WE TEST: ASSAULT VAULT
An exterior storage solution to keep all your gear safe and secure while hitting the trails.
We’d all like to head onto the trails and into the great outdoors with every tool and widget, but that comes with a few challenges. The first is weight and the second is where to fit it all. Apart from leviathan off-road rigs like the Ford Excursion or Chevy Suburban, most 4x4’s have limited storage space, which is usually dedicated to recovery equipment, safety essentials, spare parts, tools, a small cooler, and personal items with little room for anything else.
Our CJ-7 Stinky Jeep is no different. It’s now starting to burst at the seams and the Assault Vault was one of the solutions we looked at recently that would hopefully solve our ‘space’ issue. To begin with, and as a disclaimer, we recommend carrying a spare tire on any off-road vehicle but as diameters and weights increase, there comes a point when learning how to stitch up a tire to get you home should outweigh (literally) packing a mammoth spare.
We can’t say when that point is for everyone but for us, an 80 kg (176 lb) spare tire and wheel is something we just don’t bother with for lighter runs and an arsenal of repair patches, plugs, thread and glues come with us instead. Why mention this? Well, the Assault
Vault is designed to take the place of the spare tire and bolts directly in place of one on the back of a JL/JK Jeep platform.
The Assault Vault we tested needed to have a bracket fabbed-up to fit it over top of the Titan Trekker fuel tank we bring along on the trail. It was an easy project for the shop and we’re glad the Assault Vault is there to cover up our hack weld job.
Accessing the Assault Vault is through a pair of Jeep hood latches, which are modified with a locking mechanism to keep the lid closed and secured. It took a few trips on the trail to get the latches settled in, but we haven’t experienced any rattles or massive water leaks. The Assault Vault is not waterproof, but we prefer it this way as it breathes well and eliminates any condensation on our gear. A rubber seal also resists rain or debris.
With its cover lowered, there’s webbing to hold all gear in place. Available options include straps to adjust the door down to whatever level is required and steel cables that are similar to the ones on pickup truck beds. We went with the cables and have found the Assault Vault cover to be the perfect platform for repairs on the trail and even to use as a dinner table - sometimes at the same time.
It has an innovative yet simple design and we’re really glad to have the Assault Vault attached to our Stinky Jeep. A place for our spare fluids, tools, chainsaw - to name a few items - makes room for growing kids and whatever else we manage to pack along with us on the trail. The price tag may seem steep, but this truly is a ‘you get what you pay for’ product and gets our stamp of approval to better manage gear.
PRICE: $999.00 USD
ASSAULTVAULTUSA.COM