Mother's attic?

[ElecCont]

I've noticed on the new Ram ProMaster they built a "mother's attic" type thing above the passenger's head on the higher roof model.  Basically, the interior cab headliner is the same heigh for the low or high roof models, but in the high roof model there is a shelf that can be accessed from the cargo area of the van.  This makes use of a great space.

 

The high roof Nissan NV has that same space above the driver's head that is wasted.  I was hoping some aftermarket company made some type of shelf that could be installed above the driver's head and accessed from the cargo area like this.  Has anyone seen this?  

[vanguy]

There is overhead storage on the high Roof. Three or 4 separate compartments. See NV website for pics.

[ElecCont]

There is overhead storage on the high Roof. Three or 4 separate compartments. See NV website for pics.

That storage space is tiny and doesn't make use of the otherwise useless area above the driver's head.

 

Here is an example of what could be done if that space was accessible from the cargo area like it is on the ProMaster.  You can see how 10' length of pipe would fit inside (altho I would do other things with the space myself).

 

 

 

 

You could keep the ceiling of the cab the same height as in the low roof model, and use that extra height above for rear storage, making a  "mother's attic".

Edited October 15, 2013 by ElecCont

[vanguy]

I see what you mean. I guess it depends on how you use your van.

 

If you get a partition installed between the passenger & cargo area, that overhead storage is not accessible from the cargo area anyway. So I think that may be why Nissan designed it the way they did.

 

Most of the cargo vans I've seen over the years have some sort of shelving in the back with a partition between the cargo & passenger compartments. That doesn't mean it works for everyone. Carpet installers usually don't like them because they need the extra floor space.

[ElecCont]

I see what you mean. I guess it depends on how you use your van.

 

If you get a partition installed between the passenger & cargo area, that overhead storage is not accessible from the cargo area anyway. So I think that may be why Nissan designed it the way they did.

 

Most of the cargo vans I've seen over the years have some sort of shelving in the back with a partition between the cargo & passenger compartments. That doesn't mean it works for everyone. Carpet installers usually don't like them because they need the extra floor space.

That's the entire point that I am making.  If you look at the Adrian Steel partition, it only goes up to the height of the low roof.  Then there is a second piece that is inserted above it to block off the rest.  If you leave that second piece out, it would give perfect access to the area above the driver's head.  As I said, Ram did this with their ProMaster and it's an awesome idea.  This could be done aftermarket with the NV if someone built a shelf.  I heard that someone has built one, but I wasn't abel to find it so that's why I asked here.

 

Here's a picture of the ProMaster.  It cuts it off at the top but you can still see the point.  The area above the driver's head is the same height in the high roof model and the low roof model.  The difference is that in the high roof model the area above the driver's head is storage space available from the back.  The partition for the ProMaster only goes up to the height of the cab ceiling, so you would use the same exact partition whether you have a high or low roof model, which is a great idea.

 

[vanguy]

Looks like you could store quite a bit up there.

 

I think another advantage would be the heating & cooling aspect. With that lower roof in the cab area it would help hold heating or cooling in the passenger area, that's part of the purpose of the upper part of the partition.

 

Maybe Nissan will take a cue from Dodge on this on make it available in future models. Keep looking in the aftermarket sector & maybe someone will make a kit.

[Chris]

It looks like I had the same idea as you. I removed the cheap plastic partition and installed a new ceiling and covered the existing metal partition with white Masonite, dynomat, two layers of thin foil insulation and white Masonite again. The cabin warms up a lot quicker and it's odd how quiet it is :)

Edited January 3, 2014 by Chris

[ElecCont]

Wow, yes, that is EXACTLY what I as talking about!

 

So you have the normal Adrian Steel partition, but left out that plastic piece they put across the top?

What did you attach the shelf to?  Was there a lot of customizing?  If you have any other pics of the shelf and how it's attached, I would really appreciate it.  

[Chris]

Ya, I took the plastic piece off and from the top of the steel divider, the new ceiling lines up with the three shelves in the headliner. I cut some white Masonite to fit the new ceiling dimensions, then glued birch 1x4's to the top of it (so there are no screws showing from below). A layer of Dynomat, two layers of foil insulation and another piece of white Masonite for the top that is screwed to the 1x4s The back end of the ceiling is screwed to the top of the partition, the front and sides are not attached and are sitting on rubber weather stripping for a couple of reasons, I know the body is going to flex some and I didn't want to screw into anything that would show if I ever took it out 

 

For the partition wall, I used white Masonite and cut a couple of pieces to cover the holes in the partition then cut 1x4's and screwed them in from the ends. Dynomat, insulation and another layer of Masonite. I put the 1x4s where I knew my BoBo wire rack would be mounted. Then I cut a few pieces of Masonite into the corners to finish sealing the cab up. I used some 2x2 aluminum "L" to finish the corners off and cover up the fact that I'm not a carpenter

In 15 degree weather, the cab heats up in minutes and you can barely hear anything from the back. It took more time to figure it out than it did to do it.

 

You might be interested in my pipe rack. I had some 10"x4"  wireway left over from a job so I used 10' of it on the floor, cut through the partition and extended it under the drivers seat to carry 10' conduit inside. I put Dynomat on it also. For scrap conduit I used a 5' section of the same wire way and installed it on top of the longer one. I put a hinged cover on the end to remove short pieces of conduit that will get stuck at the end of it 

 

It's been great so far, the Nissan service guys were even impressed :)

[ElecCont]

Funny you mentioned that, I actually planned on drilling a hole thru the partition in order to slide a 6" piece of PVC thru it and under the driver's seat, in order to make a pipe holder.  

 

So with your shelf, it's only attached to the top of the partition?  What is stopping the front of it from falling down onto your head?

[Chris]

The front of it is resting on the shelves, it won't move, I could hardly budge it to put the rubber weather stripping between it and the shelf it's sitting on. I'll get some pics later

[ElecCont]

Thanks, I'd really appreciate the pics.

 

I think I am going to go with the NV instead of the Sprinter.  This shelf will be my first project.

Edited January 23, 2014 by ElecCont

[Chris]

 

Here's a few pics

[ElecCont]

So basically it worked out to be the right height for the shelf to fit right inside of the cubby holes and the bottom of the cubby holds the shelf up?  Wow, so simple and what a great end result.

[fenderfatstrat6]

 

Here's a few pics

hey chis i was curious did you have any issues with the side curtain air bags? 

[chris_columbia]

I though exactly the same thing the first time I saw that dead space above the front passengers. Attached are pictures of my "attic". If Nissan had made the cubbie area above the windshield flat, would have been much easier. Instead I had to run a board between a flat divider bar and a curved cubbie. My intention is to put a few power tools and supplies up there instead of having them rolling around the floor.

Edited April 15, 2019 by chris_columbia

[DesertTed]

I did a lazy man's (or should I say a lazy woman's) attic. I took some heat shrinked butt connectors and took off each bolt from the plastic overhead (one at a time), looped them through the cargo net and put the bolts through both ends of my jury-rigged eye hooks, did the same thing in the rear of the net and Voilà! We have light, but bulky stuff up there-down blankets, hats, jackets. It comes in very handy and helps keep the clutter down while camping.

Ted