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Electrician Van Setup

Electrician Van Setup

January 11, 2022
electrician in van

 

When setting up your electrician van, you need to be able to access everything quickly and easily. After all, you don’t want to have to crawl inside and dig around every time you need a specific tool. Keeping your van in order will make your life so much easier — not to mention make you look a lot more professional in front of your customers, so van setup and organization are critical to your venture. After all, you want to be able to carry everything you need routinely and some things you might only need in an emergency, like portable generators.

electrician van

 

Let’s take a look at some of the best tips for efficient van setup so you’ll be ready to find tools and tackle any job at a moment’s notice, whether it’s a cargo van, a fleet of work vans, or anything else! This will be your portable office so you’ll want to take advantage of all the storage you have to offer. Remember, better organization means potentially doing things much quicker and easier, allowing you to take on as many jobs as you’d like, leading to more income and word on the street is, a higher opinion of yourself and your brand!

Proper Electrician Van Organization: Use Space Wisely

electrician van organization before and after

 

We know that your electrician truck setup comes with a lot to consider. Even just thinking about your van layout and all of your equipment might be a daunting experience, so you might be considering just diving in and figuring it out on the fly. But when addressing your electrician van setup, it’s important to take this process slowly to address each of your operational needs for any particular van. After all, you want to be able to find the right tool and find that tool quickly, while hopefully still creating some sort of uniform organizational structure for all your equipment. In the end, electricians will have fewer headaches if they can stay organized with everything easily accessible, and you’ll be amazed by how much space you really have for accessories or even to carry portable generators.

Getting Started

organizing your electrician van

 

When getting started, assess both the interior and exterior of your van to understand how you can maximize the space and efficiently incorporate as much equipment, tools, and supplies as possible. First, don’t begin by cramming larger items into prime available space before deciding what to do with smaller tools and supplies. A well-organized van is key for a smooth workday.

Instead, start from the bottom up to maximize the organization of your electrician truck setup. Keep larger, heavier items on the floor to not weigh down or impact safe accessibility of surrounding storage units and racks. Likewise, remember that you’ll want to easily access your most commonly used equipment without hassle, so be sure to plan on storing these nearby truck doors. If you’re worried about the back corner or hard-to-see places, you may want to place touch-activated lights to illuminate all areas, giving you more room to work with.

 

Organize and Label Everything

electrician van labeling

 

When addressing electrician van organization, incorporate simple components that boost both accessibility and security. Be sure to always label everything in the truck or van to allow for easy discoverability for yourself and assistants. You may also want to incorporate labeled storage bins for your secured storage and other accessories. Additionally, be sure to always protect your equipment and supply assets by installing lockable drawers and cages to help reduce the chances of theft. Now, with these elements of an electrician van’s organization in mind, let’s focus on each potential component.

 

Electrician Van Shelving and Racks: Smart Organization

First things first, you will need electrical van shelving or racks. These are necessary for organizing mid-size tools and equipment while also storing smaller supplies, including screws, spools of electrical wiring, conduits, and other accessories.

Making Use Of Your Space

making use of space

Consider installing a shelving or rack system along one of the interior sides of the work van to create ample room to organize equipment and supplies both small and large, while also providing room for movement inside the automobile. In our case, being more organized means getting the maximum amount of use out of the cargo space you have in your cargo vans while also taking advantage of room you may not have realized you had.

electrician van organization ideas

Depending on the size of your electrician work van or work van, you should be able to fit at least three rows of van shelving on the interior wall. These cargo van shelves can hold multiple organizer bins that help you divide and quickly retrieve a wide array of supplies. While traditional shelving units are installed directly onto the interior wall of the van, you can also find models that swivel or pull outward, making it easy to get organized and find what you’re looking for without the need to climb inside.

 

Shelving Is Key

electrician van shelving

 

In terms of electrician van shelving and racking material type, the most durable electrician van shelving options are usually made of aluminum. Unfortunately, aluminum can also be the most costly shelving option. For electricians looking to save a bit of money while getting their van organized, a plywood design is a simple, DIY option that creates an opportunity to save money without sacrificing function. For electrical contractors that are willing to shell out a bit more, you can always purchase a quality electrician van shelving package.

 

Electrician Van Racking Ideas

 

electrician van racking ideas

 

To organize the interior of your van, remember that all four sides of the interior can be incorporated into the design as well. While shelving and storage units will typically be installed onto the interior van walls, consider also incorporating the use of the interior ceiling to install an electric van racking system. This unit can be used to store electrical conduits as well as hanging smaller resources from any side of the paneling for easy and discreet access.

 

Cost-Conscious Options 

The overall cost of a well-organized area might seem like a lot to swing at first. A simplified (and cost-effective) electrician van racking idea is to incorporate the use of PVC piping rather than a traditional rack unit. By using a variety of PVC piping sizes, you can install the pipes directly on your shelving units or the wall of the cargo van, depending on the amount of available space. The PVC will allow you to easily store anything round, including the numerous wiring spool sizes you probably already have rolling around in the back of the cargo van.

 

 

Electrician Van Partitions: A Crucial Safety and Organizational Component

electrician van partitions

 

Your electrician van should have a main partition separating the passenger cabin from the back. This is an important safety feature that protects drivers and passengers if the rear load shifts during a sudden stop when braking, turning, or even during an accident. You’ll want the partition to be made out of strong material, like steel or aluminum, to ensure it remains structurally sound if equipment and supplies go airborne during rapid vehicle movement.

 

Multi-purpose Anywhere You Can!

electrician van organization

 

The good news is, your partition can also double as a storage feature! While it might not be wide enough for a full shelving unit, you can hang hooks and small racks on a partition. Aside from safety purposes, this unit can become a simple storage solution for uniforms and safety gear, including hard hats, gloves, and fire extinguishers.

 

 

Van Doors: Easy Access to Common Tools

Aside from the general storage units you’ll install inside the interior of your electrician truck, remember that your doors also possess excellent organizational potential. Similar to that of the van partition, small hooks, racks, and bins can be installed on vehicles’ doors to simplify access to your most commonly used tools, such as measuring tapes, notepads, and small hand tools. Be sure to properly measure the allowed space between the door and pre-existing interior storage unit before making any decision to install additional storage on the door. Without remaining mindful, it’s easy to obstruct movement within the van and risk the chance of jamming tools and supplies against each other.

 

Securing Electrician Van Interiors: Floor and Ceiling

With such a large collection of tools and supplies located on the various interior surfaces of electricians’ vans, it’s crucial you secure both the floor and ceiling services of the van to protect your particular vehicle and the equipment inside.

 

Flooring

electrician van flooring

 

Electrician vehicle flooring types, including rubber and composite options, provide increased grip for heavy equipment and storage units. As an added bonus, flooring can lessen the sound of shifting and rattling equipment when the vehicle is in motion, creating a more pleasant driving experience overall.

 

Ceiling and Walls

electrician van ceilings and walls

 

As with electrician van flooring options, vehicle walls and ceilings can also be lined with protective materials that offer similar benefits. For instance, duratherm is a common van wall and one of the types of ceiling liners that offers significant surface protection from large equipment and storage units, as well as boasts noise reduction capabilities.

 

 

Electrician Van Organization: All the Necessities

electrician van racking ideas

 

When it comes down to the organization of individual components of an electrician work vehicle, you have to decide on which options work best for the jobs you perform to boost efficiency and streamline your daily operations. An organizational map could help you stay organized in this decision-making exceedingly difficult process. While not all of these options may be necessary for electricians, there are various organizational tools and add ons that can help you stay ready to tackle any electrical job thrown your way.

 

Tools and Other Add Ons

  • Part organizer towers
  • Locks
  • Interior skin panels
  • Side hangers
  • Bottle holders
  • Tool mounts
  • Hooks
  • Note Holder
  • Hangers (swivel)
  • Cab organizers
  • Lights
  • Hoists
  • Workbench

Likewise, for an added luxury, some electricians may choose solutions that offer drawer systems, which would offer a significant amount of added storage that can be accessed easily all while being tucked away with a simple push. Compartments of these drawer systems can be color-coded for easy material accessibility to ensure each job goes off without a hitch.

 

Electrician Van Roof: Additional Storage Opportunities

Now that you have the interior of your electrician’s van organized, you’ll want to complete the organization process by addressing the outside of your van as well. For even more storage capabilities, remember that the roof of your vehicles offers great potential as well. Drop-down roof racks are an excellent way to store ladders, hitch steps, and even some heavier equipment pieces.

 

Finishing Touches

With your setup now fully organized, you may want to close out the project by adding your company logo and details to the outside of your vehicle. Check out our article on sign wraps and decals for ideas on how to customize your fleet.

One Last Tip for Organization

With your van setup completed and ready to take on jobs (hopefully with better gas mileage thanks to your new skills), one last thing you can do to organize your life as an electrician is to explore the help FieldPulse has to offer. We’re a quality business management app that helps service professionals manage their business on the go, so you can be the most efficient version of yourselves. With features like customer management, scheduling, estimates, and invoicing, FieldPulse gives you all the organizational tools you need to power up your electrician business. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to the game or a seasoned expert, FieldPulse has you covered.

We’ll help you say goodbye to excessive paperwork, so you can spend more time lighting up your customers’ lives. Learn more about how FieldPulse can save you time and money by scheduling your free demo today.

 

 

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