Fifty150

I've always wondered why people who need four wheel drive, or all wheel drive, don't buy what they need. When my lifestyle was such, that I needed four wheel drive to go through snow & navigate off road to get to hunting camps & fishing spots, I simply bought 4WD. That didn't mean that I bought what I couldn't afford. I never owned an expensive Lexus, Porsche, or Audi SUV. I bought used Ford Rangers and Jeep Wranglers because that was what my budget allowed at the time. If I lived in a snow zone, and I depended on only owning 1 car, that car would be something that I could drive in the snow. But on that note, I always wondered why even the Econolines never came with a 4WD option. It seems simple enough that since Ford could produce a four wheel drive F-150, then they could produce a four wheel drive E-150. After all, there are companies that convert Vans in 4WD. In the case of the Econolines, they simply add the 4 wheel drive parts from the F-series.

That makes it a buyer's market. You are in a much better position of negotiation. When I bought my F-150, the F-150 dropped from the #1 selling auto to selling almost nothing every month. Of course, that was back when gas was almost $5 per gallon. Consumers typically opt for larger vehicles when fuel prices are low, and smaller vehicles when fuel prices are high.

A lot of the lower price point cameras, most likely CMOS technology, have LED lighting built in. The alternative is to install LED lighting in tandem with the camera. I installed inexpensive cameras along with inexpensive LED lights. Night vision is great.

This guy wouldn't even look in my direction.

When I installed my camera, there were all sorts of backup cameras on Amazon.com for about $20 USD, or less.

Sounds exciting. Keep us posted on your mileage. High 5.

Far Out! High 5.

Don, you are correct. On my truck, I have a suspension lift. But just a lift kit is not good enough. I added steering stabilizers, regeared the rear end, upgraded braking, new wheels to fit around the new brakes + mount larger tires, and custom tuned with correct gear ratio and tire size. All of that for a 6" lift with just slightly larger than OEM tires. The lift kit was cheap, compared to what everything else cost. You really can't do just a little bit, and expect to gain anything at all. What is that inch going to do for you? Since there is no lift kit for a transit connect, you would need to fabricate and engineer a lot of new parts.

Just as bad as Honda with the horrible clearcoat. Of course, Honda dealers are calling it normal wear & tear, or owner negligence in lack of proper care. Ask a Honda dealership, and they will tell you that you should regularly wash, clay bar, wet sand, and wax. "Regularly"? Well, you obviously didn't do any of those things enough, or with enough regularity. And you should have parked indoors, in a temperature & humidity controlled garage, and used a car cover. Or you could have simply saran wrapped your car from day one, then stored it away without ever driving it.

This was a common problem with a lot of Chevy vans. In the beginning, the dealer said it was rock chips, which are common on the hood of vehicles. Then it gets bigger, and all of the paint starts to peel. But look at the size of those rock chips! Keep an eye out on the road. You'll see a lot of Chevrolets like this.

Now you can add a Painless fuse block for anything else that you might want. http://www.painlessperformance.com/webcat/30004 This weatherproof 20 circuit universal fuse block is a great starting point for custom wiring jobs that need something rugged and dependable that can withstand the elements. It comes fully assembled with wire leads that you can connect to your existing wiring and is completely sealed from the elements for trouble free performance. Includes mounting bracket.

Optima, Blue Sea, & NOCO are all quality parts. You should have no problems with that set-up. Oftentimes, the failures come by way of lesser quality parts. You could easily save $$$ on a couple of cheap batteries, and other off brand parts that you could source online. Yeah, save money on a battery today; have failed system tomorrow.

does not look like flaking or peeling paint to me

The girl at my insurance company just asked, "business or personal?" I answered that it was the kind of van with seats. She said, "Yeah, people use passenger vans for business too, but sometimes they don't tell us. We have to ask. That way, if you are driving people to the airport, or doing Uber, we can deny the claim unless you are upfront and honest in the beginning." Makes a lot of sense. I really am using my vehicle for personal driving. I can see how the insurance company would tell you that since you lied, they are not paying. Especially in the case of Uber drivers, who are engaged in commercial activity without the proper licenses. But that is another conversation. This topic is already way off topic.

My car came with only AM/FM. My simple solution was to use a little device that broadcast over FM, kind of like my own radio station. I hear that those Ford stereos leave a lot to be desired.

I only use the ones that do not have those big spinning things to beat up your paint. There are some car washes that only use high pressure water jets. No spinning brushes to scratch your car.

Ford wasn't able to help with the conversion?

Mount all the LED you want. You could even mount a warning light bar, like on a police car, tow truck, or fire engine. I've mounted rear warning flashers and wig-wag lights into most of my vehicles. No ticket unless you actually turn it all on, and you're on a public roadway. Just remember that all of those off-road use only items, should only be used off of public roads.

That keeps you under 8'? My truck sits at or about 7'. I can't get into most garages and car washes. I guess you're never driving through a commercial car wash with that antenna.

I hate when you buy a car, expect everything to be right, then find something like that after driving off the lot. I've never used the rear wiper on any car. Yet, I know people who insist that the rear wiper should be on every car.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_(car) International safety regulations, originally devised as European standards under the auspices of the United Nations, have now been adopted by most countries outside North America. These specify that a car's safety systems must still function normally after a straight-on pendulum or moving-barrier impact of 4 km/h (2.5 mph) to the front and the rear, and to the front and rear corners of 2.5 km/h (1.6 mph) at 45.5 cm (18 in) above the ground with the vehicle loaded or unloaded.[24][29] 2.5 MPH? You could jog into the car, and damage it.

You will be amazed at which myths are believed to be truth. Especially with cars. That's why MythBusters has done so many episodes with cars.

You could also just buy wheels from Tire Rack, or some other online site. They will sell you the correct wheels for your vehicle. Or at least use the website to figure out which specs you need. Front and Rear Size: 17X7 Offset: 44mm Backspacing: 5.708" Bolt Pattern: 5-108 Rec. Tire Size: 215/50-17