PetrosA Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 I'm an electrician expecting delivery of my TC at the end of November. The nearly three month wait has given me a lot of time to seek out options for upfitting. I decided against the AdrianSteel/Legget&Platt/Sortimo upfits since the two US producers have awful options, and Sortimo doesn't seem to have their complete offer available in the US. I finally went with Ranger's C211 kit for the interior. The price is high, but I'm using my truck at least 5 days a week and need good organization. The thing I'm still working on is finding a decent ladder/roof rack. This one is available in the UK and seem extremely functional: Does anyone know if something like this is available in North America? I'd be afraid to order it from UK only to find out that USDOT won't accept it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlock Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 I agree on all counts. What exists is rather inelegant; and the very best, Sortimo, is limited. I've seen the L&P ladder rack on many on-lot TC's; and presuming it's not inconsistent with your needs, it's actually pretty slick. It may be worth a look. On the other hand, I can't imagine the DOT taking ANY issue with something as banal as a ladder rack that sells well elsewhere. Then again, it IS the government.... You must really have some specialized needs or limited selection to bear the wait of a custom TC order. That, and the ability to discriminate between specific upfits as individual searchable dealer options is something Ford really needs to fix. While they're finally taking great strides to finally give U.S. access to some of the world-beating products they've been lavishing upon other markets for decades, Ford still continues to treat North America like the bastard son. In fact, I can't decide whether North Americans would be happy or resentful if they fully understood what exists versus what's being offered. If you were to ask even the most enthusiastic TC shopper if he/she was aware that the TC actually exists in long and short wheelbases and there's even options with side-door deletes, they'd look at you cross-eyed. Unfortunately, the same can be said of the many accessories that have become a staple to European businesses for damn near a decade. I suppose it only makes sense for Ford to test the waters for a year or so using the 80/20 rule before making greater investments and ramping up full-scale production in a new market (here), but that doesn't change the disadvantage we, the home team, have to contend with until that happens. And I'm most afraid that after tooling around in our novel "early adopter" "first on the block" "smarter than everyone else" first model year examples (that are actually some 7 years old), 2011 and beyond may see a whole slew of much more capable TC's that may make us wish we had waited if not for the fact that it remains the best thing available at the moment and the tax credits that are helping to make them almost impossible to go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrosA Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 I agree on all counts. What exists is rather inelegant; and the very best, Sortimo, is limited. I've seen the L&P ladder rack on many on-lot TC's; and presuming it's not inconsistent with your needs, it's actually pretty slick. It may be worth a look. On the other hand, I can't imagine the DOT taking ANY issue with something as banal as a ladder rack that sells well elsewhere. Then again, it IS the government.... You must really have some specialized needs or limited selection to bear the wait of a custom TC order. ... I wouldn't consider a ladder rack banal. If I did import one and had an accident and something flew off the rack, I can only imagine the field day the insurance companies would have with me. As to the custom order, all I wanted was silver paint and Nokia bluetooth. The issue is that I was told delivery would be approximately end of October when I ordered it and gave them a down payment. It wasn't just the main-floor sales guy who took me on, but his floor manager and the guy from the commercial truck dept. all were standing there at the time and taking part in the discussion. No one knew... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooney2oons Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 I saw a typical ladder rack on a TC in Lubbock, TX last week. It was the same style you see on the full size vans that tilt the ladders down to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrosA Posted November 22, 2009 Author Share Posted November 22, 2009 Update: I'm still waiting for the truck, but I got my shelving units from Ranger. I'm very impressed with the quality of them. They were relatively easy to assemble. I still need to drill some holes and get a rivet tool to finish, but other than that an impact driver and tips were all that were needed. I talked with the installer at Intercon Trucks about DOT regulations for upfit equipment and specifically the ladder rack (he's SAE certified). He claims that you can build you own or even import something, just be absolutely sure that it'll be safe and calculate on the side of caution when choosing materials. If anyone is ever injured or killed in an accident involving fabricated stuff DOT will be all over the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlock Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 I'm still mulling over my options. A key for me is that any shelving and fixtures be modular and easily removable/replaceable, as I have three distinct use scenarios, one for carrying passengers, one for carrying equipment, and one for carrying cargo. I also want a quality floor that will work with the seats; and I've been discussing with a local machining firm the possibility of replacing the 2nd row seat mount screws with those that include an integrated release mechanism instead. The tax advantages for the TC were so compelling that I've become very comfortable with the notion of "prototyping" this one to a certain degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nodiesel Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 I would buy the one in pic if available stateside. I've had my TC for 2 weeks , now thinking of making my own racks. Need to carry ladders and long stock, also 2 kyacks in free time. I'll try to contact on shipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrosA Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 I would buy the one in pic if available stateside. I've had my TC for 2 weeks , now thinking of making my own racks. Need to carry ladders and long stock, also 2 kyacks in free time. I'll try to contact on shipping. I ended up going with a Masterack lock-down type for around $400 from American Van which allows a max. 28' extension ladder. Most are limited to 24', so be sure and ask if the info isn't on the website. I'm going to guess that shipping something that size from the UK will probably run about $150-$200, but you won't have to pay VAT on it so the price will be lower than what you see online. Whatever you end up choosing, you'll most likely have to drill the roof (I did) so make sure you have a steady hand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlock Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I ended up going with a Masterack lock-down type for around $400 from American Van which allows a max. 28' extension ladder. Most are limited to 24', so be sure and ask if the info isn't on the website. I'm going to guess that shipping something that size from the UK will probably run about $150-$200, but you won't have to pay VAT on it so the price will be lower than what you see online. Whatever you end up choosing, you'll most likely have to drill the roof (I did) so make sure you have a steady hand! I don't understand why you had to order it from the UK. Is it not available from any of the U.S. distributors? I'm nearly positive I've seen this at dealers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenzaka Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 This is the rack I have for my van. http://www.americanvan.com/catalog/standard_dynamic_wrap.cfm?FamilyID=403 It makes way to much noise and is a pain in the ass to work with. This is the one I would rather have but it was not available for the transit at the time. http://www.americanvan.com/catalog/standard_dynamic_wrap.cfm?FamilyID=396 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrosA Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share Posted December 9, 2009 This is the rack I have for my van. http://www.americanvan.com/catalog/standard_dynamic_wrap.cfm?FamilyID=403 It makes way to much noise and is a pain in the ass to work with. This is the one I would rather have but it was not available for the transit at the time. http://www.americanvan.com/catalog/standard_dynamic_wrap.cfm?FamilyID=396 The second one is the one I got and I'm happy with it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrosA Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share Posted December 9, 2009 I don't understand why you had to order it from the UK. Is it not available from any of the U.S. distributors? I'm nearly positive I've seen this at dealers. I didn't order mine from the UK, I ordered it from American Van. http://www.americanvan.com/catalog/standard_dynamic_wrap.cfm?FamilyID=396 I ended up going for a different style rack than the one shown in my original post. The UK rack would allow me to carry more cargo on the roof comfortably, but I plan on adding a mesh deck to the driver side of the rack which will allow me to tie down shorter cargo than what would fit between the crossbows. I'll also be adding a pipe carrier to the underside of the ladder rack. I often need to carry materials between 8' and 10' in length. The rack is the only way to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHEP Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 I didn't order mine from the UK, I ordered it from American Van. http://www.americanvan.com/catalog/standard_dynamic_wrap.cfm?FamilyID=396 I ended up going for a different style rack than the one shown in my original post. The UK rack would allow me to carry more cargo on the roof comfortably, but I plan on adding a mesh deck to the driver side of the rack which will allow me to tie down shorter cargo than what would fit between the crossbows. I'll also be adding a pipe carrier to the underside of the ladder rack. I often need to carry materials between 8' and 10' in length. The rack is the only way to do that. are u happy with this rack ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PetrosA Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 are u happy with this rack ? So far, yes. I have a 7' stepladder and a 24' ext. ladder and both are easy to load/unload. I'm also able to tie down larger materials like pipe as well. Assembly was a bit strange, but it went ok. I'll try and get some photos up soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlock Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I'm just looking forward to scaling domestic production to provide the full spate of configuration options like the side door delete and dual wheelbase length configurations for us lowly North Americans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHEP Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I'm just looking forward to scaling domestic production to provide the full spate of configuration options like the side door delete and dual wheelbase length configurations for us lowly North Americans. Thanks, PetrosA for the info. looking forword to the photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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