Beta Don

Welcome to the forum! There are companies who specialize in converting vans for wheelchair use including installing powered folding ramps who could do your door conversion - Even a town as small as Biloxi MS has a couple of them. Shouldn't be too hard to find one near you Don

If he were to attempt to recharge four deep cycle Optima batteries in parallel directly from the alternator, a 'proper sized wire' would be VERY large - Those batteries would probably like more than 50 amps each if they were deeply discharged and the wire size would be larger than the vehicle's battery cables Since he wants 120 volt recharging capability which would require a battery charger, IMO it would be simpler and safer to plan on a set-up where an inverter powers the battery charger and that would limit the current to a safer level - Whatever size battery charger he buys. A 20 or 30 amp charger powered by an inverter could be done with much smaller wire sizes Don

I agree - Even if you have 'all the right stuff' it's next to impossible to siphon fuel out of ANY modern vehicle. Much simpler (and quicker) for a thief to drill a hole in the plastic tank and let it run into a bucket Don

. . . . or, you could buy an OEM radio just like the one you have now on eBay for probably less than $50 When folks 'upgrade' the OEM radios they pull out are worth very little, not matter how high tech they are because there are probably 20X as many people upgrading as there are people looking for older OEM radios Don

Maybe install a keyed lock on the fuel filler door? Don

I installed the stainless grille dress up kit - Not the same as replacing the grille I know, but IMO it made a big change in the 'look' Don

The refueling process on our van leaves much to be desired If you click on the pump handle and let it run and quit when the pump clicks off, it works fine, but if you try and add even a little more fuel (maybe to get to an even dollar amount) you end up with a gas smell inside the vehicle I'm not sure why this happens, because if you add the last few gallons v e r y s l o w l y you can easily get another 2 or 2 1/2 gallons more into the tank . . . . with no gas smell, but you've gotta do it very slowly and before the pump clicks off When it clicks off I drive maybe 20 or 25 miles and I can see the gauge come off the full mark, but if I slowly add the last few gallons, I can drive 50 or even 60 miles before the gauge comes away from the full mark - Anyone else notice this? There is obviously more room in the top of the tank when the pump clicks off - Why the gas smell in the vehicle when I try to add half a gallon more??? Don

The 2014's and later come with a 150 amp alternator, so there's certainly power available for other uses To recharge from 120 volt power, you'd need a battery charger capable of getting the job done. A 30 or 40 amp 'smart charger' like they use on boats is pretty expensive - $350 to $450. If you get one of those, you could install an inverter in your TC which would power the battery charger using alternator power A 750 watt inverter would put out enough 120 volt AC to run that sort of charger I mounted a 500 watt inverter in the aft compartment of my TC and I use it to recharge two Segways while we drive. Works like a charm! Don

He's been looking for quite some time - Maybe you just missed it? Don

To increase to 18's, 225/45R18 is usually the preferred size, and will give you a better ride than the 40 series 235's. However, the 225/45's are almost 3% too large in circumference when compared to a stock tire and the 235/40's are actually closer to the correct circumference IMO you would be less likely to bend a wheel with the 45's Don

Unless you need 7 passenger seating, you might want to give the SWB version a look I'm not sure about 2018 (I assume they're the same) but earlier versions come with a 60/40 split rear bench seat which is easily removable when you need to use it in 'cargo mode'. The rear seats do fold and then 'tumble' vertically to rest against the backs of the front seats. You can fold either the larger or smaller portion or take out either or both in just a few minutes - Very versatile. The flat floor in the SWB models is lower than in the LWB models because the seats don't fold into the floor Worth a look anyway, while you're shopping. We remove either a portion of the rear seat or the whole thing every time we travel Don

All air conditioners 'pass the heat outdoors' - The window units are just more efficient at doing it than the ducted units. Hot air is blown out the window via the hose, which means replacement air must be allowed into the room somewhere and that air is both warm and humid, whereas the window unit doesn't exchange the air in the room - It just cools and dehumidifies it. We all know how much more efficient the A/C is in our vehicles when we use the 'Recirculate' position vs the 'Ventilate' setting. The window unit recirculates, the ducted unit ventilates His window unit was $99 - The ducted one is $349 His 1600 watt generator will start his 5,000 btu window unit with ease, but it probably would not run the 8,000 btu ducted unit The ducted unit takes up valuable floor space inside the van, which the window unit doesn't I can't think of one single plus for the ducted unit over the window unit - True, he had to build a wooden panel to install it in, but that gets it up and out of the way and doesn't rob him of precious floor space Don

The shorter the sidewall the rougher the ride - How much rougher is a subjective call. If you choose the correct size tire (keeping the circumference the same as the stock tires) the speedometer will still be correct . . . . or as correct as it originally was anyway Don

Drums on the Gen 1's and discs on the Gen 2's Don

I can think of several words to describe those sorts of jobs, but 'retirement' sure isn't one! Nice write-up for everything you did to get comfortable - Hope you can really 'retire' one day soon!! Don

After visiting 3 different Ford dealerships, I know it's hard to find anyone who knows very much about the Gen 2 TC's, I guess because they're made in Europe? What bothers me most is, they don't show any interest in learning more about what they sell and service either. My TC had a computer glitch when I got it where the passenger window would only roll up or down in 'segments' of about an inch and a half at a time - You had to push the switch 6 or 7 times to go all the way up or all the way down. The dealer ordered a new window motor *assuming* that would fix it and after 3 days it came in and when they installed it, same problem. Only then did they begin reading their books and learning anything about the vehicle. They fixed it a couple days later, but the 5 minute fix took them a week I wanted them to add DRL's to my TC, but they told me if it didn't come equipped with them, they couldn't be added. I'm pretty sure a simple program change is all that's needed, but they have no interest at all in reading up on how to do it Don

Could it be that it's cooling way more cubic feet of warm air than your previous ride . . . . and there's lots more glass and uninsulated sheet metal letting the heat in than you had before? 3M makes an almost invisible tint that blocks about 80% of the solar radiation and covering the windshield with that will make quite a difference. I did the front windows with it and put a strip about a foot wide on the top of the windshield and I know it really made a difference. The tint shop wanted to do the entire windshield and showed me a couple other vans and trucks they had done, but I was a bit worried about night driving, as I have pretty bad glaucoma, so I hesitated Don

I'm 99% sure it's computer controlled, as is everything else. The camera stays on for a while after you put it in a forward gear, so we know the reverse selector or the back-up lights don't trigger it, or it would go away when you take it out of reverse Don

That used to be true - I had it done a couple times many years ago, but when we got a chip in the TC, I checked with our insurance company (State Farm) and they said they quit that policy several years ago - Now they pay nothing for any repair Don

25+ mpg is very good, especially if you were doing much of that at 90 mph!! Don

All the wagon versions came with a headliner - Not sure how easy (or hard) it would be to put one in a cargo van Don

Too many variables - What you use and why would depend on lots of things. How you use the vehicle and what you expect from it. Are you a 'car show' kinda guy who keeps his vehicle freshly washed and all shined up every week? More importantly, where do you keep it when you're not driving it? The best thing you can do with anything you want to last a long time is . . . . . keep it out of the weather, especially out of the sun. If your TC is garage kept anytime it's not being used, the modern finish on it will likely last a long time without you doing or using much of anything. It really amazes me how many vehicles which cost $30K or more live their entire lives out in the weather, 24/7. Before I would even think about spending that much (or more) on something to drive, I would reassess where I lived and why it would need to sit outside. If I couldn't garage it, I would reassess what I'll drive and how much I would pay for it, but that's just me. I realize everyone has different priorities - Many people living in condos and rental apartments drive $50K (or more) vehicles which sit outside with the sun and the weather beating them up every single day. Very different priorities If your vehicle is garaged, a yearly coat of something like Turtle Wax Ice is probably all it needs - Cheap, easy to put on, even easier to remove and keeps it looking very nice *if* you don't have the sun and weather beating it up 24/7. If you have a nice vehicle and no place to park it out of the weather, something more suitable and expensive probably needs to be used and probably more often than once per year Don

Nearly every vehicle made over the past 75 years or so has experienced bug problems which can cause overheating if driven in certain places at certain times of the year. You can do an Internet search and read about various solutions for either frequent cleaning or placing a screen in front of the A/C condenser to catch the bugs before they plug up the condenser which can lead to overheating - It's a topic discussed on many car forums. Your 'theory' that this is only happening because the air inlet on the TC may a bit lower than other vehicles doesn't hold much water - Semi trucks suffer from this same problem, as do most other makes and models of cars as you'll discover when you do your search You can either read about easier ways to do a daily/weekly cleaning (they make tools for this which attach to your garden hose) buy a screen to put in front of the condenser or (my favorite) leave a little earlier so you can take a different route which doesn't take you through the alfalfa fields. It's a seasonal problem which only lasts for a few weeks - IMO, not a reason to select one make or model vehicle over others Don

You might get lucky and they'll bolt right in - Even if not, it shouldn't be too hard to fabricate a bracket or two which would enable you to use the factory holes. If you can get a good buy on the seats, I'd say give it a go and see what happens. If you get them cheap enough, you could probably resell them if it turns out to be a bigger job than you want to tackle Don

If you want a switch for it, then it would be easiest to tap a fuse on the inside fuse panel than to mess with going to the battery. They make a 'fuse tap' which replaces a fuse and still keeps the original fuse in the circuit as well as adding a second fuse for your new circuit. I bought 5 of them on eBay for less than $3 when I added running lights to my fog lights Don