Effective van racking ideas for gardeners can make all the difference to your work day. Our creative shelving, as well as storage solutions, help to improve the efficiency and productivity of your landscape gardening business.
Installing a van shelving system is a no-brainer for landscape gardeners. You need the capacity to carry as many plant pots and equipment as possible. Making one journey rather than 2 or 3 saves time and money.
However, designing a van racking system for gardeners is not as easy as it sounds. What appears to be a good idea can quickly overwhelm you once you start thinking about it. This article will give you some ideas. The key factor to consider when designing van racking ideas for gardeners is to make the best use of space.
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Van Racking Ideas for Gardeners
Van racking designs for gardeners should be minimal. Maximising wall space is the most important factor. This leaves plenty of room for loading heavy equipment and storing plants on the van floor. The length and size of your tools dictate the design of your racking system.
You don’t want to take up too much floor space by building shelves on both sides of the van. If at all. Hanging is the answer.
Most gardening tools can be clipped to the wall. Steel railings and clips work well. Use clips at the top and bottom of the tool, otherwise it will flop about and bang the side of the van. Not only is the sound annoying, but you might also damage the side of your vehicle and your tools.
Long tools pose the most problems. Tools that cannot be stored vertically need to be laid horizontally. The easiest solution for this is to install a double floor. Your equipment slides in the underneath compartment whilst the top section creates the van flooring.
Simple Loading Solutions
Loading and unloading equipment into the back of the van can be heavy-duty work for gardeners. Back injuries, slips and falls are common accidents for gardeners. The ability to easily load and unload equipment, also encourages your team to put equipment back in the van.
A high number of gardening accidents are caused by unused tools being left laying around. That’s why heavy items should be stored closest to the door. This eases the burden on your back when loading and unloading. Subsequently, you reduce the risk of injury.
Pull-Out Shelving
Pull-out shelving gives you another option to make loading and unloading easier. A heavy-duty shelf is attached to a wheel-rack. This enables you to pull the floor from the van and give you easy access to the contents.
For example, let’s say you have a van load of plants and flowers. To unload them all means climbing in and out of your van. That takes time and effort. A pull out shelf give you easy access without exerting yourself.
The important aspect of this type of storage system is the material you use. The choices are aluminium, steel and wood:
- Aluminium shelves are light and durable. They can take a lot of weight and are lighter to pull out. It’s the ideal material if you are carrying extremely heavy loads.
- Steel is obviously a solid option but can be heavy to pull out. It’s around 10-15% heavier than aluminium. However, if budget is a concern, steel is less expensive than aluminium.
- Wood racking falls between the two metals. Wood is as strong and durable like steel, but closer to the weight benefits of aluminium. The only issue with wood is it’s harder to clean than metal.
Locked Compartments
If you’re concerned about equipment being stolen from the back of your van, consider installing locked compartments. This type of van racking system protects your most valuable belongings but does take up more space.
We trust these van racking ideas for gardeners helps you to create your own vision. Do you have any suggestions of your own that you would like to share with us?
