Van shelves as workshop storage

[drummingpariah]

I'm pretty satisfied with how this latest workshop project turned out. I picked up some van shelves for $50, mounted some casters to spacers, and fastened them to the bottom. It's moderately stable, has really convenient storage cubbies (as opposed to tool chest drawers), and it'd be pretty easy to add a work surface to the top.

The only thing I'd do differently would be using fixed locking wheels instead of casters on half. Shopping cart steering is almost universally better and more stable (since you only push it around on one axis).

All that's really left is to finish cleaning it and then slap some paint and drawer labels on it.

 

[crewchief888]

one of my wall cabinets is from a service van we were selling off.

i use it to store my electric grinders and consumables.

 

[Two Speed]

Nice repurpose, and you can't beat the price.
Have you had fixed casters on anything before? Royal PITA when you need to maneuver out of a tight spot.

 

[dutchgray]

A good use for them, van shelving is usually pretty heavily built as it needs to be if it will last a decent time, the only thing is you almost never see them cheap here which is odd considering vans are by far the most common work vehicle in the UK.

 

[Show7d3]

I have some for storage in my garage. Around thirty years ago the place I was working had a service van that was going to be junked. I ended up with the shelves for free.

 

[CJM8515]

Those type of shelves are good, seems they came in mostly ford E series vans. The shelves in the dodge ram vans and GM vans wasnt ever that nice usually.

 

[drummingpariah]

Nice repurpose, and you can't beat the price.
Have you had fixed casters on anything before? Royal PITA when you need to maneuver out of a tight spot.

That's what every tool chest I've ever seen comes with. Shopping-cart steering is much easier to park and remove, in my experience.

A good use for them, van shelving is usually pretty heavily built as it needs to be if it will last a decent time, the only thing is you almost never see them cheap here which is odd considering vans are by far the most common work vehicle in the UK.

I'd be very surprised if your vehicles in the UK rusted as quickly as they do in New England. We cater to people who don't know how to drive and won't buy snow tires by using the worst salt-slurry a vehicle could ever see. It's really horrid ... but it means that work vehicle bodies only last ~5-10 years before they won't pass a safety inspection (I think you guys call them MOT?)

I have some for storage in my garage. Around thirty years ago the place I was working had a service van that was going to be junked. I ended up with the shelves for free.

I have four units at this point, all similarly priced. I expect that they'll all end up in my race support vehicle (box truck) for the 2019 season. These things are absolutely perfect for race spares and tools.

Those type of shelves are good, seems they came in mostly ford E series vans. The shelves in the dodge ram vans and GM vans wasnt ever that nice usually.

I had always assumed they were all the same. This is the first time I've seen a set with locks in tact, but I'll have to have a locksmith cut a new set of keys if I'm going to use the locks.

 

[CJM8515]

That's what every tool chest I've ever seen comes with. Shopping-cart steering is much easier to park and remove, in my experience.







I'd be very surprised if your vehicles in the UK rusted as quickly as they do in New England. We cater to people who don't know how to drive and won't buy snow tires by using the worst salt-slurry a vehicle could ever see. It's really horrid ... but it means that work vehicle bodies only last ~5-10 years before they won't pass a safety inspection (I think you guys call them MOT?)







I have four units at this point, all similarly priced. I expect that they'll all end up in my race support vehicle (box truck) for the 2019 season. These things are absolutely perfect for race spares and tools.







I had always assumed they were all the same. This is the first time I've seen a set with locks in tact, but I'll have to have a locksmith cut a new set of keys if I'm going to use the locks.

Look for a number on the lock and check online. They’re are only so many keys

 

[mikegt4]

The local pick-n-pull had a fleet of service vans come in and I thought of buying some of the shelving for my own storage uses. They would have worked well but they wanted $75 per section (smaller than those in your photo) for really beat up units. It looks like you have good ones and if you have an earthquake the stuff won't vibrate out of the shelves!

 

[drummingpariah]

Look for a number on the lock and check online. They’re are only so many keys

It actually included the key, it was just kicking around at the bottom of the unit.

The local pick-n-pull had a fleet of service vans come in and I thought of buying some of the shelving for my own storage uses. They would have worked well but they wanted $75 per section (smaller than those in your photo) for really beat up units. It looks like you have good ones and if you have an earthquake the stuff won't vibrate out of the shelves!

$75/section isn't terrible ... but they need to be usable. I had a few corners to straighten, but it really didn't take long at all. Vehicles here in New England tend to rust pretty quickly, and apparently it isn't worth moving shelves from the older model to the newer model so they end up getting scrapped with the vehicles themselves. As a result, we have a lot of units like these kicking around. I still haven't gotten around to painting them yet, but I've been busy with the race car project instead!

 

[drummingpariah]

Now I have 5 sets of these things. I'm not quite sure how many is 'too many' to be honest.

 

[drummingpariah]

Just in case anybody's interested, I put together a video covering them in a bit more detail. I'm pretty proud of how these things have turned out.