ChimarraoMate

Question is in the title. I am hoping to uncover some possible self modifications that others have thought about that may be accomplished by a do-it-yourself-er. For me, I am seriously considering modifying my carry-on to have a surge protected power strip mounted flush to the side wall of my hard shell spinner with a retractable 10-20 ft cord. I have a power strip that I pack today, but think the side wall under the lining or between the spinner wheels would make it more accessible and use up space in the bag better. Nothing like seeing that the only available plugs in the airport are inaccessible because the seats near them are all taken. With this mod, I could plug my stuff into the side of my carry-on spinner and pull out the self reeling cord, like in some vacuum cleaners, and say pardon me, may I plug this in behind you. Bam!

Obviously I could pull an extension cord and a the a power strip out of my bag, but that is clumsy.

FYI: I usually travel with my two kids, so the multi-plug strip works best for us.

Only question is will TSA be bothered by that mod? Probably/hoping not.

Mellonc

Make the wheels retractable into wheer the current briggs riley outside handles are.... so that it doens't take up anymore room. this alone should create about 1 3/8 by 3/4 by 14 inch space. Yet, most lugguge manufacturers aren't of average intelligence to figure this out. It's like: Yes, I got straight As in college for mechanical engineering. Let me go work at this luggage company for a promising career!!!

MtlTourist

Make a spinner where the wheels are recessed in the bag, and NOT take up 2-3 inches of valuable packing space. If someone invented a true 22x14x9 model with a suiter, and had the same packing space as my 2 wheel rollaboard, I would dump my Rollaboard.

ChimarraoMate

Haha, I was thinking the same thing after writing this thread. When the handle comes up the wheels do to. When it goes down, the wheels tuck in. That would be very helpful! Not to mention, increase the usable space of a small carry on. Those few inches help a lot!

IsleOfMan

Make it not tip over... I have a Travelpro Crew 9 20". Luckily I can replace the wheels with slightly smaller rollerblade wheels to fix this... I'll get around to it eventually.

Cargojon

I would rig my B&R so that my hand actually fits into the handle opening and I don't pinch a knuckle every other time I roll it. I'm sure a good hacksaw would take care of this, but I simply can't bring myself to deface a $350 bag like that.

ricski64

LED panel that shows status with airline we're flying that particular day

Mellonc

Can you elaborate? I'm not getting the mental picture when you say "handle opening." do you mean the opening between the top of the retractable handle and the little support bar right underneath?

ChimarraoMate

I love this idea. There is a simulated car at the Epcot Center Test Track that can corner on a dime without rolling. The wheels slant out on an angle. I wonder if that would help. I read that having them closer to the edge helps, so the weight stay's more centered, and that protruding pockets in the design cause more tipping.

ChimarraoMate

I do not remember the bag, but I know that a company is using magnets to help the spinner wheels align in two set positions so that the bag will tend to glide straight as you walk along with it. I bet it would not be that difficult to drill little pockets and embed magnets in the swivels to accomplish this.

JMN57

Use the space between the handle rods to carry a small umbrella.

Have the handle have a pop out extensions on either side so you can hang a jacket on it

I too would like to see someone figure out how to get a full size spinner (22x9x14)

Put the wheels on the personal item and then make a hardside bag that is max size (22x14x9) that mates to the top of the rolling personal item and can be detached.

Cloudship

The problem with wheels, and believe me I have spent countless hours trying to figure this out - is that they take up a given amount of room. So in a spinner case, even though the wheel itself is flat, because it has to rotate, it needs a clearance area that is essentially a sphere. This sphere is what takes up so much room. If you were to put spinner wheels imbedded as much into the case as possible, you will have used up most of the volume that is being left behind when the wheels are not imbedded. So why go through the extra manufacturing costs.

I haven't completely given up on that one yet, though. For me my mods are adding handles and straps. I have discovered the lost art of Rivets! much easier than sewing.

Dianne47

The TravelPro Platinum Magna line has the magnetic wheels. They roll like a dream, just took my new 21-inch spinner to NYC over all kinds of terrain (subways, buses, hotel carpet, grates on the sidewalks, etc.) and enjoyed excellent rolling performance. The bag holds a lot, too.

Downside to this spinner is it's tippy with the deluxe tote mounted on top. Be sure to "latch" the velcro at the back of the tote when mounted on the spinner, less tipping that way. The 21-inch fits fine on WN's overhead, the tote fits under a seat.

I wish more bags had a jacket-holding bungee, that feature is really needed in winter and rainy weather.

Tizzette

I like the idea of reversing the usual strategy. The smaller bag has the wheels and it carries a non-wheeled 22x14x9. No wheels on the larger bag helps keep the weight down for those LC airlines that have 25 or 40 pound limits. Nobody ever weighs the smaller bag. Lipault actually had or has a version of this but because the large bag rides sideways on a 2 wheeled tote, it is too wide to wheel down a plane aisle. It would work better as a spinner. A problem with 2 wheeled bags being stacked using a sleeve is they are much heavier to pull than when an add a bag strap lowers the center of gravity.

Cloudship

Assuming that you have a fairly light personal item. If you are a gadget hoarder with an oversized laptop all that weight is too far back and has a torque effect against pulling.