A new generation of racking for commercial vehicles is something that fleets should be exploiting, believes Arval.

The vehicle leasing and fleet management company says that the latest designs are lighter in weight, safer, more practical and are easier to refit for “second life” use.

Eddie Parker, commercial vehicle manager, explained: “Many fleets tend to employ a racking specification that they have had in place for years, using wood as a base and seeing their vans as, essentially, mobile warehouses.

“But there has been a complete rethink on racking in recent years. Modern materials are much safer in the event of an accident, are lighter in use so don’t detract from payload weight, and allow a much more streamlined, job-centred approach.”

Packer explained that, while new racking represented a significant investment, it was likely to prove to be a good purchase over the operational life of the vehicle.

He said: “Because new racking is lighter and better designed, you are likely to make savings in areas ranging from fuel to tyre wear while your vans will also be more productive in use.

“Crucially, if you invest in good quality racking, it can very often be used in a ‘second life’ where it is transferred to a new vehicle after its original fitment is de-fleeted. We have fleets that successfully transfer racking to second and even third vehicles.”

Arval has worked with a number of racking specialists in recent years to learn as much as possible about the options available. Parker said: “This is an area where we are confident that the consultancy advice that we are able to provide to commercial vehicle fleets is of the highest quality.”