Every work van has two very distinct spaces: the drivers section up front and the back of your van. The back section often becomes the core focus, but it is a good idea to clearly define what is kept in both. The back is where you keep all your tools, equipment and supplies.
But what about the front section? Too often, this area gets cluttered. Make it a rule to only keep a few necessary items and administrative documents up front, for example: a flat rate pricing guide, invoices, service forms, manuals, and laptop/tablet. Keep it clean and free of trash as well.
2.Work up, from big to small
When building an efficient storage system in your work van, the first thing to think about is the size of your items. Store bigger items on the floor or in lower compartments of the van, leaving room for smaller items towards the top. Keeping large equipment at a low level will help you maximize space. Plus, your back will thank you when lifting heavy items.
3.Location, location, location
In addition to organizing items vertically by size, you’ll want to think about custom van shelving where specific items are placed. Keep frequently used items near the doors so they can be easily accessible. For example, install a hook or shelf near the door for items you’ll use all day on the job, like tool belts. You can store items you use less often near the back of the van.
4.Use the doors
Speaking of frequently-used items, there’s no reason why you can’t use the interior side of your van door to store some of these supplies. Maximize storage space with magnetized stripping for hanging metal tools like hammers and pliers or hang plastic or fabric closet organizers with pockets to store small, lightweight equipment.
5.Consider comfort and safety
Keeping a happy, healthy team is critical for your business. A few, small considerations for comfort and safety can make a big impact. For example, the hard surface of your van’s floor can be hard on the knees when reaching in to get equipment. Consider installing padded floor mats around the door to make it more comfortable for leaning in to grab items throughout the day.
Van can be used as awheelchair van, storage cabinet, workbench, and office when your employees are on the go or at the job site. When workers can easily find tools, supplies, and equipment, the job gets done quickly and efficiently. What’s less obvious is that work vans also serve as a calling card for your business.
The First Step: Find the Right Van
The ideal work for is one that has the right amount of space and durability. You can choose van that can be customized as Working van, Wheelchair vans to take handicapped patients similar one van can be customized to sell eatables items inside van.
Tips For a Well-Organized Van
Upfitting a van is an exercise in how knowledgeable you are about your trade and what is needed on the go. If you have upfitted a van before or purchased one that was used, you’re probably intimately aware of its virtues and shortcomings.
Place large and bulky items near the doors – Nothing is more time consuming than needing a bulky piece of equipment and having to pick through the van just to get to it. By positioning important things near the door, they are easy to remove at the job site and stow away when the job is done.
Make everything accessible – Make sure tools and materials are easy to get to with no latches, straps, or barriers blocking the items you need. Everything needed for a certain task should be accessible in a single quick motion, which cuts down on fumbling and increases efficiency.
Label everything – A place for everything and everything in its place. Labeling makes it easier to put things in the correct location. Also, a labeled space with nothing in it means something is missing, making a visual inventory so much easier. Even the most disorganized crew member should be able to effortlessly navigate the cabin and put things back where they belong.
Make space for multiple tools – Frequently used tools can fail, so when designing space for electric screwdrivers, for example, allow for two or three of them instead of one.
Don’t forget lighting – Lighting matters, even during the day. A well-lit cargo area means better visibility and a safer work environment.
Build task-oriented toolboxes – Depending on what your van is used for, a great way to organize it is by task. Each task gets a separate tool kit filled with everything necessary to complete that specific task.
Things will get dirty, and that’s OK – A work van is meant to get dirty. A typical workday will see mud tracked in, dust and dirt settled in corners, and cheeseburger wrappers balled up and thrown on the floor. A great design can alleviate the mess with strategically placed trash cans, flooring that is easy to clean, and a modular design that makes deep cleaning a snap.
Industry-Specific Tips
HVAC work van organization – While HVAC vans need to be able to carry the hand tools and parts necessary to make repairs at the job site, they also need to have adequate space to carry full replacement units. Work crews will also need ways to move heavy equipment, which means dollies and even hydraulic lifts.
Plumbing work van organization – Plumbing trucks have the same requirements as HVAC vans, meaning they need to be able to contain all the tools and safety equipment necessary for any plumbing job. An added consideration is that plumbing vans get dirty and crews will need a way to clean and sanitize equipment if they have multiple stops to make during the day.
Electrical work van organization – Electricians need storage for all the small components and spools of wire they need to bring to the job site. Add to this safety equipment, ladders, and conduit and it’s easy to see that an electrical service van is one that needs a wide range of storage options.
Van shelving allows your to quickly access your tools and equipment while on a job site. Vanlife Customs builds one of a kind camper vans to fit a variety of lifestyles. Whether a mountain biker, climber, hiker, digital nomad, full-time traveler, or weekend warrior can be used as sprinter van.
Cargo van shelving systems keep tools, equipment, and materials organized inside the vehicle and prevent work materials from moving and shifting while the vehicle is in motion.
Storage systems can be contained in one part of the van or can line both walls from floor to ceiling, the entire length of the cargo area. The arrangement depends upon the demands of the business and personal taste of the individual.
The right used van helps keep business on track. Used light duty sprinter vans from Ryder are practical, affordable and reliable. Used sprinter vans like used panel vans, cargo vans and high-roof cargo vans are easy to load and easy to drive.
SMALL CARGO VAN SPACE OPTMIZATION
Spanning across the rear of the cargo area allows for easy access and adds a work surface for assembly or other jobsite needs.
SEALED PARTITION
Installing a sealed partition can protect drivers from toxic fumes or flammable substances. Van partitions separate cargo areas from seating areas in vans. They keep cargo and equipment secured in the cargo area to avoid interfering with the driver, work crew or other passengers.
COMPACT VAN
Small and versatile, the compact van is an ever-growing piece of fleets. Although it boasts natural fuel efficiency and fits well in most urban environments, it can create challenges for storage and access.
It can be done in a couple of days. I recommend just taking a week of after getting your new van (if you can afford to do so, of course). In this week, draw the plans and rack it out. This week is time well spent, since you’ll win a bit of time with every job you do.
1. Create a false floor with access at the rear and side doors
If your van is high enough, consider putting in a false floor. It’s the perfect out-of-sight storage place for long materials such as pipes. And there are endless possibilities to arrange this space. You can for example store your fragile or long tools in here, such as your levels. I suggest placing a ladder rack for the van under the flooring so that it can provide you easily accessible storage for your ladder.
2. Use wide pipes to divide up the under-floor storage
There’s a very easy way to divide up the false floor compartment. Use full-length PVC pipes with a wide diameter(I suggest at least 100-150mm) to compartmentalize the under-floor storage. Use simple pipe brackets to keep them in place. Or you can also fix them by simply stacking them in two levels, holding each other into place.
3. Create long drawers at the rear end
Place a couple of long drawers at the rear end for storing long tools, such as levels, straight edges, etc.
Other racking ideas for plumbers
Hang your pipe bender, saw, pump, set of steps, lights, and safety equipment from the side of your cabinet, facing the rear doors for easy access.
Use the bulkhead space for tubes: it offers plenty of storage for items you won’t need as often.
Hang some wipes, your hacksaw, and fire extinguisher at the back of the van for easy access.
Keep your hoovers and water suction cleaner near the side door. Even better: build a rack for them.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING A REFRIGERATED TRUCK OR VAN
A refrigerated truck or van is a commercial vehicle that is used to transport perishable and temperature-sensitive goods like meat, vegetables, flowers and other foods. Its capability to control the temperature of its cargo compartment preserves the cargo and protects it from deterioration.
If your business requires you to move temperature-sensitive products on a regular basis, you should consider buying a refrigerated vehicle rather than renting them. But before you go to a refrigerated trucks and vans dealer or buy used refrigerated food trucks for sale, there are a lot of things you should know about this particular type of vehicle.
1. Cost – Refrigerated Trucks are Expensive to Operate and Maintain
Refrigerated trucks are more complex than your average box truck. They also consume more fuel than conventional dry cargo box trucks. Moreover, you need to spend more in performing diligent maintenance to delay corrosion and degradation of their insulated cargo box.
2. Extra Attention – Refrigerated Trucks need to be monitored during Operation
It’s a given that refrigerated trucks and vans need consistent, proper maintenance – but there’s more to it than that. They also require monitoring during loading and unloading of cargo.
You need to record the air and cargo temperature to prevent the goods from getting damaged. Furthermore, to prevent unpleasant odors and premature damage to the truck, thorough cleaning is a must after each unloading operation especially if you’re hauling food.
3. Cargo specific – Certain Products are a No-No on refrigerated Trucks
Before buying a refrigerated vehicle, you must know that certain types of cargo cannot be loaded together on the same trip to avoid damaging the goods.
If you are hauling fruits for example, you may not be able to load flowers with it into your truck. As fruits ripen, they produce ethylene, a naturally-occurring gas that can cause rapid wilting and discoloration of flowers and other plants.
4. Shorter Lifespan – The Useful Life of Refrigerated Vehicles is Much Shorter
The estimated useful life of refrigerated trucks or vans is seven years. It is certainly shorter than the life of conventional box trucks due to all the moisture generated from the refrigeration cooling system and extra cleaning to the box interior.
You may be able to extend the life of a refrigerated vehicle by undercoating the frame and chassis. This process done properly can be very expensive.
5. Duration of Operation – Long Distance Transportation vs. Long Hauls
In most cases, refrigerated vehicles derive energy from the power generated by the main engine of the vehicle. This means that even if the truck is no longer travelling on the road and is stopped at the destination for loading/unloading, its main engine needs to keep running to power the refrigeration unit to maintain the temperature of the cargo compartment.
With that said, before buying a refrigerated van or truck, you should determine if your operation will require extra power for your trucks refrigerator.
If your operation involves more long distance runs than idle time, your truck’s main engine would be sufficient to keep your cargo refrigerated. But if you are involved in an operation that requires your truck to stand-by for extended periods (ex. Catering business), you may require a separate generator to keep your truck’s refrigeration system running.
From expanding your fleet to simply replacing unrepairable trucks, there are many motivations that may lead you to consider buying a commercial vehicle.
Those glossy new trucks are immediately appealing to anyone. However, for some customers, new isn’t always the most practical choice, which is why used commercial vehicles also perform so strongly on our site.
What makes purchasing a used truck or van such a smart decision for so many? In this article, lets review the primary benefits of buying used commercial van:
1. Frugal
It may be the most obvious incentive, but it’s true that acquiring used trucks is significantly cheaper up-front than purchasing a new vehicle. A truck or van typically experiences its biggest drop in value in its first 12 months. This means you can often find great resale deals on commercial vehicles that are older than one year.
Additionally, depreciation is much slower after the initial first year decrease. So, if you buy a used truck and later sell it yourself, you may not have to part with it for too much less than you paid, putting good money back into your pocket (in addition to whatever profits the vehicle helped you earn).
Yes, buying a brand new commercial vehicle can be a long-term investment, but for some companies, especially new and growing businesses, saving on immediate costs can be the most important concern, helping them quickly expand their fleet, land more jobs, and make more money.
Extra Note: You can find great deals buying previously rented trucks from dealerships, as they typically like to fill their rental fleet with recent models, meaning you can get a vehicle that’s not too old from a seller who will have taken good care of it.
2. Familiar
Used trucks typically have a dependable life-cycle and performance capabilities that should be familiar to you and your drivers. Particularly if you can acquire the commercial vehicle’s telematics (digital data on engine hours, idle time, fuel economy, alerts, etc.) or records of maintenance, you can approximate how well you can expect the truck or van to work and for how many more years.
Being able to confidently rely on a used vehicle helps you to precisely plan and execute your routes and jobs, and ultimately help make your fleet more productive. Sometimes, technological and operational learning curves with new trucks may actually hinder work, along with driver concerns about even slightly dinging the new commercial vehicle. However, you can always get right to work with familiar, previously used trucks and vans.
Extra Note:Reputable dealers should be able to provide you with greater certainty when purchasing used vehicles, and you are more able to hold them accountable if they don’t deliver on what they promised you were getting with a purchased truck.
3. Flexible
Used vehicles give your company flexibility, since used trucks are readily available in a wide range of options. When purchasing new commercial vehicles, you are restricted to recent models and potentially lengthy production lead times.
With used trucks or vans, you can shop for any model produced in the past few years or even older if a vehicle has been well maintained. Additionally, you have flexibility in repairing older trucks, as brand-name parts are typically widely available from shops and individual sellers. If the commercial vehicle isn’t too much older, you can acquire parts directly from the manufacturer.
Extra Note:Affordable used trucks and vans can also be helpful to have on hand as simple backup vehicles, providing additional flexibility if an unexpected breakdown happens during an important job with a tight deadline.
4. Friendly for the environment
Members of Gen Y and Gen Z, who increasingly make up a greater share of the workforce, care about how the industry affects the environment. As such, sustainability is an emerging benefit of used vehicles.
At first, it sounds illogical that older, less fuel-efficient trucks could be called eco-friendly, however the acquisition of used commercial vehicles decreases the demand for newer trucks and vans.
Conclusion
Whether you have an immediate need for a commercial vehicle, or simply wish to plan ahead for your company’s future, it’s a good idea to know the many benefits of purchasing used trucks and vans. From affordable costs and broad availability to familiarity and eco-friendliness, used vehicles can be the perfect choice for your life and livelihood.
When working in construction and other service industries, hauling ladders from fleet vehicles can be tiring and even dangerous. If you are shorter or nursing an injury, loading and unloading a ladder can be much more difficult, especially if your company uses high-roof fleet vans.
Since you can’t stop using your ladder, what can make this part of your job easier? How can your company streamline its ladder usage in a cost-effective and efficient way? Consider installing custom ladder rack on fleet vehicles.
Benefits of Ladder Racks
As a necessary tool in many service and construction industries, it’s important to keep ladders safe and secure while driving. Here are some advantages to using ladder racks on fleet vehicles:
More cargo space: Ladder racks provide more space in a fleet vehicle’s interior and eliminate the need to store ladders in the back of a van or truck bed. By using a ladder rack, there will be more interior space for storing other tools and equipment.
Reduced injury risk: Using a ladder rack makes loading and unloading safer. For example, by eliminating the need to haul a ladder in and out of a vehicle, the hydraulic EZ Load Ladder Rack reduces the risk of back injury by doing the work for you. Additionally, the aluminum construction makes the rack lighter and helps fight corrosion.
Secure storage: Most ladders are expensive and heavy. Ladder racks secure the ladder tightly to the top of a fleet vehicle and eliminate slips and movement during your drive.
Increased productivity: Ladder racks increase productivity by streamlining ladder use. By reducing time spent loading and unloading a ladder, workers can remain focused on getting the job done.
What to Look For
Ladder racks aren’t all built the same. A quality ladder rack will have a larger price tag, but it will be more reliable and durable.
Ladder racks also come in many shapes and sizes. No matter the type of fleet vehicle you drive, there is a ladder rack suited to fit your vehicle’s needs. Here are some examples of popular models offered:
LoadsRite Drop-Down: This drop-down ladder rack makes it easier to raise and lower the ladder from the vehicle. The unique design keeps the ladder at a comfortable working height by positioning it diagonally.
EZ Load: The EZ load ladder rack has the capacity to lower a ladder down by 6 inches, making loading and unloading easier.
GripLock: The GripLock ladder rack is designed to firmly grip ladder rungs to prevent slipping and shifting during transport, which reduces the risk of potentially serious injury.
Utility Rack: This versatile rack can transport a variety of cargo, including different types of ladders.
Perimeter Rack: Designed especially for full-sized vans, perimeter racks are gutter mounted and require no drilling to install. They also include a slant-down rear section and rope hooks.
Ladder Keeper: This rack mounts the ladder to the ceiling of your van, which keeps it secure while inside the van.
Load Runner: Made specifically for pickup trucks, this rack is rated for the maximum load allowed by truck manufacturers.
LoadFlex: This is a pickup rack with easy-on, easy-off uprights, which can be removed if needed.
Transporting temperature-sensitive products such as fruits, vegetables, and frozen foods can be quite a challenge. Food distributors need a reliable way to safely deliver goods to their customers without compromising their quality and safety.
However, buying a fleet of refrigerated trucks usually comes with a hefty price tag that some businesses cannot afford.
If you’ve been looking for an affordable way to transport your products, perhaps it’s time to consider refrigerated truck rentals instead. Opting for this is a way to stay agile and save on maintenance costs, especially if you only need trucks on occasion.
Here are three ways using a refrigerated truck rental service will benefit your business:
They’re Flexible
In the food industry, there are plenty of peaks that see a spike in certain types of food. The holiday seasons are particularly the busiest when people gather with their friends and family to enjoy a sumptuous spread. However, there are some times during the year when things slow down and orders are fewer, especially if you sell seasonal foods that are only available until they’re sold out.
In these cases, it would be much easier to have a refrigerated vehicle rental partner that will allow you to upgrade your fleet during peak months. This flexibility allows your business to choose which vehicles are most suitable for different needs and times, enabling you to optimise your operations as much as possible. Otherwise, when you invest in a fleet specific to your business, you have access only to these vehicles and no other kind.
They Help You Save Money
Opting for refrigerated truck rentals saves much more money as opposed to purchasing a fleet. The latter is a large investment, especially if you’re a small to medium-sized business, which can take a massive hit on your other expenses like equipment, marketing, and payroll.
By renting a refrigerated truck, you can minimise costs and funnel money into other investments that will give you a much bigger return on investment. You’ll be growing your company while improving its efficiency.
Renting refrigerated trucks will also help you save money in hiring a full-time fleet manager and buying software to help with fleet management. There are a lot of costs that go into maintaining a fleet, like upgrading it and making sure it’s in top condition. By working with a rental, you’ll remove this extra task for your business, enabling you to focus on what you do best.
They Reduce Risks
Apart from additional expenses, owning a fleet comes with risks. You’ll have to secure it from breakdown, theft, and protect it from accidents and unexpected events that could be very costly for your business. These will impact not only your finances but your productivity and your operations. If your vehicle suddenly breaks down during a hectic time, this will damage your reputation and income.
With a rental, however, you won’t have to worry about any of these concerns. If anything goes wrong, all you have to do is contact your rental service and wait to be furnished with a new vehicle!
Conclusion
Hiring refrigerated trucks has numerous advantages for your business. It helps you save money, allows you to request for specific trucks that best fit your needs, and is flexible enough to meet the demands of your business. By working with a reputable partner, you’ll find more efficient ways to run your business while cutting costs.
The daily grind of shoes, mud, crumbs, and spills can take a toll on a commercial van’s carpet, creating a messy eyesore and dragging down your vehicle’s resale value. That’s why a good floor mat or liner can pay for itself over time.
After over 100 hours of researching dozens of models, talking with experts, and testing 23 sets, I recommend Weather Tech Floor Liners. Unlike typical add-on liners, they’re designed to fit specific vehicles and have raised edges that trap liquid.
WeatherTech Floor Liners provide edge-to-edge coverage of a vehicle’s foot wells that better protects the carpets from water, snow, muck, and other messy things that can get tracked into the vehicle or spilled onto the floor.
In addition, compared with other similarly priced liners I looked at, the WeatherTech Floor Liners include a taller, more pronounced lip around the edge—particularly at the rear—as well as a pattern that channels fluids away from your feet to a reservoir at the rear. They also come in a far wider range of fits than any other liner, with designs for more than 1,000 vehicles.
If you want a custom-fit floor mat but don’t want to spend the money on a premium liner, we recommend the Intro-Tech Hexomat, which splits the difference in cost and coverage between a universal mat and a model-specific liner.
The Hexomat lacks the higher side walls of liners like our top pick, but it does provide wall-to-wall footwall coverage and a design that helps contain spills.
If you just want an inexpensive, basic universal floor mat to provide some protection for your van’s carpet or spruce up an older van on a tight budget, I liked the Motor Trend Odorless Rubber Floor Mats best.
They have a look and feel that belies their low price, and a relatively flat design that makes them easier to clean than more aggressive-looking mats I tested. But like other inexpensive mats, they tended to move around more than I would like and will require periodic adjustment to keep them in place.
Like all traditional mats, they also lack the high side walls and precise fit of our top pick, and therefore don’t provide the same wall-to-wall coverage and protection.
Horse stall mat, vinyl coin matting and closed cell foam make a good sound damping combination over the factory wood floor of the sprinter commercial van. Flanged l-track holds the three layers in place.
I Painted the metal van floor and reinstalled the wood floor with some closed-cell foam underneath it. That wasn’t enough insulation though.
For a combination of heat and sound insulation, I went with a layer of closed cell foam (Low-E foil faced 1/8″ foam), 3/8″ rubber stall mat and 2mm (~1/16″) hard-wearing non-slip vinyl coin-grip flooring.
Each of these layers serves a different purpose. The closed cell foam is a heat insulation layer and it also lets the stall mat float freely above it. This makes the stall mat into a great sound dampening layer.
Car audio fanatics use mass loaded vinyl in a similar way. The stall mat has a similar density to mass loaded vinyl but is much thicker. The non-slip vinyl layer on the top provides some protection for the floor and is more visually appealing than the rubber stall mat.
All of these products come in four foot widths, but the van floor is around six feet wide. To hold the three layers down without needing to glue them in, which would ruin the sound dampening effect, I ran strips of l-track from the front to the back of the van about 12″ in from each wall. This lines up really nicely with one of the raised areas in the metal floor.
You can get l-track installed in the van from the factory, but that is recessed into the wooden floor and glued in place. I wanted our l-track to sit on top of the wooden floor. The space behind the flanges is 1/2″. That’s just right for the three layers of flooring material I use when they are compressed together. The flanges of the l-track hold the layers in place really firmly.
I bolted the l-track through the wooden floor, through the metal base of the van, and through Unistrut steel channel under the van to add strength to the bolts and also to provide a mounting point for anything I want to attach under the van.
The floor feels firm to walk on but slightly cushioned. It cuts down considerably on the road noise coming in to the van. There are some wrinkles in the top coin layer from where it was rolled up so tightly but they are smoothing out as I use the van.
Commercial Van Solutions 
