chong

Now that we have it Mrs. Chong has started with the scope creep. I wasn't initially planning any sort of extra batteries or shore power hookups, but she wants it so I have to figure it out. That's now been added to the list. The first phase is going to be a lot of wiring: Convert MyFord Touch to SYNC3 (easy) Figure out if I can self install the OEM Upfit Wiring Harness Heated Seats (easy) AUX Batteries and Shore power system

We picked it up last night! I'm honestly surprised by how good the fuel economy seems to be on the highway. My commute is about 30 miles and 90% highway. With the cruise set at 70mph the calculated instant fuel economy never dipped below 30mpg once I got up to speed. Obviously, it will drop once we start adding the weight of the camper conversion, but so far so good. I just need to train myself to drive an automatic again. I keep stomping on the floor!

The tilt doesn't bother me so much, but the fact that its below the unibody kinda does. Can you feel it dragging when driving through deep snow?

I've been reading up on that since you've tipped me off to that issue. It has me slightly concerned, but it's something I'm going to wait on to see if it actually causes me any issues. My goal is to not mess with anything other than the cargo hold (and SYNC) too much.

Just spoke to my salesman. They are going to the other dealer to get it right now! I'm picking it up after work!

Yes, I realize I'm strongly in the minority! That's a good rule to follow though. So roughly speaking the 2.5L motor is operating at 90% or ~152hp at 10k feet based on the figures here. That's 26hp down from the EB!

Totally agree on the mushy handling on the WS70, but I initially started running them on my Subaru WRX. Those tires, on that car, can launch in a foot of snow like it was dry pavement. I'll run them on the TC because I currently have a set. I'll probably look for something more suited for Southeast Michigan commuting after I wear out the Blizzaks. It doesn't really snow here so the mushy tires are overkill. I've never gotten a good feel from the Subaru forums, but does anyone have any experience with Green Diamond Tires?

I didn't actually lay down in the cargo area, but I did some research before I pulled the trigger and know that I'll have to move one of the seats forward for my side of the "bed". We are actually planning to camperize the TC, but it will be a relatively slow process. I'm shooting for 75% complete before the snow flies. I'm still researching the design and collecting up cardboard for the prototyping

The wife is also completely uninterested in driving stick. I start to get tired after 1000 straight miles. That gets you most of the way to Steamboat Springs, CO from Ann Arbor, MI, but just not far enough!

My Forester had 215,000 miles on it when I traded it in for my wife's 2016 Fiesta. It still had the original clutch too. It was a great winter car, but a typical winter trip for me is to leave work at 5pm and drive 600 miles one way into the UP to ski. I'm 6'5" tall so sleeping in the Forester was difficult. From a road trip persoective, the TC will allow me to be more comfortable (I can stretch out), but it will lack the amazing AWD system. I think a decent set of snow tires (see the thread I just started) will bridge the gap. The only thing I'm concerned with is the (lack of) ground clearance. I'm going to run it stock this winter and if necessary, explore lift options next summer. My Forester sleeping arrangements: The plan for the TC is a full on memory foam convertible bed with enough space to hold 1-2 bikes next to it. With no bikes, the plan is to have the bed flip out to sleep 2 people. The other thing is that I'm not fully divesting myself of Subaru. This is the fastest thing on 4 wheels on a snow covered road: 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX. Turbo swapped with supporting fueling mods and calibration. It makes about 300hp at the wheels from 2700rpms all the way up to redline!

I haven't seen one of these threads for 2016 yet. What is everyone running in the winter? I'll confess that I'm not a Ford guy, but I am a Subaru guy and starting around this time of year the Subaru forums get packed with winter tire threads. We might as well start one that everyone can use. On my Subaru's I run Blizzak WS70 tires (WS70 has been discontinued in favor of the WS80 model). This is Bridgestone's "studless ice & snow" model. These tires are designed for deep snow and ice covered roads. They give up a bit on cold and dry roads, but I choose to make this tradeoff because I'm a skier and if its pounding down snow, I want to be in the car going to the hill. To that end, I tell people that I run snow tires on my cars because I want to go the speed limit year round. Coming to Ann Arbor from the UP (where it snows 300" per year on average), I'm quite comfortable driving in the snow. I actually quite enjoy it. I have a set of WS70s with only 2 seasons on them that I plan to run. Unfortunately, I need to get new rims. Subaru Wheel Spec is 5x100 and the Transit appears to run 5x108 (so close). So, what does everyone else run? If you have any questions, I'd say ask them here. I'm not an expert, by far, but I'm sure we have some knowledgable folks in the community.

This worked! It's technically against Flickr's TOS, but I won't tell if you won't!

9 HP at sea level. Keep that in mind. I went with a 2016 specifically because I spend a lot of time in Summit County Colorado. Up there it's probably closer to 20-30 HP!

Really? No bbcode support?

So I've been researching Transits for a few months now with the intent of converting one into a camper/adventure van. Initially the plan for this was to lease a F150 for a year (I get special lease deals through my job) and buy a High Roof Transit. After months of trying to nail down the specific build, I came to the conclusion that it was just more than I was willing to pay (everything was coming in around $45k). One of my buddies suggested I look at the Transit Connect. While considerably smaller, I found this forum and found that the idea of a micro-camper might actually suit our needs better. We aren't going to be going full #vanlife as we both have jobs, a house, a cat, etc, but something that we can pull into a rest area and sleep while on a road trip to a mountain biking or skiing destination just might work. We went out yesterday and test drove the 2016 Transit Connect LWB cargo van and absolutely loved it. So much so that we decided to pull the trigger! We were able to find an already built 2016 LWB 1.6L EB Van with a LOT of options. The MSRP on the thing is a hair over $30k. We are getting $3k in incentives on it, putting $5k down, and financing the rest at a pretty low interest rate (0% was available, but you had to give up $2500 in incentives to get it, doing the math it made more sense to suck up the interest). The only thing it doesn't have is SYNC3. I would have ordered a 2017, but when we went to configure it at the dealer I learned that EcoBoost wasn't an option in 2017. Even though the Ecoboost doesn't produce that much more power or torque over the 2.5L, it is an absolute requirement for me. We take a lot of trips through the mountains and my previous road trip vehicle (2005 Subaru Forester 2.5XS 5MT) was an absolute strugglebus above ~8k feet of elevation. Not fun when you have to drive 60mph the entire way across a state like Wyoming where the speed limit is 80mph. Turbo won't have that problem! Here's the window sticker: Hopefully the dealer transfer will go through tomorrow and we can bring it home! Supporting evidence on why the Transit Connect will be perfect for us: