Need help outfitting (upfitting) new US Ford Transit work van

RonMiller

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Oct 17, 2009
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My 20 year old Dodge work van finally died and I bought a 2015 Ford Transit Van. It's a long base, mid-length with medium height roof. I'm only 5' 5" so can easily stand up in it.

I've read a lot of the van outfittings on here and like the idea of building my own using ply. But I'm swamped at work and am afraid I'll never get to this. I've also looked at companies that do this sort of thing and the prices weren't as crazy as I thought they'd be. But I really want to maximize the space and even hope to do a chaos type wall for a portion of it to get my festools as easily accessible as possible. I do a lot of small kitchen, countertop, tile backsplash, and other installation jobs, so carry a lot of equipment. My longest job is usually about 3 days and often I'm at 4 sites in one day. So I've worked hard at organization and compact tool purchases. I use 3 Sysrolls with another dozen loose systainers plus a variety of other things like levels, rails, vac, etc.

So here's the question(s). Is anyone aware of pre-made shelving or systems that will work for this situation - specifically for an almost all Festool worker like myself? Especially something that will accommodate closely placed systainers?  Or do you think the only way this can be done is via personal customization? The van I bought has the Ford Load Area Protection package that uses polypropylene panels to protect the floor and walls. Nice and I'll probably leave this on the floor but the wall panels get somewhat in the way of getting to the places to screw things into.

Somewhere I saw a company that makes shelf systems for the Ford Transit Connect (little brother of my van) that attach at the top corners and hang down a few feet. This lets the floor and center of the van be open. But they don't make then (yet?) for the Transit. That got me thinking that it would be  nice to do a chaos wall along the sides from the top. But how to connect them to the van is a concern and would the weight be too much?

Enough of my thinking out loud. Anyone know of a company to do this or have advice for me?
 
Hi,
  I had the same dilemma as you a few years ago. I bought a sprinter van already outfitted with steel shelves.  In tried like a million configurations.  Honestly, your best off outfitting it to your exact specs, or you will have wasted space.  I recently just purchased a 2000 freight liner step van (cummins).  This thing is one large box truck, I can't wait to start outfitting it. 
 
Unfortunately the only way to get it setp the way you want it is to go custom. It takes time and thought but once its done it is so worth it! We did our E350 earlier this year and it has been great to work out of since we ditched the stock steel shelves and went custom.
 

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overanalyze said:
Unfortunately the only way to get it setp the way you want it is to go custom. It takes time and thought but once its done it is so worth it! We did our E350 earlier this year and it has been great to work out of since we ditched the stock steel shelves and went custom.

It looks nice Andrew but I see way too much Black & Yellow and no where near enough Green.  [tongue]
 
xtrememtnbiker said:
overanalyze said:
Unfortunately the only way to get it setp the way you want it is to go custom. It takes time and thought but once its done it is so worth it! We did our E350 earlier this year and it has been great to work out of since we ditched the stock steel shelves and went custom.

It looks nice Andrew but I see way too much Black & Yellow and no where near enough Green.  [tongue]
Yeah yeah..lol! There are a few more Green boxes in there now. I really like the ToughSystem boxes. We have a variety of brands in them.
 
I wonder if the yellow would come off with lacquer thinner?
 
I've just started to layout and build a 2015 transit medium roof interior. Like others have already said, the only way to make it what you want is to custom build it.
BTW- I've discovered that there is quite a bit of unused space behind those wall panels. More than other cargo vans. It is somewhat time consuming to make use of those spaces but as others have said, it will pay off in the long run.
 

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Wow, that looks like a ton of wasted space, even w/ those panels removed (especially those cupholder/bins on the bottom). WTH Ford.
 
I think I'd be inclined to fill those voids with closed-cell spray insulation before applying any siding.  It gets pretty hot here in the summer, and any help in keeping things cool would pay off. 

 
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