overlanding | The Filson Journal

person in helmet and jacket standing motorcycle up in a forest

DIY: Ammo Can Panniers

The objective of this build is to come up with a low-cost solution to the more expensive factory-produced or aftermarket panniers used on adventure touring bikes.

Most factory-produced pannier racks have become inexpensive enough and a homemade one takes considerable time to build. So we will concentrate on just the Ammo Can part of the build. The bike used in this installation came used with the factory racks installed, but the installation could be easily modified to fit almost any rack, including homemade. I chose easily available and inexpensive hardware to keep the cost down. You can substitute whatever is available locally. Also, the length of the hardware can easily be modified; if only longer bolts are available, simply cut down the excess threads.

10 Min

man pouring water into a measuring cup from a camp travel cooking supply box

How-To's

DIY Camp Chuck Box

One of the biggest challenges of any camping trip is having a proper cooking loadout. The solution is one that dates back to the 1800s Oregon Trail: the chuck box.
A chuck box is essentially a kitchen in a box. It stores your cooking stove, fuel, pots, pans, utensils, and food. When open, it offers a flat prep surface for a proper fireside meal and helps keep all of your kitchen items neatly organized in one place. Since a chuck box is portable, it’s very versatile as you can leave it the trunk of your rig or set it up on any flat surface. In this how-to, we’ve teamed up with Peter Capar to provide you with a full build design for a simple, customizable, chuck box using a single sheet of plywood.

10 Min