In reply to John Welsh :
I think I ended up at $43k. I think getting a dealer to trade even up for the R63 is a bit of a long shot. 
In reply to John Welsh :
I think I ended up at $43k. I think getting a dealer to trade even up for the R63 is a bit of a long shot.
great, now I have to go build a transit on the ford site...
The good news about a $43k van is that it is still $10k cheaper than the sticker on a new pickup.....?
I have been sucked in by the thought of the Transit medium height vans, probably in a mid-length, with the ecoboobjob motor. I could get at least two vehicles out of my fleet and have about twice the utility I have now.
The fact that there is a deep used market available, if I'm okay with a cargo van version, doesn't help me get this out of my head. Not as many with the V6, but it actually looks like that makes them less sought after, not more.
Are they worse to cruise around in than an F150? Somebody please tell me a Transit cargo would stink as a daily driver in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Then I can put it out of my mind.
rslifkin said:In reply to alfadriver :
Yeah. The van version will feel just as fast at part throttle around town because of that. But put your foot down and you'll notice the difference. And it'll be slower in a WOT run up a mountain moving a given weight of van + trailer than the truck would be.
But only if you really get north of 5500 rpm. Other than that, WOT would be the same.
And it's pretty rare that 99.9% of customers get above 5500rpm WOT for more than a second or two in a year. (wild guess, btw, but I know how I drive, and I don't see many people ever getting close to the red line)
JBasham said:Are they worse to cruise around in than an F150? Somebody please tell me a Transit cargo would stink as a daily driver in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Then I can put it out of my mind.
Worse is relative.
Personally, I don't like sitting and driving a transit van vs an F150 ( and I don't like F150's). Just not as comfortable. You have to try it to see what I'm talking about. And I know that a small Transit based RV would be really a nice package.
We just got one of these for work, 3.7L ecoboost, tow package (gets the higher rear end gears and LSD). It scoots. Probably a fair bit lighter as it has zero interior past the front seats, but its pretty damn nice.
Will you be racing it in IMSA?
Ford will only let me spec the short van with a 3.31 rear end but 4.10 is only a swap away. I wonder if they're going to get the 10 speed auto next year?
The more I obsess over this the better an idea is seems, and as soon as IMSA publishes the rule set I'll have a better idea how to spec it. 
Of note to IMSA, the low roof transit is 83.2 inches high, I'm sure we can get that down to 80 inches in race trim. The front track is a bit narrower that the rear at 68.2 inches. If we widen it by six inches a side front and rear stability should be great.
The transit appeals more than the RAM van, those things look like they are large and FWD with just the tiniest little axle hanging out behind it
FWD is fantastic for cargo vans if it means lower load floor. It doesn't make much difference in usability on various surfaces/conditions either. The only question is of driveline durability. Dodge doesn't have a 400lbft engine available in the Promaster, so it doesn't exactly need to be as strong to be as reliable. The only person i know with a Promaster bought it because he was hearing too much bad about Transit transmissions (ironically..) from other contractors who owned them.
But anyway, having a stick axle under the back is still crap compared to the ultimate solution.. a sprung trailing arm bolted directly to the underside of the chassis with nothing spanning across to the other side so it is fully independent and doesnt affect floor height in the middle. Think serpentine belt tensioner, just bigger. The old Aeromate van i briefly owned used that style of suspension and i'm pretty sure my Clark Cortez motorhome has it too.
In reply to Vigo :
My buddy has suspension like that under his homemade off road teardrop. I think timbren makes it. That thing has crazy clearance as a result so I can see that being awesome under a van, if all the space was used to keep the load floor nice and low.
In reply to Vigo :
But ask Nissan how effective a FWD LeMans effort is.
What about the Nissan, its cab is more truck like, truck like access to engine etc?
What ruleset are you waiting for? IMSA Daijiban class?
In reply to Jaynen :
We almost bought a Nissan 3-4 years ago. At the time I was OK with them but for a variety or reasons I think the more modern vans are better. The big difference is towing, the Nissan is 7k in the half ton vans while the short Transit is only 5100 lbs.
The IMSA bit is in reference to a thread a couple of days ago suggesting that IMSA is missing out by not sanctioning van racing. In usual GRM fashion, we enthusiastically endorsed vans on road courses.
JBasham said:.
Are they worse to cruise around in than an F150? Somebody please tell me a Transit cargo would stink as a daily driver in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Then I can put it out of my mind.
Like Alfa said, it's relative. My buddy has a 2017 for work, and it took some getting used to but I much prefer the football field sized windshield in the transit than the F150 for working in the city.
It's surprisingly comfortable inside, and surprisingly nimble even with the giant walk in box on the back.
If only we could figure out where the burning coolant smell comes from. He's had it since brand new, and since about 6k there's been a very noticeable scent of burning coolant when we park it, but the level doesn't go down and we haven't found any leaks.
alfadriver said:JBasham said:Are they worse to cruise around in than an F150? Somebody please tell me a Transit cargo would stink as a daily driver in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Then I can put it out of my mind.
Worse is relative.
Personally, I don't like sitting and driving a transit van vs an F150 ( and I don't like F150's). Just not as comfortable. You have to try it to see what I'm talking about. And I know that a small Transit based RV would be really a nice package.
Oy vey, you're making it worse not better. I hadn't even thought of the small RV applications. My paddock tent is pretty chilly this time of year. I could even A/C the cargo space . . . .
A van thread got to two pages before I saw it!?
Yes, the GRM van is a new Transit 250 mid-height medium wheelbase with the 3.5 EcoBoost, 3.73 rear gears, and limited slip. It's awesome, and probably the fastest vehicle currently parked at the office (we've been driving boring cars lately thanks to all the hurricane debris in the roads). Is it as reliable as my 2006 E250? Well, it's already had a new ring and pinion installed under warranty, and it needed a new A/C blend door assembly a week after we bought it, but it's definitely much, much nicer to drive.
It was interesting how variable van pricing can be. I found our van's VIN at a dealer on the other side of the state (3.73 gears, tow package, limited slip, ecoboost, spray-in bedliner and side and rear windows is a very rare combination without special ordering). Then I emailed every single dealership within a 5-hour drive saying "send me your best price or I'll drive over to your competitor." After a week of back-and-forth, Mullinax Ford of New Smyrna Beach actually had the best price, and I even got the pleasure of haggling down a Carmax-style no haggle dealership. Fun! With tax, tag, and title, we were still noticeably under $40k out the door.
JBasham said:alfadriver said:JBasham said:Are they worse to cruise around in than an F150? Somebody please tell me a Transit cargo would stink as a daily driver in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Then I can put it out of my mind.
Worse is relative.
Personally, I don't like sitting and driving a transit van vs an F150 ( and I don't like F150's). Just not as comfortable. You have to try it to see what I'm talking about. And I know that a small Transit based RV would be really a nice package.
Oy vey, you're making it worse not better. I hadn't even thought of the small RV applications. My paddock tent is pretty chilly this time of year. I could even A/C the cargo space . . . .
As a Westfalia owner, I'm always playing the "how would I build a modern equivalent?" game. And a smaller Transit is definitely in the lead. It's easy to keep checking boxes and make them higher and longer, but part of the fun of the Westy is the low profile, both literally and figuratively. Engineer a pop top and a rear seat that folds flat and you could have a great stealth baby camper that was still big enough to hang out in or cook if the weather goes bad. That's where things like the Juicy rental vans and the Element lose out, they're more like mobile tents that force you to go out in the wet for a lot of things.
In reply to JBasham :
http://newatlas.com/winnebago-paseo-camper-van/45526/ if that makes it worse.
or this http://jalopnik.com/the-ford-transit-motorhomes-are-here-and-they-look-so-a-1742812241
The only thing that sucks with the Ford Transit is their weird wheel bolt pattern: 5 x 160....
It really limits the choices.
alfadriver said:In reply to JBasham :
http://newatlas.com/winnebago-paseo-camper-van/45526/ if that makes it worse.
See, that's what I was talking about. You keep raising the roof and extending the wheelbase and now it's a cramped RV instead of a modern Westfalia. It's heavy - check those dual rear wheels - tall, and long. You can't use it for anything but RVing.
I think the trick is to not attempt a bathroom (opens up significant floor space and negates the need to carry large amounts of water) and consider a pop top (allows for an extra bed up top, keeps overall height low but allows standing in the galley).
In reply to Keith Tanner :
You need to find the right company to do that. I totally agree with what you want, but that's totally left up to companies other than the OEM. What makes the Transit nice to build from- we sell a cab-only vehicle that has weight and drag limits for companies like Winnebago to work within. And we certify that to the worst case weight and drag so that the aftermarket just puts their system on it.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Something like this one http://newatlas.com/modvans-modular-campers/50059/
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