Outfitting a new van. Need ideas.
I’m downscaling from a full-sized cargo van (E150) to a mini-van (Odessey) because of better gas mileage and I always thought the E150 was too big 99% of the time. Of course, the Odessey will be a passenger version with rear seats removed or stowed to make it a “cargo mode.”
I do on-site furniture service work, so my requirements are probably more like, say, an electrician than a remodeler. A brief summary of my various key items are:
– Five tool boxes containing hand tools, touch up kits, drills and accessories.
– Five (currently) milk crates containing aerosol cans
– Five or six small Rubbermaid boxes of hardware and parts
– Box of clamps
– Small compressor
– Collection of pneumatic nailers, staplers, etc.
– Couple of boxes of liquids, rubbing compounds, finishes, and solvents
– Small 4′ ladder
– Rolls of paper and fabric (2)
– Small collection of pieces of wood and dowels
From time to time, I will be hauling replacement parts, sheet goods, and pieces of furniture, so there needs to be some open space in the middle.
I am wondering about buying pre-made racks at some place like Costco or bulding in a deck with drawers and side racks out of plywood. Thoughts about drawers vs. cubbies, buying boxes vs making wood boxes, etc.
The E150 has racks on both sides and that is helpful as I always think just stacking the stuff on the floor is like just stacking everything in a kitchen on the floor.
Replies
How many doors?
I've got a Grand Caravan. It happens to be big enough to carry full sheets of MDF inside, if I slide the front seats forward a bit.
It has the two side doors, so I designed a platform that can slide in with the back seats out. So SWMBO and I can store camping gear under the platform, and still have a fairly large flat spot to sleep on. The platform is only 7-feet long, so the front seats still have a full range of motion, except they don't recline all the way.
If I were modifying it to work out of I would do something similar with a Tee shapped set of partitions under the platform to slide the tool boxes, milk crates of paint, etc under. The Caravan has removable seats, so I would probably figure out some way to hook the platform into the mounts to keep it in place. I'd also include a few 1-inch holes in the plywood deck, to hook bungees and ratchet straps into to hold things I might carry on top. That way they are held in place in case you get in a wreck. Which is actually a concern, quite a few people get injured or killed by flying objects that get launched around the car in a wreck.
If you keep it away from the back door a bit, you should have enough room to carry a hand truck on top of the platform.
five doors
Two driver/passenger front doors. Two sliding doors (one on each side), and a lift up tail gate. Very similar to most of the mini-vans I've seen. I would probably store my most used items right behind the driver's seat so I could get out, slide the door, grab & go. Because I'm 6'5", the least used things would probably be set in the back to avoid knocking my head on the overhead door.
http://automobiles.honda.com/odyssey/exterior-360-view.aspx
five doors
Two driver/passenger front doors. Two sliding doors (one on each side), and a lift up tail gate. Very similar to most of the mini-vans I've seen. I would probably store my most used items right behind the driver's seat so I could get out, slide the door, grab & go. Because I'm 6'5", the least used things would probably be set in the back to avoid knocking my head on the overhead door.
It's also stated that you can fit a 4x8 sheet in the back with the back two rows of seats out. "Cargo mode."
http://automobiles.honda.com/odyssey/exterior-360-view.aspx
Yep, I've actually fit some 4x8 sheets in the back. They have to wedge under the bottom lip of the front seat bracket, and slide under the back seat latch eyes (on our year -- not so much a problem on later models). You get a total of maybe 2" of 4x8, before you run into clearance problems.
(Not that I'm complaining -- lots of pickup trucks can't handle 4x8 flat.)
first cut
Three sheets of plywood later.
Way too neat
and not enough crap.
But, for the work you do, probably perfect.
and nicely done.
Me? I hate going to get something. So, necessity being what it is-I try to carry every little thing I might need. I fall a little shy of washers and bolts, but the rest of the screws in most sizes "that will work" are in my van. Other necessities like shims, nails, a couple pcs of flashing, all the caulks and most of the colors...............good lord, that doesn't even touch it.
Of course, as organized as it can be-there's still a good memory necessary to carry the inventory.
And tossing in the appropriate place-any extra parts that come with what I'm working on.
We camp once a yr and at that time I empty the whole thing (but the shelves). A great time to reorganize. If we didn't go camping, I'd know not what to do. The crap would take over and I'd buy new, never knowing if I had it already or not.
Nice job!
Junk expands to fill empty space.
It's only just started. My goal is to refine what I need in and out. I eliminated about 1/3 of the stuff that I'd been carrying around and seemed to only use once in a great while.
But, I too, hate to be without. I figure it takes an hour to run out get a piece of hardware or material. More if I have to go to multiple places. As a former Boy Scout, "Be Prepared."