130 vs 148 regrets?
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I've always wanted bigger but wife won the fight, we came up from a 118 LR sprinter so the EB 130 MR wagon is "luxuriously" roomy (and powerful) All but the 2 front seats came out immediately, bought the wagon for a finished interior and windows. Interior is holding up well even hauling motorcycles, a lot of firewood, and even filled it with hay bales once! It also serves as Allison's weekend horse event home.
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We drove dodge mini vans for many years, so a 148 doesn't seem large at all to me.
The 170 inch sprinter, IMHO, is the ideal van from a WB viewpoint. Too narrow, but I like the WB and interior length.
I wish that Ford offered a longer WB than 148. The promaster 159 WB is a good compromise and it is hard to beat the interior width.
Every vehicle has it's pros and cons.
The 170 inch sprinter, IMHO, is the ideal van from a WB viewpoint. Too narrow, but I like the WB and interior length.
I wish that Ford offered a longer WB than 148. The promaster 159 WB is a good compromise and it is hard to beat the interior width.
Every vehicle has it's pros and cons.
Think it totally depends on your height
. I'm 5'6" and it's perfect for me. But any taller and you'd be ducking to walk around.
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It all depends on your use case and you. Both myself and my wife are 5'7" or less so we can stand up in it. we wanted a build out for weekend trips and maybe longer, and it's my daily driver. Got the 130WB MR love it . now if I had 2 kids to bring along or was going to spend 6mnoths at a time in it I would have chosen the 148 WB.
2017, cargo, 130inch, mr, dbl sliders, 3.2 dsl, 3.31 rear end, used 13.5k mi.
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Drove too many big vehicles for too many years. Test drove Sprinter, Promasters, Transits of varying lengths. Selection of MR 130 incher meets/exceeds our needs. As the missus says, you made that little gem into a subversion conversion able to conduct surveillance both day and night at a moments notice with a modicum of comfort if not fuel efficiency. Maybe so...
130 WB Medium Roof owner here. We got our van back in September 2019, new from a dealer, and had the same dilemma - 130 vs 148, MR vs, HR. Drove them back-to-back multiple times, parked one and the other in my driveway, measured the cargo area million times ... plenty of back and forth before we pulled the trigger on the 130 WB MR.
I think you need to clearly list your priorities and needs, based on what are you going to use it for. We are "weekend warriors" - out of town almost every weekend, couple of 2-3 week long trips over the year. We have two boys (14 and 16 yo), so main point for us was to be able to sleep and travel 4 people (yes, you can do that in a 130 WB MR ) We Rock Climb, ride Dirt Bikes, Ski, hike and enjoy traveling, so we need garage space for all the toys, and also need to be able to tow a trailer with 4 Dirt Bikes. We do not need kitchen, sink or shower. Also, aside from my Civic, it is a second car in our family - my wife is using the van as daily commuter in the winter.
Bottom line: for our needs the 130WB MR is perfect - I have installed a second row of 3 FORD seats in the middle of the cargo area, such that I have about 5 feet between the first and second row, then I have built extendable queen size bed that goes partially above the rear seats when extended, big garage area under the bed and enough space between the first and second rows to have my kids sleep there pretty comfortable (mats on the floor or on top of a food storage boxes ).My build is pretty simple - the additional seats, bed frame, MAXX AIR fan, Webasto gasoline heater, small Dometic fridge and the usual stuff like ceiling, walls, sound and thermal insulation, house electrical system with DC-to-DC charger and a single LiFePo battery. No Solar as we do not need one. Also recently changed the tires with some bigger All Terrain KO2s. Not so positive side of the Medium Roof - I am 6ft tall and need to bend slightly my head when I stand. Nothing that really bothers me.
Works really well for us. Already got 35000 miles for the 1.5 years we have it. Awesome time out in Nature. I needed to talk my wife in to the van idea initially, but she is a big fan now. Space is not huge, but big enough for 4 people to enjoy a rainy day out there pretty comfy.
I think you need to clearly list your priorities and needs, based on what are you going to use it for. We are "weekend warriors" - out of town almost every weekend, couple of 2-3 week long trips over the year. We have two boys (14 and 16 yo), so main point for us was to be able to sleep and travel 4 people (yes, you can do that in a 130 WB MR
) We Rock Climb, ride Dirt Bikes, Ski, hike and enjoy traveling, so we need garage space for all the toys, and also need to be able to tow a trailer with 4 Dirt Bikes. We do not need kitchen, sink or shower. Also, aside from my Civic, it is a second car in our family - my wife is using the van as daily commuter in the winter.Bottom line: for our needs the 130WB MR is perfect - I have installed a second row of 3 FORD seats in the middle of the cargo area, such that I have about 5 feet between the first and second row, then I have built extendable queen size bed that goes partially above the rear seats when extended, big garage area under the bed and enough space between the first and second rows to have my kids sleep there pretty comfortable (mats on the floor or on top of a food storage boxes
).My build is pretty simple - the additional seats, bed frame, MAXX AIR fan, Webasto gasoline heater, small Dometic fridge and the usual stuff like ceiling, walls, sound and thermal insulation, house electrical system with DC-to-DC charger and a single LiFePo battery. No Solar as we do not need one. Also recently changed the tires with some bigger All Terrain KO2s. Not so positive side of the Medium Roof - I am 6ft tall and need to bend slightly my head when I stand. Nothing that really bothers me.Works really well for us. Already got 35000 miles for the 1.5 years we have it. Awesome time out in Nature. I needed to talk my wife in to the van idea initially, but she is a big fan now
. Space is not huge, but big enough for 4 people to enjoy a rainy day out there pretty comfy.130 WB Medium Roof owner here. We got our van back in September 2019, new from a dealer, and had the same dilemma - 130 vs 148, MR vs, HR. Drove them back-to-back multiple times, parked one and the other in my driveway, measured the cargo area million times ... plenty of back and forth before we pulled the trigger on the 130 WB MR.
I think you need to clearly list your priorities and needs, based on what are you going to use it for. We are "weekend warriors" - out of town almost every weekend, couple of 2-3 week long trips over the year. We have two boys (14 and 16 yo), so main point for us was to be able to sleep and travel 4 people (yes, you can do that in a 130 WB MR
Bottom line: for our needs the 130WB MR is perfect - I have installed a second row of 3 FORD seats in the middle of the cargo area, such that I have about 5 feet between the first and second row, then I have built extendable queen size bed that goes partially above the rear seats when extended, big garage area under the bed and enough space between the first and second rows to have my kids sleep there pretty comfortable (mats on the floor or on top of a food storage boxes
Works really well for us. Already got 35000 miles for the 1.5 years we have it. Awesome time out in Nature. I needed to talk my wife in to the van idea initially, but she is a big fan now
Excellent use of space.
What size tires did you go with? Any modification needed?
255/70R16 No Modification at all. After 2000 miles, including good amount of very rough rocky roads in the desert - no rubbing
@NoBadDays, this is a tight 130 setup, can you post a photo of the slider open? My use case would be similar setup of garage under bed but there would be a 29er, small road bike for mrs, rolled up raft and somewhere a raft frame (no way on roof) and 10’ oars on the floor, and sundries. This currently all fits in a first gen tundra with 6’ bed. Thanks all!
I was concerned about length and parking being I live in LA. I kept looking for high roof NOT extended length cargo vans with ecoboost but just couldn't find that combo. I ended up getting a 350 Passenger Wagon because it had the high roof but long length. I'm finding it fits in most normal sized (8'x 20') parking spots fine. I always back into spaces though and that allows the rear to hang over any parking stops. Sometimes the rear hangs a bit too much and is over a sidewalk, but usually just a few inches.
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We got a 148 medium length // medium height Transit and love it. I can't imagine working with a smaller van. It's hard to park sometimes but not usually. But I am used to parking my old full size Econoline in Chicago, so maybe I'm not the person to judge.
I have traveled for just over one year in a 2018 -150 with 130wb medium roof and I love it! For one person it really works mileage is 18 to 20 MPG and I feel I have room for everything I need.
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