I’m sick of all this junk rattling around in my van. There are wooden panels, power tools and a power inverter rolling around back there alongside camping equipment, pieces of paper and the odd Sierra Nevada bottle. It’s not a great look, professionally speaking. I’m beginning to wonder if I should suck it up and invest in some kind of storage solution, like an epic aluminium ute canopy. That would, of course, mean trading in my van for a ute, so I need to weigh up the pros and cons carefully.
It would be a real drawcard if I could get someone to install a service body draw system in the canopy. I’m picturing drawers for specific tools and equipment, arranged in a systematic way that makes everything easy to access – that is, without having to go on a demolition mission past layers of rubble in order to find a particular hammer. Anyone out there in the know about brackets and mounting arrays?
Another feature of my ideal ute canopy is a service body power system – preferably a solar one with a decent inverter. I’d love for someone to advise me on how to go about this. I want to be able to run my tools smoothly and efficiently directly from the back of the ute, without churning through consumables.
One potential roadblock is that I’m used to having this massive van. There might be things I habitually cart around that won’t fit on a ute tray, lengthwise – ladders and the like. A good set of ute canopy roof rack and bars would go a long way towards mitigating this problem. The bars are important here, because I’m not keen on the roof racks being supported purely by the canopy, given the kind of objects I’d be carrying on it.
I’m starting to feel convinced that this is a good idea. I need to do more research, obviously. But the idea of having a strong, secure and weatherproof system of organisation built onto my vehicle is looking pretty attractive right now. Now, where’s that freaking hammer?