Notes about things regarding scuba diving that I have come to know.
Our DiveMobile
When we began diving in 2005 we took a page from our camping experience and did what we could to streamline how we handled our dive gear. That involved among other things how we clean, store and haul all of the toys this sport entails. Initially our primary dive platform was a long bed Aerostar and it did a nice job. After a few years and nearly a quarter million miles it was time to say goodbye and the search for a replacement began. One day when roaming car lots I tripped over this beast and I liked it so much that I let the bank buy it for me.
A fair amount of what you see loaded stays in place from dive outing to dive outing. Our diving is for all intents and purposes shore diving at fresh and salt water sites around New England, primarily in southern Maine. More often than not we don all of our gear right off the back of the van and return with it to limit the handling. Some sites warrant cylinder changes near the water.
This page is intended to share some of what we carry and how we do so. It's an adaptable system. Sometimes I might bring a hand truck for a remote entry and other times a full picnic cooler comes along. it all depends on the outing. When getting home from a day of diving we can get things all cleaned and hung to dry in about 40 minutes. That includes replenishing consumables in the van and setting some things up for the next outing. Diving from this platform 5 or more times per week in season is not uncommon. I'm showing it here with my gear. If my wife joins me the additional 2 totes, gear bag and what-not pretty much fills it in. I hope you can find an idea or 2 here that will make your dive trips more enjoyable.
The rear bench seat hasn't been installed in years. This vehicle is mainly used as a truck for diving and other tasks like hauling rubbish to the town transfer station. Up front on the remaining bench seat we usually have extra towels, dive log binders and other needs of the day, like lunch and beverages.
The next thing that goes in is this curbing. It helps define the cargo bed so things stay in place. it actually overhangs the step wells and adds some usable bed space.
Keeping the heavy load outboard and between the axles makes for a well balanced vehicle and keeps the back door area clear for preparations and gearing up.
If it's a trip that will require lots of air, 2 more cylinders fit between the cradles with the boots facing forward with a towel in-between to take up the slack.
The orange box is the save-a-dive kit. It's stocked with tools, parts, accessories and plenty of goodies for solving problems in the field.
Not shown but under the bench seat is a red toolbox that is stocked as a first aid kit.
I'm only showing my gear here. Usually this is doubled when adding my wife's stuff.
As the totes get emptied pre-dive we each flip one over to use as a table for staging small items like mask, lights, fins & gloves. We take or clip these things after donning our BC and toss the tote in the van before heading to the water.
Fins may be loose or standing in a tote depending on my mood. The dry suit tote and garment bag may be added at this point too. As mentioned these items often double when my wife joins in.
If we pack carefully we can even bring camping gear for a week but that's a whole other story.
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