This Storage Crate Unfolds Into Two Vehicle Traction Boards

A storage crate usually has one job: sit in the back of your vehicle and make the chaos look rectangular. The Rock Tamers RT700 Traction Crate has apparently been dissatisfied with that career path. This camping storage box comes apart and unfolds into two traction boards, giving your cargo container something useful to do when the road starts behaving like pudding.

That is a wonderfully specific promotion. One minute it is minding the camping supplies; the next, it is being asked to help with the entire vehicle. Your reusable grocery bag would like to be excluded from this performance review.

The appeal is easy to understand if you have ever packed a car for a weekend away and somehow needed the luggage capacity of a regional airport. Every object demands its own little patch of floor. Then the emergency equipment arrives, looking bulky and important, and something pleasant gets voted out. Usually a chair. Sometimes your optimism.

A storage box with a second assignment

The RT700 combines an everyday packing task with a piece of recovery equipment you hope will stay unemployed. Its hinged lid opens for loading, while removable inserts divide the interior. The cream lattice sides and dark top give it the look of a milk crate that has spent considerable time researching trail gear.

There is a pleasing lack of mystery here. You can see the construction. It is a box made from parts that have another shape available to them. No app, charging ritual, or motivational onboarding sequence is required to appreciate why that might be handy.

Think about your own packing habits before falling in love with the transformation. If you already use a crate for odds and ends, this concept has an obvious place to live. If everything you own fits into carefully sized drawers, introducing a new box could turn into a weekend of measuring and mild personal conflict.

The other question is access. Emergency gear is considerably more charming when you can reach it without unloading every possession onto a muddy roadside. Where this crate sits in your vehicle matters at least as much as how satisfying it looks in the garage.

The box becomes the boards

Rock Tamers describes a three-step conversion into a pair of traction boards. Each board has two hinges and a patterned surface intended for grip on loose or slippery terrain. The folding arrangement is the central trick: long equipment spends its downtime wrapped around storage space.

It is a clever piece of spatial bargaining. The vehicle does not get bigger, but one object is allowed to serve two purposes. That makes more sense than buying yet another organizer to organize the organizers, which is how a surprising number of garages become small plastic cities.

There is a practical catch hidden inside all that cleverness: whatever is in the crate needs somewhere to go when you take it apart. Packing loose little objects in separate pouches would make that transition less annoying. Nobody wants to discover the location of all twelve spare batteries individually while already having a bad afternoon.

Here are the questions worth asking before assigning it a spot in your loadout:

Does your current packing arrangement already include a similarly sized crate?
Can you reach it without excavating the whole cargo area?
Where would the contents go while the crate is in recovery mode?
Would you actually practice converting it before leaving home?

Measure the trunk before making promises

The numbers below are the manufacturer’s listed dimensions. They are useful for the unglamorous part of buying gear: standing by your vehicle with a tape measure while a neighbor wonders what you are building.

Configuration	Listed dimensions
Assembled crate	21.5 × 13.25 × 13.25 inches
Interior	19 × 10.5 × 10.75 inches
Each unfolded board	45 × 13 × 2.5 inches

Leave room to open the lid, too. A container that technically fits but cannot be opened is less an organizational victory than a tiny architectural grievance. If your cargo space has a sloping hatch or a low shelf, a cardboard mock-up can be a more useful shopping companion than wishful thinking.

Also consider what you intend to put inside. Tools, cooking equipment, and small campsite necessities all create different packing problems. The right arrangement is the one you can remember when tired, hungry, and trying to find something without announcing a full inventory to the forest.

Several smaller tricks come along

The supplied divider inserts also serve as compact shovels or anti-slip seating surfaces. Other details include ruler markings, bottle openers, and holes for locks or tethers. Materials include a polypropylene blend, nylon components, TPU latches, and stainless-steel pins.

Those extra functions are pleasant, but the folding storage idea is what earns the attention. A bottle opener is not a reason to reorganize the vehicle. You probably own several already, including at least one currently hiding in a drawer beneath mysterious furniture hardware.

We would think of the smaller tools as conveniences. A compact insert and a dedicated shovel are different things to pack, hold, and work with. Choosing between them should depend on the trip you are planning, rather than the thrill of checking another box on a feature list.

Likewise, an interesting mechanism does not automatically settle the question of recovery performance. We have not tested this crate under a vehicle. Anyone shopping primarily for demanding recovery use should compare the manufacturer’s operating guidance and suitability with their actual vehicle and conditions. A tidy packing solution still needs to be the right tool for the job.

Who would enjoy this kind of overachievement?

The strongest audience seems to be the camper who enjoys making every piece of gear justify its presence. There is a particular satisfaction in an object that stays useful between its more dramatic assignments. It is the equipment equivalent of the friend who brings snacks and also remembers the jumper cables.

For someone who simply needs a box to carry things from the house to the car, all this transformation may be unnecessary. That is fine. Not every storage purchase needs a secret identity. Sometimes the ideal crate is the one you already own and have finally remembered to empty.

Product: Rock Tamers RT700 Traction Crate.
Main function: storage that converts into two hinged traction boards.
Includes removable dividers with additional camp uses.
Best considered as part of a planned packing and recovery setup.

Rock Tamers lists the RT700 at $349.99 on its product page. That makes this a considered equipment purchase, not an impulse upgrade to the laundry basket. Its value rests on whether both main functions fit your trips and your available space.

Manufacturer images courtesy of Rock Tamers, via New Atlas.

Pros	Cons and trade-offs
Storage and recovery functions share one footprint.	Contents need relocating when the crate becomes boards.
Removable inserts help organize small gear.	Fit and lid clearance need checking in your vehicle.
Several useful camp functions are built in.	Extra functions may not replace dedicated tools for your trip.
An unusual answer to crowded cargo space.	The price requires more justification than an ordinary storage box.