Van Racking Ideas: How to Choose the Right Layout for Your Trade

The right van racking layout comes down to three things: what you carry, what you grab most, and what's heavy. Put the heavy gear low and near the middle of the van. Put the stuff you use on every job by the side door. Keep the floor clear for anything long or bulky. After that, it's about your trade. A service engineer needs spares and test kit to hand, a sparky needs somewhere for cable and loads of small parts, a locksmith lives out of organiser cases, and groundworks and utilities crews need floor space for heavy plant and room for signs and guarding. Below we go through each one so you can work out the van racking layout that fits the way you work.

In this article

• What's the best way to lay out a work van?
• How do you work out what your trade needs?
• Van racking ideas for service engineers
• Van racking ideas for electricians
• Van racking ideas for locksmiths
• Van racking ideas for groundworks and utilities
• Which layout suits which trade?
• Should you rack one side of the van or both?
• FAQ

What's the best way to lay out a work van?

Whatever your trade, a good van racking layout sticks to four rules:

• Heavy goes low. Toolboxes, drums and anything weighty sit on the bottom shelf or the floor. It keeps the van stable and stops heavy stuff coming off a top shelf when you brake.
• Keep the weight central and balanced. Try not to load one side far heavier than the other, and keep the heaviest gear roughly between the axles rather than hanging off the back doors.
• Everyday kit by the side door. In a UK van the side loading door is usually on the nearside (passenger side), so that's where the gear you grab on every job should live. You get it from the pavement, not the road.
• Leave a clear run of floor. Pipe, conduit, ladders, jacks and trolleys need somewhere to go. A clear floor means you're not unloading half the van to get one thing out.

Everything in the back should be secured too. The DVSA's load securing guidance covers vans as well as HGVs. Proper racking bolted to the floor and sides of the van is a big part of getting that right.

How do you work out what your trade needs?

Before you look at a single kit, spend ten minutes with the back doors open and answer these:

1. What do you carry every day? Tool cases, test kit, consumables, stock.
2. What do you grab on every single job? This is your side door stuff.
3. What's long, heavy or awkward? This decides how much floor you need to keep clear.
4. How much small stuff is there? Hundreds of fittings or parts means organiser cases and bins on shelves, not loose on the floor.

If you want a fuller checklist, have a read of our post on 5 things to sort out before you buy van racking.

What's the best van racking layout for a service engineer?

Whether you're a gas and heating engineer or a field service engineer on pumps, boilers or equipment, your van is a rolling store. Spares, seals, sensors, fittings, test kit and paperwork, and the job is usually won or lost on whether the right part is on board. A service engineer's van layout that works:

• Offside (driver's side): full length shelving for spares. Parts in labelled bins or cases, sorted by manufacturer or part type, so you're not tipping out a box looking for one seal.
• Nearside (by the side door): the gear you use on every call. Your analyser or test kit, main tool bag and the most common spares.
• Top shelves: lighter stock like filters, gaskets and consumables, plus a spot for manuals and paperwork.
• Gas bottles and sprays: keep MAPP, leak detector and cleaning sprays upright and held in place, never rolling about on a shelf.

What's the best van racking layout for an electrician?

Sparkies are usually fighting two problems: hundreds of small parts and heavy cable drums. A layout that sorts both:

• Shelving on both sides with organiser cases for glands, connectors, fixings and accessories. Label the ends and you can see what you're low on before you leave the merchant.
• Cable drums low down on the bottom shelf or the floor. They're heavy and they roll, so they don't belong up high.
• Test kit and your multifunction tester in a case on a middle shelf by the side door. It's expensive and fragile, so it wants to be secure and easy to grab.
• Trunking, conduit and containment along the floor or up on the roof.

Made in Devon

Shelving Van Racking Kits

Heavy duty steel shelving that arrives already assembled. Buy it as a full kit or just the nearside or offside, made to fit your van.

3 year guarantee Find your van →

What's the best van racking layout for a locksmith?

A locksmith's van is basically a mobile parts counter. Cylinders, locks, handles, key blanks, hinges and fixings, in every size and finish going. The layout needs to be all about small parts you can find fast:

• Lots of shelf space for organiser cases. One case per product type (euro cylinders, sashlocks, UPVC spares) so you can pull the right case and take it to the door.
• Everyday cases by the side door, like your entry tools and most common cylinder sizes, so you're not climbing in the back on every call out.
• A worktop or clear shelf if you cut keys or strip locks in the van.
• Keep stock out of sight. A van full of locks and entry tools is worth nicking, so don't have it on show through the windows, and look at decent van security as well as your racking.

What's the best van racking layout for groundworks and utilities?

Groundworks and utilities vans carry the heaviest, dirtiest kit of the lot: breakers, pumps, spades and bars, signs and guarding, plus pipe fittings and couplers for the repair itself. It's a van that gets loaded and unloaded all day, so the layout has to be quick:

• Floor space at the back for the breaker, generator or pump, strapped down so nothing shifts when you brake.
• Signs, cones and barriers by the back doors. They're the first thing out when you arrive and the last thing back in, so don't bury them behind everything else.
• Cable locator and detection kit by the side door in its case. It gets used before every dig, and it's too expensive to have sliding about.
• Fittings, couplers and repair clamps in bins or cases on the shelves, sorted by size, so the right part is to hand when the hole is open.
• Marker paint, PPE and consumables on the upper shelves, with spray cans kept upright and held in place.

Which van racking layout suits which trade?

Should you rack one side of the van or both?

It depends how much floor you need. Most service engineers, sparkies and locksmiths get the most out of racking both sides, with shelving down the length and the middle left clear. Groundworks and utilities crews, or anyone carrying big awkward kit, often do better racking one side and keeping the other side open for the heavy gear.

That's why our shelving kits come as a full kit or as a single nearside or offside unit. You can start with one side and add the other later, and our team is on hand if you're not sure which way to go. Want to see a finished van? Have a look at this Mercedes Sprinter customer install that we did for a utilities company.

However you set it up, the payoff is the same. When everything has a home you stop wasting time hunting for tools on site, and over a year that time adds up to a lot more than the racking cost.

Frequently asked questions

What's the best way to rack out a van?

Work out what you carry and what you use most, then put heavy kit low and central, everyday tools by the side door, and small parts in organiser cases on shelves. Leave a clear run of floor for long or bulky items, and make sure the racking is fixed to the floor and sides of the van.

How much does it cost to rack out a van?

It depends on the size of the van and whether you rack one side or both. A ready made kit for your van model is usually a lot cheaper than a fully custom fit out. You can check prices for your van on our van racking page or alternatively fill out our custom quote form if you're after something more bespoke. 

Is steel or wooden van racking better?

Plywood racking is cheap to make yourself, but it takes time to build and it takes a battering from daily use. Steel racking is hard-wearing and designed to take a beating, and a kit made for your van fits properly without any cutting or scribing.

Can I move my van racking to a new van?

Yes, as long as the new van is the same size. Because the racking bolts in rather than being built in, you can take it out and refit it when you change vans.

How do I organise my work van?

Give everything a home. Heavy on the bottom, light on top, everyday tools by the side door, small parts in labelled cases, and keep the floor clear. Once it's set up, put things back where they live at the end of each job so it stays that way.