Top van racking ideas

So it’s a new year and a new you. And for those of you who’ve started a new year’s resolution to tidy the van or get a little more organised, you might have thought about giving your van a facelift by getting some racking for the transit. Well, as van insurance experts we’ve scaled the web far and wide to find you the best ideas for van racking and get you on your way to completing that new year’s resolution.

Wooden van racking ideas

This van racking is in a Vauxhall Vivaro and has really utilised the flooring well to be able to store equipment that’s really long. This would be the perfect van racking for someone who’s storing equipment like ladders, spirit levels, pipes and hoses.

This is a great idea to keep your saws and will cut (no pun intended) through your time spent looking for them in half!

This is a great idea for your regularly used consumables, and this way you can check you’re stock levels with ease!

Fancy a mobile workshop? This van racking even has flooring! It’s managed to implement wire reels and a circular saw, as well as plenty of storage for long wooden panels at the bottom. This is a joiners dream!

Need easy access to some essentials? This is a great way to do it if you have a door at the back too.

Metal van racking ideas

This is a great utiliser of space. It has a roll for paper, a tank with dispenser and plenty of room for cargo in the middle with fitted safety nets to secure the load. Maybe the tank could be used to store a much-needed brew in the morning!

This one has really utilised the space, and of course, after a long hard day working, the golf clubs will inevitably take centre stage to hit the course after work. There’s even a brolly thrown in to cope with the classic British weather.

This is a great way of getting easy access to liquids by utilising the doors!

It’s always good to leave a bit of blank space to be prepared for those miscellaneous objects you come across from time to time. This van has provided drawers and underneath it, a large space for those objects you don’t come across every day.

Why install van racking?

There’s nothing worse than turning a sharp corner and hearing your beloved cargo crash against the panels. Without van racking, you’re often playing Russian roulette with which bit of equipment will be smashing against the panel next. The right van racking can help prevent dents, scratches and help you access your cargo with ease, not only saving you time, but saving you money.

Wood or metal van racking?

Before making your decision, you might want to consider everything that’ll be carried in the transit to ensure that you get the most suitable van racking for your business. You probably have a good idea already in your mind, but this is the time to consider absolutely everything. Mapping out what you’ll carry on an average day and multiplying this by 365 will give you an insight into what you’ll carry year to year. The last thing you want is to have van racking that’s unable to take hold of your supplies. The key questions you’ll need to ask yourself is how frequently you’ll be using individual pieces of equipment, the weight of your load, the size of it and how fragile the equipment might be.

Wood racking

Wood racking is by far the cheaper solution and is a really good option for those of you who just have a small number of tools that need racking away, it’s also argued that the interior of the van is protected much more with wood than with metal. As you’d expect, trades like joinery and carpentry may be more suited to this with the majority of its load being compromised of wood consumables. The downside to wood racking is that wood can be quite heavy and that additional weight can cost you in terms of fuel. You’ll also want to think twice if you regularly carry liquids too as unless you regularly treat the shelving, the water will cause the wood to expand or rot.

Metal racking

Metal racking is more lightweight in comparison to wood depending on which type of metal to use. As you would expect, aluminium will be a lot more lightweight than steel shelving but if you have big bulky equipment you might favour the latter. If you’re going to be storing liquids in your van, its advised that you go for a material such as galvanized steel. Trades that have large heavy equipment will be more suited to metal racking. Metal racking is, however, more expensive than wood racking and unless you’re an expert metal worker, you may need to get this installed by a professional. You can often buy metal van racking sets straight out of the box from many retailers.

Van insurance

Before you get your hammer out, it’s always best to check whether you’re insured for van racking or DIY van racking. Luckily, we insure both and our van insurance experts would be more than happy to give you a quote!

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