--- title: "Custom Storage Solutions in West Covina" description: "Slide out trays, sealed compartments, drawers, shelving and tie down systems built into the space your vehicle actually has." canonical: https://ocrv.xyz/services/custom-fabrication/custom-storage-solutions/ business: "OCRV Center" phone: "(949) 799-3387" address: "23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887" market_served: "West Covina, California" --- # Custom Storage Solutions in West Covina OCRV Center builds storage into RVs, vans and trailers for West Covina owners at our Yorba Linda facility: slide out trays, sealed bays, drawers, gear boxes, shelving and tie down systems. Every build accounts for weight placement, drainage and how the compartment behaves when the vehicle is moving. **Ballpark range.** $750 to $8,500. Ranges are planning figures, not a quote. Final numbers come from a written estimate on your vehicle. ## Finding usable storage volume that is already on the vehicle Most RVs and vans have more usable space than the owner can reach. A pass through bay on a fifth wheel is often eight feet deep with a door at each end, which sounds generous until you are lying on your stomach trying to hook a strap onto something in the middle. The space exists. The access does not. So the first thing we do is survey what is there. We measure every compartment, note where the tank straps, wiring runs, LP lines and slide mechanisms intrude, find the floor structure, and identify which walls are structural and which are just skin. On vans we do the same with wheel wells, the sliding door track, the fuel filler and any factory anchor points already in the floor. Then we look at dead space. Under dinette benches, behind the shower wall on some floor plans, above the wheel wells in a cargo van, under the bed platform in a camper conversion, in the void behind a rear cap on some trailers. Not all of it is usable, and some of it is holding something you cannot see. That is why the survey happens before the design. ## Slide out trays, drawers and gear boxes built to the bay A slide out tray turns a deep bay into a usable one. We build the tray to the actual bay dimensions, which are never the dimensions in the brochure, and set it on rated drawer slides sized for the intended load. Light duty slides in a bay that will carry a generator and two batteries fail within a season, so slide selection is based on the loaded weight plus a healthy margin, not on the empty tray. Trays get a perimeter lip and a tie down pattern so the load is captured rather than loose in the tray. On the heaviest builds we add a locking detent so the tray does not roll out on a grade when you open the door. And we leave clearance at the door frame so the tray does not gouge the paint on the way out, which is the single most common complaint about aftermarket trays. Drawers and gear boxes are for the stuff that needs to be organized rather than just accessible. Sealed boxes for tools and recovery gear, divided drawers for hardware and hoses, a dedicated slot for the sewer hose that keeps it away from everything else. On overland and expedition builds these get built in aluminum to keep weight down and finished so they can be hosed out. - Trays built to measured bay dimensions on load rated slides - Perimeter lips, tie down patterns and locking detents on heavy trays - Door frame clearance designed in so the tray never contacts paint - Sealed tool boxes, divided drawers and dedicated sewer hose storage ## Van shelving, racking and secure equipment storage Work van interiors are a solved problem in the sense that Adrian Steel, Ranger Design and Weather Guard all make good modular systems, and when a stock system fits the van and the trade, we install it. Where custom work earns its cost is when the stock modules waste half the van, or the equipment is an odd shape, or the vehicle is a camper conversion with a different set of priorities. Custom shelving gets built to the actual cargo profile. That means shelf depths that match what is being carried instead of a standard 12 inches, uprights positioned to clear the wheel wells and the sliding door opening, and lipped shelves so nothing walks off during a hard stop. Everything mounts into the van floor and wall structure through the factory captive nuts and reinforced points, not through the sheet metal skin. Security is its own design problem. A cargo van full of expensive tools parked overnight is a target, and a shelf with a curtain over it does not slow anyone down. Lockable steel cabinets, a bolted down safe box for high value items, and a bulkhead that separates cab from cargo are the practical answers. On camper conversions the same idea shows up as a locking under bed compartment for cameras and laptops. ## Sealing, drainage and keeping a new compartment dry Any time we cut into a sidewall or a floor to create storage, water becomes the primary design concern. RV storage bays sit low, they take road spray, they collect condensation, and the bay door seals are the first thing to age. A compartment that traps water will rot its floor and delaminate the wall around it, and that repair costs several times what the storage build cost. So new compartments get built to shed water rather than to hold it. Floors are pitched slightly toward a drain point. Drains are placed where the water actually goes when the vehicle is parked on a slope, not just at the geometric low point. Penetrations are sealed with butyl and lapped over. Where a bay floor is being replaced rather than added, we use material that will not wick, and we seal cut edges rather than leaving raw core exposed. Door hardware matters too. A new bay door gets a fresh bulb seal, a latch that pulls the door tight against the seal rather than just holding it closed, and a strike position adjusted after the door has been hung and the compartment has taken a load. A door that seals fine empty and gaps under load is a leak waiting for the first rain off the San Gabriels. - Compartment floors pitched to a drain placed where water actually collects - Butyl bedded penetrations with lap sealed edges, not surface silicone - Non wicking floor material with sealed cut edges - Bulb seals and compression latches adjusted after the compartment is loaded ## Weight, balance and where not to put heavy storage Storage is an invitation to add weight, and weight placement changes how a vehicle drives. The rule of thumb we work to is heavy items low and between the axles, medium items forward of the rear axle, and light bulky items wherever they fit. Batteries, generators, water and tools belong as close to the axle centerline as the structure allows. The two places that cause trouble are far behind the rear axle and high above the belt line. Weight behind the rear axle levers load onto that axle and reduces load on the front, which is what makes a motorhome feel loose in the steering and vague under braking. Weight up high raises the center of gravity, which is felt immediately in crosswind on the open stretch of the 91 and in any emergency lane change. On trailers, tongue weight is the number to protect. Too little tongue weight is what starts sway, and moving storage rearward is the fastest way to lose it. When an owner wants a rear mounted cargo box on a travel trailer, we look at the loaded tongue weight percentage first and often recommend the storage go forward of the axles instead. It is a less exciting answer and it makes the trailer tow better. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you add a storage compartment to a travel trailer that does not have one? Often yes, and it is one of the more satisfying builds we do. The determining factors are what is behind the wall at that location and whether the framing can carry an opening. We open the area, verify the structure, frame the opening properly, build and seal the box, hang a door with a compression latch, and refinish the exterior panel around it. It comes out looking like it belongs there. ### How much weight can a slide out storage tray hold? It depends entirely on the slides and the bay structure. We size slides to the loaded weight with margin, so a tray built for a generator and a pair of batteries uses heavy duty slides and a reinforced frame, while a tray for camp chairs and hoses does not need to. Tell us what is going on the tray and we build to that number. We also check the bay floor, since some factory bay floors need reinforcement before they carry a loaded tray. ### Will a custom shelving install damage my van for resale? Installed correctly, no. We mount into factory captive nuts and reinforced points wherever they exist and add backing plates where they do not. Nothing goes through bare sheet metal skin. If the system ever comes out, what remains are the factory mounting points and a small number of sealed fastener locations, which is normal for any commercial van that has carried a rack system. ### Can you build storage that works with an existing slide out? Yes, and the clearance work is the important part. Slide mechanisms, rails and support structure eat into bay space in ways that are not obvious until the room is retracted. We cycle the slide during measurement to map the full swept area, then design around it with real clearance rather than a quarter inch of hope. A tray that contacts a slide rail will damage both. ### Do you build storage for overland and off road campers? Yes. That work usually means aluminum construction to control weight, sealed boxes that can be washed out, drawer systems rated for washboard road vibration, tie downs that hold under real articulation, and secure mounting for recovery gear and fuel. Vibration is the main enemy on those builds, so latches, slide detents and fastener locking get more attention than they would on a highway coach. --- OCRV Center, 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. Phone (949) 799-3387. All work is performed in shop at the Yorba Linda facility. We do not run mobile, roadside or fleet route service. Ranges are planning figures, not a quote. Final numbers come from a written estimate on your vehicle.