Want to replace my Coleman cooler/dry box with and actual dry box. Question is regarding the width. Current cooler is 35" wide and just touches the inside sides of the raft when in place. Most of the dry boxes I'm looking at are 36" wide. Will having the box fit snug inside the boat do damage? I wouldn't think so, but thought I'd ask. Fully inflated, a 36" box would have to be pushed into place whereas my cooler falls in and is slightly loose.
I would not want an aluminum dry box with corners rubbing on the sides of my inflatable when fully inflated, whatever material it was made out of. That just seems like a situation begging for a patch/repair job in the future. If I were to do it, I might put some patch/wear guards in place first, just for some preventative maintenance.
Thanks, was just going to post an answer to my own question. Not going to force it. I'll find one 35" or I'll have one custom made. BDD, any suggestions for box makers?
Don't know the specs but I have always been partial to Recretec or NRS for quality products and customer service.
Many of my expedition rafting buddies (Grand Canyon, etc.) just use coolers instead of dry boxes. Coolers are lighter and cheaper and in reality, often about as dry as a dry box. If you flip in big water, even a 'dry box' often isn't totally dry. The downside is that you loose some internal storage space with a cooler because of the insulated walls but the good news is since you don't need the insulation, you can just get cheap ones. Keep a couple cam straps around the lid and you'll be about as dry as an expensive dry box.
Before I bought my dry box, I was considering one of these: http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/tractor-supply-coreg;-chest-32-in The local store had several, including a diamond plate aluminium one that fit my size requirements and I thought they were pretty well constructed. I believe it was this model that had a top with a seal similar to a dry box that would work reasonably well. About $99, much cheaper than a custom dry box. Wish I'd bought that instead of the cheap Chinese dry box I got instead.
I was into dry boxes for a while. Then I realized, that nice as they are, they can be expensive, may not be readily available, and don't often come in the sizes you need. A cooler can double as a dry box and cooler, are lighter, less expensive and readily available. And as Ray said, they float.
Both our frames, dry boxes and fire pan were built by Cy Wert / Cambridge Welding. He's a super good guy. You can reach him at 208-257-3589. He also builds for Cascade Outfitters.
A cooler doesn't keep things dry, it keeps them cold and usually wet. Dry box will keep things dry and the cooler can be left to serve its intended purpose. A number of things could be done to my cooler to try and make it more like a dry box but I have enough shit to tinker with as it is. Besides, then I'd have to buy another cooler to serve the purpose of keeping things cold while my original cooler is being used to keep things dry.....
The one I saw was strong enough to stand on or bolt a seat to. It's been a while and I can't be sure the one I linked is the same one I looked at, very similar. Their diamond plate boxes were far superior in retrospect to the POS dry box I bought off the internet.
