Family Transit Conversion

[KMAG YOYO]

It's time to start on our home-away-from-home. 

The goal is to build this 2015 Transit cargo van into a sort of do-it-all adventure machine. We need beds for 2 adults and 2 kids, and most of it needs to be removable for the occasional haul. We prefer to cook outside, so galley will be built either as a chuck-box setup or simply accessible from the rear doors. 21 gal. fresh water, propane, and solar power will be on board. 

The first modification was to install a second-row seat for the kiddos. I found a seat from a 2014 Sprinter on craigslist, fabricated floor brackets for it and mounted it behind the front seats. 

Next I built a roof rack using some aluminum from the scrap pile at the local metal yard. Can't beat the price at $2.30/lb and I found a 10' piece of 2" 80/20. Made the brackets out of some 'z' shaped extrusion, simply had to cut them to length and drill 2 holes in each. One great thing about the Transit is the super easy roof mounting, there are 8 tapped holes that accept an M8 x 1.25 bolt. 

There are holes in 8 locations that are designed for wires to pass through. The hole is about 3/4" and has a plastic plug that you can drill through. If you want to plug the hole again later, you just buy another plug from the dealer and you haven't put any permanent holes in your sheetmetal. This made it super easy to get the solar panel wires through the roof.

At bottom right of the photo below, you can see one of these plugs. 

 

[LeeRevell]

Very neat install!  Looks like Ford has some bright ideas on their new vans.

 

[Konaexpress]

Nice!

John

 

[nobodyG17]

Great job.  Looking forward to more.  I have been thinking about those a lot lately.  The only  concern is the ground clearance.

 

[SaltySeaWitch]

Great job!

 

[KMAG YOYO]

Great job.  Looking forward to more.  I have been thinking about those a lot lately.  The only  concern is the ground clearance.

There was a time I thought I'd never buy a truck without 4X4, but I found the only times I really needed an off-road truck was when I was going places with the sole purpose of four-wheeling. Then I would be camping with other people who planned their trips around four-wheeling and the tougher the trail, the more drunken yahoos with guns were around us. Not my idea of family fun.
Don't get me wrong, I really wish the Transit did have 4WD because when you need it, you NEED it. That is definitely true in snow country, but here in the Shake-and-Bake State you have to go out of your way to find snow.
Someday I'll be rich and I can afford the $12,000 for a Quigley 4X4 conversion for the Transit. Otherwise it's such a versatile truck, and a pleasure to drive, I can't imagine a better vehicle for traveling.

 

[KMAG YOYO]

The Transit has tons of space inside the walls for gizmos, or whatever you want to shoehorn in there. I decided the wall behind the driver seat was a great place to put my MPPT charge controller, inverter and Blue Sea fuse block. 

One nifty feature of the Transit is there is a 12V power distribution block on the driver's seat pedestal. It comes standard with one fused 60A terminal, the upfitter option includes three of them for a total of 180A available! There is a nice spot under the 2nd row seat for the battery bank, so this is the ideal location.

I started by gluing some 5/8" CDX plywood to the sheetmetal with PL construction adhesive (I prefer SikaBond for this stuff but I had an open tube already). This will give me a surface that I can easily screw gizmos and anything else to. 

 

[KMAG YOYO]

Installed the MPPT charge controller, Blue Sea battery switch, Blue Sea fuse block, and Xantrex 1000W inverter. 

I decided on the switch instead of a solenoid because it gives me more control over how I use the batteries and I don't have to run an accessory wire to energize the solenoid while the engine is running. I can remember to turn the switch before I drive or park to camp. 

Nice fat 2 AWG wires for the inverter. 4 AWG to connect the 60A 12V takeoff to the switch.

 

[KMAG YOYO]

Ok, ran into my first little problem. The aluminum extrusion that I used for my roof rack brackets was a little thin...while driving I noticed this loud rattle/popping sound. Took me a few days to find it but I finally saw a stress fracture at the top of one of the brackets. The crack hasn't gone all the way across yet but it was enough to create the noise.
So I need to change those out to something stronger.

 

[KMAG YOYO]

Had a chance to take the rig out on a voyage with some buddies. Strapped the stove, mini-fridge, propane, and water tank to the floor and threw in the futon mattress. This is where we ended up. 

With all this sunshine, the group 24 marine battery and 190-watt PV powered the mini fridge easily for the entire trip. It's the trips when it might get overcast or we park in the shade when it won't work. When I have a few dollars I will go get a couple of 6V golf cart batteries. We don't stay in one spot more than a couple nights so the alternator can pick up the slack.

We enjoyed the view and drank beer in the sun, and Scout chewed on a stick. No cell service, totally unplugged.

Before the trip, I also made some beefier brackets for the solar panel.

 

[highdesertranger]

hey your dog and my dog have the same name. imagine that. highdesertranger