Oil Drum Panniers

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As much junk as you will ever need - that's the bike, not the luggage.    One Enfield Bullet - all loaded up and ready to go   There's a bike under there somewhere.

        Now being the kind of person who thinks recycling is good ( read skip raiding cheapskate ) what better way to save the planet and please the tree huggers than by recycling old plastic oil drums ?  Plastic drums are good, from a biker's point of view.  They don't rot, they are most certainly waterproof, they come in a range of colours and sizes, they are easy to work with, and best of all, they are free.  I found the 20 Litre drums to be just the right size for my Bullet.

One 20 Litre oil drum - just waiting for my Stanley knife. 

   First of all, you will need four oil drums.  Yes, that's right, four of 'em.  Two for the actual panniers, and two to make the lids from.  As a bonus, you also end up with two useful storage bins for the garage.

Time to cut a hole in the top.        One luggage sized hole later.

    Grab hold of a Stanley knife, or similar, and cut a luggage sized hole in the top of your oil drums.

Time to attack the other two drums      One storage box, and one pannier lid      Pannier and lid.      Lid - Bin - Pannier

Now we take the other two drums, and cut along the side in order to make both a lid for the panniers and a useful storage bin for the garage.

Picnic table and pannier      All sat happily on the bike     One stove, one table, one pannier, one cylinder.

   There are several ways of attaching the lid to the panniers.  I pop-riveted a stainless steel strip inside, with a 8mm bolt sticking up.  A pair of thumbwheels hold the lid in place.  When camping, the pannier can be filled with heavy objects ( spare boots, spare stove fuel, etc. ) and the lid attached upside down.  This makes an excellent camp table.

There we have it.  Cheap and cheerful luggage.