I am a small finish contractor and am considering a van to haul my tools. I don't want to haul a trailer around with me all of the time and my question is how do you haul plywood with the van full of tools? I don't think I would want to load 10 sheets of 3/4" melamine on the top rack. Do you set the back up where you can stand them on end in the middle of the cargo area or is this situation where you would need a trailer or truck?

That's what I was about to suggest is stand them vertical in a collapsible rack.

If you have a bin package to put all your tools in then you should have room to lay stuff down. I think.

Check out a drywall guys van, they use a setup that allows full sheets across the bottom and has bins down the side for tools and see if that works.
But fou you, make your own setup as most shelf systems are not designed to hold much in your line of work. I have shelf sections only in the back half, 60" units mounted from the rear and then the front of the van is for tools and wire and big stuff. When ever I need plywood I just stand it up.

what shelves do you have in the van, Adrian steel, master rack?? i used to work for a truck and van upfitter installing that shelving so i can give you a few different suggestions.

I have the Adrian steel in mine and when I use plywood or duct board. I lay it on its side and slid it in.

if you buy new, GM will provide a bin package free. or if you go used, you can buy it also.
i got the Contour Storage System. it's lightweight composite. its quiet and has a recess in the bottom to lay sheets flat. you can also stack upright if you want.

check out the links for more info.

http://www.crown-na.com/gm-contour.asp
http://www.crown-na.com/pdf-documents/site/gm-contour-a.pdf


http://picsorban.com/upload/contour.jpg

that's pretty much what i was going to suggest. it's a pain b/c the shelves are already installed, we used to cut the bottoms just like that before we put them in.

we've also spaced the shelves out from the wall so the plywood could slide behind the shelves, only thing that sucks about that is you loose alot of center space.

something else you can look into, it's a little more pricey but it works, is a glass rack, there are some cheaper ones out there. but that all depends on how much wood your carrying and how often.

I worked with a guy who has a custom pull-out bed set-up that uses truck bed pull-out hardware. He put all his tools in it, and could roll it away, and place full sheet material on top.

I have a 155" wheel base van with Adrian Steel racks in it and I can put at least 35 sheets of 4 x 8 x 1/2" drywall or OSB and close the doors. MAKE SURE IF YOU RATCHET STRAP IT TO ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER! That's with a 12" Dewalt miter box and folding stand with three tool boxes on the floor. All the rest of my tools are on the shelves. I don't see how anyone can work out of a pickup. I can carry whatever I need to and all my tools and keep them all dry and secure. With my Weather Guard Safari rack I've had 57- 20' x 10's on the rack with no problems. While it was pretty top heavy (and kind of scary) I had no issues.