So this FarOutThing is really going to happen… the Ford Transit van was ordered at the dealer today! We’re VERY excited, we actually want to leave NOW, but there is a lot of work ahead of us for the conversion to a camper van before the trip happens. Keep Calm and wait, the Transit should be delivered in 6 to 8 weeks if everything goes as planned. Things rarely goes as planned, so we’re thinking 3 months (end of May) before the Transit is ours (**edit: actual delivery date was June 6th 2016).
BUILD SUMMARY
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2016 Transit Van 250, Extended Length, High Roof Height, 3.7L Ti-VCT V6 Engine, 6-Speed SelectShift® Automatic Transmission – O/D, SRW (Body Code: R3X)
Packages
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Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow Package
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User-Defined Factory-Installed Upfitter Switches
Exterior
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Magnetic
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Dual Heavy-Duty Batteries
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Fixed Rear-Door Glass and Flip-Open Passenger-Side Cargo-Door Glass
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Heavy-Duty Alternator
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Modified Vehicle Wiring System
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Perimeter Alarm
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Privacy Glass
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Rear-Window Defogger
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Remote Keyless Entry Keypad
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Spare Tire and Wheel
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Trailer Wiring Provisions
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Power Heated Mirrors with Turn Signals
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16-Inch Steel Wheels with Full Silver Wheel Cover
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235/65R16 BSW All-Season Tires
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Sliding Passenger Side Door
Interior
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Pewter
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Cloth
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Cruise Control with Message Centre
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Front Carpet Floor Covering
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AM/FM Stereo with Audio Input Jack
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Pewter Gray Cloth, 2-Way Manual Driver and Front-Passenger
A few tips for ordering a new Ford Transit at a dealership…
There are a lot of options available. By the time you are ready to order, you will probably know more about the Transit than the salesman himself. Some options are prerequisite to others. The Ford ordering system at the dealership is not user-friendly at all. All of this make the process of getting quotes and making the actual order very painful. To make sure you get exactly what you want, do as follows:
- Build your Transit through the Ford website (Canada or USA).
- Some options are prerequisite to others; for example the heavy-duty 230 amp alternator is mandatory to the heavy-duty dual batteries. The website will guide you smoothly through that, as opposed to the Ford system (or salesman) at the dealership.
- Print the pdf file with all features and options chosen.
- Retrieve all the optional equipment order codes here (http://www.mattford.com/public/images/ford-transit-order-guide.pdf) and make a list. (this is the 2018 order guide)
- The website (step 1) does not list all the optional equipment. There are more options to choose from on the document listed at step 3 above. Review them prior to get to the dealer to ensure you don’t miss anything.
- The salesman needs to enter these codes to make the order; the Ford system is very, very confusing and not user-friendly (as opposed the Ford website builder). Expect your Transit order to be incomplete or inaccurate if you do not review them at the time of order at the dealership. For example, if you ask to get the 3.73 axle ratio with the 3.7 engine Extended-Length, it will automatically gives you the 2000$ “Ambulance Package” and you have to start over…
- Bring your lists at the dealership, make the order sheet with the salesman and review the codes thoroughly before leaving.
- We’re not there yet, but here is the general timeline from order to delivery:
- Customer make order at dealer
- Dealer make order at Ford (about 1 week after customer order)
- Dealer receive VIN (about 2-4 weeks after dealer order)
- Window Sticker is available with projected build date (about 3-7 weeks after VIN is received)
- Build completion (about 2 weeks after Window Sticker is available)
- Transit delivery (about 4-6 weeks after build completion for High-Roof & Medium-Roof)
- When VIN is received, check on Research Maniac for your Transit Window Sticker. The window sticker will show up only when a build date is scheduled and the dealer is billed. The window sticker will show the projected build date.
- When the build starts at the Kansas plant, check on Ford Etis website for the actual build date and status.
As of 12 February 2016, the waiting game begins!
Here is the actual timeline (will be updated when event occur):
- February 12th 2016: Order made at the dealer
- March 24th 2016: VIN received
- May 3rd 2016: Window Sticker available
- May 12th 2016: Ford Etis Build date available (Build Date 11.05.2016)
- June 6th 2016: DELIVERED!
I was set on the Dodge, but you changed my mind. Brand new to this and I have been watching Youtube vids for weeks. I plan on buying your plans when I get farther down the line and appreciate your engineer minds in setting this all up with such detail. Best wishes to you as you live the dream…
Did you get dual lead batteries or agm?
Dual batteries are AGM.
This website is phenomenal – just snagged your electrical diagram (and soon will probably do so for the Water and Propane as well)
Quick Question: Are the User-Defined Factory-Installed Upfitter Switches and the Modified Vehicle Wiring System still useful after you decided to revise your electrical system and disconnect the van-battery from the living space-battery? I’m struggling to understand why/when I would need those two optional packages, there isn’t a ton of information out on the web for them (or on your site!)
Thanks!
I definitely recommend the heavy-duty alternator if you want to charge from the alternator.
I think when you order the heavy-duty alternator, you must order the dual batteries and the modified wiring. But I might be wrong; it’s been a while since we ordered.
About the upfitter switches, we ordered them “just in case” and we used them for the Air Lift system (see our build journal). If you think you really don’t need the upfitter switches, I guess you can pass!
Good luck! 🙂
For the 2020 model year, an upgraded alternator is the standard option now. They vary slightly, but for the eco-boost engine, the standard is now rated to 250 amps. The 2020 model has a number of standard electronics upgrades in it as well, so the old estimate of the van needing 70-80 amps for its own needs is out the window. Without better information readily available, i’ve conservatively doubled the van’s need to 160, leaving me with 90 amps to charge my batteries. We’ll be chasing powder in the winter like you are, and like your idea of going for the 2×100 lithium batteries and the 60amp B2B to charge it.
There is still an upgrade option of dual alternators in the 2020, but 2×250 seems like overkill….. thoughts?
I don’t have much info right now, so I don’t want to speculate… but yeah, 2 x 250A seems like a lot!
Salut
Très intéressant votre site .
J’ai un sprinter , mais le Ford m’intéresse , quelle est la consommation moyenne qu votre cadran vous indique ,est-ce que vous trouvez qu’il se comporte bien sûr la route ou il swing ? Ou c’est assez raid ?
Merci
Stéphane
Salut,
On a environ 16.5 L/100km en moyenne (autoroute, ville, montagne, “shuttle” en vélo, COMBINÉ). On aime vraiment la conduite du Transit par rapport aux autres vans; si c’était à recommencer on irait encore avec un Transit! C’est sûre qu’après la conversion il faut adapter sa conduite… presque 9000lbs à traîner c’est pas rien! Que ce soit Transit, Sprinter ou ProMaster la physique est la même pour tous.
Antoine
What are your thoughts on the rear windows and side window? Are you glad you have them?
We really enjoy the side window (side door), but we leave the covers in the rear windows at all time. With our layout, the rear windows are pretty much useless (they came with the side window as a package).
cheers!
Hi. My name is Susan Wilson. This is the first time I have posted online since 2007 when I created a myspace account to keep up with my children’s friends that I had seen grow up.
I am a Ford person. My father was a mechanic and he would save up and go into the dealership and pay cash for a new car and they inevietably ran forever after that. I worked 10 years as an Property and Casualty Insurance Adjuster and bought a 2005 Ford Focus for $5,000 out he door from a Ford Dealership. My son totalled the vehicle 4 years later and the adjuster gave me $4,000 for the vehicle. Being in the same industry, I asked him why he was giving me so much for the total loss and he explained that 4 cylinder vehicles appreciate. I bought another Ford Focus for $5,000 and it needed a fuel filter and had 190,000 miles on it. My brother offered to trade a 2001 Honda Civic for it so he gave me $100 and now I am driving a Honda.
I saw a transit in the 7-11 parking lot today and it is really the first vehicle that I think I would be willing to go in dept for.
I was a non traditional college student and after I graduated I wanted to reward myself with a 2 week trek to whereever I choose to go. I saw myself in a 4 cylinder with a small pop up trailer. My first inclination for the trek was to buy a 15 passenger and use it for public transportation service as I live in a suburb with no mass transit to the major city 25 miles away, but oh the dream of the hippie van (showing my age). It is sooo tempting.
All this to say that I am a Ford person and it seems like the Transit is a good product.
sjw
We’ve been driving the Transit since 2016 and 50k miles later, we’re still very happy with it 🙂
Thanks for sharing your story!
Have a good one.