windguy

Thanks for another interesting video. You're making progress. Slow down the pace though cause you're making me look lazy.

Congrats on your new TC. That's a cool pic and design. Good concept. Sorry about your loss of a leg. You seem to have a good perspective on life and that's great to see. Looking forward to seeing what you can do with your van.

@Mike - welcome to the forum and congrats on your new TC. To make it official we need to see a pic of the van.

All sounds good. Sounds like you spend a lot of time behind the wheel. It's a very nice van to cruise in except for the road noise, which I'm hoping to reduce with sound proofing.

My 2015 Cargo Van built end of October 2014 and delivered Jan 2015 came in as a wagon model. Visible proof where the seat belts were attached and touched up with paint, not very well.

@mike chell Nice work so far. Great videos. Thanks for sharing. Regarding the cargo mat issues, I started a thread on that after I got my van in Jan 2015. http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/3154-cargo-mat-for-van-models/?tab=comments#comment-9363 I too found the mat had this strange tack to it and it was too spongy for my needs. I ended up adding a 5/8" sheet of plywood as an overlay and covered that with grey carpet from Home Depot, sold off of their bulk roll selection. Worked out pretty nice so far. I also discovered this "hidden cavity" early on and there wasn't much info on the forum about it. Since then, many forumites have recaptured this storage area both on wagon and cargo van models customizing it for their particular needs. Some of that discussion is in the same cargo mat thread. Not sure if you are aware that the cargo van is shipped to the port of entry in Maryland as a wagon model with seats/belts, windows, etc to avoid the chicken tax on commercial vehicles. Processing center strips that all away and converts it to a cargo van. That's why you have such a modular shelf added to extend the cargo area above where the passenger seat and foot well would go. Easy to put in and remove. It's a very sturdy solution since the van is spec'd to carry a decent load. Shame that the van doesn't have adequate storage compartments and this area is wasted for the sake of a modular design by Ford. Same for the rear panels on the sides. Not optimized for storage. I recently started making mods to my van after dwelling and discussing it for three years. You're moving a lot fast than I am. Interesting that you have vinyl flooring and I have carpet in mine that extended all the way back as your did. How you use this area is very much based on how you use your van. Your design is similar to another poster. Link below. He did a great job in customizing his van. Check out his awesome videos. http://fordtransitconnectforum.com/topic/6110-2016-tc-xlt-lwb-wagon-project-mtn-bikerdog-haulercamper/ For my needs, I need to have an level flooring area front to back for windsurf boards and loading trash cans for hauling wood chips and gardening items. My tentative plan is to keep the original framing except for the flat cover. This will provide a robust level flooring that I need but give me access to the storage area for items I rarely use but need to travel with. I will add some type of door for access and possible LED lights in the well so I can see what's down there. So far I have removed all the decking, cut back the carpet to the trailing edge of those foam inserts that level off the floor under the seats, and then I put the decking back except for the shelf piece. I'll add sound proofing material next, soon I hope. I need to keep the van usable most of the time so right now the plywood deck was put back but that can be pulled back to work on the storage area. Please keep us posted on your progress.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new TC. I'll address your cargo mat question in your other post.

Thanks Don. I don't see an AJB in my cargo van. Pic below. After GBL's comment, I did some checking and it appears there is a consensus that tap-splice connectors have some level of being unreliable. I will make a solder connection instead and keep it simple. Thanks for the help!

Thanks mrtn. I best fire up the solder iron to make sure it's still working.

Okay, thanks GBL.

Yes, that was my initial thought, but I will follow your advise and use a tap-splice fitting. Never considered the vibration part - good point. For my other connections, I bought a crimper/stripper tool and a set of crimp terminals and some heat shrinking. Tried out a few and they seem to work nicely. Thanks for the consult.

Thanks for the help Don. Will pull the fuse to do the electrical work. I noticed that Home Depot stocks a tap-splice solution that looks like it will do the same job and costs a little less. Using these is probably better than my original thought of cutting the wire and using a standard twist wire connector to join all three wires together. I have plenty of those available but it's kind of crude and not as clean looking, if that matters. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-22-10-AWG-Tap-Splice-Assortment-5-Case-15-2210/202522123 I bought the 12VDC outlet linked below. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018WZI0P6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I must have spent hours looking at all the combo outlet and switch options but couldn't find exactly what I wanted. My preference is to have the outlet mounted like the other side, on top of the side panel but a little further back perhaps. The switches I'm adding will be near the rear door, driver's side, above the opening in the panel for the jack. I bought the 3 switch panel shown below. https://www.rvupgradestore.com/Multi-Purpose-Single-Rocker-Triple-Switch-Black-p/19-0160.htm Spent hours looking at all those options too. Crazy. One switch is for the outlet, the other for the rear lights and the third for the lights in the middle area. I also got a single switch that will be mounted just inside the driver's side slider on the edge of the panel to control the middle area lights. Both switches will control the same middle set of lights but not in a 3-way configuration, which isn't really necessary for this install. I'll make a separate post showing all this at some point with other mods I'm making. Just trying to work out some details so I can round up all the necessary parts.

I'm in agreement but I'd say driving conditions dictate when DRL's are useful to have. You can be under the shade of large trees and your vehicle is less visible, especially if the color blends into the background more easily. Drivers are so distracted these days every bit helps. The TC has really nice ext lighting, especially in the back. Similar to what I had with my older Volvo 850 wagon with tail lights high up on the side. I like that design. In comparison, if you check out the rear lights on the NV200 they are wimpy.

Thanks Don. The Posi-tap looks like an easy product to use that would work well for this type of application. Thanks for pointing out the other wire to tap. I think in this case I'll be okay with the brown wire. Question - when taping into this circuit and make connections, can I just remove the fuse for this circuit rather than the battery cable? Seems like it would be easier to pull the fuse than mess with the battery. Thanks!

I need advice on how best to tap power off the rear cargo 12VDC accessory outlet wiring (brown wire in pic). I want to add an outlet on the driver's side and run a few low power LED lights, all for occasional use. Thanks!

Good post - thanks I had added the DRL option to my special order - cost $38.00 I like having them on all the time - added safety

@projectbiketruck - great pic. Welcome to the forum. Nice to see another TC in SoCa. Please keep us posted with you planned mods.

Thanks DonS. I was thinking the slider as well but then thought it might be too far back. I'll look at it a little closer to see how it lines up with the door track.

Anyone know what the part is in the middle? There is one on each side of the van and seems to have some adjuster on it. Just curious.

Removed the rear panels today so I can share some pics. Using the trim removal tools that Don R suggests above is helpful. I bought this exact set from Amazon months ago probably from Don's previous recommendation. It's a worthwhile set to have at a minimal cost. I like have a set of plastic tools available for prying. Useful for a workshop as well. As others have written before, start at the back end and pop open first and then it's very easy to pull on the rest of the panel to lever out. You can only use the removal tool with a few of the panel retainers when you start out because of the angle and available space, but that's really all that's required. You can probably get away without using this tool and just tug on it and it should pop off. Personal preference. On the passenger side panel, one of the white retainers is missing.

Thanks OSF, you are spot on. The lens does need to come out first. I came to the same conclusion since that ridge around the body cutout would make it hard to slip something against. Appreciate the input from you guys. Gave me the confidence to pry away. Each side of the lens has a tab on it. Used a small bladed screwdriver to press it and then it finally popped after a few attempts. The black bezel was held on with numerous tabs. Put some electrical tape around the orange connector opening and put it back in the hole. I don't think I'll be using this light connection as I plan to connect new LED lights to a switch that's not door activated. I may use the cargo light in another location. We'll see.

Cool pic - nice job

thanks jrm223. yes, this is the LED cargo light version - paid extra for that - but can't stand it being on for close to 10 min after I open a door. Plus I want to put a side panel in that area so it's in the way. I did try using a plastic trim tool shoving it up in that area but no luck. Maybe I'm not getting high enough with the tool to catch the tab. I figured I'd ask for help before I damage it. I'm very good at destroying things.

Blank Cargo Light opening on the driver's side

I need to remove the cargo light as part of my van mods. Anyone have any tips on how to easily remove that? I tried semi-lightly prying it out using plastic trim removal tools but no go. This was around the black bezel. Also tried to pop out the lens as there appears to be a small tab on each side. No go either. I'd rather remove it in one piece in case I want to reuse later so looking for help. The cargo light opening on the driver's side shows a notch at the bottom of the cutout so I assume both sides have the same cutout. Thanks!