New Headliner Shelf From Carrve Custom Vans

While I was at Carrve Custom Vans for my custom hitch storage and bike rack solution, I saw the great work Ken did on a headliner shelf in his own van, so I asked him to make me one. Even though I’ve enjoyed the headroom in the cab part of my Sprinter, I didn’t have a great place to store my Quest Overland window covers, as well as blankets and pillows, and other bulky items that don’t fit in my cabinets well.

Ken did a great job building and installing the headliner shelf. Since my van build was already done with cabinets in place, it was a matter of lining everything up exactly so the headliner shelf fit in, which required a little extra work of removing the Sprinter visors, and in the end, everything lined up perfectly. The best part is that the black headliner shelf works well with my existing build color scheme, as well as the dark gray cab interior, and it doesn’t take away from the overall look and feel. Granted, I have hit my head a few times on it the first few weeks, but I’ve adapted now and find the extra storage super convenient and practical!

I highly recommend Carrve Custom Vans to anyone in the Northwestern Washington area. Ken and Ryan do great work, are super nice and accommodating, and they do quality work!

Also, if you need window covers for your cab, your back windows, and your side windows, please checkout Quest Overland. The quality of the window coverings is superb! I’ve owned mine for two years now and they are still in excellent shape, show no wear and tear, and will probably last me the life of the van. Use code barbrocks5 to save 5% on your order with them!

Custom Hitch Storage & Bike Rack Solution

After I bought my Aventon Pace 500 Step-Through eBike, I knew I needed a convenient bike rack to take it with me on my road trips. I looked at all the available bike racks online and didn’t really like any of the choices. The main reason was that most hitch racks are for 2 or 4 bikes, and since I am a solo female traveler, that would be waste of half the rack. I also wanted a storage box on the outside of my van and since my roof rack is pretty full with solar panels and my traction boards, I didn’t want to use up more of that space, plus carrying anything big and bulky up the side ladder is really difficult and inefficient. Therefore, I wanted a hitch storage solution via my hitch but I couldn’t find a solution that could work for both a bike rack and a box.

The two solutions I found that would somewhat work are the hinge racks that both Owl Vans and Aluminess offer, but there were a few downsides to these solutions:
1) The 270 hinges I have on my van that allow for the doors all the way to the side, would need to be removed and replaced with the 45 degree hinges.
2) The eBike is much heavier than a regular bike, so lifting it up overheard to sit on a box would be too difficult.
3) The largest box they offer does not have enough space for an inflatable kayak or SUP.
4) The weight of everything can take a toll on the hinges and doors of the van.
5) Both companies had a wait list for getting the solution installed and I wanted something sooner as I was planning to leave on a Baja road trip before Christmas.

Because I couldn’t find a solution that fit my needs and desires, I looked into a custom solution. I was referred to a local welder by Lenny’s Bike Shop, and Ian the welder started looking into options for me. He wasn’t sure he could make something as I requested, so he referred me to Ryan and Ken at Carrve Custom Vans, a great local van building shop. Ryan was super helpful and excited to come up with a solution for me. He also showed me first hand what the Owl Vans solution looked like since the vertical bike rack set up could have been an option, but I will still hesitant due to the small size of the storage box.

The solution Ryan and I came up with that fit my needs the best was as follows:
1) HitchSwing Arm from Wilco Offroad
2) Smooth Aluminum Barn Door Toolbox from Chandler Truck Accessories (18x18x48 size)
3) 1Up Bike Tray from Owl Vans

Ryan built a T-shaped support arm for under the toolbox that fits into the HitchSwing and mounted the 1Up Bike Tray on top of the toolbox. The end result is practical and just what I need to take extra gear on the road, with a bike rack that is at the right height for me to easy put my eBike on and take it off, and still allows me to open my back doors due to the hitchswing arm.

This custom solution cost me $1973.13 for parts, plus Ryan’s labor cost. I did buy the locking pins for both the HitchSwing Arm and the 1Up Bike Tray so I can lock everything to deter theft. I also bought the Sunlite Heavy Duty Bike Cover so that the elements don’t damage the eBike as much.

I’m curious if anyone else has a custom solution for their van, or what you think of mine, so please let me know!

If you ever need any van work done in the Pacific Northwest, or are looking for a great company to do your custom build in Northwest Washington, check out Carrve Custom Vans. Ryan and Ken do wonderful work and are super great to work with!