Yet Another Cylinder Rack

[NothingClever]

For the AL40 deco botttles, I did things a little differently.

I changed the orientation of the deco bottle valves to the “inboard” side. This puts the regs in a protected spot so that I can toss gear (like a boat basket) in the van behind the seats (from the side door) and if it slides, it will simply hit the bottoms of the deco bottles rather than the regs and valve knobs.

On the other side of the board is a stopper knot and a SS fender washer.

 

[NothingClever]

 

[NothingClever]

I had to go back and cover my sloppy tracks with wood filler on some of my hole cuts for the 3/8” marine rope. I forgot to clamp a sacrificial scrap behind the exit point of my wood bore bit so I had some ugly “exit wounds”. About halfway through the project I remembered how to stop the splintering. Perfect hole cuts after that.

 

[tursiops]

Looks good. Yeah, the trick is fore-and-aft anchoring of the tanks, not lateral or up-and-down anchoring.
Did you consider carrying the tanks vertically, as required in commercial practice?

 

[NothingClever]

Looks good. Yeah, the trick is fore-and-aft anchoring of the tanks, not lateral or up-and-down anchoring.
Did you consider carrying the tanks vertically, as required in commercial practice?

Yes, that’s next. I‘ve made a sketch for a vertical rack for the right wall that allows me to step up into the van and easily don and doff the twinset. AL40s and DPV will fit into their own racks below that. That leaves free space on the floor and the opposite wall (driver’s left) for a fold down berth.

The fold down berth will be permanent. The vertical wall rack for twinset and deco bottles will not. I need to be able to easily move the rack out to make room for the motorcycle and all my track crap when it’s a track day / weekend. For anchoring I intend to use an L-track system which is common in both passenger and cargo aircraft.

 

[Jack Hammer]

In a vehicle, I've found just standing them up and using a strap to secure them to be quick, simple, inexpensive, and stable.

 

[NothingClever]

In a vehicle, I've found just standing them up and using a strap to secure them to be quick, simple, inexpensive, and stable.

In a naked cargo van?

Quick, simple, inexpensive? You bet.

Stable? Don’t think so.

 

[Still Kicking]

In a naked cargo van?

Quick, simple, inexpensive? You bet.

Stable? Don’t think so.

I bolted a 2x4 frame on the inside of the truck bed wall and use these offroad straps to secure tanks vertically. Hundreds of trips with multiple tanks and they are rock solid. I use them on my boat too.

 

[Jack Hammer]

In a naked cargo van?

Quick, simple, inexpensive? You bet.

Stable? Don’t think so.

Yup, works in a naked cargo van too, I know as I've done it. You just have to be smart enough to think beyond just standing them up in the middle unsupported as the only option.

 

[NothingClever]

Fully road tested this morning with spirited cornering, hard braking and rapid acceleration. Nothing budged so happy about that.

Good points about an economical solution bolted in but that wasn’t a good fit for my needs. I need something that’s super quick to install and remove (since the van is multipurpose in a given week) and I wanted a solution that allows movement throughout the van. A 2 x 4 frame athwartship would impede (not necessarily block) movement about the van and timing isn’t right to tackle the vertical wall rack I’ve sketched out since I‘m not ready to hard install the L-track (rivet nuts, etc).

@Jack Hammer and @Can't Talk ... Diving - For folks that need a simple rack, please feel free to add your photos so other folks can see the options.