tcconvert

Some high-end tints use Carbon Fiber, which can block RF signals. If you stream music over your phone you might want to re-think.

LOL! Good points. I'm old and well past the car ego trip days. As a professional whose income is never certain, I have learned over the last 30-40 years how to live conservatively enough that I'm rarely under pressure and always within my means. I have learned how to have a new vehicle every 5 years without straining to pay for it. They serve me in my business and as a daily driver. This has mostly meant having nicely-equipped mid-size pickups with 4 cyl engines and 2-WD, instead of the more popular 6-cyl 4-WD most people feel the need to own. You would be amazed at the weather you can drive in with 2WD, if you really know how to drive. Every buying cycle it gets more difficult to get a lot of vehicle for a modest amount of money. My XL, at about 25K is about the same level of trim and equipment as my last 21K Frontier (if a bit more bare-bones because of it's commercial configuration). My TC definitely feels part of a newer generation, as my last Frontier design has been around for over 10 years now. I was interested in a new mid-size pickup but at time of purchase the only thing out there that was truly new were the GMC/Chevy models. Dealers weren't doing much dealing as demand has been high, and I couldn't make myself move into 30K+ territory. That's how I ended up with the TC. This was a major risk for me as I was really unsure how I would feel about this stripped out box a few months after I was stuck with it. At this point I have no regrets. I didn't have to add a $1500 bed cover or a $2000 head unit. It doesn't have satellite radio but I've learned to stream Pandora through my phone. I can throw my product into the back without having to tie it down or worry about weather damage. My bigger crates would stick out the back of my 6 ft. pickup bed on the folded down tailgate and have to be tied to the bed to keep them from sliding out. I can stack 6 of these in the back of my TC and close the door. And this sucker is a foot shorter than my pickup was! I can even stand up in the back, out of the cold, or for privacy, and change into my flying clothes when I go to the airport to fly my open cockpit homebuilt. The usefulness of this package is just amazing. If you never have to carry other than a single passenger (my wife rides in my vehicles maybe 2-3 times a year) it's one of the best all-around haulers you can own at a price that doesn't break the bank. A weird thing happens too. If it's not in a commercial livery, with advertising all over it and loaded down with racks and ladders - because of it's spacey and modernistic design, you get a lot of looks on the road. And it may sound a bit extreme...but this thing is actually fun to drive!

My last 3 new pickups were all 2-WD and 4 cyl., not the usual choice of most buyers where I live, which is the gas-guzzling 4-WD 6-bangers. The 2-WD don't have the hard ride the 4-wheelers have. None of the pickups have the crisp car-like handling of the TCs. That photo brings back memories of MY years in SoCal back in the sixties, when you could just pull off anywhere, grab a board, and hit the waves. Not a parking meter or fence in sight! What a treat it would have been to have the carrying capacity of the TC. I keep eyeballing that overhead beam. Could be dandy for hanging an RC airplane!

OK, 1200 miles or so on my van now. My opinion? In spite of a few issues that are less-than-ideal, I have no regrets. Actually, I love this thing! In other threads I talk about some mods I've made, and there will probably be others. But so far.... The Good: The pleasant driving characteristics. In an online review the driver said this vehicle felt a bit top heavy. Really? Have you ever driven a pick-up? This thing feels like a sports car to me after my last 3 Nissan 2WD 4-cyl. Frontiers. I whip around corners and on-ramps at speed (no cargo). It feels like a go cart. Once you learn where the back axle is located (so you can avoid dragging the rear wheels up over curbs when cornering) you can shoehorn this tight-turning bug into just about any space that's wide enough to contain it. You feel like you can execute 90 degree turns from a standstill. And I never would have imagined that a tiny-screened back-up camera would have had much real-world usefulness, but once you learn how to use it, and begin trusting it, you can back out of parking spots with confidence. The doors! Oh the doors! Doors everywhere. You don't even have to bend over to place or remove common cargo like groceries. And you will be the envy of many who watch as you pull open one of the sliders in a tight parking lot, while they are manhandling their massive hinged doors to avoid crashing into the vehicle next to them. Never before have I felt like I was showing off just by opening a door! It also reveals it's commercial intent every time you open the door and just stand up to exit. There's no denying the massive view...you feel like you've booked a tour on a Rocky Mountain Vista-Liner! (you WILL pay for it when you try to clean the inside windshield). I also like to drive around town with both front windows down. It's surprisingly pleasant until you get up near 50 MPH. The sliding Sun visors. Yes, I didn't know they did it in the first week. I was accustomed to a slide-out tab in my Frontiers. I thought the visors just swung over. One morning I was driving with the early Sun coming into the driver's side and was shielding my eyes with my hand. I was imagining how I was going to have to live with this shortcoming and I reached up and grabbed the visor, accompanied with the thought, "If only these things would slide back..........." tugging at it at that moment. It was like my thoughts had manifested in reality. The visor slide back to the rear and blocked out the Sun! For the next mile I laughed at how ignorant I was, and how I had just been saved from a life of annoyance and discomfort. Watch out though. There are those who have whacked themselves in the head with these huge paddles, and those who are going to whack themselves in the head with them. For a man...having that massive cargo area behind the front seats is akin to a woman toting around a massive Prada handbag. You can put just about everything you can think of in it (I'm using it like a pickup, not as a commercial vehicle). The tiny digital readout panel above the gauges and speedometer. At first you think it's an inane idea that is silly and necessary. Then you discover that it's really hard to see the actual steam gauge speedo except at night when the lights are on, and you really do need it. You think it was an afterthought to remedy the poorly readable steam gauges. Then you begin to realize that reading your speed off the digital readout is actually quicker and better than a dial and you begin to prefer it. The Bad: The bare-boned interior does leave much to be desired in terms of both climate control and road noise. Without question, I feel it's the biggest price to pay. It can be ameliorated to some degree, but not with ease, and at some cost. The noise from rough surfaces can be pretty intrusive. I HAVE forgotten about my wife's rude comments about having bought a hearse...or HALF a truck. I now imagine I'm driving around in one of the Enterprise's shuttle craft. I HAVE been heard to say that I now have the capacity to not only deliver bodies to the funeral parlor - I also have space to deliver the flowers too. The unfortunate lack of rear ventilation, sometimes forcing use of the AC when you wouldn't need it otherwise. Some sort of simple exhaust vent in the rear could at least offer some flow-through air movement when on the move, even when parked, but I have not found a minimal and aerodynamic solution I could accept, that doesn't look and act like a camper accessory. Ford really dropped the ball by not fitting opening second row windows. The unfortunate Sync system. But what would you expect from Microsoft, who developed it? It's voice control works half the time due to background noise interference, or inability to distinguish your speech. The menu system is unintuitive and sometimes lacking in it's ability to utilize the features of your phone. Bluetooth and hard-wired connectivity is actually very good, but I cannot get the Bluetooth system to connect to any Bluetooth equipped device except my iPhone. It refuses to recognize a Bluetooth-equipped Nano for example. All-in-all the shortcomings in this vehicle are acceptable for the daily driver if you recognize that it's really built for commerce. If you like the utility of a pickup and are willing to accept a lesser comfort and trim level, you might find this van to be surprisingly capable, and in many respects a much more convenient universal hauler.

Yup. Them There's a reason they want all that info

Hey…whatever works. Now get yourself an Oontz Angle portable Bluetooth speaker, throw it on the dash, and stream yourself some music over your phone. The Sync system is pretty limited and doesn't recognize my voice commands half the time. It doesn't recognize ANY voice commands with even the slightest background noise. Even Siri puts it to shame. After a few weeks with mine I could kill the Sync system and be very happy with a nice aftermarket touch screen head unit.

Another reason to love the Brodit USA distributors: Yesterday they started spamming me!

I considered fabricating long storage bins out of the Alupanel and attaching them to the walls I erected. I backed off when I realized the most valuable feature of this van to me was the massive unencumbered hauling space. My artworks are stored and shipped in custom made cardboard crates, some 80" long x 24" x 12". I could easily stack a half dozen of those inside. Anything that protrudes into the space would reduce the hauling function. Therefore I am determined to store odds and ends in various portable containers that can be instantly cleared out for cargo space. I use this vehicle in exactly the same manner as I have used a string of pickup trucks for the last 25 years. The difference is that I no longer have to tie things down, restrain them from flying out of the bed, protect them from the weather, or worry about their security (unless someone went to the trouble of breaking in). I may never go back to pickups. This little sucker is a hauler's dream. So far the only real negatives are the road noise and the hard ride. Though this van is more car-like to drive, my pickups were a bit more cushy.

My version attaches within a very constrained space. The mount actually seems to be too large to fit at first and required several attempts to get it into place. I was worried about breaking either the mount or my panels. The gap tools would have been nice to have. Another negative about the USA vendor that had me aborting purchase twice was their requirement to set up an account with username, password, blah, blah, blah...Really an intrusion these days when all they should require is CC info and a shipping address. A PayPal option would have been nice also.

I bit the bullet and installed one in my 2016 van. I chose the model that fits on the right side of the center section. I was worried about the reach, but I can touch the bottom third of my iPhone 6S screen without lifting my arm off the armrest. It doesn't block vents or access to anything on the dash. I am partially blind and find it somewhat difficult to see the screen at that distance. The phone just lifts easily in and out of the holster. So far, I think this product seems worth the money. Dealing with the American distributor was a bit of a hassle. Their web site didn't function well and required at least a half dozen tries to get my selections to register. Also, they did not include the plastic panel separators that are supposed to be with the unit, so getting the thing installed without damaging the dash was a challenge. Their shipping was pretty fast. This thing is really a tight fit. I didn't bother to expose the adhesive panels before installing.

Thanks. I think the bolts were 3/8." I bought several lengths as I wasn't sure which would work best. That "wiring bundle" is actually the washer supply line I believe. BTW, my rear washers didn't operate at all at first. discovered the outlet nozzles were clogged with hard deposits of some kind.

Am I alone on this one? The two-section plastic housing that covers the rear-view mirror attachment point. It seems to be a lousy, loose fit, that just kind of hangs from whatever supports it and rattles. It feels so flimsy I am reluctant to explore exactly how it's attached, for fear of breaking it. There seems to be no screws. The Connect is not exactly a quiet chassis to begin with. Any small rattle that can be eliminated will only improve the situation. Suggestions? Thanks.

I have used Alupanel backed with polyfiber stuffing to cover the two ugly solid rear panels in my van (another post) and provide some heat and sound insulation. I am considering using strips of 3 mm Gatorfoam (rigid sandwich panels with thin white or black wood faces and a cellular foam center) cut and applied in the roof recesses, and then additional strips added between, covering the convex sections. This would provide some sound and temperature insulation. The strips would snug between the arched frame and the roof where possible at the midsection. Some spots of adhesive would be used to adhere the rest of each strip. The challenge is what adhesive to use. The Gatorfoam is very lightweight, but every tar-based adhesive I have researched has the problem of giving way under heat, and the metal roof on these vans must get pretty hot in the summer.

Well, just over 1000 miles and already the rattles are showing up in my van. Sounds like the sliding doors but hard to pin down while driving. In the 1980's I had a nice, full size Ford window van that was pretty quiet. This is my second van, and it's not! Is it typical of these vans to exhibit rattles in the area of the sliding doors? The fit of the doors when closed seems pretty tight, but maybe they bounce around in the body?

Thanks for the post. I'm considering the one that mounts to the right of the console. It's completely clear of the vents and requires just a slight lean to access.

I did note your report, thanks. I was not a fan of anything that mounted to the vents as I imagine the holder and your device would be subjected to the heat/refrigeration cycles emitted (could this constant heating/cooling be a factor in so many of the plastic vent mounts failing?). Seems like a questionable location. I also noted your comment about being very close to the steering wheel. Does this imply you contact it while driving? I really liked the concept of the pillar clamp, but found that would be a very hard location to reach and imagined my arm and hand wobbling in the air trying to target a specific spot on the display while driving (I'm also right handed). This and the fact this system is rather expensive to take a chance with if you have doubts about it.

I'm not an authority, but after dealing with Ford's parts department I came away believing that "if it wasn't there when you bought it, you're unlikely to be able to add it later and retain full functionality". In a later post I talk about this. Having to give up the steering wheel controls might not be so awful with a quality touch screen head unit. Still, it's not an easy decision to make, especially if your van is fairly new like mine.

After purchase I was shocked to discover there was no option to install a satellite Rx and have it function through the factory controls. This is my first truck with steering wheel controls and I wanted to retain full functionality. Sure, you can install any number of small exterior units that feed your head unit through a radio channel, but you have to punch buttons on the small unit stuck to your dash somewhere. Attaching anything to your dash in these vehicles is a problem all by itself. I gave up on trying to choose one of three general types of car phone holders to mount my iphone in a convenient location that was reachable. They all have faults, seem to be of low quality, don't last, often break and leave parts on or inside your vehicle, or leave permanent marks on the dash finish. I looked into these when I realized I was going to have to stream Bluetooth from my phone. Either music on the phone itself or through Pandora. This turned out to be OK, and more acceptable than I was expecting, especially streaming from Pandora, and if it turned out I would have to upgrade my phone's data use plan it would still be less expensive than satellite radio. The only thing I have really missed without Sirius is the Howard Stern interviews I occasionally tuned into. The worse thing about Bluetooth connectivity is having to pick up the phone to manipulate the music - a bit hazardous. Attempting to use the Sync voice feature has been disappointing. It's kludgy, offers limited control, and suffers from the same big fault Siri has: Any background noise at all cripples her! (What?...background noise in a bare metal van???!!!!) At 1000 miles I am now considering a touch screen head unit like I had in my last pickup. The unit would be well within reach, would offer sound expansion, and is so much easier when it comes to music management compared to The tragic Ford Sync system (the reviews didn't lie about that). If I could retain steering wheel control of the volume that would be nice. Phone control would be a bonus too. But really, I lived with my last touch screen unit for five years and the ease of use is amazing. One thing I would definitely NOT want to lose now would be that pitifully small, but immensely useful backup camera.

I have checked Adrian Steel for those gray recess panels you show on the barn doors. I can't find anything like those.

In my 2016 van I have only had success with getting Sync to connect to my iPhone. It does not seem capable of connecting a late generation iPod Nano with Bluetooth. Docs only mention phone connectivity. Anyone else had any luck with connecting anything other than a phone?

I have added interior panels over the ugly window cutouts. 3mm Alupanel was used and the cavity behind the panel is stuffed with 12 oz. of Polyfil for sound deadening and insulation. The plastic layer in the sheeting also serves as a barrier. The process was somewhat involved and required several steps. Heavy paper patterns were developed first. Next the patterns were transferred to cardboard. Cardboard was cut out and holes were punched, the targets being the three 3/8" threaded holes in the frame. After some further adjustments and a test attach of the template using the actual bolts, the carboard pattern was used to mark out the shape on the Alupanel material. The shape was cut out and the edges filed and sanded smooth. Getting the panels attached to the van walls requires some force. The material must be forced inwards to allow the 1 1/4" bolts to get started in the threaded holes in the walls. This is due to the slight curvature of the van's side walls. Large rubber washers cushion the panels on both the front and back. Before snugging down all bolts 12 oz. of Polyfil were stuffed between the panel and the wall. A long stick was used to push the Polyfil and adjust it into place. A test fit of the panels without the Polyfil revealed that the material does actually deaden sound.

I learned some time ago that starting something like a blog begets a major responsibility and obligation. Like a successful web site, it must be constantly attended to and updated. I have found that contributions to appropriate message boards related to one's activities is far easier and less time consuming. There will usually be a core group of experienced users who contribute the most, and become relied upon for "expert" opinions. If this trend persists for long enough, a board can become a very useful resource. It will start to attract others and gain a reputation. This board has obviously not achieved that kind of status. It is a typical repository for quick and desperate one-time queries by people looking for an answer to something they can't solve. If they find it, they may never return. I always feel a bit of an obligation to return the favor by at least tying up loose ends, and helping others if possible. My story here was just that - besides a cry for help, it was a story. I sensed that others wanted to know how it ended. I could have just disappeared, but I thought others deserved to know how this story ended - even if I became the brunt of my own folly. As an "old guy" with a decent education, and what I perceive as being an ability to present information in a legible and sometimes entertaining format, I sometimes get involved in the challenge of creating little stories within posts, that offer something a bit less dry than most. I may be misguided.

Finally - A conclusion. And an embarrassing one at that. I went to my service appointment. Got my first glimpse of how overwhelmed they are. Parking area so full it was difficult to move around in it. I announced my intention to be a "waiter," knowing if I had to leave it I would have to arrange for a rental car. They sent a young man over. He piled into the rear and braced himself on the floor, and we took a brief jaunt so he could listen to the noises. As we ran around the empty, early morning parking lot of the local mall, the rattling noises did their thing. Suddenly he said, "I've got it!" What he "got" was the item pictured here. When doing the cleanup and changeover of the stuff retrieved from my former pickup,in my garage, I came across the small thermometer which had been in my glove box. I was going to toss it aside when the thought occurred to me that I could use it to demonstrate just how hot it would get in the barren cargo compartment if left out under the Sun. I used the key ring to hang it from one of the many frame holes under the roof. Early on, I had been able to eliminate one of the noises when I realized that as the van began to move, the auto-locking procedure was snapping the barn door locks closed. I would have expected this to occur at 25 mph, not at 3-4 mph. It also illustrated how loudly this barren framework would telegraph any and all sounds - though I didn't think much of it at the time. The remaining clanking took place anytime the van hit a fair-sized bump or depression, or whenever it was rocked side-to-side with any force. And the sounds were very loud. So what was causing the noise? Well.....besides my stupidity? This darned little dangling thermometer was bouncing around in that frame hole and snapping against the metal! I had unthinkingly hung the thing over on the driver's side. If I had hung it in line with the passenger side, I would likely have seen it bouncing around in the rear-view mirror. As it was, It was invisible to me, and I had completely forgotten it was there! I'm sure this experience was fodder for a good story or two around the dealership after my departure! What does this say, besides the fact I may be missing a few nuts and bolts myself? It handily demonstrates just how much noise this barren frame transmits throughout the vehicle, and may give you more incentive to apply some degree of insulation. BTW. This experience with the Ford dealership shockingly illustrated that Ford buyers garner a very different level of treatment than do the buyers at the BMW dealership, where my wife shops.

My next project is to attempt covering the bare rear panels with Alupanel (3/16" thick, white Polyester-coated Aluminum sandwich with black plastic center). I am looking at possibly adding a long narrow storage bin on the side of each one. I may also explore possibilities for constructing some kind of simple hanging view blocks, either a thin solid material, or fabric, that would utilize some of the numerous holes in the barren frame structures. I am even considering using sheer Polyester curtain fabric which will transmit light but obscure a clear view into the interior. I would only put them into place when I had to leave something of value parked in the van unattended. Rare Earth magnets captured in fabric at strategic places may work quite well. I will also have some sort of custom floor box that can be closed to hide smaller objects from view when I don't want to use the view blocks. This will all be done with the goal of allowing everything to be moved out or aside when hauling capacity is needed. I have also determined that If I lop off one foot of material, I can carry 4 x 7 foot sheets of plywood flat on the floor with the doors closed. Full sheets could be carried leaning at about 45 degrees but the rear doors would have to be secured in the open position, and I don't know what the vehicle's response (or the law's) would be to driving with the doors ajar.

I researched after-market add-on tinting. There is a range of quality differences. The best is quite expensive, and regardless of the quality, there are people who emphasize that they are all susceptible to scratches, abrasions, and lifting (and the low-end stuff fades), and if they do manage to remain firmly attached for years, will likely require professionals to remove and/or replace them down the road. The best grades apparently have carbon fiber and/or metal content. They claim they do not impede wireless communications but, the fact is CF is a major blocker of radio waves. If you have one of the "crippled" audio systems that do not provide a satellite radio interface, and you are stuck with using your own portable devices to stream media such as Pandora, you might have an issue. I thought my rear and side windows might add a "cool" factor to my white and black van, as well as provide some privacy. But after doing some research it made me shy away.