Van storage?

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bbe

Member
Location
N.C.
Got a question and please limit the cheapskate comments. Wondering if it would be possible to build a wood version of the packrat drawer storage for a van. Has anyone done this ? The main thing is finding some drawer slides that would hold up to the counter weight when opened. Got any ideas ? Need some more storage an thought about one of these but dont want to spend $800.00 to see if i like it. What do you think?
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
Got a question and please limit the cheapskate comments. Wondering if it would be possible to build a wood version of the packrat drawer storage for a van. Has anyone done this ? The main thing is finding some drawer slides that would hold up to the counter weight when opened. Got any ideas ? Need some more storage an thought about one of these but dont want to spend $800.00 to see if i like it. What do you think?
Yes, I have one in one of my regular vans, and I like it better than the one's from American Van. It covers the whole floor, and has 5 drawers that pull ou the back, and four that pull out the side. I can take pictures tomorrow. No glides required.
 

bbe

Member
Location
N.C.
That would be great, thanks MD. Glad to see im not the only one that tries to make instead of buy.
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Got a question and please limit the cheapskate comments. Wondering if it would be possible to build a wood version of the packrat drawer storage for a van. Has anyone done this ? The main thing is finding some drawer slides that would hold up to the counter weight when opened. Got any ideas ? Need some more storage an thought about one of these but dont want to spend $800.00 to see if i like it. What do you think?

yep. you can do that. it'll work. like marc said, you don't need glides.

not expensive either. 2x8's. plywood. a bit of cabinetmaking skill. deck
screws. beeswax for the edges of the 2x8's.

not going to get 100% extension, except on a very bad day. ;)
not gonna spend a couple grand either.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
What is your time worth putting all this together? Could you better spend it on a job and use the money from the job to simply purchase what you want?
 

bbe

Member
Location
N.C.
480, thats just it been slow here for the past couple months, so right now i got the time not the work. hehe Not much work = not much money to spend. hehe
 

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
480, thats just it been slow here for the past couple months, so right now i got the time not the work. hehe Not much work = not much money to spend. hehe

I'd rather spend the time drumming up work then.
fiufiu.gif
 

bbe

Member
Location
N.C.
Never really learned the art of drumming up work. Advertise, rolling billboard ( driven through nice neighborhoods, construction sites slowly), giving cards to everyone thats the extent of my drumming, Any ideas??????
 

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
Never really learned the art of drumming up work. Advertise, rolling billboard ( driven through nice neighborhoods, construction sites slowly), giving cards to everyone thats the extent of my drumming, Any ideas??????

Canned response follows:

First and foremost, you need to create, and then spend the money on, an advertising budget.

Join your local builders associations. Attend the meetings and other events.

Visit home shows and expos, with a wad of business cards in your pocket. Don't be shy about introducing yourself. And don't give out cards one at a time.... give each person 3 or 4: they're cheap, and you don't know who those people know!

Get on your local Craigslist site. Look for builders and handymen there who advertise "It's OK to contact them with other services or commercial interests." (This will be at the bottom of their listing) Drop them a short, simple email to introduce yourself. I've gotten one builder, two remodelers and two house-flippers this way!

And my favorite method: whenever you go to the Big Orange, Big Blue, or even the local hardware store (Ace, True Value, whatever) look for the trucks and vans that have "Fred's Home Improvement", "Handy Dave, Dan's Older Brother" or "Quality Construction" on them. And not just 'builders', .... landscapers, painters, roofers, drywallers, plumbers.....ANY construction trade lead can pan out. Stick a business card in the drivers window. The worst that can happen is they throw it away.

Real estate agents are another 'forgotten' source. Many people who buy an existing home immediately want to change it, so if you buddy up with realtors you can be 'first in line' when it comes to the new homeowners' upgrades.

If (or should I be more positive and say when) you do find a builder, remodeller or flipper, be sure not to forget the person or people who are paying them.... the owners. Make contact with them, introduce yourself, and by all means, give them a card.

Want to start doing commercial? Drive around town and find all those little strip malls and see if there are any empty bays. Contact the name & number on the sign (after all, it is for rent, isn't it?), and find out who owns the property. Contact that person, introduce yourself, and simply ask if it would be possible for you to submit a bid when a new tenant is found.

Many local stores have bulliten boards you can put a small print ad (easy to do today with computers and printers) or a business card. It's free, and you never know.

Be persistent. Be sociable. Be friendly. You will not get every lead, you will not get every bid. And you will need to learn to deal with rejection.
But most important: create an advertising budget. And stick to your advertising plan. If one method doesn't seem to work, drop it and spend your money on other ideas. Business cards are the cheapest form of advertising, and the easiest to use. They fit in your pocket, so there is no excuse for never having a card to hand someone.

It WILL take some time, but if you do quality work at a reasonable price, you'll keep busy. And by reasonable, I mean fair and profitable. DO NOT try to comptete on price alone. DO NOT promote yourself as Wal-Mart Electric. If you do, you WILL fail.
 

alfiesauce

Senior Member
We've got wooden drawers in our vans.
If you don't take them all the way to the cab you can set up drawers for your side door too.
 

Sparky555

Senior Member
What is your time worth putting all this together? Could you better spend it on a job and use the money from the job to simply purchase what you want?

Although I'm curious what Marc's drawers look like, I'm with 480 on this one. I spent way too much time on custom shelving, partition, racks, etc. I tried some large metal bins that were a PITA. The solution was drawers. I got two 4-drawer floor units. They were worth every cent & I still got to spend plenty of time organizing the drawers with tools & materials.
 

quogueelectric

Senior Member
Location
new york
A little oak grain with a little golden oak stain...... A little minwax polyurethane oil base flintstones style. Let me volenteer for the bolt trough my head now.
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
Although I'm curious what Marc's drawers look like, I'm with 480 on this one. I spent way too much time on custom shelving, partition, racks, etc. I tried some large metal bins that were a PITA. The solution was drawers. I got two 4-drawer floor units. They were worth every cent & I still got to spend plenty of time organizing the drawers with tools & materials.
Just to be clear, I didn't build them. A guy that used to drive that truck built them on his own time, and I inherited them. He probably should have taken them with him, but he left them instead. Probably because it must weigh 200 pounds.
 
Just to be clear, I didn't build them. A guy that used to drive that truck built them on his own time, and I inherited them. He probably should have taken them with him, but he left them instead. Probably because it must weigh 200 pounds.


The weight as well as the time involved probably negates the cost savings. I used two 24" full extension tracks attached to a 1x6. That was before I bought a packrat on E-bay.
 
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