Vehicle: Citroen Berlingo 

“When you consider the professional image & efficiency it gives you on a daily basis, I do think it’s worth the cost.”

In April this year we had the pleasure of meeting Mike Page from Residual Current, when he came to bott Ltd in Bude Cornwall, to take a tour of our manufacturing site, and install his new van racking system, in his Citroen Berlingo van.

Residual Current undertake a variety of different work, meaning the equipment they carry varies greatly from one week to another.  Mike has a small van as he likes to travel light, but in a small space organisation is key for ensuring tools & equipment are kept safe, secure, and easy to access, making for a smooth start and finish to each day on site. So although Mike already had a Citroen Berlingo roof rack for storage of long items, it was now time for some much needed van tool storage to convert his van into the optimum work station on wheels that would maximise his efficiency each day – this is where bott Smartvan came in!

If you’re looking for some small van storage ideas, take a look at the video below, where Mike gives you a full van tour along with footage from his visit to bott Ltd in Bude. We will then discuss with Mike what difference the new van racking system from bott Smartvan has made to his work, and get an honest opinion on whether he’d recommend our products.

Can you tell us a bit about the requirements of your job role, the equipment you tend to transport in the van, and the importance of keeping organised for your day-to-day routine?-  

"I’m an Electrical contractor covering domestic, commercial and industrial installations so I tend to carry a wide variety of tools and materials, due to this variety I also like to travel light with just the essentials I need for the task, having a modular system that’s easily organised allows me to gear up for each job and load out efficiently."

A lot of you I’m sure will relate to having a varied job role and carrying a wide spectrum of different equipment; if you have a small vehicle like the Citroen Berlingo van, it makes sense as Mike says that you would want to just carry the essentials each day so as not to overload the space. Therefore, having a storage system that allows you to swap items around quickly is going to be essential for avoiding wasting your time at the end of the working day. For more tips on getting the most out of a small load space, read our blog on van racking ideas for small vans.

What racking/storage system (if any) did you have in the van before bott Smartvan, and how does the functionality of the previous system compare? 

"I’ve had wooden racking and I’ve also had free standing shelves and draws and while it’s a quick fix it doesn’t compare to the Bott system, none of my previous set ups have gone the distance, they haven’t made the most of the space and they are not customisable, with the new system you know it’s going to last, its maximised the space beyond what you think is possible and I can make adjustments to it if needed."

In a market with so many different racking solutions available, made of different materials, it can be hard to know which solution will be the right one for you and your business. Getting insights like this from people who have tried many different systems, can prove a massive help in narrowing down the options. Make sure to do your research and find testimonials from people within your trade. We have many more which can be viewed in our websites Van Builds.  

What are the biggest changes you’ve noticed in your day-to-day since installing bott Smartvan racking? 

"Being more efficient and organised, never looking for stuff in the van and a lot of customers are impressed also."

How did you find the installation process of our racking/the fitting guides? Let us know the good and bad! 

This is a question a lot of our customers want to ask when they’re purchasing a self-fit modular racking system; if you’ve never done it before it may seem daunting to start with. However, you will see when the kit arrives, that every detail has been thought out with our customers in mind, so all you’ll need is to set aside 1-2 hours to install each module with the help of our comprehensive fitting guides, and make sure you’ve got plenty of cups of tea at hand!

“Honestly wasn’t bad at all, it’s like mechano and ikea combined, and as much as I hate flat pack furniture it was super rewarding to install and didn’t take that long, I spent far longer organising the van and moving bits around with the new found space!"

Now you’ve had a good couple of weeks with the racking installed, what would you say are the biggest time saving benefits? 

“Being able to know exactly where something it or when I’m running low on something, packing up at the end of the day is a lot quicker also, because everything has its space, sometimes with mall vans it’s like Tetris, but now it’s not really an issue."

Price is a factor everyone needs to consider when investing is racking, how would you rate the value for money of the racking and would you say it’s a worthy investment? 

“it’s quite an outlay for anyone, but when you consider the value of the vehicle, the efficiency it gives you on a daily basis and the professional image I do think it’s worth it, with modulo 3 it’s adaptable to different vans via different mounting kits so can adapt it to future vehicles too."

It was great to hear that Mike thought our racking is worth the initial investment, and he’s highlighted such a great point in terms of the vehicle specific brackets we use; bott Smartvan modulo3 racking is a transferable system, so when you come to change vehicles, simply get in touch with us to order a new set of vehicle-specific brackets, and move your racking from your old van to the new in no time! 

Do you have any advice for people considering racking out their van with bott Smartvan? - 

"Plan the layout meticulously, I spent a lot of time working out the van vaults, shelving, what was going in my organisers, and im really happy with the set up so it’s worth thinking ahead and playing with the online configurator so you can visualise your system."

We definitely agree that it's mportant to plan ahead and create an inventory of what you need to carry, so you know which accessories will suit you best. If you’re having any doubts or are wanting to further customise the systems you can see on our website, just give our expert team a call on 01288 355666 (option 2).

Would you recommend our products? And are there any improvements you’d like to see or any extra accessories you think we should be offering? 

"Definitley  recommend the products, it would be cool to see integration with leading storage solutions like packout boxes for example."

As you’ll see in Mikes van tour, the pack out organisers integrate perfectly with our angled case holder shelves. And we’re happy to say that we’re currently developing a wider case holder shelf to accommodate the larger packout cases… watch this space!

Hopefully Mikes van tour has provided you with some inspiration for what your van could look like one day! If you’d like to start exploring what bott Smartvan have available for your vehicle, head to our online configurator and simply enter your van make & model to get started. Due to the customisable nature of our racking, and our vast range of van accessories, you’ll see there’s something for everyone no matter what trade you're in.