A work van is an essential tool for any tradesperson. They can be used for general storage and for carrying around your tools and essentials or as a fitted out mobile workshop. A van is a great asset and can help with keeping organised which in turn ensures your jobs run smoothly and efficiently. Whatever you use your van for, as a workshop or for storing tools and essentials, there are a whole load of accessories out there to fit your van out with. We’ve pulled together what we think are the top 5 essential items that would help a tradesperson get the most out of their van and ensure they work more efficiently.
Ply Lining
Most vans these days come with ply lining as standard. Ply lining is exactly what it sounds like – the walls and floor of the van are lined with sheets of ply that have been custom shaped to fit your van perfectly. If your new van hasn’t come with ply lining we’d recommend having it installed as soon as possible. Ply lining prevents damage to the sheet metal walls and floor of the van and makes a good surface for fitting storage accessories – for example, the TradeTidy range of holders. We’d recommend that you check that the ply lining has been sufficiently fixed to the van to ensure it can support the weight of the holders once they’ve been filled.
Shelving
There are a bunch of manufacturers out there that make shelving for vans. They’re all custom made to suit different manufacturers’ vans so you’ll need to check carefully when it comes to ordering the correct shelving or racking for your van. Steel or timber racking systems are available – steel is more expensive and more durable than timber but you can be restricted to having to use the manufacturer's add on items as they are often made to fit their own racking system only. With timber, the options are much more flexible and holders, like the TradeTidy silicone tube holder, can be screwed directly to the timber racking. Whatever racking system you choose, steel or timber, both are great and we feel an essential accessory for a work van.
Holders
Tradespeople have a lot of tools and accessories in their vans which have a habit of getting lost – think of silicone tubes, aerosol cans rolling around etc! Therefore, a simple holder for storing these sorts of items is essential. Not only do they keep them tidily in one place and prevent them from getting lost, but keeping them together can make your day more productive when you know where they are in the van and haven’t got to waste time hunting them down. TradeTidy has a good range of holders at affordable prices.
Interior Lighting
There’s no point in racking your van out and installing some holders if you have no lighting to be able to see what’s in the back of your van! All vans come with an interior light as standard but this is often insufficient when a good bit of light is needed in the van – especially if it is kitted out as a workshop. There are a good range of aftermarket interior van lights on the market and a lot of tradespeople just buy LED light strips and have them wired into the van electrical system by a qualified auto electrician. The other option is battery powered strip lights. These often come with a magnet on the back so that it can ‘stick’ to the roof of the van. The only downside with these is they won’t come on automatically when the van door is opened, unlike a hard wired option.
Roof Racks
Roof racks are a great accessory if you’ve maxed out the space in the inside of your van. They’re also great for carrying long items, such as ladders, copper pipes etc, that are too long to fit into the back of the van. There are some good products on the market which fit onto roof racks. Thing’s like ladder clamps and pipe tube holders. These keep ladders and copper pipes are safe and securely fastened to the roof rack. When choosing a roof rack, take care in ensuring it will fit your model of van as each make of van will be different.
So in summary, a van is an essential tool for any tradesperson but also important is how the van is kitted out inside.