PetrosA

The TC is an excellent base for vehicle graphics and that site has some great resources and tools for playing around with. Thanks for the link!

The Ranger bulkhead I got comes with parts to mount it either behind the driver's seat or the rear seat for a "crew van" option.

I hate to say it, but I don't think your husband's going to be able to carry a 32' ladder on this vehicle safely. I have a single side lock down rack from American Van made by Masterack. It and most others I've looked at have a 28' max limit. I did see a Canadian made rack (over $1000) that could support longer ladders but it had additional support bars sticking out the front. A 28' extension ladder is almost the exact same length as the vehicle itself, so a 32' is going to stick out front and back. If I mount my 28' fiberglass even with front and back, I have to be careful when releasing the lock down mechanism because the ladder falls forward onto the hood because of where the front cross bow is (halfway point of the ladder and vehicle). Because the roof of the vehicle slopes down in the front, passers-by will hit their heads on a 32' ladder that sticks out beyond the hood.

I would think it's possible to upgrade the alternator for something more powerful and I'm sure additional batteries could be installed with a kit of some kind. With the stock configuration you might get away with powering a single 15A circuit with the vehicle running at an idle and no other loads on like lights or AC, but I don't know I'd want to do that on a continuous basis with the stock alternator. Additional batteries would help take some of the direct load off the alternator. Speak with someone who does truck upgrades for better info.

Welcome! How are you transporting the computers, in boxes, loose?

I was wondering if any of you received a questionnaire from a company called Population Research Systems based in Milford, OH regarding your TC. I've tried googling them, and nothing comes up for that state (there is a company with the same name in San Francisco, but it doesn't seem to be connected). I'm not so sure I want to send these people any information

Loaded to about 4700 lbs, with a 7" and 28" ladder on the roof and snow tires, I'm getting approx. 18 mpg in combined driving conditions. Not a whole lot better than my Jeep Cherokee, but I'm hauling a lot more weight plus the ladders. Overall I'm satisfied with the mileage. P.S. for Admin: the posting issue is happening again - if I click SUBMIT I end up back on the home page with the post not coming through.

It could be a Transit or one of the other Euro vans like a transit.. I'm even surprised at the PA driver handbook. One of the things it says is that you should move over to the left lane when coming up on an on ramp to let merging drivers in. In reality, they have a yield sign, but now expect you to move over (and to do the yielding). I've lost track of how many times I've gotten the finger for not moving over, even if I had cars to my left and couldn't move over. It's crazy.

Interestingly, here in Eastern PA they don't tailgate on secondary roads nearly as much as they do on highways where the speeds are above 65 mph. We don't spend anywhere near enough time teaching driving theory here as we need to. The only reason I can think of why people would drive 40-50 feet apart when doing 75mph is ignorance (notice the two cars next to the red truck). If you're referring to rear fog lights, I think part of the problem is that they're probably not addressed in the PA Traffic Code. Police can't do anything to punish drivers for using them if there's no law against it. The other part of the problem is that dealers and sales staff don't educate the buyers about them. They're on a large number of imports but if people don't know what they're turning on, they just ignore the light on the dash. My little wish in life is for people to understand driving better than they do. It wouldn't prevent all accidents, since even in Germany, where they probably have one of the best driver training systems in the world, they have accidents, but it sure would be nice to see other drivers who know which car should go next at an intersection when they get there at the same time...

There's a difference between the TC being made in the EU and other products that are imported. They don't make the TC here yet, so it's not stealing American jobs and they are gearing up for production here. Compare this to so many products that USED to be made in the US but which are now made abroad. Those products hurt our economy much more. We also expect to sell cars and trucks abroad and we expect other countries to allow us the import of those vehicles. There has to be balance in that trade and the TC is part of it. What really gets me are the high dollar products (that are high dollar based on Made in USA reputations) that export assembly or production to low wage countries, re-import and still sell at high dollar prices. I jump through hoops to avoid buying those products, even if it means buying another foreign brand.

I'm going to agree with Ed on this topic. I think rear fog lights make sense, even here in the US. Front fog lights of any color are only a marginal help at best, and that's only to avoid running off the road. If a driver of anything other than an emergency vehicle needs that much more light at night, then perhaps they should avoid night driving. Rear fog lights are used rarely in Europe, but when visibility is low, they really help to spot cars in time. EU laws forbid their use when visibility is greater than 50 meters, or about 150 feet. At 45 mph in wet conditions, you'll probably need about 115 feet to stop if you have excellent tires. That leaves 35 feet of buffer or about 1 second for reacting. On snow or ice the coefficient of friction will be even lower, even with great tires and you'll need about 170 feet to stop. So if they car in front of you has regular rear lights on and is coasting forward in traffic at just a few miles per hour, your chances of seeing the vehicle in time may be non-existent. US (or at least PA) drivers have a really nasty tendency to tailgate, even in bad weather. Other drivers and police tolerate it and the dangerous driving conditions it creates. If rear fog lights give me one more tool to fight it, then teşekkür ederim Ford!

What kind of warning sound are you guys getting, screech or scrape?

I agree with you on one hand. The downside for me is that at under full weight (approx. 4500 lbs) I end up in some dangerous situations where I need to join traffic and can't do it safely (by "safely" I mean in a way that doesn't force other drivers to change speed or direction). Most highway on-ramps are long enough to allow me to get up to speed, but regular intersections on busy roads can be a real wait till there's a large enough opening. It certainly doesn't make the people behind me happy... :(

I think partly a turbocharger would help, but I also think the gearing sucks. It seems like torque is best at around 4500 RPM, but even if you punch it to build up speed, the RPMs drop back so far each time it shifts that you get an awful lag till you get back up to around 4000 RPM. It's marginally better with OD turned off. I've literally tried pushing against the steering wheel in a sad attempt to help it go faster

The sparking sound could be the headlight relay or the socket it fits into or a connector somewhere. I haven't removed a headlight yet so I can't help you with that.

An electric model could potentially eliminate the underpowered stigma of the TC (no gas engine can match the torque of an electric motor.). Mine is definitely underpowered now that it weighs in at about 4500-4700 lbs and mileage with that weight and two ladders on top hasn't been great. I'm averaging about 18-18.5 mpg now. Even a hybrid that would allow electric starts would help, since the biggest problem for me is getting up to speed when I need to join a flow of traffic - I need at least 10-12 seconds to get up to 55 mph. I need a ridiculously wide opening before I can pull out without forcing other drivers to slow down for me :( If I'm starting out at the bottom of a hill it's even worse since I probably won't hit 55 at all till it levels out.

TD, I think for city driving that wire mesh might be a good idea. I'd also probably get the side and rear window guards. The only downside might be keeping the cab warm in winter and cool in summer. That said, if there's an option to take the Ranger bulkhead from the package and store it for future use, it might be worth it. I actually only have the 180 degree doors, and haven't ever needed to open them past the latches. What would I have done differently... I think I would have done one of two things - either get the back-up sensors, or read the Ranger package description better to realize the kit bulkhead doesn't have a window in it. There are times when it would be easier to back up if I could see through the rear window. I do ok as it is, but it would be nice. I worry that if you carry a lot of parts the one shelf unit may not be enough for you to organize effectively. You might want to ask the rep if there's enough room between the workbench and bulkhead to fit a stack of slider drawers. They really increase your capacity without making you feel like you're giving up a lot of room. Once you get the truck, you can always add to the storage.

You'll get used to the lack of windows. I had mine for the first week, then installed the bulkhead and lost that rear visibility. Now I don't feel it much and don't even check the rear view mirror. It just takes time.

My CC was also flakey for the first few weeks, but it seems to be working fine now. I wondered then whether it had something to do with that "training phase" the shift computer goes through after its energized. I know that at first, there were times when CC was on and I was losing speed up a hill, it wouldn't downshift early enough, then start downshifting in a panic and the truck would buck into 2nd gear at around 6000 RPMs trying to get back to speed. I thought it was going to damage the transmission a few times. It now seems to downshift earlier and maintain a decent speed so that it doesn't need to use 2nd gear.

The tool pictured in Step 5 is a de-burring tool. There's a blade in it which rotates as you ream the sides of the hole you drill and this removes the burrs left behind from drilling. You could use a fine-tooth round file instead. Google is telling me that PM-13-A is a Ford anti-corrosion product, which I would assume has a 5 minute dry-to-touch time. Hope this helps

Ranger can tell you who your local distributor is and I'm pretty sure they sell individual shelving units. I think there's about 36-40 inches between the two shelves, but I'll check for sure tomorrow.

Hi Den, From the digging around I did when installing my shelves, I'd say the factory tie downs are strong. I'm pretty sure they're bolted into factory welded anchor points. For strong additional loops, I'd recommend using at least a 5/16" or 3/8" bolt through the floor with a piece of 12 or 10 gauge plate (or large washer) either side. You'll have to study the under side of the floor to find good locations that are accessible from below, since some areas have a pseudo frame that would block access with a wrench. If you need a hinged hook, I'm sure you'll find that as well with the proper working load rating. If the factory tie downs aren't heavy enough for you and are actually threaded into factory welded points, you could try finding eyes similar to the ones I linked to in the proper metric size. Good luck!

It's interesting to see how different people solve their space needs. I met a TC driver (not his, company owned, but he set it up inside) who does mostly HVAC service. He basically has an L-shaped shelving system. Open the rear doors and you face a wall of shelves. Open the passenger side slider and you face a wall of shelves. The only "compartment" is when you open the driver's side slider. It gives him fast access to lots of parts, especially from the rear, while still leaving some room for larger parts when needed. I can't complain about the heat, really. I've been working outdoors through most of the cold weather, so I was dressed for it when I drove. If I were dressed lighter, I might feel differently

So far I'm happy with the noise and temperature insulation I get from this bulkhead - as long as the windows are closed. When I crack the driver's side window (I smoke) the cab cools off in seconds and gets drafty as heck. With the fan pulling in fresh air on 2, this shouldn't be happening (it always worked in my previous vehicles) but it seems I have to set the fan to 4 to get it to keep the cab warm and to keep positive air pressure in the cab. I can't figure out for the life of me where all the cold air is coming from. It feels like it's coming from the bottom of the door somewhere, maybe through the cracks in the trim?

Ciao Daniele! Welcome! Since most of us are in N. America our engines will be gas and not diesel, but aside from that, our Transit Connects share a lot in common. Enjoy!