knaldak Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 Somehow I just found this forum? My name is Kerry. I own a 2018 TC XLT LWB cargo van purchased new Jan 2018. I added extensive sound insulation, a good bit of 2 inch semi rigid foam, and then covered it all with flooring felt. (Oddly enough the floor has no flooring felt, just the soft cover that came from Ford.) I've added roof racks, tow hitch, and an independent diesel heater. The heater is powered by an internal 20 AH Lithium battery (16s 53 volt nominal) which also powers a versatile USB station. The battery is recharged by an MPPT controlled set of 2 100 watt solar panels laying across the roof racks. Since I used to build boats I've also installed a porthole, on the aft driver side upper panel. ( I'm also a licensed A&P aircraft pilot though I havent' worked on aircraft since the '90's.) All lighting needs are met with handheld USB sticks and lithium led's. I built a simple bed from cheap cedar 2 by, under which is storage. Water is carried in PE jugs where ever. I have enjoyed this van from the start. During the first test ride I knew this van was right. It drove well and had an okay reputation online. I jumped at the price though I later I learned I could have saved a good bit had I known what I was doing. Who cares though. I have driven this simple rig just almost anywhere I have wanted to go. It has hauled anything I needed hauled. It moved my whole household, everything, even a queen sized bed, inside itself with a minimum of trips. It moves 8 foot lumber and even ten foot long pieces of roofing. I've driven it hundreds of miles down dusty rocky BLM roads all over the west. Traction control works very well if one works with it, carefully. I have been on ice, six inch snow and slush testing the traction and braking controls, which work well. One of my biggest regrets is that this van is so close to the ground. Finding a way to lift it is what brought me to this forum. I look forward to learning of others methods and sharing some of my own. So I'm a new forum member and hopefully an active one. I will try and get some pic's up of the van soon though it is just plain white cargo van (except for the porthole on the drivers side rear). Glad to meet you all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windguy Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 @knaldak - Welcome to the forum. Your mods sound very nice. Looking forward to see pics of them. Hope you made use of the storage area under the cargo deck where the second row footwell is located. You must have with all that spare battery equipment you have. Travel pics would be fun to see as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herb Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 I have the same van , i agree about the ground clearance it's too low and that is a bummer . Ground clearance complaints are rare as most just live with it but others may have idea's . Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rham Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Hi Kerry I just bought a 2019 in Beaverton and have started the conversion. What roof rack did you go with? Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty150 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 On 2/1/2020 at 8:18 AM, knaldak said: MPPT controlled set of 2 100 watt solar panels laying across the roof racks. That sounds like something worth posting in it's own thread. Wiring. Mounting. Technical details. Photos. You can write a "how to". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinVP Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 (edited) Hey Kerry, check out this thread, the good bits are on p4: I just put on a 30mm lift with spacers (haven't done rear yet, but maybe next week). Plus 215/65 16 Yokohama Geolandar trires for another 10mm. That's a hair over 1.5" extra, which is a massive improvement for forest road clearance. I build mountain bike trails in my spare time, so I'm driving on crappy, mucky, partially decommissioned logging roads quite a lot, with bikes, people (I guess I'm going solo until the apocalypse is over) and tools in the back. It drives way better now on forest roads, but taller tires and rubber spacers make it drive more van-like, as expected. A guy on Instagram did more of a front lift, but he had to be a pretty decent mechanic to do it, since getting even an extra 30mm in there was tight. He put struts from a 4x4 Escape, plus spacers for 2.5" lift I think. I couldn't find a lot of details from him, so I went with the Russian rubber spacers instead. Find him here on the Insta: https://www.instagram.com/transit_connect_overland/ Edited March 16, 2020 by JustinVP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrm223 Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 4 hours ago, JustinVP said: A guy on Instagram did more of a front lift, but he had to be a pretty decent mechanic to do it, since getting even an extra 30mm in there was tight. He put struts from a 4x4 Escape, plus spacers for 2.5" lift I think. I couldn't find a lot of details from him, so I went with the Russian rubber spacers instead. Find him here on the Insta: https://www.instagram.com/transit_connect_overland/ Most of the stuff on that van is custom one-off fabrication for that build - the aluminum strut spacers, bumper guard, roof rack, sliders, rear ladder, interior ceiling rack, etc etc. Per his comments in IG, only the front was lifted, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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