Kitty Litter Bike Panniers

I am currently shopping for some Ortlieb panniers for the rear of my bike.  However, they run upwards of $125 used.  While I shop around, I made a cheap alternative.  Panniers from 5 gallon kitty litter containers.  I stole the majority of the idea from Crazy Guy on a Bike.  However, I did deviate from his plans slightly.

24" reflective sticker:     $2.98

5/16 x 1" Hex bolts:      $1.09

5/16" - 18 Hex nuts:     $2.56

5/16" x 1-1/4 washers: $1.98

10" mini bungees:          $2.47

cold shut hooks:            $4.76

Total:                           $15.84

Kitty litter boxes: donated by Dave S. - the only man I know who owns a cat and would admit it.  

First a look at some of the tools and supplies.  Clockwise form top left: cold shut hooks, hex nuts, hex bolts, washers:  

Bungees and reflective tape:

these bungees were later returned for the ones below

Real bungees...

A picture of the Kitty Litters boxes.  They came in sexy reflective colors:

Mikita drill

Here is a look at the hooks applied to the buckets with the aforementioned hex bolts, nuts and washers.  A better look comes at the end of this post.  I drilled 7/16" holes to receive the 7/16" hex bolts. Since I am drilling through plastic I put a washer on either side (inside and out) of the bucket.  

Here is a shot of the panniers hanging on the bike just by the hooks, sans and bungees.  (Notice the bike is hanging on a (sexy bike work stand I previously constructed.) 

Here I cut the 24" reflective tape into four 6" pieces:

A look at the reflective tape applied to the buckets:  

Last, a final walk around video.  The video shows more clearly the hex bolts and the bungees that hold the buckets securely in place.