windguy

thanks GBL when you say clear the spare when the tire is flat, is your concern that with a flat tire, the van is lower and the spare might not clear the hitch after it's lowered because the lower hitch might block it? if that were the case you'd have to jack up the van before sliding the spare out. I was looking at the Curt hitch on etrailer, link below http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Ford/Transit+Connect/2015/C13167.html?vehicleid=201522753 the pictures of the van don't look like the US based TC Gen 2. so how does this hitch manage to stay within the boundary of the bumper and the Ford OEM extends beyond it? you would think that if one can do then the other can. is the receiver part the same length in terms of how deep it goes, front to back? not sure if there is some type of standard for how deep this needs to be. not much experience with hitches and towing. I'd like to see a comparison pic to the one below between the OEM and the Curt

thanks GBL I've got a hitch & welding shop in town that I plan to go consult with when I get some free time. before going I want to practice dropping the spare tire to see what's involved in doing so and what the tolerances are in that area between the spare and hitch. I'd be less inclined to remove the hitch part from the bumper frame. I'd loose the tow hook capability if ever needed so that would have to be remedied somehow.

not sure why that pic shows the hitch extending beyond the attachment bracket, where the part number is shown. that seems like it's a different hitch, maybe for a Gen 1 TC. maybe I'll swing by the local Ford parts and ask how much the original bumper frame is. might also find a local hitch place and pick their brain. will report back. thanks

thanks for sharing. looks like a nice solution for you. snow already? you must be at a higher elevation. my rear bumper has the parking sensors, so something like that would cover it up. I don't really crawl inside the van much at all so nut much need for a step. just grabbing stuff from the rear at ground level and sitting on the edge. so how hard would it be to swap bumpers? can it be done without removing the bumper cover? if you remove the four nuts on each side will the studs stay in place or move around? seems like if you remove the nuts, undo the wiring that spot tied to the bumper, you should be able to remove it fairly easily unless I'm missing something critical. thanks

okay. The probably put that original bumper back in their parts inventory. they might have charged you extra if you wanted to keep it. the picture in the link shows the hitch as being slightly recessed on the bumper cover, not sticking out. The flanges where you'd attach a safety chain look slightly different too. I'm sure your hitch sticks out like mine as seen in the pics. thanks

thanks for the parts diagram. the 40338, original bumper, looks just like the trailer hitch bumper with the welded hitch removed. it would be slick if you can easily remove one bumper and replace with the other. that would solve my whining and save my legs. what happens is that I'm constantly working out of the back of the van to get gear in and out and leaning forward. I use the bumper cover to lean against with my shins. all is cool if I'm on either side of the hitch but if I lean against the middle where the hitch is, my shins will get nailed unless I come in very slowly. even still it's rough shaped metal and not like the bumper cover that's smooth and slightly forgiving. same when sitting on the tailgate changing clothes or just hanging out. snags the back of my calf if I'm not careful. Too bad the hitch part isn't bolted on some how so just that part can be removed. appreciate the help.

was yours added at the Ford dealer after you got your van, ordered as a spare part? if that was the case, then yes you should have gotten your original bumper back since it was yours.

sounds good. let us know if you have any questions regarding options. hopefully deliver times are faster for the 2016 production runs. The Ford website doesn't show the 2016 for its online build option, still the 2015 but that should work. As posted in another thread, consider using car buying services like Costco for establishing a baseline for pricing even if you want to negotiate your own deal outside of that. Pricing via Costco was at dealer invoice or $100 below. Also compare pricing for options on sites like Edmunds. good luck!

@GBL - thanks for the diagram and input. you are probably right in your assessment. a missing piece or a poor design that tried to accommodate the requirements for the wagon and van. I seem to recall poster Mustang reporting the same problem. I wonder if other cargo van owners have the same issue and can report back. I'll try to stop by the dealer in the next week or so and discuss this with the service adviser. hopefully I'll get some traction this time. will report back.

ok, took some pictures today and posted them in my gallery - 11 total (hitch 01 to hitch 11). link below to one picture to get you directed there. kind of hard to get the right angle and light but at least you have some pics to start with. I can see why the hitch sticks out as it does. They wanted to provide enough clearance so the spare tire can be dropped without any obstruction. I think they could have shaved the clearance a bit more, it's about 1.5" now and I'm sure you can angle the tire out a bit. Never tried dropping the spare but probably should one of these days to get that practice. Type of thing you say you wish you did when you're changing the tire at night time in a dark place during a storm with coyotes howling in the bushes. Back to the hitch/bumper. looks like the hitch can be angled out and removed without having to remove the bumper cover. The bumper cover is very close the hitch part and you can see the cover was notched out for clearance. The cover can be pulled backwards a few inches in the middle to provide more clearance. It's unbelievable how tight everything is under the van. very little unused open space. Check it out and let me know how it looks. Thanks.

I guess it would be better if I can get Ford to reproduce the same problem on one of their vans and pick that one apart rather than experiment with mine. I'll try that approach first and see where it goes. I had originally reported this problem to the local Ford dealer service adviser on my first oil change back in March but it obviously went no where. Time to try again. Will report back if I learn anything.

I'll try to take a pic tomorrow. Many months ago I had checked out a van on the dealer lot to see what the bumper looks like without the trailer hitch. The trailer hitch bumper is one welded piece. It's not added on as a separate part. That's why you don't get the tow hook in the rear bumper. There is just a portal hole in the bumper cover. So I'm guessing at either the factory or in Maryland when the van is processed they install this option by removing the regular bumper and putting on the trailer hitch bumper assembly.

there is nothing under the seats but carpet. no ducting on the cargo model. I never looked at what the wagon model to see where the ducting comes from. I think the dealer really needs to pull the lower console cover off and test the heater system to solve the problem. I hope they can do this without cheesing up the van somehow. I'm sure this isn't something they do very often if at all so the level of experience is going to be low.

reporting back after having used the heater coming home from the beach yesterday. Summer is over here in So Ca. I blasted the heater really good and as best I could tell, it didn't feel like too much air was flowing out from the edge of carpet on the driver's side but more so on the passenger side. noticeably hotter on that side too. I had the passenger seat pushed all the way forward because of my boards sitting on that side in the back so it was a bit difficult to move my hand around easily. With the fan maxed out on 4 it got toaster oven hot down there. When you had your console cover off, did you take any pictures of what that heat exchanger looks like? Something is definitely not designed right with the heater in this area or as you suspect something is missing. thanks