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Van racking


StevenS

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Hi guys,

did anybody have an experience of making van racks?

I work as an electrician and use my van at work. As an alternative, I found this: http://www.sortimo.ie/vehicle-solutions/van-racking-solutions/ . The racks look like they could satisfy my needs, they have different sizes and there is enough place for everything. I would prefer to buy it, but many of my friends have wood racks, so I wanted to know how much time would it take me to make them by myself.

Looking forward to your answers!

Cheers

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Sortimo makes great storage boxes and commmonly Bosch tools are sold with Sortimo l boxxes. Like Tanos Systainers, l boxxes are pretty expensive. Have you looked into Dewalt tough system boxes and racks? 

 

Also, bearing in mind I have never made racking for a truck, making wood shelving is time consuming however you get to design and layout your own system.

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@KnarlyCarl might have some thoughts on this. He hasn't been here a lot recently so it may take some time for a response.

 

My two cents(having never worked out of a truck): It seems a metal system would be better because it's the support system would be thinner than wood, you have limited space already and it fills up fast. At some point you're going to be annoyed by the thickness of the wood. Is that worth the cost saving? For me, I'd rather save the money here and spend the savings on tools and live with the annoyance...but it would be damn nice having the professional rack. Maybe a hybrid setup with metal tool boxes and wood everything else? That would give you ball bearing locking drawers, all the customization and a potential(depending on the tool boxes you buy) of cost savings.

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These modular truck/van shelving looks very cool, but honestly, i've never gave them a thought and we just installed the conventional metal shelving into the new van i'm working out of now.

 

I'm constantly reorganizing things. Just today, i use a few u-bolts around a couple pieces of PVC pipe with the end capped off to hold flexible lav and water closet supply tubes, upright...

Last week i mounted my mother ship charger station, since I have power right in my van, super handy.

Did i mention i'm constantly working on this? yeah, it's a continual effort to improve my storage and workflow inside the van.

I didn't get any real time to discuss what was going to be put into the new van, i was always kept busy while my boss got the new van ready, i did strongly insist on spray foam to help moderate the temp inside and cut down on noise. I helped get that ready some, but was always out on jobs. One thing i knew I had to do was hide all the wiring behind the panels, instead of the flimsy plastic channel it was running through, so happy i did that much.

check it out if you have time:

 

 

..

 

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I don't like the stock shelves. I think putting thought into how you use your van and your most used items helps make a more efficient setup. Having a specific spot for everything makes cleanup at the end of the day go so much quicker and when you go to grab a tool it is right where it always it.

We did our van in a combo of wood, metal, and ToughSystem boxes. It has worked great! We just bought a new ProMaster and are in the process of building it out right now. I will post pics as I go.

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11 minutes ago, overanalyze said:

I don't like the stock shelves. I think putting thought into how you use your van and your most used items helps make a more efficient setup. Having a specific spot for everything makes cleanup at the end of the day go so much quicker and when you go to grab a tool it is right where it always it.

We did our van in a combo of wood, metal, and ToughSystem boxes. It has worked great! We just bought a new ProMaster and are in the process of building it out right now. I will post pics as I go.
 

 

Excellent! I, too, need to have specific spots for everything and am putting my own custom touches into how i organize things. I have different boxes such as the Ridgid procart and milwaukee 26" boxes for items that i need to keep together and bring onto the job. Other items I use a lot are in organizers, and such. I dislike having small bins for material that i need to guess how many of what I need to grab, when i can just bring the whole organizer inside and have it all right there with me... 

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2 hours ago, overanalyze said:

I don't like the stock shelves. I think putting thought into how you use your van and your most used items helps make a more efficient setup. Having a specific spot for everything makes cleanup at the end of the day go so much quicker and when you go to grab a tool it is right where it always it.

We did our van in a combo of wood, metal, and ToughSystem boxes. It has worked great! We just bought a new ProMaster and are in the process of building it out right now. I will post pics as I go.
 

Awesome stuff dude. Love the way you guys set that up!

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I can imagine reorganizing it often. I'm always moving things around when I get something new or get annoyed in the garage, home inside workbench, main toolbag and the work workbench. It normally stays the same for a few months at most.

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Over the years I have used wood and metal. I tend to agree that the wood takes up a lot more valuable space than you would think. Custom wood or metal makes for easier access, but if your needs change, can become a pain to live with or redo. A good flexible metal system would be my choice. $0.02 

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