VW mods - Bonus shelf
Since space is so tight inside the van, I spent a lot of time studying how to make
better use of the finite volume. The shelf I added to the rear ranks as one of the
most useful modifications. There is a slight penalty in visibility through the rear
window, but it is easily worth it.
It is especially good for storing items you don't want squashed, such as chips and
bread. I also store a light jacket, empty backpack, and a rolled up sun shower,
among other things.
A single elastic string zig zags across the front, holding everything in. When we
want to get at something, we unhook the elastic from one or more eye hooks screwed
into the ceiling. A gap at the rear allows the curtain to be pulled closed. Relatively
large things are stored in the shelf because small items would fall out the front
and back.
Installation
I started with a 3' x 5' sheet of 1/4" thick particle board coated with vinyl on
one side, bought from Home Depot. I made the quickie table
and closet shelves from this same sheet. I cut a rectangular
piece 39" wide x 21" deep.
It was a challenge to figure out how to mount the shelf. I ended up using five mounting
points, two on each side and one in the center. Each point used one 4" bolt, an
angle bracket, three nuts and four washers to go on the bolt, and one screw to mount
the angle bracket to the van.
The installation process generally went like this:
* Mount the angle brackets to the van in five appropriate locations. See below for
more detailed information about this step.
* Attach the bolts to the brackets, so that the end of the bolt is attached to the
bracket, and the head is hanging by itself below the bracket. Do not attach the
shelf yet. This is the same position that it will be in when it's permanently mounted,
but it doesn't hold the shelf yet.
* Dab a bit of peanut butter on each bolt head.
* Slowly raise the shelf, making sure it's lined up correctly, until the shelf bumps
into the peanut butter coated bolt heads. The peanut butter leaves a mark on the
shelf where the holes must be drilled. Resist the temptation to lick the peanut
butter, as you'll lose the mark.
* Drill the five holes. You may now lick any remaining peanut butter.
* Remove the bolts from the angle brackets, and slide the bolts through the holes
in the shelf. Then secure the bolt/shelf assembly to the angle brackets, using four
washers and three nuts on each bolt, as shown in the photos.
* Create the elastic retaining system. We used six brass eyehooks along the bottom,
screwed into the edge of the shelf. For the top part, first use a pliers to slightly
open five eyehooks, so that the elastic can be pulled out when you need access to
your tortilla chips. Screw the five brass eyehooks to the ceiling, centered between
the eyehooks on the shelf. Thread an elastic string through the eyehooks to create
a zig zag pattern. Tie the string to the lower eyehook at each end, using just the
right length so that the elastic is stretched slightly.
Mounting the angle brackets
The two angle brackets on the driver side are mounted differently than the other
three. The metal track the closet doors slide in are a convenient place to mount
the angle brackets. With a sheet metal screw, I attached each angle bracket to the
track. The rear one was mounted in the back corner; the front one was about 9 1/2"
in front of the rear one. The end result is that the rear bolt ends up going through
the shelf about 1/3 from the rear, and the front bolt goes through the shelf about
1/3 from the front, evenly distributing the load. If you carefully study the pictures,
you can get a better idea of the mounting locations.
The other three angle brackets had to be bent in order to work. I bent the middle
of one leg 90 degrees to end up with a shape like the capital letter 'J'. If I could
have bought a U-shaped bracket at the hardware store, that would have also worked.
The idea was to create a bracket with two parallel surfaces, so one surface could
be screwed to the ceiling, and the other could receive the bolt. If this is confusing,
check out the pictures.
Once the brackets were bent, I predrilled holes in the ceiling and screwed them
in with short sheet metal screws. One went in the center; the other two went along
the passenger side, evenly spaced so that in the end they evenly supported the shelf
front to rear. Be careful when drilling into the ceiling. I wasn't sure what the
ceiling material was like, or whether hidden wires were lurking. I think I had to
redrill one hole because the screw couldn't get a good grip.
Once all five brackets are mounted, the hard part is done. Just follow the rest
of the installation steps I listed above to securely mount the shelf.
Close up view of one of the angle brackets. Notice how one leg of the bracket has
been bent back 90 degrees.
Close up view of the center bolt. Notice how one leg of the angle bracket has been
bent back 90 degrees.
Close up view of the front bolt head on the driver side. All bolt heads use a single
washer like this.
Close up view of the passenger side bolts. Again, notice how one leg of each angle
bracket has been bent back 90 degrees.
Driver side rear view of the shelf. You can see one of the bolt heads.
Passenger side rear view of the shelf. Again, you can see one of the bolt heads.
A single piece of elastic string zig zags across the front to keep the contents
from falling out. The eyehooks along the ceiling have been slightly bent open with
a pliers to allow the elastic string to easily unhook when needed.
The elastic string unhooks easily from the upper hooks to allow easy access.