A plumbing van carries the widest range of any trade. Fittings measured in fractions of an inch, pipe measured in feet, machines measured in hundreds of pounds and a fair amount of gear that comes back wet. A layout has to handle all four or it fails at one.
What Goes In First?
The heavy machines. A sectional drain machine, a jetter or a press tool kit sets the layout, because there are only a few places they can sit safely. Put them low, against a wall, over or just ahead of the rear axle and strapped down. Everything else arranges itself around that.
Fittings Need Divisions, Not Shelves
The single biggest time drain on a plumbing van is looking for a fitting you know you have. An open shelf holds them for about a week before the first hard stop mixes three sizes together.
- Divided shelves keep sizes separated and stop a row emptying itself in transit.
- Drawer units bring the small stuff out to you instead of asking you to lean in.
- Group by material first, then by size, since that is how you actually search.
- Keep one restock shelf so running low is visible without an inventory.
Label the divisions. A layout only one person can read stops working the day someone else covers the van.
Shelf Depth Sets the Aisle
Van shelving is commonly offered in 13.5 inch and 16 inch depths. Running 13.5 inch down both sides of a mid-roof van leaves an aisle you can walk and turn in. Sixteen inch on both sides does not. The usual compromise is deeper shelving on one side for boxed stock and machines, shallower on the other for fittings.
Three-shelf units around 44 inches tall suit the middle of the van where you stand. Taller four-shelf units around 60 inches work forward of the wheel arch where you are not trying to reach across them.
Keep Wet and Dirty Separate
Drain work comes back wet, and anything stored next to it comes back wet too. Give the dirty gear its own zone at the rear where it can drip, ideally onto a floor you can hose rather than onto a shelf of cardboard boxed fittings.
The same logic applies to torch and cylinder storage. Cylinders belong secured upright, away from the electrical gear and somewhere ventilated, not laid down under a shelf of copper.
Pipe and Long Stock
Long lengths either go on a roof rack or down the centre of the floor. Inside is more secure and out of the weather, but it costs you the aisle every time you need it. A pipe carrier on the roof keeps the interior clean at the price of a ladder climb and a load height you feel in a crosswind.
Whichever way you go, bolt the shelving to the van's structure with a mounting kit made for the model and wheelbase. Browse van storage and shelving, or the model ranges for Transit, ProMaster and Sprinter.