windguy

@spooner - the biggest complainers about the lower roof height of the Gen 2 TC vs the Gen 1 are motor bike users. it's understandable. The Gen 1 was the perfect height for that. Gen2, much more limited. I had a requirement to be able to park my van in the garage and the Gen 1 was too tall, so my preference was for a lower roof. it's ideal for my use. If you used the van for an occasional carry for motor bikes, I can see going through gyrations to get it squeezed in but if you did it on a more regular basis I'm not sure it's a good solution unless you had other requirements like garaging the van. A full size Transit with the lowest roof line would seem more ideal. It would give you more ground clearance too if you needed to drive to off road starting points. not sure if you're doing road or dirt bikes. is trailering the bike a viable option?

those look interesting. understand about not wanting to have it sit too high up for this low roof van. did you check out the ones I had a link to on Post #9 on page 1? http://www.etrailer....e/VP-543SP.html

thanks for posting. I believe it. I see a lot of TC-Gen 2 on the road now here in SoCa. not as many as the Gen 1's but catching up. maybe 1/2 are commercial use. I see a lot of the Nissan Van too as a commercial van. Still think those vans aren't very good looking. Haven't see any Dodge Promaster City vans around. I should go to the local Dodge dealer and scope that out. Curious. the amount of full size Transits on the road has jumped too. Seeing more of the lower roof models lately. U-Haul is using them as a rental van. Appearance wise they are easier to spot compared to the higher roof model that is more similar to a Sprinter at a glance.

@ccrew - thanks for posting. looks good. I'd like to see how the hitch looks installed when you get a chance. the picture of the Reese hitch Amazon looks very similar to the Curt hitch. The factory trailer hitch for a Gen 2 is a Class I with a 2" receiver. 2,000 lb towing capacity and 200 lb tongue weight. Even though your hitch is rated as a Class III I'm assuming you'd have to stay within the limits of a Class I hitch towing.

which roof vents are you considering for the TC?

measurements for the cargo van are similar to Don's wagon ones the roof height to floor is about 48" - no insulation and a 1/2" plywood sitting on the cargo mat. the opening at the rear barn doors is smaller - it's 44.25" on the sides and 45" more towards the center. with barn doors there is a block hanging from the roof in the center for the door latch mechanism that reduces the height to 43.75". not sure how that compares to having a liftgate but could be an obstacle in loading something tall. good luck!

great pic. your van looks very nice when it's not all covered with road salt. I like the black stealthy look.

I added a hitch cover today to hopefully add a slight layer of protection. Reese 2" Hitch Box Cover #74514 - $12.99 at Pep Boys. Not as good as having the hitch flush to the bumper but better than bare metal, I'm hoping. I mounted the cover upside down cause I think it looks a bit better that way. It's supposed to flop down when removed and held by its tether. On the other side there is a small rubber flap to hold the connector, which is mounted elsewhere. I guess I can trim that piece off and then rotate it.

you might be on to something. it's not a big difference so hopefully 2016 vans will be getting good gas mileage.

that's funny

Ford now has the 2016 Model info on their site. Check it out. http://www.ford.com/trucks/transitconnect/ One thing that stuck out in the gas mileage specs - went down a point for the 2.5L engine. wonder why that happened? VAN WAGON WAS 21/29 - 24 combined 20/28 - 23 combined NOW 20/28 - 23 combined 19/27 - 22 combined I also ran my cargo van config through to see if the options and pricing changed. Noticed the paint color - Black is missing. Only shows: frozen white, dark blue, race red and silver Keypad option is back as an orderable item now along with a few other accessories Pricing wise, the base price went up $345 but the options stayed the same.

thanks GBL. yeah, too many hungry lawyers in these parts. I'll have to weigh my options. Luckily it's not a pressing issue. Will provide updates if they happen. appreciate all the insight.

I stopped by the local hitch shop today for a consult, story/saga below. When I asked them if they can move the receiver tube back 1.5" he said they wouldn't rebuild an existing hitch because of liability issues. I guess I can understand that reasoning. See the attached pic of all the hitches removed and ready for scrap pickup. Kind of artistic if you ask me. After I got home I called another hitch shop and they also said they couldn't modify an existing hitch because of liability but could create their own custom hitch. The place I visited suggested to put on the original bumper and if I want a hitch they can make one. I thought he meant that they would weld something to the original bumper frame. So I hopped over to the Ford dealer and looked at the original bumper on the new TC's on the lot. The original bumper frame is a lot different than the trailer hitch bumper frame. The tube isn't as square and it's kind of flimsy looking and not very sturdy in my opinion. There's no way the hitch shop would be attaching anything to that. Also, the bumper cover would have to be removed if you want to take that off. It's more flush to the bumper cover than the hitch bumper frame so there's very little wiggle room. Not an option I would consider doing. I called the hitch place back and he said they wouldn't use the original bumper. They would build a new hitch and attach it to the frame. That makes more sense. He said that would cost around $300 or so. Twice the price of a Curt hitch option so that's too costly. I asked if they can remove the hitch from the bumper frame that I have and he said that's doable for around $65 without having to remove the bumper to do the work. I'm guessing they would cut it off somehow. I think that's what poster GBL suggested earlier. I would lose the rear tow hook option if I do that but that's a risk I can live with. If I want to make the change, that might be my best solution and then I could get a Curt hitch if I need it in the future. Or just leave things as they are and dance around the thing for the next 20 years and perhaps figure out a way to pad it to provide some protection. One other thought was perhaps Ford would redesign this hitch option in the future to make it more flush to the bumper and then I could order that as a spare part (low probability of happening).

I was at my local Ford dealer for another reason and the sales guy that approached me said they are selling the TC for $100 over dealer invoice plus you get any incentives available. The pricing is a Ford thing and not this specific dealer. Not sure what that boils down to but the timing looks good right now if you can find one on the lot that works for you. Good luck!

@Booner - your plans sound great. Can't wait to see what you do with your build. I don't think there's very much room under the van to add anything. very little open areas. If you've got a cargo van model, then there is a zone of unused space behind the front seats where the 2nd row of seats would normally be on a wagon model. We discussed this in another thread where we tossed ideas around of how to capture this area. Please keep us posted.

interesting. thanks.

a little bit has to do with when you order versus the time frame of the production line. as KSTANLY posted, 6 months is a good estimate. I ordered my 2015 in July 2015 and production started in September that year and the van was made at the end of October. Delivery to my dealer was mid January, so about 2.5 months after the van was produced. If you want to special order a van and want to reduced the wait time, one option might be to find a dealer that has a van on order for their stock and see if you make that your order and change the configuration to meet your needs. It's my understanding that they can make changes to the order up until the van is slated for manufacturing. This might accelerate the wait time if you can work it out with the dealer and get your expected pricing. Will take some leg work on your part. Good luck!

@GBL - good input. Curious, do you rotate the spare through when you rotate the tires? With a regular steel wheel and wheel cover I assume that's possible. Not so with alu wheels. Also assume the spare is the same model tire, I hadn't checked.

haven't gone to the trailer hitch place yet, but I did practice dropping the spare tire. A good exercise all should do just to be familiar with it before the roadside flat change. I first read the manual, then dropped the tire, but was still confused as to how to undo the main cable. There are two cables, one main support cable and the second must be a safety. I was trying to position the bracket to go through the hub and having trouble trying to get it out so I had to consult the manual once more. Turns out you remove the main cable from the bracket first, which the manual says to do. Not intuitive looking at it. The cable releases from the bracket like a brake cable on a bike brake, has this small tab at the end of the cable. there isn't much clearance between the top of the tire and the bottom of the hitch. I can see if you have the Curt hitch solution, those cross support bars would make tire removal more difficult, even more so if you have a flat tire. Take a good look at the jack before you remove it from the bracket so you don't forget how to put it back afterwards. I hadn't done that. I also tried out the jack lifting the van just a little to check that part out too. Pretty straight forward there. Before lowering the spare, I wedged some wood scraps into the hitch and let that stick out 1.5" towards the spare to check the clearance. Once the tire starts to drop there is room to push the tire forward slightly to provide ample clearance. There are two nubs attached to the body above the tire that help lock the tire into position when the tire gets close to the frame. Minimal clearance between the spare and the muffler in front of it so don't think those nubs could be move forward but that would help provide more clearance to the hitch. I think the receiver tube can be moved 1.5" forward and not provide any obstruction to the spare. I wouldn't go any more than that. We'll see what the hitch shop has to say. Will report back when I learn more.

I like that light. nice addition. I'd like to do something similar in my van since the existing LED light off to the side is mostly blocked a cargo deck that I have hanging from the ceiling. the location they put the regular light for the wagon is much better centered in the back of the van above the doors. I'd like to add an off/on/door switch too.

Thanks, I had the same thoughts about having that done. I'm pretty sure this local shop can handle that task. http://eckharts.com/index.html For those interested in the Curt hitch, the link I provided earlier also shows a nice hitch installation video. I missed that the first time and can't provide a direct link to it, but the video link is below the group of product pictures. check it out. https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Ford/Transit-Connect/2015/C13167.html?vehicleid=201522753 I think etrailer website does a nice job in how they promote their products.

one thing that I see from your pic is the difference between the side panels of a wagon vs the cargo model. the area circled in red on the attached pic shows an area that is optimized by the wagon. The cargo model has this area boxed in and not used that would make a nice compartment for storage, which the van lacks. makes you want to remove the side panels and make your own covers with storage. if only I had the time.

thanks. sorry I didn't remember about those pics on page 1. checked them out. I think the square tube that the ball mount goes into could have been positioned further forward and still be functional. it would encroach on the spare but there's extra room there. I've been looking at hitches on other cars, SUVS, pickups and none of them stick out beyond the edge of the bumper. I've got some options to consider.

nice job. can't wait to see more.