Connect LWB racking ideas needed

[stehanson]

Anyone got any pics of your racking in a transit connect- esp a LWB

I'm toying with the idea of some racking in my Transit Connect (LWB, HR) the van is big enough for what I carry but the problem is most of its stored on the deck with a few small storage bins on passenger side, so cant get in it properly half the time to find stuff easily, if I can go upwards ill free some floor space! -

I carry a a small set of 3 section ladders which sit on the hub boarding and held one end by a bungee and two brackets the other end somehow I need to encompass this or move them somehow?!

Carry two Ikea bags with 16 dustsheets up front (one stacked on top of other) poles and broom etc were on brackets above ladders but brackets worked loose on the ply! so all in all its a cluttered / untidy now and needs sorting out!

My only other issue is an oil leak high up in engine (think its crank casing) which requires an engineering company to strip it down rather than the local garage, so not sure if to get rid of the van for something bigger, and rack that out?!











last pic is ply Clearing the ladder and plumb

And whats shown is without the third hop-up and any emulsion (the latter is stored on the deck in the gap next to the hop-ups, oil based trim paints stored in rear storage container!

Not sure where I can go with carrying ladders on board and curved sides towards top so any Ideas or help invited Thumbsup

[stehanson]

Ive discounted a false floor to store ladders due to it taking a fair bit of height incase someone metions this idea!

[highroof]

Hi, I don't have pics, so not as helpful as it might be, but I've got a lot of stuff hung on the ply ( well, 5mm thick white foamex, from the local sign writing shop, used that to reflect more light, and it wipes clean ) on the inside of the rear doors. I'm a decorator, so none of it's more than the hinges can cope with. It's got roller sleeves, caulk, in holders from ebay, spirit level, hand wipes, etc, etc, the space is all taken up with light weight type stuff. Beauty of it, it's right in front of you when you open the door, and it's stuff I use all the time. Also got Alpine 6x9s in the bottom of them, on mdf boards cut to shape, not that essential, but I do long trips in it!

I also made a sliding rack to hold the ladders up just under the roof on the drivers side, as it's space that just doesn't get used otherwise. Basically just made using a sliding wardrobe door track, mounted to the roof bracing, with a fixed rear bracket hanging down, made from timber with a slot to fit the rear ladder rung, and a similar one in front of it, but fitted so it slides forward on the track as you push the front of the ladder into it. There's a bungee looped around the front one, with the ends fixed to the rear one, so that the tension makes the ladder stay put when the rungs are in their respective slots. Not easy to describe, and a bit of a faff to get set up right, but you get the gist. Way better there than anywhere else, at least for me.

I made a box for the pass side rear arch, so I had somewhere to stand my pasting table, again, space I wouldn't otherwise use, and it gets it off the floor and out of the way. I tried to use all of the threaded holes in the sides of the van for eyelets to fix things to, not difficult, and occasionally useful. And there's a 2 tier rack fitted behind the drivers seat, with a gap underneath for plastic boxes for dust sheets, 5 litre tins of paint on the 1st tier, 2.5 tins on the 2nd tier. The back's all sound deadened, insulated and carpeted with 3 way mega stretch stuff off ebay to try and stop the paint getting affected in cold weather, and stop rattles. I screwed strips of wood to the floor to stop the boxes with the sheets in, hoover, etc, from sliding about.

I would aim to have as much stuff up off the floor as possible, and fitted in a way where you don't have to move one thing to get to another.

Hope some of this helps.

[stehanson]

Thanks for the detailed reply Highroof!

Sounds like a well thought out solution!

Like yourself I'm a decorator too (incase you hadn't guessed lol) so some good ideas that will help me, though I can visualise some aspects of your setup, some e.g. The ladder mounting are hard to imagine without seeing it though I can understand the concept.
Thanks again.

[highroof]

Thanks for the detailed reply Highroof!

Sounds like a well thought out solution!

Like yourself I'm a decorator too (incase you hadn't guessed lol) so some good ideas that will help me, though I can visualise some aspects of your setup, some e.g. The ladder mounting are hard to imagine without seeing it though I can understand the concept.
Thanks again.

Lol, yeah, it dragged on a bit, picture tells a thousand words! Haven't got any yet though. The most irritating thing about racking a van out is that, when you're finished, you can usually see a better way to do it!

I ended up making space for my spare wheel directly behind the drivers seat, just didn't fancy lying under the van one sub zero night on the side of a wet m/way getting it loose!