budo675

I second this notion! I've been slapping myself repeatedly over the last few months for not downloading/archiving some of the links I bookmarked for my upcoming "build." Just thought I'd give it another check today and IT'S UP!! Phew!! Thanks to all those responsible :)

Some more updates with photos for those attempting to do this in the future: Approximate tab locations that you need to pry using a panel tool. The lower panel pops out pretty easily, remove the 3 bolts with a 7mm socket. To get the dash removed you also need to remove the airbag light cover (pops off, tabs are on the sides), and unscrew the 2 Torx 20 screws. Both pictures below. Photo below shows the dash mostly removed so you can see where there are tab holes underneath. I dremeled a hole through the side to slip the cable and connector through. Lined the hole with duct tape to make sure there's no sharp edges. Could it be cleaner? Probably. Below is the specific Y harness from plug and play kits. Not much support from them so hopefully this can make the process even more straight forward for folks that might need it. One black connector goes to the head unit, the other black connector goes to the connector that was connected to the head unit, the white connector goes to another cable that connects to the Key 200.4 amp.

After some prying and further investigation with a tiny flashlight, I found out that the hold up point was definitely a screw. And the only place the screw could be is behind the airbag light. So I pried the airbag light cover off and found 2 Torx screws. Getting late that so I'll dig into it a bit more tomorrow.

Thanks! Yeah the 2016 has a different dash without the wireless charger, and in that year it's much easier to mount the amp behind the dash itself. Thanks for the offer! I'll look into that company

Hi everyone, I purchased a kit from plugandplaykits.com that includes all necessary wiring for it to be truly plug and play, so that part *should be the easy part. So far... I've yet figured out how to remove the dash panel around the audio components. I got it pried up from the rear grill area (or front area I guess, closer to the engine), and loosened up almost completely. It is still stuck on the bottom side, where the airbag light is and I'm not sure how to pry that bit open. I'm not opposed to buying a workshop manual, but I'm also not positive which is a good source at the moment. None of the big brands like Chilton or Haynes carries one for my model year. Would love some pointers on how to get that whole panel off, or even suggestions for a quality service manual with full panel diagrams. The second thing is, the wiring on their example 2020 FTC is on a non Sync 3 model and they're able to hide the Key 200.4 amp in the dash behind the display unit. No chance it'll fit in that location on the new screen model. I'll likely mount the amp in the glovebox and find a way to route the wiring, anybody have a recommendation for this? Thanks in advance! Edit: Got the Key 200.4 amp installed, photos below. Still need to get the underseat sub wired to power, figuring out the best way to get it hooked up to a constant 12V power from under the passenger seat.

@Nokay I'm wondering, where did you get the length for the rear shocks? I'm trying to source dimensions for front and rears to get a set of Air Lift Performance Builder series shocks. P.s. Folks I realize this thread is more than a year old but I figured if Nokay gets this and responds it would be helpful to keep the info in the same thread.

I wonder if that's still the case with the newer ones since they're no longer doing the removal of seats trickery. I guess I'll find out when I open mine up. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/03/business/ford-transit-connect-penalty/index.html

Driven in ~600 miles over the past 3 days, slept in the van one night to give it a test... Moderately comfortable, need to fine tune the workflow on that part. It's a bit of a mess in the pictures since I just threw everything into the van for an impromptu trip to a nearby state park. A few things I've noticed... - Seats are comfortable enough (I have the manual seats), lumbar support is decent. - AC is cold! Kept having to finagle it to get to the point where my hands aren't freezing - Sync 3 system is quite smooth for my experience. Digging it so far. - Cargo LED is bright AF and I'll probably remove it. - Seems to make a slightly strange, barely perceptible buzzing noise when driving very slow speeds. Like under 10 mph. Had to do it a lot while driving through some campground roads and thought it was odd. The operation seems fine so I tried not to fret about it. - Interior is spacious... but less spacious than I expected for some reason. At 5'7" I'm not a tall guy, and I can barely sit up in the cargo area when using a small chair. If I build some sort of bed/sofa combo it'll need to be a squat-sit height. - The stock stereo is pretty decent to be honest. I was quite shocked at how passable the audio quality/loudness is. Initially planned on doing an audio upgrade immediately, but I think I'll push that plan back a bit.

Well, late last November I placed an order for a 2023 Transit Connect Cargo with some options... I got the email that says the order has been placed, but haven't heard back since. I knew it was going to be a wait... in the mean time I kept scanning the new and used market in the case that a model pops up for a reasonable price, with the stuff that I want. Fast forward to Tuesday, I searched for it on AutoTrader.com and got a hit at a dealership about 1 hour from me. Sent them an email, and the next day the sales guy got in touch with me and told me it was actually available... on the lot... Which is damn near a shock to me because I've inquired to ~20 dealerships in the past 3 months (in and out of state) and every single one of them either has outdated inventory online, or has a model that is special ordered and for some reason still shows up on the inventory. Well, I drove up and test drove it. All seems good. Negotiated a decent trade in deal for my Subaru, and secured my own financing through my credit union. The next day I drove up again and picked her up, total was ~$38k out the door with all fees. Considering that the 2023 I ordered is $40k+ and used late model TC's with 30k miles are going for 30-35k I'm fine with the price.

That has been my exact experience so far haha. I'm still keeping my eye open though, I'm starting to search dealerships within ~500 miles of my location to see if they have stock just out of curiosity. So far it's been few and far between.

There are a few carmax lots in Houston that have the passenger model XLT connect, most with pretty high mileage and still costing $32k+. I have had some negative experience buying used cars with higher mileage that I'm wary and would rather dish out the cash for a new car for the peace of mind. Any cargo model is in and out within a day or two and I'm not fussed to go stalking dealerships all over Houston for it. I have time and am willing to wait for the right van. The main things I wanted added to the van is the tow package, LTE delete, and HID headlights. I didn't opt for the Sync 3 with navigation as I almost always rely on google for nav, plus the XLT already comes with the non nav Sync 3. Being in Houston, defrosters are rarely useful for us lol. I do travel to Wyoming to visit my sis once in a while and during those times I carry a scraper with me. Anyways, the waiting gives me time to plan my minimalist build by lurking around the forum a bit more

They quoted me sticker pricing but the way it works here at least, is that they don't actually charge you anything until the vehicle is issued a VIN and options are confirmed. I'll work on that on the back end I'd assume, just going with the flow for now and I have no real commitment to the order as it is right now. The dealerships in Houston are pretty blasé about the whole ordering process because it seems like either orders don't get picked up by the factory, or orders that are not picked up by customers will sell on the lot within a few days. Will definitely look into the costco program, thanks for the heads up!

Ordered a 2023 today, MSRP for the Cargo van with LWB and the rear 180 degree split doors is $35965 which is a bit nuts.

Not sure why it's such a pain, but I finally found a dealership in Houston where I could walk in and place an order for a LWB XLT Van with 180 rear doors. I guess now I'll just wait for 5 - 7 months (or more).

If time (or money) was of no concern, I'd spend my entire summer just riding my motorcycle throughout the Northern US and Canada... But it is, and I don't want to just pound miles on the interstate with a motorcycle because that's a lot less fun. That's where the van comes in. Plus I do a fair amount of backpacking and I've yet to figure out a great way to load my backpacking gear onto the motorcycle and secure all my motorcycle gear while I go galivanting around.

I get your point but my use cases for the van, based on the travel that I like to do are: - 45% Headed for a backpacking/camping type trip and it's base camp at the trailhead or overnight sleep en route to destination. - 45% Road trip for urban destinations and visiting friends, it'll mostly serve as a hauler and someplace to sleep while en route from location to location. - 10% Traveling with the motorcycle to a destination for whatever reason (shop visit, possible summer trip so I can skip riding through the miserable TX heat, etc...) The scenarios above may change over time and I may decide to fit the van with a more permanent camper type amenities, but time will tell. Onto the motorcycle, I generally enjoy traveling on my bike as well. Earlier this year I did a combined ~7000 mile trip from Houston, to San Diego, back to Houston, to Virginia, then back to Houston. Glad to see someone is like minded First trip on the new bike Camp spot at the Grand Canyon The riding around here is pretty epic! So so road conditions though. Got a bit chilly in CO at one point... Rode through a super soaker in GA Got to hit some twisty bits in NC and TN

Hi everyone, Started browsing this forum in the last few days to get some ideas. I think I'm pretty set on trading in my beloved car for a TC Cargo in the following months. Been looking at peoples ideas when it comes to converting the cargo van into something of a minimalist camper/hauler. I plan on putting in some simple storage shelves for camp gear, a small bed platform to fit a camp pad that either folds away or is completely removable, and will keep bit more than half of the van space for my motorcycle. It'll be a tight build but I think it should work fine as I don't plan on having the motorcycle with me all the time, and I don't plan on going full camper van with a sink/pantry/couch/etc... Looking forward to checking out more build ideas here.