Ford Transit USA Forum banner

Here comes another Transit conversion: VanWilder

22K views 53 replies 18 participants last post by  Springsyeti 
#1 · (Edited)
As the story goes.. Merrily driving around the country in pursuit of mountain bike trails, motorcycle tours, beer, untracked powder, streams and travel in my beloved 2000 Toyota Tacoma (the "Gordita") with a Flipac and a few upgrades life couldn't get any better.. Or so I thought.


But then I met a woman who shares the same pursuits and she had children that also share a passion for the outdoors and travel. Needless to say my life is forever changed and vehicle needs also.



Well the Gordita was getting a bit long in the tooth (261k) on the clock and now with the expanded family more room is needed than the extended cab offered and the discussion of what to get next surfaced. I had some experience with a Westy in my distant past and longed for the simplicity of stopping where getting the vehicle ready for camp was stopping and turning the seats around. Not getting out to unpack the bed of the truck, opening the top, setting up the kitchen and area and then strategically placing gear back in the truck bed for use. Then having to reverse the process in a abbreviated version when you had to drive the truck. Add in rain, well you get the picture.

We weighed all the options for us and you can read about how we came to our decision here

To sum it up, we settled on a Transit Van.. Obviously since I am posting here. Heading out Tuesday to pick up in Peoria and then drive it back home to Colorado and begin the process. This forum has and the builds going on have served as eye porn for us. Our experience is pretty limited so there will be some good laughs at our mistakes.. Hopefully the mistakes won't be too expensive :laugh:

Here is our van aka "VanWilder", waiting to be picked up.


We are your "typical" Colorado family that likes to do everything outdoors and our build will accommodate us getting out there as a family. With that we need to build thinking of kids with us and using the interior space for storage and transport of them and their additional gear and clothing. We are also unschooling homeschoolers so this will also be a learning project for the kids and us.

Found a pic on Pinterest of what VanWilder may look like in the near future..
 
See less See more
4
#8 ·
Thank for the suggestions and the link to your site. What are you using as your template on your site?

Great story, your van adds a welcome splash of color to the forum!

There are some veteran builders here that have built other vans but many are first timers, like your travels you will figure it out as you go.
We are trying to glean as much information as we can with others. Hopefully we aren't too intrusive with the repeated questions.

Yah, that Red and Black look is an eye catcher for sure!
Can't wait to see anther one of those get built out, I've admired that Pinterest van as well and wish their was more information about their build.
We couldn't find any other information about it either.

RED!

Like my old Sprinter. I never liked red for cars before, but my Sprinter was a low mileage used one and I didn't have any choice on it's color. I grew to like it. The kids miss the red van. I looked for a used or cheap new red Transit, but didn't have much luck. Then magnetic grey, but everyone snatched those up.

we've got the same size, so I look forward to seeing what you stick in there!
It was difficulty to find the used van we wanted and then to try and find one in something other than white was another hurdle for sure. I am a firefighter and I have tried to avoid having a red vehicle myself but the collective here voted on the red. One man can not hold back the tide, or something like that.
 
#5 ·
Great story, your van adds a welcome splash of color to the forum!

There are some veteran builders here that have built other vans but many are first timers, like your travels you will figure it out as you go.
 
#7 ·
RED!

Like my old Sprinter. I never liked red for cars before, but my Sprinter was a low mileage used one and I didn't have any choice on it's color. I grew to like it. The kids miss the red van. I looked for a used or cheap new red Transit, but didn't have much luck. Then magnetic grey, but everyone snatched those up.

we've got the same size, so I look forward to seeing what you stick in there!
 
#13 · (Edited)
After some moments of white knuckled driving across Nebraska to deliver Van Wilder home it was apparent that the light load of beer and stock tires would not do for the remainder of the winter, if we wanted to stay alive.



Safely home.



So the first upgrade for us was to replace the stock rubber with some studded Hakkapeliitta LT2 studded tires sized 225/75 R16. They fit without a issue and also gave a bit more aggressive look and ground clearance. Planning on a 2" lift and larger tire for the summer and fire road exploration.



Alignment was a bit off so that added to this upgrade.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#14 · (Edited)
Well, winter has returned to Colorado with a vengeance today and I was able to finish the blog post for our fan install.

The fan install went well and took us just over 4 hours to complete. The homeschooling part took almost the same amount of time LOL.. We also put in some floor mats and installed the Ford air deflector to the hood for some road debris protection.


The parts for the electrical system are finally arriving and once the weather warms up we will spray in some insulation.
 

Attachments

#15 · (Edited)
Looks like one of our adapters under there. Thank you. We purchased the same floor mat for our cab and I was amazed how sharp the cleats on the back were. I spent 30 minutes grinding them down with an angle grinder and flap disk. Lets the mat lay down better, imo. I hope you reconsider spray foam. Any panel warping will really show on that nice color you have. Have you considered using Thinsulate? Hope you are not offended by my asking.
 
#17 ·
Thanks for the suggestion on grinding down the backside of the mat, I will give it a try. Yes, it is one of your adapters. Next time I order one I would appreciate the inclusion of some beers from Everybody's Brewing in White Salmon, I would appreciate it.

We will never be offended with suggestions or questions from others and welcome them all. We have really looked at all the insulation options and settled on the foam for insulation. We are going with the Green Foam system and spoke to their representative over the phone and switched from open to closed cell after speaking to them. There is a local conversion company and they pretty much use foam exclusively without any issues. There are some horror stories out there and from what we could tell it was in the application of the product i.e. spraying into a rib or cavity without enough expansion room, using a cone nozzle on a panel with narrow strips of foam, skin of vehicle is below recommended temperature and can warp panels with temperature difference, etc... We will take plenty of pics and video so you can relived the process with us, success or failure. Hopefully success!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#16 ·
Springsyeti; Found a pic on Pinterest of what VanWilder may look like in the near future.. [IMG said:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/csfdgreg/IMG_4878.jpg[/IMG]
That's h2otraveler's Quigley/Aluminess van btw. Esteemed member of the forum with more pictures and comments on in his posts.
 
#19 ·
Hello fellow Coloradoans! And craft beer lovers! Thats a good haul ;)

What differential is your van? are you expecting that RWD will be adequate for fire roads and full on winter snow? I am struggling with the price for Quigley 4x4, but I REALLY want it!

Edit: I see its LSP meaning Limited slip?
 
#21 · (Edited)
Thanks.. It was a good haul, unfortunately we are making our way through it.

Yes, LSP is limited slip rear diff. Once the van is built out and there is additional weight in the back, other than the tubes of sand currently there, the traction will improve and for basic winter driving the 2wd with studded tires will get you where you want to go. Since you are in Colorado you know what I mean by basic - I70, passenger vehicle passes in the winter, Cottonwood pass in summer, etc. We haven't taken the van to Moab yet to see how it performs on Gemini Bridges road to test the performance there but we did a bit of forest road driving on a trip and turning off the traction control helped (as it does in the snow at slow speeds, keep it on when on the highway) and the van did great. We also have studded winter tires on currently and having a more off-road tire and pressures would have helped even more.

Getting down to it. IMO, I would go 4x4 if you plan on winter driving on some of the Colorado passes and piece of mind when traveling in some sandy or steeper back country roads.

Where are you at in CO? I am going to hit it hard the next few weeks and will be pre wiring, installing heat, windows, insulation and etc if you want to come and visit.. Or anyone else in the area.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#27 ·
14x14 is the right size for the hole. The roof on the Transit roof is very susceptible to denting even if you just place your hand on it for a little support. A platform supported at the OEM locations would work. Our solar panel racks with a sheet of ply on top makes a great temporary platform. Problem is most folks install their fan before their solar array.
 
#33 ·
What is going on!? Life, and injuries. I will not bore everyone with all the details but movement on Vanwilder is... moving.

There was a delay in getting our windows which slowed down insulation.
Window installed ...


Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Looking good - exciting to see your progress. I hope to be following in your foot steps but we need to take delivery of the van first ;)

Few questions about the window: Is that a CR Laurence window? In the photo it looks clear - is it? I thought they came with a factory tint? Was it installed in an existing window opening or did you/the installer have to cut into the door? I'm wondering because CR Laurence could not tell me if the window fits into the factory window opening and we ordered ours with a window not knowing when CRL would finally release a window.

Thanks and keep the updates and photos coming!

Hope the "injuries" was not too bad and self inflicted having fun ... because I think that always makes it "better".
 
#44 ·
Hi --

I see wood blocks and "studs" on the walls, presumably for attaching wall cladding. How are the wood blocks/studs attached, and do you think they are secure enough to be the attachment place for cabinets ( i.e., screw cabinets to the blocking, as in house construction)?

On the floor there are also wood strips, which look like they are on the ridges rather than in the troughs. How thick is the wood and how is it attached?


Thanks!

.
 
#53 ·
Great looking van so far. We are just starting this adventure. Still in the planning and saving stage but the order is going in October. I am already starting to buy components so that I don't have to sit around and wait for things from UPS while my van sits in the driveway. What was the final cost on the rack and ladder?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top