I WAS ABOUT THREE-QUARTERS FINISHED building out my van when I decided I wanted some type of shelf or cupboard above the bed to augment the storage under the bed and in the two cabinets I already had. And I didn’t want to be smacking my head on it whenever I got in and out of bed. Overhead storage, not into-the-head storage.
I hoped I wouldn’t need to build something from scratch, because my cabinet building skills were rudimentary, and because I couldn’t think of a good way to securely mount whatever I might construct. Smacking my head on a cupboard would be unpleasant, but not as bad as having the cupboard fall and bonk me in the head — while sleeping.
I didn’t have a lot of time left before my self-imposed launch date, but deadlines tend to ignite my out-of-the-box thinking. Hmmmm… what sort of pre-made shelf/box/rack out there might suit my purposes?
The answer came to me while walking through Home Depot — for the hundredth time in three months. (Projects always require more supplies.) I turned into one of the aisles and… Mailboxes! Lightweight, already assembled, painted. Yeah, mailboxes. Specifically these.
They’re tapered toward the bottom (and away from my head) and have a large opening. The wall was long enough for five of them. One for socks, one for underwear, one for more underwear, one for medications, one as a junk drawer.
To mount them, all I needed to do was screw a 1×2 board to the channel where the roof and wall join, then screw the mailboxes to the board. To keep the mailboxes from bouncing from their slotted holes I added third screws through an ordinary round hole.
Rough dirt roads made the lids rattle, so I added self-adhesive weather stripping to the inside of the lids.
Since the mailboxes are steel, I can stick magnetic things to them, like this battery powered light.
After ten-plus years the mailboxes are still doing their job. My socks and boxers are happy and so am I. And there have been no incidents of forceful contact with my head.
That’s cool
Al, what a smart, wonderful & inexpensive way for storing goodies; L O V E I T !!! ? ?
Ingenious idea!
This article easily earns TheLargeMarge SealOfApproval.
LargeMarge, hi !! Thinking…is this picture on your site, the guy that originally played 007 ?
Excellent! And did you mention they’re relatively light weight and easy to customize the color with a can of spray paint!
They might even work on the rear doors as a tool or junk box.
That is an awesome hack!
I’ve always thought this was an absolutely brilliant idea but I only remember you posting about it one time. Now everyone will be doing it. 🙂
Brilliant! That idea is going into my little book for future van build along with places I want to see. The fact that it’s metal is smart too. You can put a couple of those magnet-top spice jars on it over the cooking area or flashlights with magnets on the back so you can find it in a hurry. Thank you for sharing!
I also love your wall-paper ?
Collected place by place over nine years.
Excellent idea. Thanks for sharing.
Brilliant! I love the way your mind works.
The best idea since zippers. I can see using these all over my van.
love the idea, since I am a bit lazy, this is exactly up my alley! thanks for sharing!
Incredibly excellent idea. Thank you.
Novel idea, AL. Can I ask what your wall and ceiling panels are made of? Looks smooth. Plastic sheeting?
The ceiling is 1/8″ plywood and the walls are Fiber Reinforced Polyester (FRP) which is the pebbly stuff you see in places like public restrooms. But I mounted it with the smooth back side out. Very tough and flexible.
Did you install the FRP over plywood or like surface?
I installed two layers of foam board between the van ribs then ran lath horizontally, about a foot between each row, and screwed the FRP to that.
Thanks Al!
Anything fancy to mount the ceiling, or just screws into the ribs,
I’ve attached thin strips of wood to the flanges of the ceiling ribs, then stapled reflectix to that. Was hoping to find a factory passenger van headliner in a wreck, but so far nothing. Might go with your thin plywood.
The thing with passenger van headliners is that the heat/AC cuts into headroom.
Ah, didn’t think of that. I was just looking for cheap and easy (I work in a salvage yard). Upside, though, is they have multiple dome lights as well. Could power those off the house battery, controlled by a switch at the side door. Could still work for shorter people, but that ain’t me. 😉 Plywood or paneling it is!