I don't know what your exact needs are, but there are very simple ways
to mount USB drives, such as pmount.
Celejar
Ideally, what I am looking for is a file manager which has a trash icon
and has facilities for managing usb devices. I have the additional
constraint that it shouldn't use gvfs like thunar and pcmanfm...
Actually, I found tux commander from debian repositories and it seems
like I would be able to use it based on my needs (though I can't see a
trash icon). I will have a look at pmount as well....
S. Sahin