Custom Storage Build Outs for Coaches, Vans and Work Vehicles
Written by Fleet Account Manager, Fleet and Commercial Account Manager, OCRV Center. Reviewed by Structural Repair Lead
In shortStorage that is mounted to floor skin instead of structure tears out on the first hard stop. Bay trays, shelving and tie down systems run $750 to $7,500+ at $210 per hour.
How is custom RV and van storage designed and installed?
Custom storage build outs put drawers, slide out trays, shelving and tie down track into bays and cargo areas, anchored through backing plates into real structure. Rancho Santa Margarita owners and fleets use our Yorba Linda shop for work that has to survive a panic stop, not just look organized.
- Every anchor lands on structure with a backing plate behind it
- Load goes forward of the rear axle whenever the layout allows
- Slide out trays are chosen by rated capacity, not by width
- LP is never stored in a sealed unvented compartment
- Price range
- $750 to $7,500+5 to 35 labor hours at $210 per hour
- Labor rate
- $210 per hourBody and paint department
- Typical turnaround
- 3 to 12 shop daysMulti bay coach builds run to the long end
- Written estimate
- $150Credited in full against an authorized repair
- Systems used
- Adrian Steel, Ranger Design, Weather Guard, E-track and L-track, rated ball bearing slides
- Fleet work
- Multi unit builds staged so identical layouts repeat exactly across a fleet
Last verified
Storage that fails does not fail gradually. It holds perfectly for a year and then a panic stop on the 91 turns a drawer of tools into a projectile that goes through a bulkhead. That is the scenario every storage build should be designed against, and it is the reason the interesting part of this work is what happens behind the panel rather than the drawer faces the owner sees.
The other half of the job is where the weight goes. A coach or a work van has a payload figure and an axle rating, and a build out that puts three hundred pounds of gear in the rearmost bay has spent that budget in the worst possible place. We lay out storage against the axle line first and against the owner's convenience second, then find the compromise that keeps both honest.
Designing to the panic stop, not to the photograph
A storage build has two audiences. One is the owner looking at neat drawer faces and thinking about how organized the vehicle finally is. The other is physics, on a day when traffic stops faster than expected on the 91 and everything in the vehicle keeps traveling at the speed it was. The second audience is the one that decides whether the build was well made.
That standard drives every hardware decision. Latches that hold under load rather than latches that click nicely. Slides rated well above working weight rather than at it. Anchors that pass through structure rather than into it. None of that shows in a photograph, which is exactly why it is the part that gets skipped by installers competing on price.
What proper anchoring actually looks like
In a cargo van, the floor is a shaped steel skin with structural members running underneath it. A screw into the skin between members has almost no pull out resistance under dynamic load, and it will hold beautifully during the test where somebody tugs on the shelf with their hands. Under a real deceleration it tears out and takes a section of floor with it.
The correct approaches are a backing plate spreading load across the underside, a rivnut set into a member that can take the load, or a bolt through a structural crossmember. Each penetration gets sealed and treated, because a drilled steel floor with a bare edge is a corrosion origin that works from underneath where nobody inspects. In a coach basement bay, the equivalent conversation is about the bay framing and the floor structure rather than the bay liner.
- Backing plates under floor anchors, always, in sheet metal
- Rivnuts into structural members where the underside is unreachable
- Every penetration sealed and cavity treated at installation
- Rated track rather than hooks wherever cargo changes trip to trip
Weight distribution as a design input
Every vehicle has a payload figure and individual axle ratings, and a storage build is a permanent claim against both. What separates a good layout from a merely convenient one is where that claim lands. Heavy items forward of the rear axle load the vehicle roughly the way the chassis engineers intended. The same items in the rearmost bay reduce load on the steering axle and make the vehicle less settled at speed.
This is one of the few areas where we will push back on an owner's preferred layout. The rearmost bay is at a comfortable height and easy to reach, which is exactly why it fills up with generators, tools and water. Moving that load forward two bays costs nothing at build time and is essentially impossible to change afterward, so we have the argument up front.
Note
If you are near your payload limit already, tell us at design. Aluminum framed construction costs more than plywood and can save enough weight to matter on a build that is already close to the line.
Aluminum framing, Baltic birch and commercial shelving
Three construction approaches cover almost everything we build. Aluminum framed panels give the best strength to weight and the cleanest look, at the highest cost and with the least field repairability. Baltic birch and marine grade plywood build strong, quiet, easily modified cabinetry that any competent shop in the country can repair, at a real weight penalty. Commercial steel and composite shelving from Adrian Steel, Ranger Design or Weather Guard is fast to fit, proven in service and ideal when a fleet needs twelve identical vans.
Which one we recommend depends on whether the vehicle is a personal build or a working asset. An overland coach that is fighting for every pound gets aluminum. A plumbing van that will be reconfigured twice before it is sold gets commercial shelving. A one off mobile workshop where the owner has strong opinions about layout gets plywood, because it is the material that accepts changes gracefully.
What a storage build costs
Storage work bills at $210 per hour from the body and paint department and runs $750 to $7,500 and up. A single slide out cargo tray with rated slides and proper structural anchoring sits at the bottom. A complete basement build across four bays on a diesel coach, with trays, lighting, tie down track and finished panels, passes the top of the range.
Body supplies bill at $5 per body hour, parts and hardware carry standard markup, and sales tax applies to parts and materials with labor untaxed. Jobs over $2,000 take a 50 percent deposit at authorization. The $150 written estimate documents the layout and hardware before work starts and is credited in full against an authorized repair.
Fleet builds and why repeatability matters
When a fleet standardizes a vehicle layout, the value is not in any single build. It is in a technician being able to open any van in the yard and find the same part in the same place, and in a replacement vehicle being outfitted to match without anybody re deciding anything. We document the first build in enough detail that unit twelve is genuinely identical to unit one rather than approximately similar.
We also stage fleet work rather than taking a whole fleet off the road at once. Vehicles rotate through in groups sized to what the operation can spare, which is a scheduling conversation as much as a fabrication one, and it is usually the part that determines whether a fleet upgrade actually happens.
Vehicles we build storage into
Cargo vans and Sprinters make up the bulk of the work, split between commercial upfits and camper builds. Diesel pusher basement bays are the largest single projects, since a full pass through bay can take a slide out tray long enough to need its own support strategy. Toy haulers get tie down track and tool storage in the garage. Utility trucks and mobile workshops get the layouts that have to survive daily use by somebody who is not being gentle.
What is included
- Layout against axle line
- Storage is positioned with weight distribution treated as a design input, so a finished build does not quietly consume the rear axle rating.
- Structural anchoring
- Every attachment lands on a structural member or a backing plate, with fasteners selected for the load rather than for what was in the drawer.
- Slide and hardware specification
- Slides, latches, hinges and struts are chosen against rated working load and verified at that load before the vehicle leaves.
- Penetration sealing and corrosion treatment
- Every hole through a floor or panel is sealed and treated, and enclosed sections get cavity wax so the build does not seed rust.
- Tie down and restraint systemswhere applicable
- E-track or L-track fitted where cargo changes shape trip to trip, with rated anchor points rather than decorative hooks.
- Fleet repeatability documentationwhere applicable
- For multi unit work, the layout is documented so unit twelve is built identically to unit one and any tech can find anything in any vehicle.
How the work runs
Inventory what actually gets carried
1 to 3 hours
Not what the owner imagines carrying, what is in the vehicle today. We weigh the heavy items and measure the awkward ones. Build outs designed against a hypothetical load list are the ones that get modified twice within a year.
Locate structure and set the layout
2 to 5 hours
Floor members, wall studs and bay framing are located and marked, then the layout is drawn around them rather than around a preferred arrangement. Heavy items are placed forward of the rear axle wherever the geometry permits.
Fabricate frames and panels
3 to 18 hours
Subframes, trays and cabinet boxes are built in the shop where they can be made square, then trial fitted. Aluminum framing goes into weight sensitive builds and plywood construction into work vehicles where field repair matters more than mass.
Install with sealed, structural anchoring
3 to 10 hours
Everything is fastened through structure or backing plate, penetrations are sealed, and enclosed cavities are treated. This is the step that separates a build that lasts a decade from one that starts squeaking in eight months.
Load, restrain and road verify
1 to 4 hours
The build is loaded to working weight, every latch and slide is exercised, and the vehicle takes a road cycle including hard braking on a closed surface. Anything that moves, rattles or shifts gets corrected before the keys go back.
What this costs
$750 to $7,500+
5 to 35 labor hours at $210 per hour, body and paint.
- Body supplies at $5 per body hour.
- Parts at $100 or less carry 100 percent markup. Parts over $100 carry 35 percent. Special order parts require a full non refundable deposit at order.
- Sales tax of 7.75 percent applies to parts and materials. Labor is not taxed.
- A 50 percent deposit is taken at authorization on any job over $2,000, with an additional 25 percent when parts arrive on any job over $10,000. Final balance is due at pickup.
- A single slide out cargo tray with rated slides and structural anchoring starts near $750.
- A complete multi bay coach build with trays, shelving, tie down track and lighting passes $7,500.
- Fleet builds are quoted per unit after the first vehicle establishes the pattern.
How estimating is billed
- Written repair estimate: $150, credited in full against an authorized repair.
- In depth diagnostic, scan and programming: $285 per hour, one hour minimum, credited in full against an authorized repair.
- In shop pre purchase inspection: $400 to $1,200 depending on unit size and systems count.
- Insurance walk ins are accepted during posted hours. All inspection and estimating work is performed in shop at the Yorba Linda facility.
What you will notice first
- Shelving has worked its mounting screws loose and moves when you push on it
- A cargo tray binds partway out and needs a shove to travel the rest of the way
- Drawer fronts have cracked at the corners from repeated slamming on the road
- Gear shifts audibly in a bay every time you brake or take a corner
- The floor around an anchor point has dimpled or torn at the fastener
- A bay lid no longer stays up because the gas struts have lost pressure
- Rust streaks run down from screw holes drilled through a van floor
- The vehicle sits noticeably nose high with the storage loaded
How this fails, and what we do about it
| Failure mode | How we diagnose it | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Anchors pulling through the floor | Look at the underside. A fastener that went through floor skin alone leaves a dimpled or torn hole with no backing evidence at all, and the pattern is usually consistent across every anchor the previous installer placed. | Re anchor through structural members or through properly sized backing plates on the underside, seal each penetration, and treat the exposed metal so the repair does not become a corrosion origin. |
| Cargo tray binding under load | Slides are either underrated for the weight or mounted out of parallel. Measure the rail spacing at both ends of travel. A tray that runs freely empty and binds loaded is telling you the slides are flexing under a load they were not rated for. | Fit slides rated well above the actual working load, remount to a straight and stiff subframe, and verify travel at full rated load rather than empty. |
| Corrosion at floor penetrations | Rust bleeding from around fasteners, usually visible first from underneath. Drilling a steel floor exposes bare edges, and unless those edges were sealed and the cavity treated, corrosion starts immediately and works outward. | Clean back to sound metal, treat, seal each penetration properly and apply cavity wax where the fastener passes through an enclosed section. |
| Lid struts failing early | Struts sized by matching the length of the old one rather than by calculating force against lid weight and hinge geometry. Undersized struts fade quickly and oversized ones fight the latch every time the lid closes. | Calculate required force from actual lid weight and mounting geometry, fit correctly rated struts, and confirm hold at full open across the temperature range the vehicle actually sees. |
Why it happened
- Anchors driven into floor skin or thin panel with no backing plate, which pulls through under any real dynamic load
- Slide capacity chosen by drawer size instead of by rated load, so a tray rated for light duty is asked to carry a generator
- Weight concentrated behind the rear axle where it robs steering axle load and works against the suspension
- Untreated fastener penetrations through a steel van floor, which start rusting from the inside where nobody sees it
- Gas struts sized by eye instead of by weight and geometry, so a lid either slams or refuses to close
- Sealed compartments used for propane or fuel storage with no low level venting, which is a genuinely dangerous shortcut
Parts and brands we work with
- Adrian Steel, Ranger Design and Weather Guard commercial shelving systems
- Rated ball bearing slide sets for cargo trays across common capacity classes
- E-track and L-track sections, fittings, straps and rated anchor rings
- Rivnuts, structural backing plates and grade rated fasteners for floor anchoring
- Baltic birch, marine grade plywood and aluminum framed panel construction
- Gas struts sized to lid weight and geometry, plus compression latches that hold on a grade
What not to try yourself
- Screwing shelving into a van floor without backing plates underneath. Sheet metal will not hold a dynamic load and the failure happens exactly when you least want it to.
- Storing propane cylinders in a sealed compartment that was not built as an LP locker. Those lockers vent at the bottom for a reason that has cost people their coaches.
- Filling the rearmost bay with the heaviest gear because it is the easiest to reach. That is the single worst position on the vehicle for weight.
- Drilling a steel floor and leaving the bare edge unsealed. The corrosion starts immediately, it starts on the side you cannot see, and it does not stop.
Which vehicles we do this on
Vehicles we perform Storage Builds on
SprinterSprinter van collision repair covers the unitized steel shell, the rear and sliding door openings, the roof structure and the upfit that hangs off all of itCargo VanCargo van body repair covers ribbed steel sides, sliding and rear door openings, roof panels and the front structure of standard wheelbase work vansDiesel PusherDiesel pusher repair means working on a rear engine coach built on a welded Freightliner XC or Spartan rail, with a full body painted fiberglass shell and large basement baysToy HaulerToy hauler fifth wheel repair concentrates on the ramp door hinge line at the rear wall, garage floor deflection between crossmembers, and sag in the frame cantilevered behind the axlesMobile WorkshopMobile workshop repair covers bench and vise mounts, compressor and generator deck plates, roll up door tracks that bind after a body racks, and shelving anchors in thin sidewall postsUtility TruckUtility truck repair covers compartment doors and hinges, the body to frame mounting, the bed floor, ladder racks and bumpers, and the torsion box and pedestal area on crane equipped unitsAsk me what fails and it is almost never the wood or the metal. It is the fasteners, and it is because somebody put a screw into a floor pan and called it done. I want a backing plate on the other side of every anchor that matters, and if I cannot get to the other side, I want a rivnut into a member that can take it. The other one is the rearmost bay. Everybody loads the back bay first because it is at hip height and it is right there, and then they wonder why the coach wanders on the freeway. We move the heavy stuff forward and people notice the difference on the drive home.
Appendix: questions and answers
- Can shelving just be screwed into a van floor?
- Not safely. The floor is shaped sheet metal with structure underneath, and a screw between members has almost no resistance to a dynamic load. Anchors need a backing plate on the underside, a rivnut into a member, or a bolt through a crossmember. Every penetration then gets sealed so it does not start corroding from below.
- Where should the heaviest gear live in a storage build?
- Forward of the rear axle whenever the layout allows. Weight in the rearmost bay unloads the steering axle and makes the vehicle less settled at speed. The back bay is the easiest to reach, which is exactly why it fills up with the heaviest things. Moving that load forward at design time costs nothing.
- How do you choose the slides for a cargo tray?
- By rated working load with real margin, not by the width of the tray. A slide that handles a load statically can still flex and bind once the vehicle is moving and the load is bouncing. We specify well above the actual working weight and then verify travel at full load before the vehicle goes back to the owner.
- Can I build a compartment to carry propane cylinders?
- Only as a proper LP locker, which means sealed from the interior and vented at the bottom to the outside, since propane vapor is heavier than air and collects low. Adapting a general storage bay by adding a door is not equivalent and is genuinely dangerous. If you need LP carriage, say so at design and it gets built correctly.
- Is aluminum framing worth the extra cost over plywood?
- It is when weight matters. Aluminum framed panels save meaningful mass on a build that is already close to its payload limit, and they look cleaner. Plywood is quieter, cheaper, easier to modify later and repairable by any shop in the country. The right answer depends on whether the vehicle is a personal build or a working tool.
- Can you build the same layout across an entire fleet?
- Yes, and that is usually the point. We document the first vehicle in enough detail that every subsequent unit is identical rather than similar, so a technician can open any van and find the same item in the same place. Vehicles are staged through in groups so the operation is never short more units than it can spare.
Open a file on this repair
Tell us the vehicle, what happened and whether a claim is open. We will tell you what the scope looks like and what it takes to get you back on the road.
Or call (949) 799-3387