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Organising van better for more space

slippy

Active member
Messages
840
Location
Bournemouth
My van is a disorganised mess of a van is doing my head in. All just thrown in Any ideas of where to put things.  I do handyman work such as gardening, woodwork(occasionally) as well so sometimes take some of stuff out.  Was going to put a really wide shelf on one of wheel arches which would accommodate a big tool bag or tub of trad cloths and keep them off floor. Putting some things on ceiling for poles as well.  

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When you are multi trade you are always going to be in a mess mate unless you dedicate time at the end pf every day to unload everything you dont need for the next. Ive laid off the gardening and most pf our work is on windows now, its less strenuous on my back. Apart from the mowing round every fortnight in summer we trim a few hedges and thats about it. I just cant keep taking everything on and off the van every other day to suit what weve got on, so been pushing for more cleaning work for a while. When you see guys nice neat vans they generally havent had garden waste, muddy tools and everything else in there, and they run off fixed tank systems rather than backpacks. Get a couple of hooks from screwfix to fix the poles to the wall of the van, you can screw them in to the plywood & cost peanuts [emoji106]


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That’s ours today, more of a mess than normal as the skyvac is in there. if you set yours up similar rather than having that big mound of stuff at the back you might just get through the day


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You just need to build in the height some. I like big storage bins with lids for extra clothing, spare parts, tools etc. You can keep those on top of your barrels and just move them aside when needed.

A proper tank is a good upgrade down the road, but working with barrels is fine as well. I did it for 3-4 months last year before it did my head in (I do mostly large commercial customers so had to switch barrels constantly) and I got a 350l tank which saved me so much grief. And made the van tidier.

 
I couldn't work with a van like that Slippy and incheck it would do my head in.

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Lol it looks like a nightmare but as with everything you get used to it and found a good rhythm to working with it, it does get a bit exciting towards the end of the day when most of the barrels are empty so they rock around the back of the van as you’re driving [emoji51]


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Get the pump fixed in over the wheelarch you could poly board that.

Then if I was you I would use bread crates to organise cheap and can easily sort it and be moved


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That's 19 barrels lol. 

I have 11 barrels. Only have enough customers for 2 days work a week though at moment.  Still contemplating a tank with ro, but once it's bolted in there's no going back so sitting on that idea at the moment.    I like being able to take barrels out but they do slow u down big time though. 

Going to put some tubes in ceiling for poles etc

 
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Lol when its just windows we have 27 in the back, but we had gutters on this day so therefore there’s less. Very rarely do we use more than 23/24 barrels but the thought of running out is not there. Ran out once, never again lol


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When you are multi trade you are always going to be in a mess mate unless you dedicate time at the end pf every day to unload everything you dont need for the next. Ive laid off the gardening and most pf our work is on windows now, its less strenuous on my back. Apart from the mowing round every fortnight in summer we trim a few hedges and thats about it. I just cant keep taking everything on and off the van every other day to suit what weve got on, so been pushing for more cleaning work for a while. When you see guys nice neat vans they generally havent had garden waste, muddy tools and everything else in there, and they run off fixed tank systems rather than backpacks. Get a couple of hooks from screwfix to fix the poles to the wall of the van, you can screw them in to the plywood & cost peanuts
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Just a thought, but couldn't you just fit a towbar to the van and get a small trailer to carry the mower and other gardening things in? As long as it's under 750kg then you don't need your trailer license. That way the van could be set purely for windows, then when your on the gardens just hitch up and off you go.

 
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Just a thought, but couldn't you just fit a towbar to the van and get a small trailer to carry the mower and other gardening things in? As long as it's under 750kg then you don't need your trailer license. That way the van could be set purely for windows, then when your on the gardens just hitch up and off you go.
It’s a good idea mate but in Cardiff bit of a different scenario. The parking for a start is very restrictive everywhere you go, the streets are too small and roads already overcrowded. simply navigating a transit is tight enough let alone lengthening the vehicle again. Nowhere to store the trailer when not in use. And also, in this country, people tend to just help themselves to what ever is in a trailer. Much more secure in a locked van.


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Lol when its just windows we have 27 in the back, but we had gutters on this day so therefore there’s less. Very rarely do we use more than 23/24 barrels but the thought of running out is not there. Ran out once, never again lol


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Not having a go mate but you may want to think less of how tidy your van is and more on how secure your load is.

You say you normally carry 27 barrels. From the looks of it not one of them is secured to anything.
Assuming that they’re 25 litre barrels, if you hit a wall at 30mph those 27 barrels at 25kg each (total 675kg) would equate to 20,250kg on impact.

To be fair though they all don’t look full to the top so let’s be nice and say there’s 20 litres to a barrel.

20kg x 27 barrels = 540kg

At 30mph that’s still a worrying 16,200kg smashing into you

At 50mph you’re now at 27,000kg

If you’re carrying these sorts of weights then I’d seriously suggest getting a tank with a frame fitted.

As I said before I’m not having a go, just some friendly advice [emoji1360]

http://www.roadsafetyknowledgecentre.org.uk/help-forum/473.html


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Yeah i understand what youre saying and youre right. I drive very very slow and carefully as you can inagine! They all secure themselves to be honest as they jam up against one another and between other objects. They dont move when full as their own weight holds them in place, providing you dont drive like an idiot & take into consideration whats in the back.


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@Incheck not having a go either but no doubt if you wanted to put a 700ltr tank in the back a insurance company may well say no, But to say you have water containers in the back is fine with them with them and  been totally oblivious to a combined weight of almost a ton all unsecured in anyway. 

 
Aye, you cant win either way though. Big tank in the back they dont like it. + you’ve got unfortunate cases like nudel having his hose reel caught up in a car at the airport. Also van systems, more to worry about in hard winters, trailing hoses everywhere are a major trip hazard to the public, + cant get to the back of terraces unless you want to run the hose all the way through the house. Ladders is an obsolete and dangerous way of working. Pros and cons to everything. Backpack probably safest of any option health & safety wise once you’re on the job. Comes down to “getting things done” at the end of the day doesn’t it. There’s so much red tape & regulation in every aspect of life...gotta win somewhere haven’t you


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Thinking about it, every ten passengers on a bus is the equivalent of a tonne, you could have 40 passengers on a bus. No seat belts either. that’s 4 tonnes worth of human beings in unsecured weight [emoji51]


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@Incheck not having a go either but no doubt if you wanted to put a 700ltr tank in the back a insurance company may well say no, But to say you have water containers in the back is fine with them with them and  been totally oblivious to a combined weight of almost a ton all unsecured in anyway. 
That's why I don't have a tank yet.  Barrels don't have to be declared.  Not sure the maths is right.  You calculated the impact power on the bulk head in a crash combining all the barrels.   But they aren't a combined weight, they're individual weights so the impact needs to be calculated on each 25kg barrel Only.   Maybe I don't know what I am talking about not sure. My barrels are racheted together to bulk head. 

 
That's why I don't have a tank yet.  Barrels don't have to be declared.  Not sure the maths is right.  You calculated the impact power on the bulk head in a crash combining all the barrels.   But they aren't a combined weight, they're individual weights so the impact needs to be calculated on each 25kg barrel Only.   Maybe I don't know what I am talking about not sure. My barrels are racheted together to bulk head. 
The point I was trying to make is that he has a unsecured load with a approximate total weight of 700kg, that is going to make a big difference in the event of a accident either for him or someone else.

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