Pelican Case for ATV Storage Box

By Bill "BillaVista" Ansell
Photography: Bill Ansell
Copyright 2012 - Bill Ansell
(click any pic to enlarge)

Introduction

There are a lot of choices available for rack storage boxes for your ATV, and a lot of custom-made setups out there as well. To add to the knowledge base here's a look at pretty unique approach I took for storage on my wife's and kids' quads.

A good friend of mine came across some surplus Pelican cases at work and I decided to put them to use for ATV storage boxes.

After several months' use, I like them so much that I plan to buy Pelican cases to outfit my new quad as well. Here's why:
This is my wife's 2011 Honda TRX420PG Canadian Trail Edition with a Pelican 1700 Long case installed, and two Rotopax 2-gallon fuel cans mounted to the lid.
 
That's one of the most notable characteristics of the Pelican cases - they are hellishly strong. In fact, they are marketed as being crushproof.
 
Which makes them plenty strong enough to mount the Rotopax fuel cans to. I simply drilled a couple of holes in the lid for each Rotopax mount, bolted the mounts to the lid, and installed the fuel cans on the mounts.
 
The fuel cans mounted to the Pelican case also add a nice big handle for opening the case.
 

Other features of the Pelican case that I like are:

  • The lid has an O-ring seal that makes the case 100% watertight and dust/dirt proof.
  • It has four big, strong, easy-to-open latches.
  • It's built with stainless steel hinges.
  • It's lockable and has stainless steel padlock protectors.
  • It's available with a 3-piece foam set.
  • It comes with a lifetime guarantee.
 
This is a shot from Pelican's website that shows the O-ring seal in the lid.
 
The case is also fully lockable, with drilled tabs moulded into the lid and case, with stainless steel guards around the padlock holes.
 
One of the other main reasons I really like this Pelican case is it's low-profile height. My wife didn't want a big tall box that would drastically alter the look of the quad, and this case is nice and sleek, even with the Rotopax fuel cans mounted on top.

The dimensions are:

Exterior Dimensions (L x W x D): 38.12" x 16.00" x 6.12" (96.8 x 40.6 x 15.5 cm)

Interior Dimensions (L x W x D) 35.75" x 13.50" x 5.25" (90.8 x 34.3 x 13.3 cm)

It has a decent amount of storage space for such a low profile box.

It measures 1.47 cubic feet.
 
Weight is about 17 lbs. but since the case is made from open-cell structural foam and totally seals it provides 136.91 lbs. of positive buoyancy (might be handy for you folks that like to cross deep water!).
 
Because of the extra weight of the full 2-gallon gas cans, I added some toolbox hinges from the local hardware store so the case's hinges can't be over-extended and the lid can be locked in place when open.
 
Despite the heavy gas cans, the whole setup is really solid and secure.
 
The big latches are easy to open and close, which is especially nice in the cold when you have gloves on.
 
The whole thing is pretty sleek.
 
And the Pelican case is rated from -40°F to 210°F (-40°C to 99°C).
 
I used a combination of straps and bolts to secure the case to the rear rack.
 

For sure this case won't work for everyone, especially not those who want a really big box to store a lot of stuff.

But at $150-175 (depending where you buy) they could be a good choice for someone looking to carry just the essentials in a waterproof, indestructible, low-profile box.
 

This is a Pelican 1520 case, bolted down to the rear rack of my son's Yamaha Kodiak 350 4x4 IRS.
 
It has the same waterproof, bulletproof construction as the larger case (and all Pelican cases for that matter).
 
It's deeper than my wife's 1700 case, but obviously shorter too.
 

The dimensions are:

Exterior Dimensions (L x W x D): 19.78" x 15.77" x 7.41" (50.2 x 40 x 18.8 cm)

Interior Dimensions (L x W x D) 18.06" x 12.89" x 6.72" (45.9 x 32.7 x 17.1 cm)
 
It weighs 9.35 lbs.
 
Has the same super-strong stainless steel hinges.
 
Big easy-to-open latches and lockable (with padlock).
 
Mounted to the middle of the rack like this, there's room to strap down a 10 litre gas can on either side of it.
 

Interior volume measures out at 0.91 cubic feet.

Which is plenty of room for the kids to carry what they need to.

The 1520 retails for about $115.00

There are quite a few other Pelican cases that also might be suitable, depending on your needs, and they have good specs and data available on their website. I would recommend looking into the following:

  • Pelican iM3220 Storm Case - 47.20" x 16.50" x 9.20"
  • Pelican iM3200 Storm Case - 47.20" x 16.50" x 6.70"
  • Pelican 1720 Long Case - 44.37" x 16.00" x 6.12"
  • Pelican 1740 Long Case - 44.16" x 16.09" x 14.00"
  • Pelican iM3100 Storm Case - 39.80" x 16.50" x 6.70"
  • Pelican 1700 Long Case - 38.12" x 16.00" x 6.12"
  • Pelican iM2700 Storm Case - 24.60" x 19.70" x 8.60"
  • Pelican 1600 Case - 24.25" x 19.43" x 8.68"
  • Pelican iM2600 Storm Case - 21.20" x 16.00" x 8.30"
  • Pelican 1550 Case - 20.62" x 16.87" x 8.12"
  • Pelican iM2450 Storm Case - 19.20" x 15.20" x 9.00"
  • Pelican 1520 Case - 19.78" x 15.77" x 7.41"
  • Pelican iM2400 Storm Case - 19.20" x 15.20" x 7.30"

My plan for my Yamaha Grizzly 700 is to mount two of the 1520 cases side-by-side, each with a 2-gallon Rotopax mounted to the lid.

One I will use for wet and muddy trail gear, tools, etc. and the other will hold food, drinks, first aid, etc.

At least, that's the plan for now.

Total:


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