converting a storage box into a cargo box

[Frank S]

A friend of mine has been hauling oil well completion explosives for several months now. there are 3 components to these the guns which are long tubes filled with charges, the detonators and the igniters. according to the regulations all 3 must be contained in separate secure areas the guns are on pallets and strapped down to the trailer bed then tarped the detonators are on small pallets and hauled in a drome box or the igniters can be hauled in the drome you can haul the guns and the detonators or the guns and the igniters on the same vehicle but not the detonators and the igniters. so generally the igniters are hauled in another vehicle meaning 2 trucks must be dispatched to meet the customer's needs, which is quite costly.
But until recently the customer had been telling the drivers to just put the igniters in the cabs of their trucks since they are small boxes and easily hidden from sight. The company my friend is leased on with refuses to allow this since it is not legal nor is it safe. Another hauling company had been doing this for the customer, but they got caught by the DOT when one of their hotshot trucks was involved in a minor accident
So the customer asked my friend if there was a legal safe way to haul all 3 components at the same time. As it turns out the tractor is considered as 1 vehicle and the trailer considered as another vehicle. According to the Federal Highway safety commission if the tractor is so equipped with the proper means to securely haul cargo.
so, He and I came up with converting an underbody trailer storage compartment into a small drome box and will mount it on the tractor behind the sleeper.
This is how the conversion looks the box is equipped with camlock door hardware a padlock and a security inspection seal can be attached to the locks bar

Mock up of the inside showing how even a small package can be secured in place

We can even utilize the shortened load bars I made, in it

the completed conversion. E tracks installed with 1/4" stainless structural watertight pop rivets the plywood lining is held in place with embedded T nuts and 1//4 20 stainless screws all rivets and screws are sanded flush on the inside so as not to cause damage to the cartons

the view from the back side

[DIYer]

Thanks Frank S! We've added your Cargo Box to our Storage and Organization category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Cargo Box by Frank S

tags: storage

[metric_taper]

That's pretty clever Frank. Thinkin outside the box.

[johnbazemore]

A friend of mine has been hauling oil well completion explosives for several months now. there are 3 components to these the guns which are long tubes filled with charges, the detonators and the igniters. according to the regulations all 3 must be contained in separate secure areas the guns are on pallets and strapped down to the trailer bed then tarped the detonators are on small pallets and hauled in a drome box or the igniters can be hauled in the drome you can haul the guns and the detonators or the guns and the igniters on the same vehicle but not the detonators and the igniters. so generally the igniters are hauled in another vehicle meaning 2 trucks must be dispatched to meet the customer's needs, which is quite costly.
But until recently the customer had been telling the drivers to just put the igniters in the cabs of their trucks since they are small boxes and easily hidden from sight. The company my friend is leased on with refuses to allow this since it is not legal nor is it safe. Another hauling company had been doing this for the customer, but they got caught by the DOT when one of their hotshot trucks was involved in a minor accident
So the customer asked my friend if there was a legal safe way to haul all 3 components at the same time. As it turns out the tractor is considered as 1 vehicle and the trailer considered as another vehicle. According to the Federal Highway safety commission if the tractor is so equipped with the proper means to securely haul cargo.
so, He and I came up with converting an underbody trailer storage compartment into a small drome box and will mount it on the tractor behind the sleeper.
This is how the conversion looks the box is equipped with camlock door hardware a padlock and a security inspection seal can be attached to the locks bar

Mock up of the inside showing how even a small package can be secured in place

We can even utilize the shortened load bars I made, in it

the completed conversion. E tracks installed with 1/4" stainless structural watertight pop rivets the plywood lining is held in place with embedded T nuts and 1//4 20 stainless screws all rivets and screws are sanded flush on the inside so as not to cause damage to the cartons

the view from the back side

If this would be for DOT approval wouldn't the metal and metal lashing be a sparking source? Also it the caps came in a metal ammo can. Would it not be better to have gritty spray in bed liner that is higher then the connection points so that there is no way for metal to metal spark? Like with ammo crates/cans needing to be on a pallet so that they are not causing metal to metal friction as an ignition source. The load bars could be coated with bedliner to also prevent metal to metal contact. But also I think with seperate compartments completely enclosed from each other also might meet DOT, I would double check.

[Frank S]

If this would be for DOT approval wouldn't the metal and metal lashing be a sparking source? Also it the caps came in a metal ammo can. Would it not be better to have gritty spray in bed liner that is higher then the connection points so that there is no way for metal to metal spark? Like with ammo crates/cans needing to be on a pallet so that they are not causing metal to metal friction as an ignition source. The load bars could be coated with bedliner to also prevent metal to metal contact. But also I think with seperate compartments completely enclosed from each other also might meet DOT, I would double check.

To answer a few of your questions the uses for this cargo box is not for class A explosives, therefore none of the DOD Ammo and Explosives regs apply.
So far as the DOT is concerned as long as all contents within an enclosure or on a flatbed vehicle are properly secured with a minimum quantity of approved securement devices and if hauling anything hazmat requiring placards the proper placards are displayed in the proper places, then the DOT could care less, providing you do not mix and match certain items on the same vehicle or unit.
Some things cannot be hauled in or on the same trailer, truck, buss, or aircraft no matter how well they are compartmentalized
The need to rubberize or coat the metal within the containers has never been an issue the Load bar I had in the picture was there just to show the possibility of being able to utilize them as an additional means of securement should the need arize.
Now I need to make a correction to my first post.
I mentioned a couple things in err. You can haul the guns and the igniters on the same vehicle, or you can haul the igniters and the detonators on the same vehicle but separated. you cannot haul the guns and the detonators on the same unit. so the cargo box instead of being made to haul the ignitors it is for the detonators, Sorry for posting this incorrectly. the cardboard boxes the detonators come in are about 6x7x5" I have one of the empty boxes and up to about 72 to possibly 80 of these boxes of that size could be packed into the cargo box I converted. a pallet of the ignitors can range from 3ft by 4ft by 2 ft high to 4ft by 4ft by 2 ft high so those go inside of the much larger drome box mounted on the trailer.
My friend and I have spent the past 3 months researching work arounds to the haulage regulations. At one time A&E from the DOD tried to get involved inserting their 2 cents worth of BS. They stated and drome box on the tractor had to be x,y,z, in size but they were quoting regs for Class A explosives as if the box were to be used to haul ammunitions or high explosives which it will not. However, there were a few things we still needed to address like the box had to have provisions to secure any content it had to be watertight lockable doors with a way to attach a metal or plastic inspection seal. These alone rules out the possibility of using a bargin basement storage box such as you might fiind at Tractor supply or Northern tool, the box alone cost nearly $1,500.00
Here it is mounted and ready to go for inspection and approval

[Frank S]

Well yesterday my friend drove his truck to a certified DOT examination and inspection faciality to have the cargo box inspected and certified.
the inspector looked at the unit and asked are they serious? What could possibly need inspecting on that box? Then Bob handed him the document with the list of27 line items pertaining to the box. The guy skimmed over the list and commented, hell I'm surprised they didn't specify the minimum size grounding strap but you would have had that covered with the braded copper strap you have bolted to an existing 1/2" chassis grounding lug. After the guy had checked all off all of the items on the list He asked now just why did I have to inspect such a well made well mounted box?
Bob then told him what was going on that it was design built to meet a certain customer's specific requirements while having to interpret the actual meaning of a few government regs, the transport company he is leased onto needed the paper trail to satisfy their insurance company. We should hear by the middle of next week if every T has been dotted and all of the I's have been crossed for approval, a little more involved that simply crossing the T's and dotting the I's

[Frank S]

They are trying to run him ragged now that he can legally and safely haul all 3 well completion explosive components. in anticipation of the possibility of rigging up a second truck we have picked up some of the componentry for another set up. One of his friends is giving some serious thought to have one made for his truck. Our 1 drawback is the setup currently cannot be used to carry the load chains and binders under it due to the regulations and restrictions currently in place. I may have come up with a workaround to those restrictions but that remains to be determined by pencil pushers