Converted 2015 LWB Wagon into a Van

[susb8383]

Awesome, thanks!

Edit: Ah! Now I see that you have that bolt size mentioned in your thread, but under a picture caption. Missed that.

Found them on fastenal.com.

Edited August 14, 2017 by susb8383
more to add

[huddy]

Thanks for this post, Don. I'm currently doing the same thing to my 15 TC Titanium. I'm going to convert mine to a camper van. I removed the third row easily earlier this evening. The second row looks to be a bit more involved, but I'll tackle that tomorrow. My question is: can the seat latch bar for the second row be removed?

[DonShockley]

13 hours ago, huddy said:

... My question is: can the seat latch bar for the second row be removed?

Yes, there are just a some T50 (if I remember correctly) headed bolts at each corner. The front ones are easy to access just by pulling the plug fasteners and lifting the carpet. In my case I was only removing the center mount, so reaching the back ones was harder since the carpet was still attached at the front corners by the trim on the side mounts. But I left those installed primarily to protect the plastic trim. And it had little effect on usability. The side mounts actually provided nice extra mounting points for anchor straps. I used a T-handled ratchet wrench that allows operating it from the end instead of swinging which is what kept the frustration of installing/removing those center mount bolts down to a tolerable level. The carpet only lifts enough to get one arm in to reach the bolts. But if you are pulling the side mounts also and lift and fold back the entire front section of the carpet, access will be much easier even though removing the plastic trim will involve extra work.

 

I was planning on removing the seats again and reinstalling the plywood floor on my vacation which is in it's last 2 days right now. But I never got around to it out of sheer laziness and some light rain. But when I do, I plan to leave the center mount in place and add an extra cutout to allow for it. That will greatly simplify swapping back and forth since rinstalling that mount was the only hard part about putting the seats back in. Once I run with that for a while and see how it works, I'm going to look at maybe re-doing it as the 3-piece folding design I thought of afterwards. I still need to ask the folks across the street for help getting the single piece design moved in and out since it requires tipping at an angle and holding it that way as you slide it in/out. 

[huddy]

Thanks a mil for the reply, Don. As you were replying, I was out removing the 2nd row and the mount plates. I also went ahead and removed both side door trim as well and the anchor attachments as well. I do plan on removing the rear carpet area and reinsulate with an adhesive type product. The next dilemma is how to protect the ductwork up front and maximize storage space. Maybe hinging that drop might prove efficient even though it does have undulations. I want to remove the seat belts but will have to research how to remove and reapply those rear side panels effectively.  Perhaps there will be something on this forum. I shooting for the same floor plan as this short video series on Youtube: 

Any input you or anyone else might have will be great.

 

 

[DonShockley]

The side panels in the rear just pull off. It would probably help if you pulled off the top vertical pieces at the rear, since they overlap the bottom pieces slightly. But I didn't and got them off fairly easily. Most of the attachments are just those little plastic pins. There is a bit of a hook fitting at those rear pillars, I forget which piece has the hook and which has the slot. But it just takes a little flexing to get it loose. The hard part is the reinstallation and making sure you have all the pins restarted in the holes before slapping the panel down. I didn't and broke a pin but found replacements on eBay.

[Willygee]

Nice video Huddy...hi def..now i know why my exposed interior (2016 cargo XLT) has so many holes and cutouts

[MissionCreep]

On 11/22/2016 at 7:19 AM, Knolly said:

I measured up a Connect at a dealer a while ago and I didn't think it would fit with the seats down.  My bike is 44.3 inches tall at the windscreen.  I might be able to find a couple inches by removing the windscreen but I think it's going to be a really sketchy fit without removing the seats.

 

I have the exact same problem, I have a bike with 44.5" height, and when it dies the replacement [a different brand] will also be 44.5".
Let's assume that I'd like to have around 46" clearance to be conservative and give me room to get my hands and straps in there, too.
Here are my issues in order of importance.

Issue #1
The side or rear door wagon clearance is 44-45". Can that be increased by removing trim?

Van side door is 48" so I assume so?

For rear door I assume no.

If the door isn't tall enough, this whole thing is moot.

 

[44.5" bike height is after removing mirrors and windshield. There's nothing I can practically do there other than deflate the tires I guess. ]

 

Issue #2

I'd like to keep the original floors if possible, I'll remove the seats and the rails, but otherwise keep it factory-ish.

This means all I have to do is remove the ceiling trim. I'm not concerned about resale, just my time and effort. Also a little bit concerned about road noise if I mess with the floor.
Can I get the height I need just from removing the [rear] ceiling trim? That's going from 42.1" to 46", so I'm asking for 3.9" from the ceiling.

Or is that unworkable and it all has to be done with the floor?

Or with floor AND ceiling both?

Issue #3
I'd like to be able to sleep in the van on a bedroll. Therefore, I'd prefer that my bike fit to one side of the wagon and not have to be in the middle.
Is all the height in the middle or is it uniform from left to right?
(I don't need the height at the very edge of the van just maybe a foot from the edge.)

 

 

[MissionCreep]

On 6/26/2017 at 5:27 PM, C Todd Robbins said:

Hi Don,

 

Thanks for your detailed post.

I have a 2014 Transit Wagon. Would you know offhand if your 2015 dimensions in the pdf you posted would be the same for a 2014?

thanks,

todd

 

Generally speaking 2014 and newer are the same gen with the same specs, and 2013 and older are the same.

You can get specs here by just replacing the year in the URL (2017) with whatever year you need
https://www.ford.com/services/assets/Brochure?make=Ford&model=Transit Connect&year=2017

[mgordon]

Just thought I'd post to say that with this post as my inspiration, I've just taken home a 2019 Transit Connect Titanium.  I was tempted by the cargo van, but I wanted to have the ability to get all the modern safety gizmos (adaptive cruise control, lane assist, etc.) that can't be had on the XLT van, plus the option to sometimes have one or two rear seats will be nice.  This van's main purpose will be carrying bikes, 3 dogs, and occasionally sleeping 1-2 people on road trips.  Here's day one!  I've also removed the 2nd row seats and cut a 47x80 sheet of plywood to serve as a cargo floor.  My plan is to make one section of the floor removable so that a 3rd seat can be added sometimes.

 

 

[windguy]

14 hours ago, mgordon said:

Just thought I'd post to say that with this post as my inspiration, I've just taken home a 2019 Transit Connect Titanium.  I was tempted by the cargo van, but I wanted to have the ability to get all the modern safety gizmos (adaptive cruise control, lane assist, etc.) that can't be had on the XLT van, plus the option to sometimes have one or two rear seats will be nice.  This van's main purpose will be carrying bikes, 3 dogs, and occasionally sleeping 1-2 people on road trips.  Here's day one!  I've also removed the 2nd row seats and cut a 47x80 sheet of plywood to serve as a cargo floor.  My plan is to make one section of the floor removable so that a 3rd seat can be added sometimes.

 

 

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new TC.

Sometime newcomers make a post in the "WELCOME" section so it's easy to find them.

You're going to have a good time with your new van. Enjoy!

 

 

Edited January 27, 2019 by windguy

[mgordon]

4 hours ago, windguy said:

 

 Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new TC.

Sometime newcomers make a post in the "WELCOME" section so it's easy to find them.

You're going to have a good time with your new van. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Thanks very much!  I will post there when I'm closer to a finished product.  Here's day two:

 

 

[harstad89]

I was curious if Don was still around, I wanted to know what the cargo height was in the back of his, or if anyone knows how much you would be sacrificing by not getting the cargo van. I need the cargo space but I like the idea of throwing the seats in if needed. 

[DonShockley]

16 hours ago, harstad89 said:

I was curious if Don was still around, I wanted to know what the cargo height was in the back of his, or if anyone knows how much you would be sacrificing by not getting the cargo van. I need the cargo space but I like the idea of throwing the seats in if needed. 

Still here almost daily, but I only chime in if I think somebody needs info I can provide. Just did a quick measurement at the rear liftgate at the low point of the headliner stiffener. Center point is slightly higher at 44-1/4" and at edges just before rounded corners was lower at 42-3/4", both measured from the top of the plywood/rubber mat combo I added. So add about another 1" to the stock floor. IIRC, leaving seats in costs very close to 6" in lost height.

[DonShockley]

FYI: One of the better sources for assorted dimensions and other misc. info is the Body Builders Layout Book

It is available from the Ford TC Body Builder Advisory Service
Amd here is the link for several years and also lots of other documents (look for your year and BBLB)

https://fordbbas.com/vehicleModel/TransitConnect

[aka.bugle]

Don,

thanks for that link! We just purchased a 2017 lwb wagon after years of weekend camping in VW Westphalia. miss it terribly. We plan to slowly turn our new wagon (Kombi?) into a simular setup. I was wondering if you still had the plywood template and alt ideas pdf's?  probably be a big time saver for us!

[DonShockley]

Here you go....

Transit Connect Floor Dimensioned.pdf

Transit Connect Floor Alternate Ideas.pdf

[David Wiseman]

Don, I realize that a great deal of time has passed since your initial post, however, I am just about to embark on this project to convert a Connect passenger vehicle to a mobile locksmith unit to replace a Honda Odyssey that was totalled in an accident last week. Yes, I could easily purchase a cargo version but I like the creature comforts that come with the passenger version - heat, AC and insulation etc., not to mention the additional options available up front in the XLT model. Would you be so kind as to send me the missing PDFs and if there is any way to send all of your written posts I would be eternally grateful. It would be fantastic to have all the information at hand in one place.

 

carkeyscanada@gmail.com 

 

Thanks!

Edited January 25 by David Wiseman
Missing info.

[MattB22]

David, I was wondering if you ended up doing this conversion and if you could share your experience and any photos?

I'm considering buying an XLT as decent used cargo versions are hard to find in my area atm.