patrol box plans

[LauraT7 13]

Someone recently wrote me asking if I ever found an answer to a request for plans for patrol boxes - since many troops use them, i thought i would post the ones I found here - incase anyone else was interested -

 

 

We were looking at building or buying chuck boxes, and I pulled anything remotely useful. My son and i like to build stuff, and with that in mind, I pulled ideas from both pre-made plastic units and hand built plans. We never did actually get new boxes, and i think we are going toward using rubbermade totes or something, as every campout with us has different equipment needs.

 

One thing i would NOT suggest, which is what we have - a wooden box built to fit inside a BSA (old) issued canvas pack with shoulder straps - these are approx 2' tall, 18" wide and about 10" deep - a plastic cutting board is the 'lid' - they are too awkward & heavy for the younger boys to carry by themselves, and not designed to be carried by two. they were originally designed at time ( 1970's - 80's) when our troop did ALOT of canoeing - and for that, they are nice - as they can be portaged by 1 large boy or adult, but the majority of time they would ride in the canoe, strapped to a brace by the pack straps. Weight was not a big issue, as they weren't carried a long way. they did not hold food - only equipment. They make good 'camp chairs' but have no legs, so you have to stand on your head to dig things out of the bottom of the tall box.

 

http://www.blueskykitchen.com/Grubby%20One%20chuck%20box%20brochure.html

 

this one is particularly nice, as it's plans are done on Excel and you can adjust the compartments to your equipment

 

http://www.troop168.net/forms/patrolboxC.htm

 

A commonly used style

 

http://members.aol.com/lwjones/table.htm

 

I actually found these at Sam's Club and once online somewhere - for about $40 - plastic and pre-made

 

http://www.domsoutdoor.com/cgi-bin/cgiitmls?m=ThisP&p=1.012886&l=2#Order

 

another plastic one

 

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=77355

 

This one was my personal favorite, an upright design -

 

http://www.angen.net/~pack21/T21_Kitchen_Box.html

 

there are some other sites - and may be new ones since my search - look for "camp kitchens", "chuck boxes" "patrol boxes" - lots of them will lead you to kitchen utensils and equipment - it takes awhile to sift through them all.

We found that our troop needs the 'big boxes' for car camping and camporees, but really just needs to pack individual equipment for most of our trips. the boys don't like hauling all that junk. We don't have a trailer, and don't always use our troop bus ( hard to find drivers) so with all the packing and unpacking, they'd rather take individual items as needed. but they are also learning that this means that sometimes, something important gets 'left behind'. it's all a learning process!

 

Good luck!