Best Budget Storage Boxes for Overlanding

Budget Storage Boxes for Overlanding

The most durable plastic storage boxes for overlanding and camping come at a fraction of the price of a premium solution – here’s our top pick tried and tested.

Budget storage boxes for overlanding? Is there such a thing? When it comes to boxes for overlanding or camping trips there is a huge choice, what size and type you get will depend on the gear you intent to carry and how durable you need it to be – is it just for storage inside the vehicle or will you be strapping it/them on the roof rack?

In this post we’ll be looking at how we chose our boxes and why we went with a budget option.

Do a Google image search for ‘boxes for overlanding‘ and there is a mountain of choices, no doubt the ones that will catch your eye will be those fabulous boxes from the likes of Roam/23 Zero/75 Built and similar [and we all know Yeti products of course]

Boxes like these have some distinct advantages:

• Durability & Build quality
• Can be used to sit on/cook on
• Can be strapped to the roof of the vehicle
• More temperature resistant
• Some have gasket seals [ie: dustproof and waterproof]
• Longevity
• Lockable
• Heavy duty fixtures
• They look damn good!

There is however one disadvantage and it’s a big one – PRICE. Some of these boxes and containers run into hundreds of euros/pounds/dollars so are they worth it? Well, as long as you have the budget then yes they are, top quality gear comes at a price, buy right and buy once as the saying goes but what if you’re on a budget or are simply looking for a budget storage solution for your overlanding needs?

There are plenty of other options.

Probably the best bang for your buck is going to be Frontrunner ‘Cub’ and ‘Wolf’ boxes, there’s not much to them but you have the brand name, strength and overlanders swear by them. In Europe though these Frontrunner boxes are pushing €50,00 euros per unit so if you need say, three boxes like we did €150,00 euros is still very steep for plastic boxes.

Budget Boxes

Scouring the internet for budget alternatives there were quite a few options out there but by the time you throw the delivery on top [boxes are obviously bulky to ship] the most favourable find for us was on Amazon.

The manufacturer is ‘Iris Ohyama’ although these boxes will no doubt be rebranded too.

Size Options:

The Iris Ohyama boxes come in packs of three and start at around €21,00 for the smallest up to €58,00 for the largest 68ltr. We’d had these bookmarked for a while but were dubious about what the quality would be like. Needing storage for items around the home we pulled the trigger on a set of three 50ltr boxes which gave the opportunity to look at how sturdy the boxes were and if they’d do the job in the back of the Mitsubishi.

The quick answer is yes, the plastic is surprisingly strong/rigid for the price range and you can get plenty in them as well as the size choices you have to begin with. For internal storage, food items, clothing, tools etc these boxes will do fine.

They are not waterproof, reinforced, indestructible beasts like the overlander’s dream storage solution, nor do they carry the price tag in fact you can get 12 of these [50ltr] boxes for the price of one 52ltr ROAM box. The difference is that the ROAM is going to last you a very long time as it’s premium top quality gear, these budget boxes probably won’t.

For a budget solution though the Ohyama’s are a good starting point, the weakest part may be the clasps on the lid however the boxes are functional, they do the job and three boxes for €31,00 euros? They may well be a good stop-gap to organise your rig until you build up to something more durable then you can throw them in your workshop and use them for something else.

Which plastic boxes are you using for your storage solutions?