How To Rack Out A Van With An Effective Storage System

It’s not unusual for professional tradesmen to waste around an average of 30 minutes a day. This may be due to rummaging around for missing tools and parts in the back of their van or through lost time replacing damaged equipment. Does this sound familiar?

If a resigned ‘yep’ just slipped out of your mouth, then you may be interested to know how to rack out a van with an ordered storage system for your tools, parts and materials. 

An organised van is less stressful, looks more professional and contributes to the time you spend at work each week, month and year. The result is either more money or less time working and more time spent with your family, socialising or engaging in your favourite pastimes. 

When contemplating how to rack out a van, you need a clear vision of how to organise your tools, documents and anything else you need for your job, whether on a daily basis or just from time to time.

In this article, we explore five innovative van racking solutions for professionals. 

Rack Out Your Van With The Right Materials

When considering how to rack out your van, you need to think about the type of materials that best suits your needs. Bear in mind that storage materials contribute to the weight of your van. It also impacts fuel consumption. 

Shelving and drawers are essential storage units. However, storage systems come in a choice of materials; steel, aluminium and wood.

• Steel. From the metal options, steel racking is less expensive to install than aluminium. However, steel is approximately 10-15% heavier than its lightweight counterpart so could affect the legal weight limits. Ironically, steel’s superior strength makes it the best option for heavy materials or equipment. 
• Aluminium. This is generally the preferred choice for van racking. Some people will be put off by the price. On the flip side, the lightweight metal makes it easier to customise your van with drawers and stacked shelving. 
• Wood. The alternative option is wood which is lighter but not as robust as steel. Wood racking is also easy to customise. Whilst it’s lighter than steel, it’s heavier than aluminium. 

There’s nothing to say that you can’t mix and match materials. For example, steel shelving and drawers offer more security but are not the best option to store nuts and bolts etc. 

Furthermore, all three materials sit seamlessly alongside one another. This adds a unique aesthetic to the interior racking of your mobile workstation. 

Van Floor and Roof Storage to Rack Out your Van 

The secret of how to rack out a van is to maximise space. Ideally, you want to make use of areas that would typically represent dead space. The roof for example. In this regard, there are two ways to fill up the higher reaches of a mobile workshop:

1. The first is simply to install racking on the roof. This solution is great for the safe storage of ladders, for example with our van ladder storage ideas.
2. The second option is to install underfloor. This option means that shelving can be built right up to the ceiling, whilst still providing you with ample floor space for heavier items. Van false floor storage can give you up to 12-inches more storage space. 

Again, there are two options here; drawers or compartments. Drawers are accessed from the rear and/or side of your van. It depends on your storage needs. And, of course, where the access doors to the rear of your van are located. 

If you carry long, bulky or heavy tools false floors are an ideal solution. False floors eliminate the risk of damaging your equipment or the interior paintwork of your van. Consider how to rack out a van with a false floor that also doubles as a security system for expensive equipment. Click lock floors are a solid solution. 

We trust the ideas above give you some idea of how to rack out a van efficiently. If you need advice or help, use the information request feature to get in touch with our experts.