Craig, your canisters look great! I definitely want one for backpacking, and while I appreciate your care not to use this site to promote your business, I think it's appropriate for me to
link your website in the context of this thread.
I appreciate you pointing me in the direction of bear resistant dry boxes made for rafting, as that's getting me closer to what I want for the camper. In particular, the
IGBC certified dry boxes from Mad Cow Metal Works look like they'll probably work for me. I still need to think through whether another cooler might be a better option due to versatility, though.
In terms of innovations that are lacking in existing products, I'd be happy to help brainstorm. Here are some things that come quickly to mind...
Internal organization, i.e. compartmentalization of some sort. Options for accomplishing this could be inexpensive to produce while adding a lot of value to the product. There seem to be some things available, along the lines of a tray, but there's definitely room for innovation there.
Stackability/lashing. I like to keep the large items in my camper secured in a manner that makes efficient use of space while preventing shifting during rough transit. To this end, I'd love to have a two or three dry boxes that stack, i.e. the base of one nests into the top of the lid of another so that it won't slide off. Additionally, I'd like to secure them to each other and to the floor and a vertical surface with cam straps. I don't think that would necessitate specific attachment points, but it might be worth thinking out where straps would be effective in the design.
Locking. Many bear resistant containers require locking with a key. I'd prefer a keyless lock as I'm generally not concerned with humans removing the contents and keys are just more stuff to deal with and potentially misplace.