Systainer organization for work van

[pmac101]

I have all my tools in Systainers simply stacked against the cargo partition and the side wall held in place by ratchet straps.
I occasionally have to empty the systainers on the side if I have a big delivery to do with the van. The ones in the front rarely have to come out (Van is a sprinter 144" 2500 regular roof)
Anyone have a simple system for making each systainer accessible without having to move the one on top?
I keep the stuff I rarely use on the bottom but it's a real pain to get to it when I do need it.
I keep most of my short tracks in the festool track bag/carrying case. I want to install something either on the ceiling or wall to keep my 6ft & 10ft tracks. Anyone else have anything like this. I want to take up as little room as possible since I use the van regularly for material deliveries, most of which are set right in with a fork lift.
Off the festool topic I have a winch I want to install in the back of the van so I can easily load heavy gang boxes by myself (to pull them up a loading ramp). I'm thinking it needs to be installed at the front right in the middle. Anyone else done anything like this?
I load the boxes with a fork lift at the shop but when I drop them off or pick them up at the jobsite it's hard to get them down the ramp without them taking off at 30mph! It's impossible to get them back up the ramp without enlisting the help of random people on the street.
I'm a wood flooring contractor and our jobs rarely last more than 3 or 4 days and the boxes are being moved almost daily.
[attachthumb=1][attachimg=1]

 

[PA floor guy]

Hey,
  I know you from floor masters.  I too am a flooring guy. I have the same sprinter as well.  There are plenty of topics on here just about van racking.  I have used multiple systems now in my sprinter.  I actually keep 40-45 systainers all the time in my sprinter.

 

[Kev]

[welcome] to the forum [wink]

I'm not a van guy, so I'm no speaking from practical experience ...

I've always been curious why I haven't seen anyone make their van racks as large trolleys (with inboard wheels for the bottom section with a smaller storage pocket). Each vertical column of systainers would be it's own "trolley".

Maybe the effort is too great for the benefit considering the need for the clipping in mechanisms for the systainers and the trolleys themselves, plus the fabrication and the materials (I'd imagine they're need to be made of metal for durability - a great 80/20 application, but that'd cost a bomb).

 

[wow]

[welcome] to the FOG!

I'm not a van guy either, but I will be watching this for answers as I did something similar on my enclosed trailer (which I no longer own).

I am thinking about getting one again, so I'm anxious to see what gets posted?

 

[duburban]

What happens to the sustainers on the left when you do get a big forklift of materials? Thats not a common desire for the van crowd that I've seen. Do you end up taking a bunch of gear out to move material?

 

[Eli]

Unless you're going to mount the winch at the top of the bulkhead, I think you'll need a deck mounted pulley at the back, where the doors are. Otherwise the cable will drag across the floor until the boxes/trolleys get up the ramp.

 

[Davej]

high level racking = clear floor. Just a thought
Dave

 

[SMJoinery]

I've had this installed now for a few months and it's great. Keeps everything nicely organised, easy to get something out and no falling issues to date.
All my tracks, steps, levels, space for long lengths beading etc etc are under the floor and I've left a space between the floor and racks for full sheet goods etc.

 

[wow]

Looks great! And I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with the 'Christmas theme' (red and green) going on.

 

[pmac101]

The systainers on the left I just put them outside when the truck is being loaded with the forklift and then put them back in at the front or on top of the pallet if it's not too high (I can squeeze 1500 sq ft of flooring or 60 sheets of 3/4 plywood into the back without having to move the systainers at the front).
I wouldn't be too concerned if the cable dragged along the floor (it's ply lined) unless it would damage the cable over time?
SM joinery: Van looks great. Are the systainers held in place by a lip at the front of the shelves or is there another kind of locking mechanism?

 

[SMJoinery]

SM joinery: Van looks great. Are the systainers held in place by a lip at the front of the shelves or is there another kind of locking mechanism?

Hi, yes the bottom foot of the systainer (6mm I think?) sits against the shelf front.
This worked great for me as I simply fixed my bottom shelf at a height of 200mm placed a systainer on shelf, placed a 9mm piece of ply as a packer on top and fixed another shelf on top of the 9mm packer, removed the packer and repeat the process. The systainer lifts out no problem and hasn't fallen out yet.
If I could go back to do it again I'd make a little cut out under the systainer on the shelf front to aid easing it up before pulling it out.
Hope that helps.
Good luck.

 

[Larso]

A clear floor if possible is the way i think,i am still only half way through fitting out my new van but the clear floor is what i am aiming for.My progress is posted here.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/workshops-and-mobile-vehicle-based-shops/fixing-new-van-racking-to-van/

 

 

[ggc]

I'm not a van guy either, but if I was and I'd already drunk the green kool-aid, I'd have a look at Tanos Mobil http://www.tanosmobil.de/ , even if it's just for inspiration. 
If I hadn't drunk all the kool-aid, I'd probably have a look at the sortimo offerings, there's some clever ideas in their range.