storage in fixed single bed van

[richard60]

have just purchased a fixed single twin single bed Burstner Ixeo, would welcome useful suggestions for storing items in the large garage {will be carrying two bike} best way to store things in wardrobes under the beds ect. Never had a van with a garage before.

[flicka]

The first thing to determine is the loading limit for the garage. usually on a sticker inside. It's very tempting to overload the space & also exceed the rest axle weight of the van. Take the weights of the bikes then work out the remaing capacity. I have "outdoor" equipment in my garage. Leveling blocks, EHU cable, Water & waste board, chairs, etc.. Any additional smaller items are placed e in a plastiic storage box secured with bungy cords.

[david lloyd]

richard60 - 2016-09-20 3:53 PM

 

have just purchased a fixed single twin single bed Burstner Ixeo, would welcome useful suggestions for storing items in the large garage {will be carrying two bike} best way to store things in wardrobes under the beds ect. Never had a van with a garage before.

 

Hi Richard,

 

I can only echo flicka's comments regarding weight issues if you have purchased a garage model. I speak from personal experience as we bought our Chausson Welcome 717GA last December knowing the payload would be tight but after weighing the van (total weight and each axle) found it was some 350kgs overweight and that the rear axle was overweight by 240 kgs. Far too great a margin we felt to risk and too big a margin to cut down on what we carried to get within the limit. I weighed all the items that are stored in the garage and they came to 240kgs coincidentally, which meant carrying nothing in the garage but if I wanted to put the items elsewhere I would still be overloaded by 350 kgs!

 

The only options were to sell the van and change to a better payload or uprate the weights which is what we did. This is not an uncommon occurrence with rear garage models and can be overcome but it is essential to ensure you have it right by weighing the vehicle in its fully loaded state - vehicle plus both axles separately - and compare these weights to the plated weights on your vehicle. These figures can usually be found in a plate attached to one of the door pillars or the front crossmember under the bonnet.

 

For storage we use a couple of plastic lidded boxes for loose items and have a fixing rail near the floor that allows us to secure the bikes with a ratchet strap. Chairs etc are similarly secured with bungee cords to the rear wall where I have made up fixing points that attach to the fixing brackets that were built into the rear wall by Chausson.

 

Enjoy the van,

David

[Robbo]

For storing stuff in the garage, you have to think VERTICAL. It's no use filling the floor and having a lot of empty space above.

 

I have vertical wooden battens along the rear wall which are spaced to accept tables and chairs and held in place by bungee straps. The battens are located by right angle brackets screwed to the floor and under the bed. I didn't want to screw into the external rear wall.

 

In one corner I have 3 plastic crates with a 150mm vertical gap between each crate to allow easy access to each one.

 

On the front wall, just below the bed are hooks for wet weather jackets, rucksacks etc. Also, a multi-pocket hanging thingy for miscellaneous items like tent pegs etc. And also a spare tyre strapped in place.

 

Most of the rest of the space is filled up with a Honda scooter and mountain bike.

 

You can use industrial type suction hooks to support things like water carriers and spare toilet cassettes, thereby avoiding penetrating the external walls. This assumes the internal walls do not have a fabric covering.

 

As mentioned above, beware of overloading. My vehicle is on a 4250Kg chassis with a fairly short overhang.

 

 

[tugga]

If I knew how to post a photo, I would show you how we lay ours out, but Robbo seems to do very similar to us except we don't have a scooter, just two bikes. OH has built a frame just off centre of our garage and he attaches our bikes to it, one each side and they face opposite ways so handlebars don't get in the way of each other.

 

One tip I have found is that if you have fur walls i.e. carpet stuff then you can use Velcro to keep stuff in place as it sticks nicely. Oh yeah, you need the hooky stuff not the furry one. :-D

[richard60]

Hi Thankyou for your reply, would love a photo of garage if you can manage as sounds very useful

 

[richard60]

very useful thankyou for advice,