I'm quite pleased how this arrangement worked out, as it was a last minute setup before riding cross country. In the past I've strapped all manner of dry bags to the pillion with varying results. Last trip in April was a roll top duffel that worked, but I ended up fighting with it moving around and it made getting into the panniers annoying.
Another reason for this change was taking heated gear with me. Heated gear can be a bit fragile and isn't particularly fond of being wadded up under compression. I've had wiring joints internal to the fabric come apart. Folding them up nicely in a self supported tote fixed this potential problem. I was also able to put some heavier spares (stator) in the bottom before putting the gear above.
This is a 5 gal, $10 Craftsman tote from Lowes that is held firmly in place by Rok straps in a X arrangement on either side. The cutouts in the tote where the straps are looped were already there, I didn't need to modify anything. Now having a flat surface to work with, I was able to Bungie net some camping gear on top of the bin. I didn't have to fight with this setup moving about and getting into the panniers wasn't a problem.
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