MarcusBrody

I'd be thrilled if they offered a slightly lifted, ruggedized version of the TC. I've owned a second gen since 2015, but I'll be looking to trade it out for a small truck in the next few years as I've moved to NV, where I have hundreds of miles of rough dirt roads to explore. A little ground clearance (and some skid plates), a bit more suspension travel, and room for larger tires that can then be deflated would go a long way. I love the form factor of a small van as an adventure vehicle, but need a bit more than the current TC offers in terms of rough road capability (even if I'm not expecting to take it on Jeep trails).

I did the mattress too when we first got the Connect. It worked well enough. The main advantage of the platform was being able to store things underneath, which was big when road tripping. It's sized so that plastic tubs slide under. Sure. I'll measure it later today. Off the top of my head, I think it's sized about 40in long x 46 wide for the back frame/top and the fold out section (which I forgot to mention you can store linens inside during the day) makes it end up being about 76-78 inches long. I'm 6'3" and can just sleep comfortably top to bottom (we slide the front seats up a couple of clicks).

I built a two person, folding sleeping platform for my second gen Transit Connect a few years back. It lets you have the middle seats up then fold out to a near full size bed. Then I had a kid to make three people in the family and the platform got less use as someone had to use a tent anyway and so it was less useful. Now we're moving and I don't think I'll take it so if anyone would like it, I'm in Western Massachusetts along and I'd be happy to let them have it. I use a couple of cam/wratchet straps with it that someone would need, but other than that, it's good to go. If anyone is interested, just let me know. Link to the full album of pictures.

I have the same hitch and had a similar good experience. It took me an embarrassing long time to realize there was a disable button for the reverse collision warning though...

Yep. The absolute maximum I could ever imagine being on it would be ~250 lbs (50 adapter, 75 rack, 4x 35lb bikes). No problem stopping there. It's just overloading the tongue weight. And that is a very high estimate. Right now I would have a 35lb bike rack. I'll probably choose the Yakima Backswing over the Kuat Pivot as it appears to lose less ground clearance (and it's a bit lighter at 37lbs). My wife and my mountain bikes are probably 60 lbs together. So I'm currently only looking at 130lbs total, well within the limits. I was just thinking ahead to when my son will have a bike as well and I'll need a heavier rack as well as three bikes.

Thanks. That's what I was thinking, but I was curious what others thought.

Thanks. That's what I was thinking, but I was curious what others thought.

The Transit Connect has a fairly low 200 trailer tongue weight for a car with it's payload capacity. I'm considering getting something like the Kuat Pivot that allows a bike rack to swing out of the way. The swinging adapter is near 50lbs; the bike rack is near 50lbs; and then you add several bikes. How worried would you be if you were right around the tongue weight?

Has anyone had success with the technique that Ccrew described? If so, could you describe it to me a bit more? My middle row (behind the driver) got stuck down. It took over two months for the replacement frame to come in. I dropped it off. They replaced it. And the other side got stuck. So now I'm waiting again, but it would be great if I could figure out how to put it up if needed in between now and whenever the second seat comes in. Thanks a lot!

I'm currently having a related problem. I can raise the seat from the floor, but the seat back won't budge from its folded position. It has happened a few times now, and previously after driving around a while and just trying it again, it worked. It's been stuck like this for days now, though. Overall, I love the functionality and driving dynamics of the TC, but I haven't been impressed with the finish/QC. I've had the passenger side sliding door fixed twice (once before I even took delivery, which maybe should have tipped me off), and now the seat problem. I've only had the car six months.

Yep, window coverings are the next addition. First mosquito netting that will cover the side windows and open tailgate, then blackout insulated coverings (probably made from reflectix either painted black on oneside or with oneside covered with black felt. That front windshield is ample. It could take some doing to cover that space. Anyone done it/have any advice?

Middle seats back up and front platform packed. We'll use the space inside the flatform (it's framed with 1x4s, so there's a bit of space in there). The platform is rigid, so I'm contemplating adding a set of longer folding legs and letting it double as a pull out table. The folded platform section can be stowed on top of either the front or back half of the rear plaform, so you can access either of the folding sections. One last shot to show that having the plaform in the van has no affect on the functionality of the center row of seats.

Hinged back panel. We did this more so we could still sit on the back of the floor than for cargo access. We like to go to drive ins. I considered hinging the panel down so that it would serve as a backrest, but decided the complication wouldn't be worth it. Front hinge panel. This one is for cargo access. I'll probably put the cooler and possibly the water jug here. The underside of the front panel and the slot in the frame that it fits into: Underside of the cargo area. I should have put the seatbelts above the plaform...

Note the straps attached to the front seats. You can also kind of see the hinge mechanism in the middle: Full platform from the back with a bit of frame view: Fits pretty nicely. We'll have some of those interlocking foam squares on top eventually so we shouldn't feel the hinges, though they're pretty far to the side anyway.

My 2014 LWB Wagon camper conversion: My goals were to create something that my wife and I could sleep in on trips to bike, ski, see things, etc. but not have it compromise everyday functionality (so no built in cabinets or removal of all the seats). So my work plan: Part 1. Rear half of platform 1. Unbolt and remove rear two seats. 2. Create an 18in high frame out of 1x3s the fits in the area behind the back seats. 3. Hinge a piece of plywood to fit on top of this Part 2. Front half of platform This is trickier as it has to move out of the way, so can't be fully built in, plus the folded seats aren't as flat as the rear floor, so there is that to deal with. The roof isn't high enough to just have the front half of the platform fold up from the back in one piece but it needs to be rigid. My solution was to create a framed hinged section that hinges in on itself from the frame side, so when there is weight on top of it, it can't collapse in on itself as the track of the hinge runs the frame of each half into the other. I should have took a better picture of this, but if it's not clear, I'll do so later. To hold the frame up, I use hooked cam straps that hook under the front of the frame and then to the head rests of the front seat. I'm going to add some small legs that will take a bit of weight off of the straps, but it's more for redundancy than any real worry. To connect the front part of the platform to the back, I created a gap in the rear frame that's just over the width of a 1x3. I then screwed a 1x3 coming off the underside of the front section of the platform. It slides into the gap and things are locked up very tightly. Pictures coming in the next post.

I built a platform for my 2014 LWB TC yesterday. Mine is less tricked out storage wise than the one linked to on Craigslist, but my platform folds so that you can use the middle row of seats even when you are carrying the platorm. The platform takes about a minute to set up (which looks like 45 seconds longer than the CL model). Regarding the Wagon vs. Van: If I was using the vehicle only as a camper, I'd go for the Van. The most difficult detail of the wagon is that it has humps where the middle seats are attached. That makes things uneven if you have a square frame. It's not really a problem, but if I had my choice, a flat cargo floor would obviously be easier. The plastic molding is also a bit annoying. There seems to be a decent amount of space behind the molding where they have the fuse box and the jack. I'd like that space back. I had to cut down my 4 foot wide plywood by 2 inches when making the platform. I'm not entirely sure if the van has more attachment points save for mounts where the seat belts are, but if they do, that would be useful too. Advantages to the wagon: Seats for more than 2 people. Everyday practicality as a people mover. I imagine that it's quieter with the extra sound deadening material. I don't use my TC as a camper that often, so being able to pull out the platform and have a 5-7 passenger vehicle is great. I don't have the sunroof, but if you can add it, that would be a pretty view at night.

I'm not sure that it would solve Daedalus's exact problem, but when you put the key in the ignition and turn it one click to radio only, the perimeter lights go out. Leaving it there, you can then open and close doors all you want and they don't turn on/off. I'm not sure if you do it before opening the door the first time if you can avoid them never coming on. The lights from the dash/radio do come on with the key in this position, but those are easy enough to cover up with a towel or something similar. I know this is an old thread, but I found this thread the other day when trying to deal with the same problem before heading to the drive in. Hopefully the info can help someone else.

I appreciate this thread OP. I'll be eager to see updates. Thanks!

Perfect. My current rack has 50in bars and juuust about fits, so 56 would give it enough room. Plus, i realized after asking this question that I can position the bars much farther apart on the Transit Connect than I can on my current car, so the straps will be going over less than the maximum mid kayak width. Thanks!