmission.  He bought a 2004 VTX1300 shortly thereafter and He insisted I ride it (It was brand new at the time).

While I enjoyed the ride, I didn't like the cruiser ergo's. But I remembered all the reasons I liked riding. So I went out and replaced my sadly deteriorated CB360t with a running Nighthawk 750. Coming so shortly after the 50th, some thought I was having a mid-life crisis. But the actuality was I just missed riding and the opportunity to get back came along at the same time.

But I liked the idea of the crisis, and being more than a half century old, I tried being cute and use some l337 spelling for my handle.

Maybe i am in crisis. Some think I am in second childhood, but little do they realize I am still in my first....

Doh !!! ... thanks ... maybe I will think of you as Myd then... I could not decipher that even though I am a similar age and now well into my Five - oh .... oh ... oh ... flashback ...    ... please don't share this on ST.n ... but here is Christopher Walken in Hawaii Fiv .. er ... 5 ... er ... oh hell post 40 OH .....  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMGuuyzrj4Y

[Rincewind]

Great pics and posting mydlyf, thanks.  Interesting that they are used, I didn't read that originally.  

I looked up the Pelicans for comparison, and IIRC they were 10lbs each.  Please keep us posted once you get them mounted on a rack.  

[Mydlyfkryzis]

I had already planned for a pelican style case and built some preliminary mounting areas:



I was going for this type of setup:




the cases from the surplus store are a lot bigger than these, but for the cost, I think they will do. The cases in the above picture were from here:

http://www.imcases.com/Storm_Case_iM2200_p/epscs-im2200.htm

About $150 for a pair shipped.

If I end up not liking the larger cases, I can always get these anyway.

[Mydlyfkryzis]

I've done a little grinding today.

Took off 2 of the ribs in the case top lid and the four nubbins on the "bottom" part. I decided to leave the brass screw inserts for future use.
The bottom and top look a little rough from the grinding, and the bottom has a glue residue that is difficult to remove. I decided to line the case with a trunk liner type material rather than bust my butt trying to scrape out the glue residue.




I did it the old fashioned way, brute force. A trusty angle grinder and a lot of patience.



Here's the top lid open showing 3 compartments that are useful size, rather than 5 smaller sizes:



Here is the lid with the compartment closed, held by a piece of nylon strap slipped through a plastic loop. Simple and rattle free. I will have to try some solvents to get the rest of the glue residue off. Haven't tried anything but alcohol. But WD40 and Goo-B-Gone are my next attempts. You can see a prop on the right that has no counterpart. I am going to fabricate a slotted piece of aluminum angle for the prop to ride in to keep the lid from falling open after it is mounted to the bike. There a three screw inserts on the same side on the bottom half of the case, that is perfect for this.



I am busy the next few days, so progress will be slow. I have a Boy Scout campout next weekend (I am an ASST Scoutmaster) so it will be a couple of weeks before I have some free time to go further. Meanwhile I'll gather some materials for the work like the liner I want.

[Mydlyfkryzis]

I finally made some progress on my Cheap Case add-on. Ironically, I spent nearly $150 on hardware (all stainless) and stuff. the cases were cheap, $45 for the pair shipped.

Attached are pictures. I still have some cleaning up. The specks and white marks are just dust. I am also adding on some red LED side marker lights. I spent $12 on cheap LED signals, needed the room.





The Nuts and Bolts are all stainless, the L-Brackets are from scrap 4"x2" aluminum angle I had around. I ran a 3/8 threaded rod across to stabilize the brackets to each other.



Some 1"x1" Aluminum Angle I ground and drilled to make a retainer so the bags don't open too far. I am going to line the interior with self-stick felt or maybe thin carpeting.



The Bike is leaning a little and the handlebars are turned slightly, so the bags look like they are angled (especially the right) more than they are in person.


It is not Givi bags, but Givi stopped making brackets for my Cycle, and I am too cheap to spend the $700-$800 Dollars for them anyway. If these work as well as I hope, I may cut off my backrest and add a top bag. One of those $110 ones that look nice in the ads.


I Believe the whole setup will come just under $200 with hardware, aluminum (strap and small angle from Home Depot) and Bags. A bunch of sweat too. I cut everything either by hand, a small jigsaw, or my trusty angle grinder. The bags are not interchangeable left and right, as they are "Hand Crafted" .

 

[Black Ice]

Just listed, watertight gasket and cheap at $14.95 .... anyone got one of these? I am thinking they would be great for the KLR crowd.

Nah, KLR riders wouldn't spend that much money on anything but a heart transplant.