windguy

I have a factory trailer hitch on my 2015 cargo and have never used it. I would not exclude a van with a hitch unless the hitch shows a lot of wear. A nicked up hitch could have been used just for a bike carrier, which shouldn't be a problem. Just a thought. That's leaving aside the fact that the factory hitch sticks out too far IMHO and you might clip your shins on a few times. Adding a cover helps with that somewhat.

@magnumtripod - are you asking about a plastic funnel that is used for filling the gas tank? Not sure what you mean by "horn"? Audible horn or something shaped like a horn. My funnel was in the glovebox when I got the van. Can you take a pic to share?

@magnumtripod - Congrats on your new van and welcome to the forum. The audible signal or beep is part of the parking sensor assist system. I have that on my 2015 Cargo, but it was an option that I ordered. Front and rear sensors. There is a switch on the 2015 to disable the rear parking assist in case you have a trailer that would affect the sensor. Does your 2019 have sensors in the bumper? Not sure if they made that a standard feature. I think backup cams are a requirement now, not sure on vans.

@marquizzo - bummer. sorry to hear the bad news. The rivet nuts are certainly an option but I'm not sure if this would be the best application because the hole would be much larger than optimal being oblong but I haven't thought it through all the way. You also have to be sure it's bulletproof because of the upward forces of the load on your racks. That's a big liability you can't exactly experiment with. Couple of thoughts come to mind. If you went with a five foot Yakima or Thule type track like I used and only use the rear four mounting holes, then you can reverse the mounting bolt so they point up and the nuts are on the outside. Assuming you can drop the head of the bolt into the oblong hole with a washer. Might be tricky to angle but possible. You can mount the bolts and washers using ample amounts of silicon, then remove the nut, which will stay in place because of the silicon, and then put down the track and put washer and nut on to tighten. Another option is to enlarge the front mounting hole so you can add the mounting hardware. Being careful about metal shavings dropping inside by using a shop vac as you drill the holes or whatever tool you use. Another idea is to just drop the headliner in just the cab area so you can get behind that one mounting hole. I know some forumites have dropped that headliner and don't think it's too difficult, but I wasn't willing to try that myself. You can also consult with Yakima or Thule directly or another rack installation place to get their input. Maybe they have different experiences or solutions. Worth a few phone calls. I got some of my parts from rackattack.com. How about the Turtle Roof Racks from Turkey? (thread below) How about the Rhino racks someone else used? (thread below) Same place that you went to - Rack 'n Road. Not sure if you went to the Costa Mesa location though. Keep exploring all options and doing your research. You'll get to a solution at some point. Always available here to bounce ideas off of. Good luck!

Got it, thanks. The Gen 2 door config is a bit different. I will need to remove the black plastic cover for the wipers to get to the pass through hose, which is up higher than your Gen 1. You've got a nice size panel to handle a larger speaker, 6 or 8" I'm guessing. The 4" round speakers I got have a shallow mounting depth, less than 1", and they are marine grade so moisture shouldn't be an issue. I tested the sound and it's okay. Hope being in a door cavity will improve that. BTW - Your pics are pretty nice too. That first one showing the mountains, which I presume is granite, is awesome.

@marquizzo - I think it's a very good idea visiting your local rack shop to see what solutions they offer. They have the experience that will save you time and money. The one reason I like the Yakima type rails is that on mine I used four mounting points. They do have special nut inserts when you want to mount them from the outside. They will show you this at the rack store. I like the idea of having a fender washer and nut on the inside but I understand about the headache of removing a roof liner. But for this shop it might be really easy for them to do. Those SUP's you have are very long. Sounds fun for cruising. What do you use now to transport them? Lakes, bays or ocean? You'll need to spread your cross bars apart as much as possible to balance that load and may have to opt for using the front mounting hole too. The rack shop will advise you on that issue. My windsurf and surfboards are all under 8ft (4 total) so they are more compact. A 4ft spread on the crossbars is more than adequate for them. You would need around 6ft. I've been mounting boards on cars, pickups and vans since 1984 so I've seen it all. My preference is to still stick everything inside if I can. See pic below. The racks are just a spare option for me. If I had a board that long it might be cool to have a roller on the back cross bar so you can easily hoist the SUP onto the rack if you're by yourself. Just a thought. It's nice that the Gen 2 TC has a reasonable roof height for loading but I guess that depends on our height. Random thoughts - Make sure your liftgate doesn't bonk anything hanging off the back of the rack. I have barn door so it's not an issue. If you store your van in the garage, the garage door opener needs to be stored away from it's normally mounting point when you have a load on the roof rack or else you're going to zone out and just hit that button and pull in forgetting about that load on top. Been there, done that. D'oh! Please keep us posted!

Thanks for sharing. Wonderful craftsmanship. Nice JOB! Cool looking dog too! I'm sure he/she thinks it's their van now and you're just the driver I like your sun/rain shade gizmo pulled over the barn doors. Good idea. I'm ready to mount speakers like you did in the rear doors. I have a Gen 2. Any issues I should know about that might help with my install?

The 5ft long rails are $159 list. A few times a year both Yakima and Thule have 20% off sales. Otherwise it's price fixed at list price. There are lower cost options too other than those companies. https://www.rackattack.com/base-roof-rack-systems/permanent-custom-mount-roof-rack-systems/yakima-60-inch-track-with-bolts/ https://www.etrailer.com/Roof-Rack/Yakima/Y01135.html Do you have a cargo van or wagon model? I would research how those CAN AUTO tracks installs and what your options are for cross bars. I wouldn't worry too much about load rating for a SUP but more about the lift forces when you get air under that at highway speeds. That could be significant say compared to a ladder. What length is your SUP? Someone on this forum a long time ago posted about mounting SUP's on their roof rack. You'll have to search for that post.

Yakima and Thule do sell tracks that have a universal u-channel design as well as a few other companies. It's a different style than the OEM in that they are flat and flush with the channel of the van. I like that feature so it's flush when racks are not in use. Depends on how you plan to use your racks and how often. See pics in the thread linked below.

@herb - easy solution to turning off that message, which is in the User's Manual (shown below). Another forumite posted this procedure a few months back but not sure what thread. Worked for me. The one year clock gets set in my van before I get to the 5,000 mile interval for an oil change. Just hitting 20,000 now so I'm ready for another service too.

Here Lizard, Lizard, Lizard. You're going to need a bigger cargo box ? Welcome to the forum! I can't answer your question directly but I can stir the pot. If you switched your rack system to add tracks then you can position your crossbars to fit the size of any cargo box you want to get. Retooling your rack system will cost you more money but you'll gain more flexibility down the road. Just a thought. If you're price sensitive and not in a rush, Yakima and Thule have 25% off sales a few times a year through their retailers, like rackattack.com Another different approach is to add a cage to the roof. See pics below. I think the pics of the blue van came from this forum many years ago but not sure. The cage offers a lot of utility if you need to free up cargo space inside. Good luck!

@Lynn - Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new TC. You did great on your starting your first thread and even posted a picture. Nice job! Looks like you've got some interesting projects in the works. There's a separate discussion section for MODS, so please keep us updated on what you're doing. Make sure you can easily get to the jack, just in case. I never realized that with some other forumites who have shared their camper builds. In fact, one guy recently shoe horned in a shelving unit. There's no way he's going to be able to get to the jack easily. Maybe he already had that figured out. There is ample storage space under the deck where the second row seating footwell would normally be in a wagon model. In case you haven't figured this out or read about it on this forum, that would be very useful to add for extra storage.

Interesting link below. Westfalia does some really slick innovative camper mods. https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/westfalia-ford-nugget-transit-camper-van-conversion-is-vantastic/ar-AAH6mRu?li=BBnb4R5#image=AAH68gb|1 Europe gets all the cool vehicles and the US gets squat. Why is that? Perhaps Europe has a greater appreciation for doing more with a smaller size vehicle and in the U.S. the bigger is better mentality prevails. As long as gas is plentiful and inexpensive we'll never change our ways and the market will just fuel that inefficiency. At least our small Transit Connect tribe is bucking that trend. Good for us!

Thanks Guys. Appreciate the help. I will source a roll of 16awg copper wire.

Thanks Don. Appreciate the advice. Removing the spade connectors and soldering the wire directly to the speaker lug would be a sure thing. The speaker lug even has a hole in it to loop the wire through. I really like this idea. Regarding better wire, I've been waffling on doing this but considering the amount of time I'll be spending to snake the wire from the doors to the side jack area, upgrading the speaker wire is probably a good idea. The speaker wire that came with the speakers is, I'm guessing, 20awg. The speaker wire pigtails coming off the amp/control unit also seems to be around 20awg. Is there any penalty for going with a heavier gauge wire, like 16awg or 14awg? The speakers are rated at 4 Ohm - 100w max (50w RMS) Any suggestions on speaker wire to get (copper, CCA)? I found this 14awg roll of CCA linked below at Amazon. It says 30ft but it's actually 15ft x 2 strands. Would something like this work? https://www.amazon.com/InstallGear-Gauge-Speaker-Touch-Cable/dp/B01CSZUSLA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 Thanks for the help!

I need to mount a 4" round speaker on each rear barn door and run the speaker wires through the door conduit. Has anyone removed the black plastic cover over the wiper motors, as shown below? I'm assuming you use a socket and remove the three nuts and the cover slips off the studs. Figured it's best to ask first before creating any collateral damage. Another question about wiring to the speakers. The Pyle speaker set I got came with 10ft of speaker wire for each speaker. One end of the cable has a small spade connector to mate to the lug on the speakers. The problem is that the spade connector doesn't sit very tightly on the speaker lug. It can get knocked off very easily with the movement of the door. Looking for suggestions on how to best to lock that in. My first thought is to take needle nose pliers and crimp it a bit but don't want to distort the connector either since it looks pretty thin and flimsy. I guess I can also use some type of adhesive like loctite to keep it on place. Thanks!

@drh14 - Cool that you may have found a potential van to buy. I have a cargo van so I can't help you with the Titanium in terms of any specific maintenance issues with that model. Perhaps other forumites can assist you with that. The 2014 is the first production year, mine is a 2015, and I had early issues with the left front drive shaft seal leaking. There was an SSM covering this. This is something to ask about. The van's powertrain warranty is 5 years or 60,000 miles so it's a narrow window to getting that fixed under warranty if it's an issue. if the van is still eligible year wise. Good luck in your search!

@Rr896 - Thanks for the update and sharing your experience. Glad you were able to get your problem resolved and your locks are functioning again. A friend once told me that if you can fix a problem by writing a check then it's really not a problem. It's an easy solution. It's a wise take on a how to handle troubling situations.

@drh14 - Welcome to the forum. Hopefully you'll be part of the TC family soon. Take your time finding the right van for you. It will happen. You've received some good personal experiences from other TC owners on this forum that I agree with for the most part. I do have to say that regarding the Turn Radius for a LWB model, it's not very good when you need to make a u-turn in the road. It may be just a function of the long wheel base, not sure. I have to do a u-turn often off a coastal highway from the middle turn lane and I need more than two lanes of road to turn around, so if there are cars parked on the shoulder, I need to swing it wide first or I won't make it. It needs to be a fast and clean maneuver. Not a show stopper but just a detail you need to be ready for if it's part of your driving routine. Parking is pretty easy if you have the front and rear parking assist sensors and a back up camera. Windows all around on the wagon model will also help you. There are lots of threads on this forum discussing camper mods to wagon models with some really unique and cool designs and craftsmanship. Plenty to get your started on your own design. Please keep us posted on your search for your TC. Looking forward to seeing your new van. Good luck.

Ha! Maybe I'm wrong. I thought I was once told after service that it wasn't working but I didn't care as I don't use it. Then again it could have been a previous car so we'll just call it a senior moment and move on. But now I'm curious too.

Nice job Don. Thanks for sharing. My 2015 barn door washer stopped working also but I never use it. Never use the front washer either. Clean the front and rear glass when I get gas but I can see when it's required.

@Loop79 - Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new van. Would love to see a few pics of your van to make it official. See the link below to what another forumite did for shade. That was a pretty nice setup with a barn door van. Adding shade to the back can be done many ways but knowing more about your specific situation(s) and requirements would be helpful. Example - will wind be an issue, beach use, camping use, tailgating in a parking lot.

I would go with the 97H rating and not deviate. I agree with other comments that the cost differential isn't worth the doubt you might have over the life of the tire. The Pirelli Cinturato Strada's that I recently got at at America's Tire I believe is the same as the Cinturato P7 that you mentioned. Difference in tread pattern is minimal with the same 70,000 mileage rating. Cost should be around $119 per tire. I'm sure there are other similar tire models to choose from and the differences are negligible. Regarding the Yokohama Tornante, did you see this discussion linked below? https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4999387/yokohama-tornante FORUM COMMENTS They started off as the Yokohama Avid TRZ, and were available just about everywhere. Then were discontinued as such and became the Tornante which are available now at limited stores. I have seen this before where a tire gets discontinued as a mainstream tire, and becomes a private label model. THE TORNANTE IS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT THE FOLLOWING TIRE DEALERSHIPS. Autotire Cheshire Tire Curry's Auto Ken Towery Monro Muffler/Brake Mr Tire The Tire Choice Tire Barn Tire Factory Tire Warehouse

That is a good question. The thread linked below talked about the plugs but no one shared a part number. Sorry I couldn't help but perhaps another forumite can access parts diagrams and find that for you. Do you need them for the holes in the cab area, cargo area or all holes? I think you can provision something on your own that would work equally well or perhaps be more water tight.

@desert_connect - great update. Glad to hear your camper connect design is coming together. Great job on putting those slider windows in. Your hard work is paying off nicely.