This may be the single greatest piece of gear a fly angler can own.
As I have said on many occasions, it’s called Gink and GASOLINE for a reason. I live in my truck. Last week alone I drove over 5000 miles with my Adipose skiff in tow. This year I have driven from Atlanta, GA to Idaho, twice! I camp, I fish, I float and most of all I drive.
I’m not complaining. It’s a hell of a lot of fun, but take a minute and think about the logistics of it. A single road trip may last two or three weeks away from home. It’s going to involve photography, video, writing, online publishing, camping, cooking, boating and fishing of every imaginable type. It requires a mountain of gear.
Much of this gear is really expensive. Cameras, microphones, lights, computer, iPad, not to mention better than a dozen fly rods and reels and, of course, I have to have a guitar. All of that expensive, and fragile, gear rolling around in the back of my truck for weeks on end. Baking in the sun. Sitting in plain view at put ins and sketchy roadside pull offs. My life savings in an unlocked truck waiting for a shuttle driver. It has been a nightmare for years.
Well, not any longer. I recently upgraded from a ’98 Subaru Forester to a 2002 Toyota Sequoia. When I did, I knew it was time to get a Truckvault. I have wanted one since I saw my buddy Michael White’s Truckvault, which I wrote about last year. I had spent plenty of time drooling over the Truckvault site and knew that they made custom units for SUVs as well as pickups. I knew the time had come.
I logged on and started the process of designing my own Truckvault.
The site makes it easy and some of the options are mind blowing. Anything is possible. Mine is a two drawer unit ten inches deep and fifty inches long. It spans the width of the vehicle and is covered in carpet which matches the truck. When you look in the window, you don’t even know it’s there. It has combination locks with key backups. The drawers pull out to full extension and are lined with foam and have customizable dividers. The unit is rated to hold three-thousand pounds on top and is fire safe.
It also sports a 600 watt, sine wave power inverter which delivers 12 volt DC and 120 volt AC power which is more stable than household current. Perfect for charging batteries, running my computer and hard drives, external lighting for video or my guitar amp if the peace and quiet is getting to me. Best of all, there are outlets inside and outside of the unit. I can leave my computer charging and locked safely away while I float the river.
My Truckvault has about thirty-six square feet of secured space. To put that in perspective, one side holds up to two dozen fly rods, including two-handers, and as many reels, two fishing packs, my guitar and a bottle of rye whisky. The other drawer carries three DSLR cameras and six lenses in Pelican cases, my computer, iPad and night vision goggles. That’s what is actually in there right now. (Yes, I travel with night vision and no, I will not explain why. It should be obvious.)
All of that gear stays safe, organized, and conveniently accessible in the Truckvault.
No more digging and rummaging through back of the truck for a fly reel that will turn up a month later under the driver’s seat. No more gear crushed under heavy cases. I have the gear I need, organized and safe, right where I can get at it in a hurry. The ultimate in function, convenience and security.
I’ve found a couple of unexpected perks to the Truckvault as well. It actually lets me pack more gear in the truck. By loading the Truckvault and then loading gear, bags and coolers on top, my packing is more efficient and I get more stuff inside. I also never have to stack on top of my cooler, so I can get a beer whenever I want without moving gear. The top of the Truckvault is on level with the back seats when they are folded forward, which means I can still sleep in the back of the truck.
Living in Atlanta, I have never been able to leave anything in my truck. Not even pocket change. A friend of mine had a cinderblock thrown through his windshield for a pair of cheap sunglasses. With the Truckvault, I can load my gear the night before, or leave it there until the morning when I come back late. No worries. The locks are pry bar proof and it’s bolted to the bed of the truck. I sleep like a baby with my gear inside.
If any of this sounds good to you, check out the Truckvault site. These units are not cheap but the quality is the very best. They are bullet proof beautifully finished. I ordered mine online and when it came it slid right in the back of my truck with a perfect fit. I was blown away.
If you decide to get a Truckvault, I promise you will never regret it.
These videos show some of the security features of the Truckvault.
Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!
While not as big as a truck vault, one of the reasons I really like my new Honda Ridgeline is because it comes with a built in trunk in the bed of the truck. Most people don’t know it is there. the6 cylinder truck can comfortably pull my Ankona skiff at 80 mph down the highway. ButI really enjoy the peace of mind knowing my valuables are locked away out of sight when my truck and trailer are sitting at a launch ramp for the day or days at a time if I am camping.
Ditto. 2010 Ridgeline pulls my 15″ Stealthcraft, rod tubes fit under rear seat and all of my gear stowes neatly in the in bed trunk. 160,000 miles and going strong.
Dangit Louis. I didn’t even ask if you wanted to play my guitar. No wonder you thought it was perfectly normal that I’d haul a guitar to Oregon.
No worries Neil. Bring it next year.
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