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Nope - and I don't suppose I'd listen much if he did ... <G> Truth be told, nothing different happening here than with any other van conversion where the roof is raised. We're not talking much in the way of open length. One rail was removed, and can't say I was all that impressed with the strength and rigidity of that anyway, so I expect Ford has a lot of confidence in the wall structure and support. Also another good reason to spring for the wood reinforcement on the Fiberine topper. That's molded to shape and bonded right to the shell and I'd think makes it even stronger than the original roof panel WITH the brace installed. Plan is also at some point to add overhead storage to the back of the roof. Could always beef that up some for additional strength. The new storage box would probably cover half the distance from the back doors to the support that was removed. Also plan to box in the area up front between the old roof and the new - I'm thinking that would be a great place to stash blankets and stuff that doesn't mind being jammed into odd spaces. That also could come back a bit further than the existing roof support to shrink the open area even more. But ... as mentioned ... don't expect to lose any sleep over it, eh.

Recently purchased a 2011 TC with hopes of doing some overnight camping down the road. Was a time I'd have done this work myself, but too old and decrepit for that now. Found a friend of a friend who likes to do custom work (couldn't find a body shop that would touch it), tracked down the parts, and let him have at it. Short list of parts: - Fiberine full length one foot topper - Slider windows - Universal retractable side step - Aries step up bumper - MaxxAir roof fan Here's the original concept I photoshopped from stock pics off the web. Nothing to scale, but it did give a good sense of what I wanted to see when it's done. This uses an actual pic from the dealership's online ad. Vehicle already has a nice 1K inverter and dual battery system for going off grid, and is in excellent condition with 70K on it. And here we are a week later with the real deal. Stopped by today to take a peak, and lots of progress: I ordered the Fiberine topper with the extra wood reinforcement inside the glass shell. Lot stronger, and better for attaching headliners and such. I was expecting maybe some blocking here and there, but they gave it the full monty ... So far, no complaints - the guy does really nice work, especially considering that it's a first. He's mostly custom racers and resto-rods, but figured why not - always ready for something new. Asked today if he'd do one of these again, and it was ... not a chance! Took four men and a chain hoist to get that roof on there, and plan is to leave that for the younger guys. Anyway - been planning this project for several months now - good to see it actually happening!

Nope ... local guy. I checked all the body shops around here, and nobody wanted to take on the project ... liability issues, etc etc ad nauseum. Harumph ... no sense of adventure, right? Guy does a lot of custom body work, race cars and such, and a friend set me up. When told what I wanted to do, he said "never done anything like that ... sounds like fun!" Got all the parts together and it's in his shop now. Photoshopped a couple pics, passed on some notes, tips and tricks I gathered off the net and keeping my fingers crossed it turns out something like this. I told him, bonus points if it don't leak when it's done. <G> These started out as the dealer pics of the actual vehicle. PS ... I figured the ground height might be a problem. The single steps I got tuck in pretty tight. Plan is to use a couple plastic platforms I picked up at an RV dealer to give two steps up. Shop guy will yell if he figures there's gonna be clearance issues, and then I can figure out a Plan B ... I'm an amputee, so I'd like to have a max of four inch steps for ease of access. Once the shell is done, I'll figure out where to go on the interior, and expect to put a retractable rail of some sort, or at least grab bars as well.

Kind of on hold right now. The van's in the shop getting converted to a mini-camper ... gonna raise the roof a foot, get some slider windows and a fan installed, retractable steps for the side doors, and a step bumper on the back. Should be interesting to see how that all works out.

What - no love for the stock jack that comes with the vehicle? Anybody ever try one of these?

Mine was just parked in a handicap spot ... you'll see a lot of TCs in one ... Maybe the jack just punched thru the sheet metal ... <G> Maybe make a saddle out of some scrap wood for try #2. Stack some plywood squares and add a couple slats deep enough to clear the weld, you get the extra height and spread the load.

Color me confused ... there's a difference between a standard Transit Connect and a "wagon" ? Excuse my ignorance, but new owner and I pretty much ignored the whole line up until I got one ...

Fun facts that one would have thought would be stressed in the directions that come with the bulbs. I had to go digging some to get this stuff. LED headlight bulbs will have two sets of emitters, one on each side of the bulb. These need to be adjusted to face 3 and 9 o'clock as Fifty150 mentioned earlier, or better yet, parallel to the ground if you've an odd shape headlamp. There's an allen wrench provided so you can loosen the mount and turn the bulb as needed. Best bet is to install it with that screw loose, then turn and mark the bulb. Remove it, tighten it up and yer good. But wait ... there's more! Dual element bulbs have another trick you have to remember so you match the beams to the headlight's orientation. You'll see a shield built into the bulb - that has to go BELOW the emitters when installed. You can also see here the allen screw I mentioned earlier. Directions that came with the bulbs were next best thing to useless, so maybe good to know for anyone else doing this. I'll give it a shot tomorrow and report back with the results. Oh - as Fifty150 mentioned earlier, you can get all sorts of weirdness if you don't align the bulbs properly. Here's a good example with the dual colors and one of the bulbs installed bass ackwards ...

First thing I'd suspect is some sort of ignition interlock. Next time it happens, try shifting out of park and back, and tap the brakes a couple times to see if there might be a sticky relay or something giving you grief. Not sure how smart the smart key is - maybe a dirty reader or something? Try cleaning that with something like DeOxit D5. Put the key in the ignition wet and work it a few times to clean all the contacts too. And of course, if all else fails, ask someone who knows what they're talking about ... <G>

Here's a good place to check on wheel specs ... https://www.wheel-size.com/size/ford/transit-connect/ The critical bits would be stud spacing (5x108), center bore (63.4), and wheel offset (52.5). Get close to those, and whatever wheel you select should work. It's my understanding that pretty much any Focus wheel will fit, but don't quote me on that.

OK then ... ordered a pair of the AuxBeam NF-B2's (H13 - 9008) ... wish me luck!

Standard RV sliders on my 2011 cargo. Lots of different sizes available. I got the WD07's for the side doors, and WD03's for the rears. Also different adapters available for the thickness of the door skins. https://www.teardroptrailerparts.com/pricing.html PS ... that's in Photoshop - haven't built it yet, although all the parts are now in and awaiting assembly ...

Something to look out for, but wondering how it would be possible to install them backwards, as the socket is offset ... Which bulbs did you use that are bi-color? Sounds like an interesting way to go.

Recently picked up on a 2011 TC that already has a 1kw inverter installed. It all works, and should come in handy for short camping trips and such. Nice installation, so no changes required, other than maybe going with a two battery system and solar addon later if I get bored and/or want to go completely off the grid for any extended period of time. Question though ... what the heck is this? The AC plug is usually covered (you can see that hanging below it) but I haven't a clue if that's for an external charger, AC hookup in a campground, or just there to confuse people. Thoughts? PS ... that looks to be an isolator along side the battery, but don't quote me. Always thought those were only on two battery systems anyway? Maybe there's another battery hiding somewhere already and I just haven't found it yet? Or ... maybe that's a cutoff switch to disconnect the inverter if the battery goes under a "safe" limit for starting the TC ... that would make sense.

So, your saying the wiring's already there? Just remove the fake bezels on the bumper and plug in a set of lights? Oh. Funny ha ha ... I clicked on the Amazon link posted earlier, and got a warning from Amazon that it doesn't fit my 2011 TC. Go figure.

So, like ... what happened here? Took a peek at the link on Amazon, and that kit includes wiring, with a dash switch and everything, so I assUme the stock harness doesn't include that unless the TC is ordered that way. Maybe someone who's been there, done that, can chime in, as I'd had the same thoughts for when I get into upgrades here.

Might want to mention what year yours is ...

Nope ... definitely three pins in a line. Just not sure if that arrangement comes in different sizes. Suppose I can trust Amazon? They also seem to think it's a high/low beam. Maybe the earlier TC's had two bulbs burning on high?

OK then, I'm officially confused. Everything I've seen here on LED headlight upgrades mention an H11 base ... So I got a pair, only to dig into the TC and find what look to be H13 bases. So, did they change the headlight configuration and wiring on the Gen Two's? Looks to me like my 2011 has combined high and low on the main bulb? The housings still have the smaller H9 bulb that I assUme is only used on high beam, but the main bulb looks to have dual filaments. Hep me, please!

Peelable caulk? That should give you a tight seal and allow easy removal of the panels later on if necessary ...

Does that work with the back doors as well, or just passenger and side doors?

Not to hijack the thread ... ooPs ... too late! <G> Does Forscan have an option for turning the stock reverse camera on and off? The system on my 2010 kinda looks factory and I get a pilot light on the rear view mirror, but no pic. Kind of a bummer as it's a cargo van with no windows in the back. Be interesting to see if cycling it between on and off might "fix" it. PS ... I've since had another camera installed using my radio head, but it'd be nice to have the original setup on all the time as a rear view mirror. I'm thinking that'd be easy enough to do by jumping or shorting the signal wire from reverse if factory programming doesn't allow that ...

Huh ... just had a double din touch screen with all the toys (including nav) installed in my 2010 by Geek Squad ... popped right in and everything works using an off the shelf Metra converter ...

Same here ... I'll race ya! <G> Plan is to raise the top of my 2010 cargo TC, add sliding windows to the side and back doors, and a fan on the new roof. I know a guy who knows a guy who will do all that for me. Hope to be doing all the interior work myself once the shell is done, but no big rush there as I can always just roll my bag out on a camping cot to get started. Still considering solar power for true off the grid camping, but that can be added later. It's already got an inverter and dual battery setup, as well as cargo shelving that can be prettied up and used for decent storage and a camp kitchen. Have fun with it!

Begs the question ... why a tow hook? Nothing else for a wrecker to hook onto? I can just see some Winnebago hauling a TC down the road with a snap rope using that pad eye ... <G>