Fifty150

Mine is also the XL. Install a backup camera. One of the first things I added after discovering that I couldn't see much with the blind spots and tinted windows. It should be really easy to run the wiring with a cargo van that does not have seats and an interior. You could even install the backup camera with a wireless kit to transmit the image, so that you don't have to run all the wiring from the camera to the monitor. To the best of my recollection, backup cameras are sold at less than $20.

Beta Don, A plug-in electric just will not work for me. I live in The City. My cars are parked on the street. I have no way of charging the vehicle. And as far as I know, there isn't a hybrid pickup truck or van on the market yet. So there is no way that I am seating 7 in a Prius or plug-in electric. And none of those are capable of towing a boat, carrying plywood, or operating on unpaved off-road conditions. Well, maybe if I spend $$$$$$ on a Tesla, but then again, where would I plug it in to charge? I would love to have a vehicle that was more efficient fuel wise, but it will not work for me. It's already hard enough moving the cars around every day so that I do not get parking tickets.

My opinion is that the 2.5L engine has little room for improvement. Don't think you'll get much more in the way of HP & torque. A lot of guys will consider using Ford Focus parts. You have options if you fabricate your own parts. Make your own cold air intake. Remove the factory exhaust and run a straight pipe. Nobody is really doing custom tuning, but you may be able to find a shop with a dyno, who is willing to experiment with your van. And if you use your imagination, you can think along the lines of an engine swap, a transmission swap, or something even wilder. But at what cost? Ever consider just buying a car that is faster, has more power, better torque numbers for towing, et cetera? Didn't you notice the lack of power and sluggish acceleration when you took a test drive? I remember the salesgirl laughing out loud when I floored the test drive vehicle to wide open throttle.

I'm still on the fence about mounting lighting in place of those reflectors. People parallel parking in The City tend to tap bumpers and park by braille. Which brand/model/part no. are those lights? I may consider those in red. Always handy to have flashing red lights, or extra brake lights.

Those little amber LED that I mounted onto the same plastic trim panel are for the same purpose. They illuminate solid as a side marker when I turn on the yellow beam on my light bar, and also strobe flash in yellow when I activate the light bar's strobe flash pattern. I typically flash them when backing into parking spaces, backing into garages, or backing into oncoming traffic if I am parked at a 45 degree angle with my front end against the curb.

The amber turn signal lights which I use do not hyperflash. There are enough 3030 SMD to draw electricity equivalent to the halogen lamp load.

Install should be simple. Different forum members, including myself, have used various LED lights. All with different results. I've never used that one. Don't know if it will work out for you. My own experience is that most of the lower price point LED lights do not last very long. They tend to overheat, melt, and burn out. One of the things to look for when buying LED is which type of LED are they using. Some are brighter. There is a different energy to lumen ratio for each type. COB, SMD, et cetera. And with the SMD, there are many sizes, and they all give a different result.

Based upon my driving style, and driving conditions, MPG has always been bad. Most of my driving is in stop & go traffic. Even the freeways around here are stop & go freeways. You just sit there, moving 2 car lengths ever few minutes. The AC is always on. San Francisco is only a 7 X 7 mile city. If I get on the freeway at all, it is only for about 3 miles of bumper to bumper, stop & go traffic. Very seldom do I drive on a freeway, at freeway speeds, for any distance which will allow me to get HWY mileage. My mileage results indicate that my vehicle is stopped and idling, more than it actually goes.

I used this for the brake light: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P2D3W0A/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/SUGERYY-Yellow-Lumens-Chipset-blinker/dp/B071JBDTLG/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1511860112&sr=8-22&keywords=7440+amber+led

WindGuy, Once you go through the trouble of taking the rear lamp housing off, even though it''s only 2 screws, you might as well switch out all of the lights. These worked for my rear turn signals. No hyperflash. Plug and play.

Shipped

More of a pain in the a** with a wagon. Interior and headliner obstructs access.

Mount lights on the van. I've tried a couple of different models. I keep going back and forth with it. I'm still not sure which one I like better. So I keep switching them around. Ever thought about mounting lights where the hood meets the windshield?

For the exterior parking lamps, that stay on all the time when the headlights are on, I like this style:

I bought 50 of these for $6.99 on eBay. They are not that great. But the price was right. So I used them for the interior lamps. You are right. These will burn out if you have them on all the time.

And just in case anyone is interested in what this looks like on a car,......a 52" light bar can fit across the roof of your Transit Connect. It just takes a little creative mounting, and some fabricated brackets.

williarty, don't mind the kindergarten drawing.....but the light bar can easily be wired with a 15A fuse, a heavy duty toggle switch, some 16 AWG wire, and grounded back to the battery. But just in case, refer to a wiring chart to be sure that you are using the correct size wire for your wiring run.

williaty, What I did with my pickup truck, because I didn't want to drill into the roof, was attach the light bar to a couple of magnets. That way, I can take it off when I'm done. Since I live in The City, and park on the street, I don't have to worry about someone stealing the light bar off the roof of my truck. The mounting brackets are bolted onto magnets, then sprayed with Plasti-Dip. The wiring is simply soldered onto a 2 pin, waterproof headlight harness/socket/plug. In the case of the light in the photos, I used size H10, because I happen to have had the parts, and because H10 is also the same size as the OEM fog lights on the F-150. On the Transit Connect, my lights are connected by a different type of waterproof connector. You can simply solder your wires and heat shrink them.

The Philips and the Sylvania are the best built, and have the best warranty. They are some of the most expensive. But that does not make them the brightest. The brighter lamps will be the ones sold by a Chinese company, and fulfilled by Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/LUYED-Extremely-Chipsets-Reverse-Brightest/dp/B01LX4FMD1/ref=sr_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1511500193&sr=1-3&keywords=w16w+3030

My Transit Connect is a body wagon. Sometimes a booty wagon. I only move people. Dollar for dollar, it is one of the least expensive vehicles that seats 7. With the folding seats, you can configure and reconfigure any way you want. Mine sees passengers in wheelchairs, and like you will be doing, hauls little ones in car seats. The air conditioning has worked well, even with heat in the 90's. And like every Ford I've ever driven, the heater puts out plenty of heat, even in winter months, great head room and leg room. Very nimble in comparison to F-Series pickups and Econoline Vans of yesteryear. As far as bells and whistles, leather seats, a quiet cabin, smooth ride, high fidelity sound system.......luxury and comfort come in vehicles that cost twice as much. I have a truck for hauling and towing. My Transit Connect has never hauled or towed. But I have not had any issues, with using the van as a passenger vehicle.

I installed amber lights onto those plastic trim panels, on part that faces to the side (not rear facing), and they turn on with my fog lights. In my state, you're allowed to have red or amber side markers. I also installed an LED light on the plastic trim panel of the lift gate, which turns on with my backup camera. You could always install a work ligh on the roof. Or simply upgrade your reverse lights with LED.

You have a tractor too?

Weird. I got an e-mail advising that you sent a message. It had a link. Sorry. When I clicked on the e-mail link the first time, all that I got was:

55" X 5" X 4" 8 lbs