Anyone who has spent a few nights in a converted van knows the problem. Gear gets shoved wherever it fits. Bikes lean against the wall. Camping bins stack three high in the back, and the one thing you actually need is always buried under everything else. A van slide-out tray solves that problem in one move, and once you have used one, it is hard to imagine going back to digging through a pile.
What a Slide-Out Tray Actually Does
A slide out tray is exactly what it sounds like. It is a platform that sits on heavy duty drawer slides, mounted either straight to your van floor or onto L-Track, and it rolls all the way out so you can load and unload from outside the van instead of climbing in and rummaging around. Think of it as turning your cargo area into a drawer instead of a closet.
Our version, the 60" DIY Pull Out Tray, is built with this exact idea in mind. The kit comes with the slides and all the mounting hardware, and you supply a piece of plywood cut to whatever width your van needs. That means the tray adapts to your build rather than forcing your build to adapt to it.
Why It Matters for Van Life
The honest answer is that a slide-out tray changes how you actually use your van day-to-day. Instead of unpacking half your gear to reach a cooler at the back of the cargo area, you pull the tray, grab what you need, and push it back in. It keeps heavier or bulkier items like bikes, tools, and camping bags contained in one spot instead of shifting around loose while you drive.
It also makes better use of space that would otherwise go to waste. A garage area under a bed platform is only useful if you can actually reach what is stored in it. A tray turns that hard-to-access cubby into something you will use constantly, because getting to your gear no longer means crawling in on your hands and knees.
View the 60" DIY Pull Out Tray →
Built to Handle Real Weight
This is not a flimsy accessory. The slides on our tray are rated to handle up to 450 lbs when the unit is through bolted directly to the floor, which is the setup we recommend for the strongest hold. If you mount it to L-Track instead, the weight rating will be a bit lower and can shift depending on how your track is installed, so it is worth testing your load before you rely on it.
At 60 inches long with a full slide out range, there is room for real gear. Riders have used it to haul multiple bikes under a bed platform. Builders have used it for camping bins, tools, and the everyday overflow that never has a proper home. The double slide locks keep everything secure once it is pushed back in, so nothing rolls out mid drive.
Fits Any Van
One of the best things about a slide out tray is how flexible it is across platforms. This tray has been installed in Sprinter, Transit, and ProMaster builds, along with Storyteller conversions, because the mounting system does not depend on a specific van's factory floor layout. Since you supply your own plywood width, it is easy to size it to fit whatever floor opening you are working with. If you drive a Storyteller Beast Mode 4x4, it is worth double checking your rear cargo opening first, since some configurations run tight at 60 inches.
DIY Friendly From the Start
A lot of van accessories sound simple until you actually try to install them. This one holds up to that promise. The kit includes the hardware, a written guide, and a video walkthrough, and most people knock out the install in under two hours with basic tools. One builder mounted it with a custom-cut piece of plywood and had the whole thing bolted and ready to load in about ninety minutes.
The Bottom Line
A van slide-out tray will not make headlines the way a rooftop tent or a bed platform does, but it might be the accessory you end up using the most. It turns wasted floor space into real, accessible storage, keeps heavy gear from sliding around while you drive, and takes the guesswork out of finding what you packed three stops ago.
If your build has a garage space, an under bed cavity, or any area that is hard to reach once it is loaded, a slide out tray is one of the simplest upgrades you can make.
View the 60" DIY Pull Out Tray →
