Timbo

On the roof I have a solar shower, DIY awning bar, 190W solar panel, and a set of kayak saddles (rack). I was fortunate that the previous owner, the original owner of the van, had installed tinted, glass, sliding windows in the doors. He also installed large convex mirrors, just below the factory mirrors on the doors. Being a commercial driver, I found this a very appealing addition to the van. The aluminum, aftermarket wheels I just added last Friday.

Here's a quick glimpse of my minimalist TC camper build. Yes, the leg to my folding table is resting on the inverter, but unless I stack 50 bowling balls or a couple of anvils on it, I don't think it's going to dent the case. (the table went in years before the inverter). The internal fan keeps the inverter from getting hot, if I even use it at all, and the crutch leg / foot is impervious to heat. But then, again, there isn't any heat to worry about. The kitchen counter stows under the bed when not in use. I used coat hooks, bolted to the underside of the bed to hold it in place, and used a piece of carpet to keep the fit tight and act as a friction source to keep the table from sliding out / off the hooks. It works great. The coat hooks have rubber tubing on them for added friction and slip resistance. The angled, wooden trim under the table eliminates bowing / drooping of the 1/4" plywood counter top. I use similar wooden angled trim, fastened to the insides of the rear doors, to mount the kitchen counter to. Metal pins through the counter and into the trim, hold it in place. Since the cargo area of the 2010 TC is just 6' and I am 6' 4.5", I installed a 10" folding leaf to make the bed 6' 10" long if/when needed. To be honest, though, I never use the leaf. If I fold the passenger seat forward and push it back, the worst that can happen is I wake up with my feet resting in a very comfortable position against the back of the seat. I'm seriously considering removing the existing leaf and replacing it with a 6' X 10" folding leaf, mounted on the side of the bed, that will work exactly the same as the current design. The only difference being that the leaf wouldn't fold all the way under the bed, but hang on the side. Since removing my bulky, Camco, flushing camp toilet and replacing it with a bucket-potty, there is now a lot more room to work with on the side of the bed. As you can see, I do not have a sink, but just a 3 gallon bottle with an attached pump. It works great. I really like it. 1st Gen. TC's come with so little extra horsepower, the less you can weigh them down, the better off you and your fuel economy will be. The last picture is of my driver and passenger side window coverings. I use Reflectix on the other windows, backed up with black curtains for when I want privacy but still a little light. The front windows, however, get indoor / outdoor carpet, cut to perfectly fit the windows. They attach using the "hook" half of adhesive-backed Velcro that I have stuck to the window frames. The carpet, being fibrous, acts as the "loop" side of the Velcro, completing the two halves. I like the carpet because I can roll the windows down to let fresh air in, without also letting flying insects in. The windshield has a custom fit, reflective sun shade to keep things cool inside.

Oh yeah, that looks soooo much better than the stock hubcaps. In case you're wondering what all the crap on the roof is. It's a 190W solar panel, awning bar, and solar shower. You can't see the kayak saddles from this angle.

Thanks, I'll take a look. Btw... That van in your avatar looks just like a 1963 Ford Falcon/Econoline. I got my dad's when I was 19.

I know you're not here anymore, but that looks pretty darn good! I'm not willing to mount my axle on top of the springs (too risky imo) but it would be nice if there was an affordable way to drop the rear 2". Just something to level out the van. It sounds like the only option is to have the springs physically altered to ride lower. Too bad.

Voxx said they don't make them, but they did tell me the size of the lug bore: 16mm. That's a good start. I know Jegs.com (performance parts) sells them in chrome, but that doesn't really help in my particular situation. I'm going to check OSH this weekend and see if they have any 16mm compatible plugs that will work. Always nice if you can find a DYI solution.

Where do you find these black plugs? The guys at America's Tire didn't have any, and actually laughed when I asked about them, saying they had never heard of them (Nice). Maybe I can contact the manufacturer. Voxx. Never mind.. I found several sources. I just need to figure out what size they are.

Then again maybe not. It turned out to be easier just to let America's Tire dispose of my stock, steel rims (no charge). Tomorrow, when I have light and a better background than my driveway, I'll get some pics of the new look. I can't find the comment / reply now, but someone said I could get little, black, plastic caps to fill in the extra holes in the wheels. The rim I bought didn't show more than 5 lug holes on the website, but once they were on the van, I noticed that they have 10 holes, which I think looks kind of cheap. It would be great if I could cover up the extra lug holes in the wheel.

I recently found these driving lights on Amazon, but they don't have any reviews to vouch for their quality. --> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CZ6NW4W?tag=viglink21027-20 Has anyone successfully installed fog or driving lights on their 1st Generation TC, and if so, what did you go with? I've never seen anything in the van that suggests there might already be wiring and/or harnesses to attach lights to, and I'm a little ambivalent about running a bunch of aftermarket wires, relays, switches, etc. just to mount some lights I don't really need. I just thought they might look spiffy with my new wheels.

Oh, Ooops. I thought 52mm was the negative offset. Thanks for the clarification. As it turned out, America's Tire no longer produces those 8 spoke, black rims, so I had to order something else. It looks like the second set of wheels I ordered only has 5 holes, so the plugs won' be necessary. Thanks, though.

I'm going to list them at $160 for all four + caps, and see how it goes. I just hope, given the huge amount of space between the tires and fenders, that my TC doesn't end up looking like a roller-skate.

It just seems like everybody has 5 spokes on their cars. I figured 7 spokes would look a little more unique. 6 spokes would work too, but no more than 7. Some of the designs I saw were way too "busy". Those wheels you've got (had) look sharp, but I think my white van is going to look better with black rims than it would if they were shiny.

Unfortunately, that particular model is no longer in production.... So I ordered a set of these. I'm generally not a huge fan of generic-looking 5 spoke wheels, but at least they're black. Now if I can just figure out how much to ask for my stock wheels and hub caps (no tires).

I'm curious what you guys do with your stock steel wheels when you upgrade to something new. Do you recycle them, or keep them? Toss 'em? I'm just wondering if I should hang onto them in case I sell the van, or consider them, as I generally do, heavy, bulky stuff I have to store someplace. My local recycling center pays $60 a ton for steel. I'm not sure how much the stock rims weigh, but I'm guessing I wouldn't get more than a couple of bucks out of them. Might not even be worth the cost of gas it would take to drop them off at the center.

Yeah, probably not worth it. I just think it looks nice to keep the factory wheels, if they make an interesting / attractive design. Makes it look like it was built that way while still looking stylish.

I wonder if I could order those wheels? They're not bad looking and they're factory.

It looks like this is what's inside the stock TC wheels. I've seen rubber valve stems at my local auto parts store with this kind of mounting hardware at the base, so worse case, I might have to by new stems. I wonder if the sensors from the stock rear wheels have to stay in the new rear wheels when you change rims, given they're a different pressure than the front tires.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was your post where I read the 10mm +/- recommendation. I also wondered about the extra .5" width of the aftermarket wheel being an issue. I'm not planning to go with larger wheels and lower profile tires, just running as close to stock as possible. Any tips on the TPMS and possible issues with the new rims? I can't imagine it's going to pose much of a problem. Lots of people change the wheels on their cars.

I'm sure this question gets asked a lot, but I couldn't resist. I'd give anything if there was a way to install disc brakes on the rear of my 2010 TC. I HATE the drums back there. They're such a PITA, compared to the front, to work on. I thought I read of someone doing it once, but it was massively involved and complicated.

I'm considering a set of these for my 2010 TC ---> https://www.americastire.com/buy-wheels/drag-dr-33/p/13796 I noticed, besides being .5" wider than stock, the offset (38) is different than the OEM wheels, even though this wheel is what their site shows when you search on 2010 TC-compatible wheels. According to what a user posted in another thread, it sounds like that offset is going to be too little. I heard no more/less than 10 +/- was advisable due to possible wheel bearing damage. I read somewhere that 52mm was the OEM offset for the 2010 TC, but I'm uncertain if that's positive or negative offset they're measuring. Do people still use metal spacers behind their wheels to achieve the proper offset? I'm also wondering about the TPMS. Am I going to have to buy factory, Ford valve stems to attach the sensors to? It seems like most aftermarket wheels I see have metal valve stems. Does the TPMS sensor attach directly to the stem? If so, it sounds like I'll need special valve stems, unless my original, rubber stems can be used with the new wheels. One thing I don't like about these wheels is that they seem to have lug holes for more than one bolt pattern. I worry that might look a little cheesy if the surface behind the open holes isn't black.

I'm thinking about running a set of these, just to spiff it up a little bit.

Never mind, I found the answer. 15 X 6. Lug pattern: 5 X 108mm. Offset: 52mm.

I used metal legs made from plumbing nipples, and used floor flanges to attach them to a plywood base. Then it was simply a matter of gluing a piece of (very expensive) foam to the wood and covering it with indoor/outdoor carpet I picked up at Home Depot. Easy and super comfy!

The white, plastic piece is between the firewall and the steering box/rack. You can see it if you look under the hood, but it takes a bit of looking.

I don't use my 2010 TC behind an RV, but I did turn it into a little camper. Works great. Not wanting to hack large holes in the roof, I didn't install the roof vent / fan, but I did mount a Yakima roof rack and install a 190 Watt solar panel, solar shower, kayak rack, awning, and hitch-mounted bike rack. I've also got a comfy bed mounted behind the passenger seat, a toilet, water supply, two tables (one that fold out of the wall), and a 120 Volt inverter. I don't have an issue driving something huge, I do it every day at work, but I do appreciate the compact size of the TC for ease of parking, great fuel economy, and a good ride. Being 6' 4" I really enjoy the extra headroom the earlier models have. I can comfortably sit on my bed with my legs at a 90 degree angle below me, and not hit my head. I can also kneel on the floor next to the bed, but this requires that I tilt my head down a little to avoid the roof above me. Still, there's plenty of room for changing into / out of kayak gear, or getting ready for bed while camping. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is the super-stiff rear suspension. I'm hoping I can find softer leaf springs to replace the cargo van suspension it currently has. It's not a big deal on the highway, but bouncing down dirt roads while scouting out a good camp site, really beats the tar out of me!