I finally got my new work van about two months ago. I haven't had alot of time to build out the inside yet but figured I would share what I have so far. Prior to the new van I was working out of a pickup with a cap which was a disaster.

Currently the passenger side of the van is almost done. The drivers side only has two deviders up to help support my 8ft ladder hanging from the roof. Most of my tools are kept in systainers so the shelves are designed for those. On the drivers side there will be shelves built for a few Milwaukee Packout boxes which I use for larger tools and some of my fasteners as well as more systainer shelves.

The shelves are made from 5/8 and 1/2" sanded plywood from Home Depot. The adjustable shelves sit on 1-1/2" strips of 3/8" plywood screwed to the uprights. There is about 7/8" gap between each strip with stop blocks to lock in the shelves. Everything is bolted to the van using unistrut secured to the factory seatbelt bolt holes. There is a piece of unistrut top and bottom run from the full length of the van on both sides. The uprights then bolt to this using strut 90deg brackets. This makes everything very sturdy and can easily be adjusted in the future.

Very nice.  Might steal your systainer shelf system for my van.  I don't like how I currently have mine.  What spacing did you use for the shelf cleats?

Can't believe you'd want to give up your pickup...given up masochism huh

 

If I had your old truck, the tool I'd need most would always be on the bottom of the pile as far up in the bed as could be located

Yup, this is what happened when I needed the table saw which was all the way in the front under everything! 
There is another pile of stuff that you can't see in the photo

Looks like a good upgrade. Im not sure why it is so popular to drive pickup trucks, with or without hardtop, and then the tooltrailer in the US. I believe ive seen one guy, in my area with that setup. Everyone else drive Ford Transits, Mercedes Vitos, VW Transporters etc. Almost every trade.

Is it tradition, the climate or ? It seems not very practical, but then again, ive never tried.

I don't know why vans are not more popular in the US. Having switched to a van i would never want to switch back to the pickup truck. However since this is a company truck and the pickups are cheaper depending on the configuration I'm sure that plays a part. I know for my company I have the only van out of almost 100 vehicles on the road. When the vehicle is free its hard to complain .
From what i have seen working in comercial construction electricians and plumbers are the only ones consistantly using vans over trucks.

In my opinion the only real downside to the van is they are not readily available in 4 wheel drive. There are companies that will convert vans direct from the factory but none of the big manufacturers offer 4x4 vans. I have not had the new van yet for the winter but i have heard from other people with the same van that they are terrible in the snow.

What part of PA?  I'm outside Harrisburg. 

When I started my remodel business I knew I wanted a van, so I could carry everything I could need in it.  The Downside is lack of 4wd.  And it's a pain to carry materials at times. I don't know why so many trades and remodelers use trucks or truck/trailers

The Mailman dropped off lots of brand new systainers today!! I guess I need to make room in the van

Where are the orange ones from? I need to play an order that size but work has been a little slow lately.

I ordered everything from vantainer.com.  International shipping costs a good bit for a large order but everything still worked out alittle cheaper.

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I don't know why vans are not more popular in the US. Having switched to a van i would never want to switch back to the pickup truck. However since this is a company truck and the pickups are cheaper depending on the configuration I'm sure that plays a part. I know for my company I have the only van out of almost 100 vehicles on the road. When the vehicle is free its hard to complain .
From what i have seen working in comercial construction electricians and plumbers are the only ones consistantly using vans over trucks.

In my opinion the only real downside to the van is they are not readily available in 4 wheel drive. There are companies that will convert vans direct from the factory but none of the big manufacturers offer 4x4 vans. I have not had the new van yet for the winter but i have heard from other people with the same van that they are terrible in the snow.
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Mercedes makes a good 4x4 Sprinter not sure about a Vito
VW got the 4motion(4x4)Transporter and Crafter
Iveco Daily comes in a 4x4
All straight out of the factory pretty good choices

Quote from: ColossusX on September 02, 2018, 09:47 AM

Where are the orange ones from? I need to play an order that size but work has been a little slow lately.

I ordered everything from vantainer.com.  International shipping costs a good bit for a large order but everything still worked out alittle cheaper.

Do you recall how long it took to handle your order? 12 days and mine still hasnt been shipped.  And that's after they charged me an additional 50 £/$65 for shipping on top of what they charged me when I placed the order

They're adding a mini 3 for me too. Even with the extra charge, its still a lot cheaper.  An average of $51 each for 11 boxes.   So it sounds like this is just their normal MO.  Makes me feel a little better.