internal van racking

[shezzaar]

I know many differenct aspects of racking have been discussed before, but i am just wondering what is better, metal racking or plywood racking?
I know metal racking comes to a cost, I have been quoted around £1,800. For what i want doing. (I do have the money but obviously dont want to waste it)
I just want to know what people prefer, plywood or metal racking?

also whether or not i get metal racking, I am thinking of having a false floor, to store different pipe and a ladder. Could this be done with wood/ply? And still be able to hold tools and a weight of a person?

thanks in advance

 

[Killy Bing]

i would use ply. i have metal racking that came with the van and in my case it suits me.

with ply you can tailor it to your needs and change it if need be, racking isn't that flexible, even the modeler stuff.
will also be a fraction of the cost and you could do it yourself or get a chippy who is good at racking to do it for a day or two.
in-fact i think there are guys just doing this now.

if you need more strength for the base just use thicker ply.

can you post up photos of the back of the van ? we could give you a few ideas.

 

[shezzaar]

another thing that I had seen is videos on youtube of them putting them to crash tests, but have also thought they didnt look stable on the videos when doing the tests, but I suppose a bulkhead would stop any splinters coming through in a crash.

At the minute i dont have a camera, but my van is a Renault master L2H2. there are a few pictures of the load area on google images

 

[Jimbob]

I just bought some halfords professional roller bearing units and installed them on a raised ply bench, worked really well and didn't cost alot because the units were on offer

 

[stevetheplumber]

ebay is the best place for second hand racking

 

[Gray0689]

Or a second hand van dealer

 

[Kyle87]

Why not just make racking yourself out of metal or ply. A bit of imagination and graft is all it'll take

 

[lame plumber]

some pre cut ply systems on ebay look ok. Metal sytems are best looking but costly, but some of the ex AA kit is rather nice and very strong.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

ply/wood dont rattle

 

[lame plumber]

very true

 

[shezzaar]

after comparing prices, now thinking of doing it with ply, now just to decide what i want of it

 

[Masood]

now thinking of doing it with ply, now just to decide what i want of it

Take your time and think - really think - about how you want to lay it out. Make sketches if that helps. You want the stuff you use all the time easy to access. Build the shelving around your toolboxes and storage boxes, customised to your way of working. It'll save you a lot of time on the job.

I have a deep section with a front cover panel, so my power tools, freezing kit, etc are hidden from view. The rest is laid out as described above, and was built to size to accommodate Stanley Fat Max organisers for fittings, etc, and plastic food boxes for other small fragile items.

 

[shezzaar]

yeah will do masood, has anyone else got any other ideas?
my current idea is to have space for fittings next to the two back doors and than on the opposite side to the sliding door, have deep shelving for waste pipe fittings and traps etc. with a tray for pipe above.
and than on the front to have space for tools boxes, pipe bender etc along with another tray for cut off pipe.

 

[Kyle87]

Look at Toms tips on YouTube. I love his van lol

 

[shezzaar]

it was a good van, gave me a few ideas thanks,
do you have any ideas where he might have got the pullout plastic drawers from, that he had hung on the sides?

 

[jase158]

just finished my van, (cupboard with door on left side) spent all day doing it, but cost me £30 plus screws and silicone etc.
Shelving on right cost me about £50, but everything is exactly how I want it, will be doing another one to enclose toolbox, wet vac and stop my toolbox from moving around

 

[TomLane]

Had a moment of insanity earlier this evening!

After being on one job for the past 6 weeks & not finishing till 7 most days I've neglected putting stuff back in its right place in my van. Spent 20 minutes sorting it all out but still couldn't find a few bits so ripped it all out & will be starting again. Got a couple of quiet days coming up so am going to take my time & get it all right & just how I want it.

I find there is nothing worse than not being able to did something quickly when you're on a job & need to get your hands on it.

 

[dancinplumba]

All that stuff on floor would be all over the place with my driving

 

[jase158]

It is, that's why I am putting more shelving, everything will be held down. need to have a good sort out first though, My wife always asks me, "do you need that much stuff" and my answer is always yes, take 1 thing out and guaranteed I will need it the next day.

 

[shezzaar]

nice pics jase,
just going back to another question, has anyone got a false floor? im thinking of putting one in but dont know if they would work or not, would be used to lay copper pipe underneath. but would need to be strong enough to hold me and other stuff above. could it be done?

or could it be easier to do the same sort of thing but a false roof? so the pipe sits ontop?

 

[jase158]

Yes, could be done, risky screwing down and would need beams 600mm apart. (Approx) I never screwdown as there is fuel tank and stuff underneath. But could use sticks like ****e or similar and would need 18mm ply on top for security, and silicone round edges to allow for movement. Would you be able to stand up with a false floor? Get a good chippy and they could even put drawers in for you. Nothing is impossible with plywood just make sure it is secure before you move on to next bit and test everything as you go!!

 

[tamz]

Build yourself a big fittings rack 4ft square (or bigger if you like) and 8- 10" deep. You should be able to get around 25 storage spaces.
This can fit on the opposite side wall from your side door.
Sit it in position level then scribe infill panels to suit the shape of the van side and screw these onto the side of the rack. (If you change vans you only need to redo the scribed panel)
With a big van like the master you may want to seperate the back doors from the rest. Make up a removable panel for this as there willbe a time when you need the space.
Build another couple of racks for above the wheel arches. Just do them square then scribe a cladding panel.
Just use your imagination.
Personally i don't like the raised floor. I did one years ago and it did work well for storing pipe below but it makes the van floor too high for lifting stuff into and climbing in and out.
Btw use WBP ply and give it a coat of varnish to keep it clean.

 

[Mike Jackson]

Someone had the bright idea of putting raised floors in our work vans for tube. Great until someone parked nearer than a couple of metres away from you and you couldn't get the tube out.

 

[Jimbob]

Never bothered with a false floor, as just leaves a massive gap for all kinds of crap to live. I would just hang ladders and tube from the roof

 

[shezzaar]

never really liked the thought of having stuff on the roof, due to the thought of people robbing it, and for me they would rob it when a big job comes in and ive just bought all the pipe!!
how could i stick the wood down to the floor than? using high adhesive, contact adhesive? or similar?
yes as the van is an l2 that has a height of 2164 and im 1889mm (6ft 2in) so i have around 300mm for false floor.

what would you use to secure the racking to the ply lining of the van?

 

[stevetheplumber]

never really liked the thought of having stuff on the roof, due to the thought of people robbing it, and for me they would rob it when a big job comes in and ive just bought all the pipe!!
how could i stick the wood down to the floor than? using high adhesive, contact adhesive? or similar?
yes as the van is an l2 that has a height of 2164 and im 1889mm (6ft 2in) so i have around 300mm for false floor.

what would you use to secure the racking to the ply lining of the van?

you realy need to get some fixings onto the ribs a rack full of gear could weigh 3 cwt a fixing into 3mm ply wont hold that and most ply lining is only held by a few self tappers

 

[shezzaar]

Would 2x2 be enough?
What mm ply should I use for the ply lining?

Going to be using 18mm for the floor and was thinking 8mm for the racking, would they go good enough?

 

[jase158]

8mm will be strong enough but will be hard to screw into, I used 12mm, 2x2 should be fine. For floor 4 x 2 may be better to give yourself some more height

 

[tamz]

Use 12mm and borrow a finishing nail gun from a friendly joiner. Use pva on the joints and ping the nails at alternate angles and it will never come apart.

 

[shezzaar]

thanks jase,
How would i attach the 4x2 to the floor of the van?

looking a this link http://www.thisiscarpentry.com/2011/07/15/van-racking/
he said that he screwed his false floor down, and also used the original ply lining in the van
thanks, guys with your help

 

[clarky101]

The new transit has a flap in the bulkhead in the back that goes under the twin seats so the pipe can be stored inside the van....the third seat (nearest to passenger door) also lifts up for storeage....bit like the transporter...

 

[shezzaar]

thanks clarky, something to bare in mind..... but the main reason for the false floor is so that i can than put stuff ontop of the pipe work. and than still leave a full floor for baths or other things i may need for jobs.

 

[jase158]

thanks jase,
How would i attach the 4x2 to the floor of the van?

looking a this link Van Racking | THISisCarpentry
he said that he screwed his false floor down, and also used the original ply lining in the van
thanks, guys with your help

either use sticks like sh*t, that's the actual name!! or if you are feeling brave the use bolts an bolt them down, if you already have ply lining on floor then just screw into that as should be bolted down. the other option is to screw into side supports and build it from there!! hope this makes sense!! so get 1 length of 4 x 2 screw it into the side supports, then connect all the rest to these. hard to explain, but bit of imagination and you will get there

 

[Alex Pelton]

ive ply'd 2 transit's out and have done false floors both times in 18 mm ply across the whole floor sitting on bits of 5 x 2 big screws through the ply. cut the ply around the wheel arches and in won't move. no need to fix it to the van. then built the shelving from there. Both vans were ply lined from the factory

 

[shezzaar]

alex, are you saying that you screwed the 5x2 down to the ply or did you use glue?
I am now thinking what to use, as i think there are good stuff to both regards, sticks like sh*t or just screwing them down, might do both.
how long does the 'sticks like sh*t' take to stick to the ply, would i need to clamp it down? would i need to leave it a day?

thanks so far guys!!