van upfitting

[Brad192]

what company do you us for van shelving?

[billdeserthills]

I have upfitted several vans and by far the cheapest and best way I have found is in the Used Office Equipment store
I like the vertical files in particular, you can stuff a lot of boxes of locks, etc into these huge drawers and many of these cabinets is made with very sturdy construction that is made to last. I have also bought van equipment from American Van that is very heavy duty, but it is also very costly and very heavy.

[Brad192]

I have upfitted several vans and by far the cheapest and best way I have found is in the Used Office Equipment store
I like the vertical files in particular, you can stuff a lot of boxes of locks, etc into these huge drawers and many of these cabinets is made with very sturdy construction that is made to last. I have also bought van equipment from American Van that is very heavy duty, but it is also very costly and very heavy.

sounds like good advice, I will look into that, what about work bench ? any advise on them?

[billdeserthills]

I have upfitted several vans and by far the cheapest and best way I have found is in the Used Office Equipment store
I like the vertical files in particular, you can stuff a lot of boxes of locks, etc into these huge drawers and many of these cabinets is made with very sturdy construction that is made to last. I have also bought van equipment from American Van that is very heavy duty, but it is also very costly and very heavy.

sounds like good advice, I will look into that, what about work bench ? any advise on them?

In my big van I have my work setup on top of the three drawer vertical files, they are at a good height for standing
I keep my pin kit in the top drawer of a two-drawer vertical file that I made a bracket for and placed over the rear fenderwell, that file is the same height as the three drawer files, I keep my pinkit inside the top drawer and just pull it out & work on the top, when I arrive, if I'm there to rekey. Otherwise it makes a good work surface, I actually have a vise mounted to the top of my three drawer cabinet, with some large steel pieces I rescued from the local welder's dumpster, with permission. In fact that is how I make sure these heavy cabinets don't tear out and hit me in case of an accident, I use large scraps of metal, mostly steel, that the welder normally has to pay someone to take to the salvage company. I drill a hole in the metal and use it as a big washer and put a few extra bolts in too, when in doubt

[medic265g]

I'd like to add some advice to the post. I personally like shelving versus drawers. If you add a decent lip at the edge of shelving so that you can still retrieve items but they won't slide into the floor while moving it will save a ton of time both looking for and retrieving objects. I've used this method on every vehicle, truck, and trailer I've ever used and never had anything fall out. If you use drawers then you may open 2 or 3 before you find what you need. And then stuff gets lost forever in drawers. Drawers have to be maintained. Slides wear out, get bent, stick, etc. I like plain old shelving. I also take all my tools out of their plastic boxes. I hate having to open a box to get my drill or charger out.

I'd also like to ad that I've never bought any shelving or other storage for any of the vans, trucks, or trailers I've used. I've always built my own shelving using good old pine lumber and it's always worked great. I like building it myself. I've always thought I saved some money, enjoyed the challenge, and got customized storage for my items.

I would ad that if you decide to go DIY and build it yourself to take some time and think about your needs. Think about the tools you use, the stock you carry, which tools you need most, etc. Lay them out on the floor, take some measurements, Let it all brew in your head for a while. In other words take your time. One thing I've learned in my 47 years on God's earth is to not get in a hurry.

I hope I've helped you a bit. Good luck and when you get done post some pictures.....

Greg

[Sinifar]

Just an idea of our road unit - these are a few years old, and not totally finished yet at this time, but it gives you a good idea of what we did with a Transit Connect. Basically i saved the steel out of old units and most of these are from a 86 Aerostar.... The new ones are from American Van - the new one on the right. The tall one on the end behind the driver is also American ... The rest are from our storage locker. Bench is made from a base unit (4') and two drawer units. One a 4 drawer and the other the 9 drawer with bungie cords helping to keep the drawers closed.





I will tell you it is tight in there, but it works. There is enough room to do almost anything needed - and - handy. The van is not finished at this point in time the floor needs the rug and a few other items needed to be added. this was shot during our up fitting

YES that is a Foley on the back, that is where i keep the thing - normally I use a HPC 1200 punch for most of the work or an A-1 punch....

Enjoy!