Spacemate

[AcapulcoLoco]

I bought a spacemate just before going on holiday and I can honestly say it's fantastic. I knew it was going to be a pain loading and getting stuff out from the back of the van with Tulip my Keeshond on the back shelf, the Spacemate made life so much easier and was well worth the not inconsiderable investment. I thought about getting a pull out tray for a while and did a bit of research on the various ones available, they are all quite expensive and similarly priced, I finally decided on the Spacemate because of the built up sides but mainly because of the locking mechanism, you have a central pull handle which when you lift the ring, unlocks the mechanism and you can then pull the tray out with one hand which makes it more convenient when you're carrying stuff and don't want to have to put it down to pull the tray out, most have two locking levers at the ends so you can't open them one handed. If you're thinking of buying a pull out rear tray, I can thoroughly recommend the Spacemate, I'm really pleased with mine and glad I bought it. I fitted mine on my own, the only problem I had was that the previous owner of my Cali had moved the rear seat stop right back so I had no reference point for measuring where the tray bolts should go, I measured everything got the stop in the right place with a bit of trial and error and lifted the tray in and dropped it onto the studs and it was then a piece of cake to fit. The frame is laser cut and it's all really nice build quality and very sturdy. As you can see a Thetford 335 fits under the rear shelf. Having used it for a few weeks I would definitely buy it again knowing what I know now. Great bit of kit.

 

[Perfectos]

Nice write up

 

[AcapulcoLoco]

 

[AcapulcoLoco]

 

[CamperFam]

We're switching out our Cali Ocean tomorrow for a new adventure mobile, and one of the things we'll really miss is the Spacemate. Brilliant bit of kit thats lugged our EcoFlow, wellies, kids camping chairs and all sorts around for the past year or so.

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

We're switching out our Cali Ocean tomorrow for a new adventure mobile, and one of the things we'll really miss is the Spacemate. Brilliant bit of kit thats lugged our EcoFlow, wellies, kids camping chairs and all sorts around for the past year or so.

Does that mean a set of fancy cupboard boxes are about to hit the second hand market?

 

[JuanVecino2023]

We're switching out our Cali Ocean tomorrow for a new adventure mobile, and one of the things we'll really miss is the Spacemate. Brilliant bit of kit thats lugged our EcoFlow, wellies, kids camping chairs and all sorts around for the past year or so.

Have you flogged your Spacemate more to the point!

 

[CamperFam]

Hah yes to them being up for sale soon. Not yet listed but they will be.

 

[AcapulcoLoco]

I forgot to mention, they are reduced from £549 to £499 at the moment and I found a discount code on YouTube when I was watching reviews on them

so I used the discount code CALITIME2 for a 10% discount so got the price down to £450. See http://www.spacematetray.com for more details.

 

[Californication69]

They are amazing and transform the boot space. I’ll have one for sale soon. West Midlands

 

[Agnes_Cali]

I think it's one of the accessories I will go for. Others are window bags, but sliding tray seems more useful. Sadly, wider one is more expensive, but thanks for the discount code.

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

Hah yes to them being up for sale soon. Not yet listed but they will be.

I'd certainly be interested in the wee boxes if you wanted to PM me. I've admired then from afar but ultimately put off by the hefty cost from new. I think we've otherwise optimised the Cali as far as we can push it (another vote for Spacemate).
I'd be interested to know what you're stepping up to. We're a family of three and are looking for something bigger than a Cali sooner or later with at least 3 travelling and sleeping berths.

 

[MalcolmHSoli22]

We’ve just completed a

View attachment 125223
I bought a spacemate just before going on holiday and I can honestly say it's fantastic. I knew it was going to be a pain loading and getting stuff out from the back of the van with Tulip my Keeshond on the back shelf, the Spacemate made life so much easier and was well worth the not inconsiderable investment. I thought about getting a pull out tray for a while and did a bit of research on the various ones available, they are all quite expensive and similarly priced, I finally decided on the Spacemate because of the built up sides but mainly because of the locking mechanism, you have a central pull handle which when you lift the ring, unlocks the mechanism and you can then pull the tray out with one hand which makes it more convenient when you're carrying stuff and don't want to have to put it down to pull the tray out, most have two locking levers at the ends so you can't open them one handed. If you're thinking of buying a pull out rear tray, I can thoroughly recommend the Spacemate, I'm really pleased with mine and glad I bought it. I fitted mine on my own, the only problem I had was that the previous owner of my Cali had moved the rear seat stop right back so I had no reference point for measuring where the tray bolts should go, I measured everything got the stop in the right place with a bit of trial and error and lifted the tray in and dropped it onto the studs and it was then a piece of cake to fit. The frame is laser cut and it's all really nice build quality and very sturdy. As you can see a Thetford 335 fits under the rear shelf. Having used it for a few weeks I would definitely buy it again knowing what I know now. Great bit of kit.

month away in Europe and our Spacemate was absolutely invaluable. We have an ancient Thetford 345 which just fits too.

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

There's a few SpaceMate threads now but this seems to be the most recent.
We fitted the SpaceMate early this year but since old habits die hard we've still been using plastic boxes inside the tray. This obviously wastes space as the available boxes rarely fit exactly, so you end up with useless space between them. Most annoying.
So.
We're not the first to go down the timber frame route but thought we'd give this a try.
The corner posts were measured to match the clearance below the rear bed thing at normal height. The side panels then fit onto them, but resting on the top edge of the SpaceMate. This means they don't intrude into the storage cavity and reduces materials. This then avoids the need for plastic boxes to give full height sides and allows more flexible use of the internal space as a single volume. So far, so good.

You can see I went for the cargo net option when ordering. Time we'll tell if this was necessary.

This is a quick test version using spare wood I had kicking around in the shed. I'll make a better version with full height sturdy plywood before the 'big holiday', but you get the idea.

 

[SFO]

this thread has inspired me to order a Spacemate .. been wanting something like it for ages. No idea Spacemate existed until now

 

[CamperFam]

this thread has inspired me to order a Spacemate .. been wanting something like it for ages. No idea Spacemate existed until now

Ping me an IM or email SFO - moved to a GC600, so looking to sell ours on. (camperfamuk@g mail.com)

 

[BoredArtist]

The price of these vans it should come as a standard fixture.

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

The price of these vans it should come as a standard fixture.

There's a long list of features that fall into that category.

 

[vmaxkiddy]

The price of these vans it should come as a standard fixture.

There's a long list of features that fall into that category.

And with each one the price would go up and up

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

There's a few SpaceMate threads now but this seems to be the most recent.
We fitted the SpaceMate early this year but since old habits die hard we've still been using plastic boxes inside the tray. This obviously wastes space as the available boxes rarely fit exactly, so you end up with useless space between them. Most annoying.
So.
We're not the first to go down the timber frame route but thought we'd give this a try.
The corner posts were measured to match the clearance below the rear bed thing at normal height. The side panels then fit onto them, but resting on the top edge of the SpaceMate. This means they don't intrude into the storage cavity and reduces materials. This then avoids the need for plastic boxes to give full height sides and allows more flexible use of the internal space as a single volume. So far, so good.

You can see I went for the cargo net option when ordering. Time we'll tell if this was necessary.

This is a quick test version using spare wood I had kicking around in the shed. I'll make a better version with full height sturdy plywood before the 'big holiday', but you get the idea.

View attachment 125575

View attachment 125576

Finished the timber box thing ahead of upcoming festival and Big Trip. It wouldn't win any woodwork prizes but seems to do the job so far.

 

[SFO]

this thread has inspired me to order a Spacemate .. been wanting something like it for ages. No idea Spacemate existed until now

Fitted today.

Fantastic piece of kit.

For T6.1 owners, the bits under the adjustable shelf reduces clearance more than I had allowed for. So much so that I have to raise the shelf to slide the tray with my bicycle case in it.

 

[Van Diesel VW]

Not seen purple ones before, is that a new colour finish from standard grey.

 

[SFO]

Not seen purple ones before, is that a new colour finish from standard grey.

Custom colour

 

[SFO]

Special offer

 

[CaliforniaSeb]

Very tempted I bought some rubber liner for the back of our first van and it had this awful chemical smell. I had to chuck it out. Does the liner smell all?