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Space-Saving Shop Storage System
When Ryan Stauffer built a new shop he wanted a storage system that would keep things neat and organized, without taking up a lot of wall space. So he and friends Austin Stauffer and Dolen Schweitzer got together and built a vertical, space-saving “mobile-aisle” shelving system. They introduced it at the recent Husker Harvest Days farm show near Grand Island, Neb.
    The Levrack system is designed to work with existing pallet rack storage systems, or be installed as a self-contained system. Six rolling shelving units are contained inside a 12-ft. square steel frame that bolts to the floor. The 7-ft. tall, 4-ft. deep shelving units ride on rollers in an overhead rail, allowing them to be easily pushed from side to side. A pallet rack above them can be used to store larger items such as pumps and gearboxes.     
    The 18-in. deep shelves in each shelving unit face inward toward each other. There’s a 29-in. wide opening, or “mobile aisle”, between any pair of shelving units that creates access to the shelves on either side of the aisle.
    “It keeps your shop looking nice and tidy and provides a lot of capacity without taking up much space. The shelving units roll easily, even when loaded, and require no motors or complex parts,” says Ryan. “We call it the Levrack because when you roll the shelving units from side to side it almost looks like they’re floating off the ground, or levitating. The shelves are rated at 1,200 lbs. and the pallet racking is rated at 3 1/2 tons so it has a lot of capacity.”
    According to Ryan, “The system always looks clean because the shelves are turned inward so that no one sees your mess. We use boltless shelving that can be easily adjusted up or down. If you want, you can pop the shelves out and use the space to store rakes and shovels and so forth. A pegboard on the front and back side of each shelving unit works great to organize small tools.”
    Ryan says that after he built the shop, at first he was going to build a parts room. “However, we always had this idea in the back of our head about using a mobile aisle shelving system. Unfortunately all the ones we found were quite expensive and required a track in the floor, which wouldn’t work well in a farm shop because of gravel and dirt. Then one day we were standing under a pallet rack shelving system inside another shop and looked up. We thought we might be able to design hanging shelving units that roll from above.”
    According to Ryan the system is completely customizable, as the shelves and framework are sold separately.
    “For example, for one customer we replaced the shelves in one shelving unit with a toolbox and workbench and installed a bolt bin in the adjacent shelving unit, with LED lights added above the aisle,” says Ryan. “Eventually we plan to introduce systems for garages, but for now we’re focusing on the farm and industrial side.
    The front side of the shelving units is available in either galvanized sheet metal or diamond plate steel.
    A standard 12-ft. sq. Levrack storage system sells for about $5,300 plus S&H.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ryan Stauffer, 2840 O Street Road, Seward, Neb. 68434 (ph 402 875-9466; www.levrack.com; ryan@levrack.com).


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2016 - Volume #40, Issue #6