Noah's HVAC Install Milwaukee Transit

Easy Access at the Rear

Noah keeps his frequently used tools on the back of the truck.

He's gone all-in on the Milwaukee Packout system, and that starts with the Packout dolly that hangs on the rear cargo door.

A Veto bag with his most-used sheetmetal tools hangs on the passenger shelf back unit along with conduit benders, and pipe wrenches.

The driver-side shelf back holds a custom PVC pipe caulk station with 15 tubes of caulk and a couple of caulk guns.

He takes advantage of the steel surfaces in the back of the van with magnets: magnetic levels, a parts cup, and a battery-powered magnetic light are easy to access and easy to put back.

On the driver rear cargo, he mounted a PVC glue and cutting oil rack out of plywood. A series of PVC pipes hold his large masonry bits.

Maybe-you-need-it, Maybe-You-Don't Door Storage

Here's a great idea!

Noah calls it "incidental" tool storage. He has pockets from a cut-up bucket organizer mounted on the lower part of each cargo door. This is great if you need temporary storage of tools or parts or if you need some place for kind-of frequently used tools.

Situations this might work for you:

Imagine finishing up a job and you realize you didn't put away some snips and screwdrivers. Instead of climbing in your van or leaving them rolling on the floor, throw them in the pockets.

Some tools or parts you'll use over and over again on a particular job, then maybe you won't use it for a little while. This might be a hole saw where you're just makin' a lot of holes onsite, a box of fasteners that you're repeatedly using, or a meter you use once in a while.

Lightweight Ladders

Noah's got a great ladder game:

A Little Giant King Kombo Ladder mounts to the inside of the ceiling and rests on the lip of the Sortimo bulkhead. This is a fairly lightweight fiberglass ladder that's a little like a multipurpose ladder.

A shorter fiberglass step ladder is easily accessed at the rear of the van and held in place with a bungie cord.

He also carries one large extension ladder on a ladder rack on the roof of the van.

Space for HVAC Installation Units

One priority for this van build was space to haul water heaters, furnaces, boilers, and AC units. Noah also wanted to be able to haul multiple units if necessary.

He did this by ensuring clean and clear cargo areas at both the rear doors and the side door. The rear can take a long item like a water heater or a more cubic unit. The side door still has plenty of space to also take a cubic unit.

Noah says that even with all his tools, he could still fit a water heater, a furnace, and an AC condensing unit and coil! That is a lot of floor space!

Driver Side Shelves

They're divided into a front section and a rear section.

Rear Shelves

The rear shelves are a little narrower than the front shelves in order to accommodate hauling a larger HVAC unit. These shelves hold mostly non-Packout sized toolboxes for specific tools and some tool bags.

An interesting thing here is his tall tool bag shelf: It is taller than necessary to make it easy to grab the three tool bags that are here. From a standing position, he can easily grab any tool bag and walk out of the van.

Here he keeps a Veto OT-XL open top tool bag for less frequently used sheetmetal tools. Note that this is a supplement to Noah's more frequently used sheetmetal tool bag that he can grab from the ground at the rear of the van.

Next to the OT-XL is a Veto DR-XL bag for electrical work.

Lastly, he has a Veto Tech LC tool bag for refrigeration and overflow tools.

Front Shelves

The front shelves stick out a bit more into the cargo area than the rear shelves and are mostly Packout specific.

Shelves for heavy, short Packouts are slanted because it's easier to pull them out. The other shelves are not slanted, so the Packouts are retained with Kaizen K'NEX mounting feet.

A slanted and slotted shelf makes it quick to grab one of two battery-powered Milwaukee power saws. The blades hang below the shelves, but Noah has angled the shelf enough that the guards on each saw keep the blade covered from the front and bottom.

Pipe Threader Storage

Pipe threaders are bulky and the dies and stand can be awkward to store. Noah dealt with this by using the space above a wheelwell to strap the stand. A shelf above that holds dies, and the threader case itself stands in front of the wheelwell. In this position, it doesn't protrude past the shelf facing and is clean and contained.

Passenger Side Shelves

Noah makes full use of the Milwaukee Packout system here:

Several Packout organizers slot into slanted shelves. Because of the slant, they don't need to be tied down. The lowest shelf has some loose items and liquid materials.

Packout crates mounted with Kaizen inserts hold a few service parts, foam and foil tape, and gauges and specialty measuring tools.

Side Cargo Door and Bulkhead

There are a few things here for easy access. Hanging gauges are protected by a simple knit hat cover.

Noah says he frequently takes in his Veto Tech backpack to most jobs, so it's located right at the door.

Some other things here are a small broom, a larger level set, and a drain hose and some individually-mounted power tools.

Right at the door, there smaller Packouts for screw and wiring assortments. These are mounted using Kaizen mounts.

Noah hangs a 2 drills, an impact, and a sawzall at the door. He mounts these with Spider Tool Holster mounts. The fitting on the mount is the same as the fitting you'd clip to your belt, meaning that Noah can grab his impact from the van and slot it onto his tool belt.