Height of Rear Door Threshold?

[SteveMalone189]

Hi!

In January we ordered a 2015 TC LWB cargo van, that appears to have finally left the plant last week, despite having rolled off the assembly line in early March. We plan on using the van to tow our Camp Inn teardrop trailer, and it's primary purpose will be to stow our gear. We've had a hell of a time getting our hands on any vans at local dealers for the purpose of taking measurements, though we have had some success. We think we have all the measurements that are of critical importance to us, except one: can anyone give me a precise measurement from the load floor to the top of the rear door threshold (we've ordered the "barn door" version, not the rear hatch version)? We have a drawer pedestal that will be mounted in back and will overhang the door threshold, so we'll need to mount some plywood to the bottom of the portion of the pedestal that will sit on the load floor, in order to compensate for the difference in height between the load floor and threshold. We're wondering what thickness we'll need?

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help with this, it is very much appreciated!

-Steve

[103west43rd]

Hello Steve, welcome to the forum. here is the URL for the 2015 Ford body builders layout book. Take a look and see if it helps answer your question while you wait for a forum member to measure his/her Transit Connect for you. I am sure a forum member will reply. https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/2015/2015_Transit_Connect_v1-0.pdf

[windguy]

welcome to the Forum Steve.

congrats on your van order. it's a long wait. below is my schedule from start to end in case that helps.

you'll still need another helping of patience before you get delivery on that van.

07/11/14 - van on order

09/02/14 - 2015 production started

10/02/14 - order selected for production at end of October.

10/17/14 - got VIN from the dealer

10/30/14 - van produced

01/10/15 - delivery at the dealer in CA

regarding the door opening height, I measured mine and got 43" at the sides, 45 at the max height but the middle area has a drop down bracket for the door locks that's about 10 inches wide so the clearance drops to about 43.75. Hope that helps.

[SteveMalone189]

Thanks for the replies!

103west43rd-

I did explore the forum and looked at the layout book before posting. It was helpful, but unfortunately doesn't have sufficient detail about the area that I'm curious about.

Windguy-

You have the same model van as we've ordered. The threshold is the plastic piece at the bottom of the door opening. We were given a few minutes to look at a SWB van with hatch just before the owner arrived to pick it up. We placed our drawer pedestal inside and against the edge of the threshold. It appeared that we'd be able to overlap the threshold a bit and thus save an extra inch or two of remaining cargo space. We got rushed out since the owner showed up early, and I didn't get a chance to measure the difference in height between the load floor and the top of the threshold (it's probably less than an inch).

I saw where another member had ordered a TC on 14 Dec 2014 and it arrived on 5 May 2015, just slightly faster than your timeline. We were told that ours had left the plant early last week, so we're hoping it is on a ship right now. If so, we'd expect to see it by mid-to-late June. Did you get any status updates between when the van was produced and when it arrived at the dealer? We're planning on selling our house, but don't want to begin that process if we can't set a definite closing date. And the longer it takes the van to arrive, the more likely that we'd winterize the house and sell in the spring.

-Steve

[windguy]

@stevemalone189 - most of the TC's at my local dealer (not where I got my van) are cargo versions. In fact, the local dealer has about 6 of them and only one wagon. maybe 6-8 full size Transits too. And guess what color they all are? yes, white. I stopped by on Saturday just to see what options were on them and the saleswoman, despite me telling her I don't need any help, was hovering like a dog sensing food, shadowing my every move. Someone needs to give me a better line to get them to leave me alone.

if you need more detailed info on the dimensions and/or pictures, then let me know. I do have a pic in my gallery of the rear cargo opening.

what color did you get and what options?

regarding delivery - my van left the plant shortly after it was built but it's a slow boat to Maryland and then customs and processing (which can take a while from other posters' experiences) followed by a train ride to your regional dispatch and then a truck ride to the dealer. I didn't get any status once it was on the ship until it got to the local dispatch, then it was a few days to the dealer. I would expect a solid two months for delivery unless things are faster now than what I experienced.

[SteveMalone189]

Windguy-

I took a look at your photo gallery. I'm thinking the bottom of the door opening is different on the barn door version vs. the hatchback version, so my question in that regard probably doesn't apply.

We opted for Frozen White, since we'll be on the road a lot and won't be able to garage the van (we want to minimize heat gain). We also opted for a no-window van (all we'd ever see out the back is our trailer), though I'm a bit disappointed to learn that on widowless vans they install a solid panel over the window opening on the sliding doors. Or at least I think all of their no-window vans are all built that way? The two things we wanted were a backup cam (to facilitate lining up on our trailer hitch) and a USB port, so we ended up ordering a Sync radio to get the USB (I briefly considered getting an aftermarket USB, but I did that in the past and had problems with it). We're having aftermarket Katzkin leather seat covers and seat heaters installed. We're thinking on cold mornings it make take a while for that much space to heat up, plus newer engines are so efficient that they take longer to heat up. We've opted for the EcoBoost engine, as the increased horsepower and torque will come in handy for towing, especially the higher low-RPM torque. The standard Mazda engine needs a lot higher RPM for the torque that it produces. We've owned a few Mazdas, so making that change was something we didn't do on a whim. But we've got our fingers crossed that we made the best decision.

I saw where another TC took exactly one month from the time it left the plant to when it left the Maryland modcenter. So hopefully 5 or 6 weeks is a realistic transit time. Of course that could land it here close to the 4th of July holiday, which would only add to the delay...

[SteveMalone189]

Oops

Edited May 28, 2015 by SteveMalone189

[windguy]

@stevemalone189

the side view mirrors are pretty decent and have an inset blind spot mirror for extra coverage, so not having side windows or rear view won't be too bad of a handicap.

I also have a backup camera and it's pretty good. takes some getting used to but does a nice job in predicting your path and guiding you plus good visibility even at night.

another forum poster mounted his own backup camera so that it's angles for easier alignment for his trailer. if you search on backup camera and trailer you might find the post.

I had once checked out the blank panel on the sliders and it appears to be put on with an adhesive and not welded at the factory, but I could be wrong on that one.

I have an XLT and it has a USB port but I haven't tried it yet. I don't have Sync or Mytouch, not a gadget type of guy.

[SteveMalone189]

We've got a Mazda CX-5 for our current tow vehicle. It has standard mirrors, and is fine for use with our teardrop camper, as it is the same width as the teardrop's cabin. So I suspect the standard TC mirrors will work fine for us. We almost opted for the glass on the curbside slider, but figured we'd probably have gear blocking the view, so it would be marginally worthwhile.

It figures that there would be cheaper options for getting a USB (assuming that yours is connected to the stereo), but Ford doesn't make that clear in any of their promotional material and that was something we didn't want to be without. The only radio where it was clear there would be a USB was the Sync - not really something I wanted because I'm never going to ask the radio to find a particular song for me. Since we'll be traveling a lot, radio reception will be spotty, and even places with reception often have terrible (mostly Top 40) radio stations. So we have a tiny USB drive with enough music on it that it can play for 24 hrs/day for a full week before it starts to repeat. Since we don't plan to drive for more than a few hours every day, we won't have to worry about wearing out the music.

Thanks for your help. Now that I know about the galleries I'll probably browse through them to see if any offer ideas that we'd like to borrow.

[windguy]

my note about the mirrors was more about not having a blind spot since you won't have side windows available if you wanted to turn and see what's there.

the two mirrors gives you an nice wide view.

I think the sync feature is more for making Bluetooth connections between a mobile device and your entertainment system. I think the radio has pretty reception. Perhaps the location of the antenna up high helps with that. The radio does lack decent speakers though, more so for location. All the sound is in front of you and nothing behind. A rear speaker option would have been very cool. There's plenty of room for it. Ford, are you listening? Any one with a Titanium or Wagon model have additional speakers in the back area?

[G B L]

The engine Warms up Fast . I think that they want a fast warm up for emissions purposes. The Heat now that I understand how it works is very

good and does a great job. The fan could have been less noisy !

The Wagon has 4 Speakers and a fader . Sound is Good , not high end but good. The Headliner that is in the Wagon makes a lot of of

Difference.

[windguy]

The engine Warms up Fast . I think that they want a fast warm up for emissions purposes. The Heat now that I understand how it works is very

good and does a great job. The fan could have been less noisy !

The Wagon has 4 Speakers and a fader . Sound is Good , not high end but good. The Headliner that is in the Wagon makes a lot of of

Difference.

I would agree. The van does warm up quickly compared to prior cars I've owned. And it retains that heat well so if the car if off for a few hours, it gets back to operating temp almost right away.

Regarding the four speakers, the cargo van has four, but they are all up front. I think one on each side of the dash near the mirrors and one on each door close to the hinge side. No fader on the radio controls that I've found. Just balance left/right.

[G B L]

I did not count the ones by the Mirrors so I just got an upgade.

Thanks!

[windguy]

I did not count the ones by the Mirrors so I just got an upgade.

Thanks!

so you really have 6 speakers, 4 up front and 2 rear? jealous!

where are the rear speakers mounted?

wonder if the wiring is there in all vans as part of a common wiring harness?

[G B L]

I had to check they are mounted in the Sliding doors at the front and the same hight as the front doors. The power for the Windows and the Speaker wires and the door locks goes Through a wire zipper at the bottom of the door. Quite nicely done.

[windguy]

I had to check they are mounted in the Sliding doors at the front and the same hight as the front doors. The power for the Windows and the Speaker wires and the door locks goes Through a wire zipper at the bottom of the door. Quite nicely done.

thanks. when I have the sliding door panels off to refinish I'll see what's there.

I have a feeling there won't be any speaker wires.

[SteveMalone189]

I found out that the thresholds or mouldings (side and rear) are about 1/4" high. There are differences in the vinyl load floor, presumably between 2014 and 2015. The earlier load floor is even with the bottom of the sliding door mouldings. The newer floor is formed that it is more or less level with the top of all the mouldings. I say more or less because it seems to be a bit taller than the side mouldings and a bit shorter than the rear moulding. But pretty close.

[mustang]

In looking at my 2014 , if I was doing what you are , a sheet of 1/4 inch luann or ply would work pretty well.

BTW my 2014 is exactly how you say the newer floor's are