You’re driving around the outback, and you hear your camping equipment sliding around the rear of your ute. Or maybe, you’re spending 10 minutes trying to find that power tool when you’re working, and it’s getting very frustrating. Either way, disorganization can make you want to bite your fingernails, and it costs time and money. It’s not until you organise your ute storage boxes that you realise how much more convenient life can get.
There are many benefits of organising ute storage boxes, such as saving time by making everything more accessible, avoiding breaking items, optimising your space, improving the looks of your vehicle, and reducing the chance of losing equipment and tools. No matter whether you have a canopy, tray or toolbox, here’s what you can do to organise them.
Contents
Tips for Organising Your Ute Storage
Quarterly Storage Audit
When was the last time you did an audit of your camping gear or tools? A messy toolbox is stuffed with many unnecessary things, such as that old rusty screwdriver that you refuse to let go of. We all have an item or two such as these. So before you start organising, take out everything you don’t need. Storing tools you barely use? Just store them elsewhere. Camping stuff looking worn down? Just throw it out. The fewer items you own, the easier they are to organise.
Assess what you use regularly, and make sure they’re within reach. Throw out broken items or those you don’t use, and those you hardly use, just place them in a storage box inside your garage.
Review Your Current Ute Storage Setup
What’s your ute toolbox like? Do you throw everything in it and hope for the best? Hopefully, that’s not the case, as organisation comes down to smart storage. What’s smart storage? It’s storage where everything is placed neatly, and you know where to find it effortlessly. It also has to do with accessibility. You want to be able to access everything you need with ease. Think about how you use your ute toolbox and what will make it even more functional.
Choose the Right Toolbox
Okay, so you’ve audited your storage, thrown out the redundant items and reviewed your current setup. Now it’s time to discuss what your options are. Where do you even start? Ute toolboxes are categorised by material, size and where they’re meant to be placed. You can find steel and aluminium options, both of which are available as canopy toolboxes, drawer toolboxes, undertray toolboxes, and full-open toolboxes. If you’re storing a mix of small and large pieces of equipment or tools, a ute canopy may be the way to go so you have the necessary space. If you only need some space for the bobs and bits, you’ll want something with drawers.
Sorting and Grouping
Once you’ve decided what toolbox is ideal for you, you can start organising. But what’s the process like? First and foremost, lay all of your equipment out and group it by function or type. For instance, place the screwdrivers and bits in one ground, and your camping gear in another group. From there, you can organise by size or shape for easy storage. Place the large items in the big drawers, and the smaller items in smaller compartments. You can make the most out of the space by storing small items head to toe.
Take it a Step Further
If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably better organised than ever. You’ve cut down on gear, reviewed your setup, and bought yourself a brand-new ute storage solution to make your life easier. What else can you do? Well, take it a step further and focus on being neat all the time. You can label your compartments and tools so things never get messy again. Deck your ute toolbox with lights so you can see everything at night. Better yet, you can get even more storage by getting an underbody toolbox for items like ropes and tie-down straps.
The Conclusion
The ute is the ultimate workhorse for tradies and can be a key part of a camper’s lifestyle as it takes them whenever they need to go, plus hauls all of their valuable equipment. There are many different types of ute storage solutions, such as trays, canopies and toolboxes. But before you decide on buying any of these storage solutions, see whether the steps above can help you make the most out of your already available space.
Canopies are typically the heavy-duty solution, as they provide the most space and are arguably the most durable option. Toolboxes can then be implemented inside the canopy, or they can act as a stand-alone option. Consider your needs and your budget to have a good idea of what you should be looking for when shopping.